Matthew 2:11
(Part Three in a series of Biblical Healing teachings)
“And when they had
come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell
down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they
presented gifts to Him:
gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”
Before we investigate the
Biblical healing properties contained within this verse of Matthew’s, I must
vent some and my attention is directed to anyone that professes to hold
Biblical truth yet perpetuates the myth that there were three wise men and that
they were present at the birth of Jesus.
Let’s look at a typical
Christmas Nativity scene:
As the question goes, what
is wrong with this picture, and as always, we must trust God’s holy word to
provide the answer.
Matthew
2:1. “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem
of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,”
Key word “after” not “when”;
and one must also consider when and from where the wise men started their
journey:
Matthew 2:2.saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the
Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
Important here is that the
wise men first saw the star and then traveled afterwards from the East.
Considering that travel on ELAL airlines would have been difficult back then,
camels could not have made that journey in a few hours, or days, or weeks, or
months, but perhaps years taking into consideration travel preparation, shopping
lines at Wal-Mart, and finally a courtesy visit to King Herod before completing
their trek to Bethlehem.”
Matthew 2:7-8. “Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from
them what time the star appeared, and he sent them to Bethlehem….”
Finally the wise men reach their destination:
Matthew
2:11. “And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child
with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened
their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”
Another key word being “young”, not infant. Some
speculate that Jesus was around two years of age but again, speculation is not
necessarily truth.
So, according to God’s Word, the wise men should not be
included in a nativity scene nor should there be an assumption of “three” wise
men, Yes, Matt 2:11 alludes to three gifts presented but no reference to the
number of wise men present. Three is a logical deduction, maybe, but not
Biblically supported!
OK, I am done venting for now! Thanks for being patient with me; it’s just a “bug-a-boo”
of mine! (there is actually a definition for bug-a-boo)
Now let’s look at what we came here for:
“gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”
(Because
this article is the second of an anticipated series of articles, I recommend
that you refer back to “Biblical Healing I” and read the clarifications
presented on essential oils, inflammation, Gas Chromatography, and my most important (legal) disclaimer. To further clarify, I am not
a medical doctor, nor do I hold any type of licensed nutritionist degree or
certification, but I have slept at a Holiday Inn! Else, I am just an ordinary
soul seeking truth and capitalizing on the knowledge of those that are most
qualified in the fields of nutrition, health, and in God’s Word.)
When I read the accounts in
Matthew 2 pertaining to the gifts from the Magi, I questioned the significance
of gold, frankincense, and myrrh in relation to their recipient, Jesus, the
Messiah. Why these elements and why recorded in scripture for us to know
centuries later?
Nothing in the Holy Bible addresses the purpose of the
three gifts from the Magi, but historical and traditional accounts offer a few
suggestions. For example, according to the Biblical Archaeology
Society, these valuable items were standard gifts to honor a king or deity in the
ancient world: gold as a precious metal, frankincense as perfume or incense,
and myrrh as anointing oil.
On a more symbolic nature, scholars think that these three elements were chosen for
their special spiritual symbolism about Jesus himself—gold representing his
kingship, frankincense a symbol of his priestly role, and myrrh a prefiguring
of his death and embalming. (Ref: Biblical History Daily)
Yet another interpretation suggests that these gifts were
of a healing nature whereas frankincense greatly inhibits inflammation (there
is that word again); Myrrh used for antiseptic / antibiotic. Gold, you ask? How
does gold fit into healing remedies? Well, I have my own (yes, I can think
independently) thought on gold pertaining to Matt 2:11! Just be patient.
As an interesting side note, we know that Jesus fulfilled
351 Old Testament Prophecies. In the Book of Isaiah, when
describing Jerusalem’s
restoration, Isaiah tells of nations and kings who will come and “bring gold
and frankincense and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord” (Isaiah 60:6).
Not in the order presented
above let’s start with:
Frankincense:
Mentioned 23 times in the Holy Bible (NIV):
Applications for Frankincense E.O. (ref:
my.draxe.com/essential-oils)
- Stress Relieving Bath Soak
- Natural Household Cleaner
- Natural Hygiene Product
- Anti-Aging; Wrinkle Fighter
- Relieves symptoms of Indigestion
- Scar, Wound, Stretch Mark, or Acne
Remedy
- Natural Cold or Flu Medicine
- Anti-Cancer Applications
- Relieves Inflammation and Pain
(As a reminder
from my Biblical Healing I blog post, “Basically everything from
a cough to cancer finds its origins from inflammation”.)
Myrrh:
Mentioned 18 times in the Holy Bible (NIV):
Applications for Myrrh
E.O. (ref: my.draxe.com/essential-oils)
Potent anti-oxidant
- Anti-cancer benefits
- Anti-bacterial
- Anti-fungal
- Anti-parasitic
- Skin health
- Relaxation agents
(Note to reader:
Different Bible translations may disagree on the number of times an “oil” is
mentioned, probably due to the similarities of the plant extracts and/or their
duplicity in application. That is my guess and I am sticking with that!)
Now we come to “gold” and
this is where the fun starts. As mentioned above, according to the Biblical
Archaeology Society, gold was a precious metal and symbolically,
gold represented kingship.
However, as one would surmise, gold possesses no healing properties. Right?
Well, maybe not
right!
(I enjoy
studying the Holy Bible using the “Inductive” study methodology through inductive reasoning - the attempt to use information
about a specific situation to draw a conclusion. Simply, the Inductive steps
are: observation (what does it say?), interpretation (what does it mean as defined?),
and application (how does it pertain back then and perhaps today?). In today’s
vernacular, it (God’s Word) is what it is and nothing else. If a word or
thought cannot be defined then it is left at that, undefined. Inductive keeps
guess-work out of interpretation.)
So here is my
thought process: Like most people I accepted the assumption that the gold
mentioned in Matthew 2:11 was the precious metal that we call gold. However, as
my journey led me more into the world of Biblical / Natural healing the fact
that gold, being a metal, while Frankincense and Myrrh, being
plant-based, did not balance with me, so I did some “inductive” research. I
found that the Hebrew word
for gold is Mikhreh zahav,
and the Greek word for gold is χρυσός/chrysós.
Unique with the Hebrew and Greek languages is that that rarely do these
languages have words with more than one meaning, unlike the English language.
Further investigation revealed that regardless of gold metal or gold color, the
Hebrew and Greek words are the same, that is, there are not different words
distinguishing gold (metal) from gold (color). This finding was significant to
me because it meant that perhaps the gold could be a precious plant-based item
which would compliment the other two plant-based items, Frankincense and Myrrh.
Yes, I already had something
in mind as I pursued into this discovery and that something was turmeric, or
its derivative curcumin. Why Turmeric? Well, there is the correlation that it
is golden in color which translates to either Mikhreh zahav or χρυσός/chrysós,
but that alone is a weak argument by itself, so let’s look at the health
applications for turmeric. You could Google this yourself but I did the work
for you and according to “dailynaturalremedies.com”, the major benefits of
turmeric (or curcumin) are:
- It’s an anti-inflammatory (there
is that word again)
- It’s a powerful antioxidant
- It improves brain function
- It can help depression
- Eases arthritis
- It can be used to treat cancer
- It reduces the risk of heart
disease
- Slows the process of aging
- Helps manage insulin levels
- It’s easy to incorporate into your
diet (unlike Frankincense
and Myrrh)
So, what is my point?
Well, what my point is not is that I am not
trying to convince you that the word “gold” in Matthew 2:11 is actually a plant
and not a precious metal. As I described about the inductive study method “If
a word or thought cannot be defined then it is left at that, undefined.” Therefore, all we are left with an
interesting quandary.
However, what my point, or pursuit of this lengthy
dialogue is… if young Jesus was presented with “golden” Turmeric, Frankincense and Myrrh, then He would presumably be gifted with the three
elements that could prevent, or cure, any sickness or disease known to mankind.
Because of that possibility, for me, turmeric is more the logical gift over gold because good health is
priceless!
As with most Bible studies,
one is incomplete unless we can try to wean what was learned from scripture and
apply it to the here and now. The same holds for this “Bible study” as I offer
you this application.
Think of all the illnesses,
diseases, or medical conditions that you have endured or are currently suffering
through. Now think of all the medications that you have taken of are currently
exposed to with their detrimental side effects. What if, now, what if … pure speculation … you could substitute
man’s chemicals with God’s creation and experience real healing?
Do you believe?
.
The sad part of life is losing a family member long before expected
and last December we said good bye to my younger brother Tommy. Of the seven
siblings he was number 5 and as children we used to rib Tommy about being the
only “southpaw” and then later in life how much he resembled the “old man”! Of
course now we take credit for instilling in him a great sense of humor and a
loving, caring disposition. Semper Fi
Tommy! 
