When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and when the tidings reached the guilty tyrant who sat upon the Jewish throne, he [Herod] "was troubled and all Jerusalem with him." The men of the city had already made their choice. They were on the side of Herod-- not on the Lord's side.

The scribes, intelligent in the Scriptures as far as the letter went, knew or should have known many things about the Coming King. The prophets had clearly pointed out:
1. when He would come (Genesis 49:10);
2. how He would come (Isaiah 7:14);
3. where He would be born (Micah 5:2).

But they had no heart for Him, and as to the mass of the nation, there was neither love nor loyalty to God's King. Yet we learn from Luke's Gospel (Luke 2:38) that there were still the hidden ones, even in Jerusalem, who looked for redemption in Israel; as there will be in the day of His power, to whom He will appear as "the Sun of Righteousness, with healing in His wings" (Malachi 4:2).

But if there was no heart for Him in Jerusalem, and no room for Him in Bethlehem, a testimony was to be raised up from among the Gentiles; and "wise men"-- wise, surely, in every sense of the word-- divinely led, seek Him, recognize His divinity, worship Him, and present to Him their threefold gift, "gold, frankincense, and myrrh."

When the Queen of Sheba visited Solomon she brought "gold and spices." In a coming day, when the kings of the Gentiles come to worship the glory of the Lord in Jerusalem, they will bring "gold and incense" (Isaiah 60).

In neither the historic nor the prophetic Scripture is there any mention of that which is here connected with these two things, namely, "myrrh." Why is this? Is there not a threefold meaning in their gifts? In the Babe of Bethlehem they saw the One who was "born King of the Jews," and to Him, as such, they presented the royal offering of gold. And there was the recognition in the frankincense that He was more than man-- that He was the promised Savior.

But the myrrh spoke of that of which the wise men could have but dim vision; and that was that before He sat upon the throne of His glory He "must suffer many things... and be killed and raised again the third day" (Matthew 16:21).