What is the significance of the gifts the wise men gave to Jesus?

Answer

Frankincense and myrrh, like gold, were very valuable items at the time. They didn't call them wise men for nothing.

The gold represented His sovereign dominion, sym. Royalty (King Jesus).

• Dan. 2:38 --The image had a head of gold, which symbolized the king
  

The frankincense represented His sinless deity, sym. Worship (Savior).

• Lev. 2:15 - the meal offering was flour mingled with oil, signifying the sinless person of Jesus, with flour His humanity, and oil His divinity

• Lev. 5:11 - no frankincense could be put on the sin offering
  

From Wikipedia (frankincense): In the Bible's old Testament, it was part of the temple rites . The aroma of frankincense is said to represent life and the Judaic, Christian and Islamic faiths have often used frankincense mixed with oils to anoint newborn infants and individuals considered to be moving into a new phase in their spiritual lives.

The myrrh represented His sacrificial death, sym. His purpose ( to die for our sin).

• John 19:39 - myrrh was used to anoint dead bodies for burial
  

From Wikipedia (myrrh): Its uses are similar to those of frankincense, with which it is often combined in decoctions, liniments and incense. Myrrh is one of the most effective of all known disinfectants.

It's not exactly known and there are different theories, two of the most common theories are:

1. That they are all gifts commonly give to a king - myrrh being a common anointing oil, frankincense a perfume and gold as a valuable.

2. That they are prophetic - gold as a symbol of kingship on earth, frankincense (an incense) as a symbol of priesthood, and myrrh (an embalming oil) as a symbol of death.

There is also a common general theory as to their symbolism. Gold symbolizing virtue, frankincense symbolizing prayer and myrrh symbolizing suffering.

Interestingly, the number of wise men is never mentioned in the Bible, neither are the total number of gifts they brought. Gold, frankincense and myrrh may have been among other gifts that were common, useful but not as highly symbolic to Matthew when he wrote his account.

For more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_Magi

First answer by Jdcheesey. Last edit by Savisky. Contributor trust: 11 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 7 [recommend question]