We Three Kings

We three kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain
Following yonder star

Chorus:
O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to thy Perfect Light

Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain
Gold I bring to crown Him again
King forever, ceasing never
Over us all to reign

(Chorus)

Frankincense to offer have I
Incense owns a Deity nigh
Prayer and praising, all men raising
Worship Him, God most high

(Chorus)

Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
Breathes of life of gathering gloom
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying
Sealed in the stone-cold tomb

(Chorus)

Glorious now behold Him arise
King and God and Sacrifice
Alleluia, Alleluia
Earth to heav’n replies

(Chorus)

When I was in high school, we would raise money during the Christmas season by caroling at a variety of venues. It was completely wonderful! I loved going from person to person, table to table, taking requests and singing their favorite songs. Requests varied from the usual Christmas tunes, to some pretty obscure hymns. But because of this I know almost all of the verses to most Christmas songs. We Three Kings is no exception. I’m quite certain the general population could sing the first verse, the chorus and the last verse, but it’s the middle verses that carry the incredible truths of the gifts borne by these wise men on that holy night in Bethlehem.

If all you know is the first verse and chorus, you might think this song is mostly about the star. The star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright. And it is a wondrous star. As I talked about in a previous blog, this star pierced an inky darkness. This star, like the Creator of the stars just born in a manger down the way, brought the brightness of hope to a wounded world. This star, so remarkable in its appearance as to prompt the wise men to leave everything to follow it, was one of many signs that there was a shift in the world that night. The star shone, the Perfect Light came into the world, and the darkness was vanquished. This star served as a marker in the natural world that the curse upon this earth would come to an end. God marked His mighty work to redeem, not only the lost souls but the tormented earth under the curse of fallen man. With this star, God brought hope to even the rocks crying out His praise. And God, in His goodness, spoke to these wise men who watched the natural world so carefully, and called them to worship the God who loved His creation even more than they did.

The first king brought the Christ Child gold, this precious metal so coveted among men. To the lowly manger (or perhaps the humble home of Mary and Joseph—the timeline is fuzzy for these wise men), the first wise man brought a gift befitting a King. Gold, the emblem of wealth, of fortune, of power, of might. This gift marks Jesus as the powerful King that He is. He will forever reign, ceasing never. His reign will be over all of Creation. He will reign in the hearts of men, guiding them in truth and love. He will reign over all of the earth, righting every wrong, setting all things right. He will be a King who leads His people to victory over evil. He will be a King who judges righteously. He will be a King full of compassion, forgiving all debts. His Kingdom will be one of joy, of peace, of unity, of love. The first wise man brings gold befitting a king, but he has no idea that he brings his gift to the greatest King to ever live.

The second wise man brings frankincense, an incense used in worship services. Here we see the wise man acknowledge that the Christ Child is not only a mighty, just King, but He is also a perfect Priest. Jesus comes to serve as our great High Priest, as an intercessor between us and God. Where once the Jews might approach the priest with their requests for God or their desperate need for forgiveness from God, we now need only come to Jesus. He builds a bridge between fallen man and Holy God. His presence, Immanuel, now is with us. We can go directly to the God of the universe, no earthly priest necessary. Because we wear the righteousness of Jesus, we can stand in the presence of the Holy God and make known our requests and lay bare our sin. The wise man brings incense to the Christ Child because Jesus now presides over our ever-ongoing worship services. We can bring the sweet aroma of praise to Jesus whenever, wherever, because He has come to dwell with us. In His arrival on this earth, Jesus ushers in a new era of worship. We can worship with Jesus as the only High Priest, no temple, no sacrifice, not even incense is necessary. The wise man brings the last aroma offering to the Lord, for now our lives and our faith and our ongoing worship bring the sweet aroma of praise to the Lord.

Finally, we see that the third gift is the bitter perfume of myrrh. This gift does not seem fitting at all for the birth of a King. Myrrh, bearing the aroma of death, is used to embalm those who have passed. With each waft of perfume, Mary calls to mind the deaths of those who’ve gone before. The scent is the scent of sighing—the exhale of a heavy heart, of sorrow—the ache deep within that knows no cure, of bleeding—the river of life pouring out of a man, of dying—the end of joy and life and vigor. This smell doesn’t belong with my newborn babe, Mary thinks. This is the scent of a funeral, not a bris. Why bring me the aroma of a stone-cold tomb? We, of course, know what Mary could not. This final gift signifies the trajectory of the life of this Boy King, this High Priest. He is determined, face set, for the hill at Calvary. The tomb would be His home for three days, while the world mourned the beloved Prophet. But in this aroma, we also know the resurrection of the Savior. It is this smell that Mary Magdalene will inhale as she steps into an empty tomb full of discarded rags. This is the perfume she would have used to embalm the Savior, but He is not there! This third gift, this myrrh, carries the powerful hope that comes through death and dying. This myrrh signifies the end of death for us all. Even this myrrh shall be redeemed; as God removes the sting of death, embalming won’t even be necessary. The myrrh shall have a new purpose. It shall be a life-giving aroma, just as it was marked on that day when the perfume was laid at the feet of the Christ Child.

All of these gifts lead us to the last verse, where the Kings beg the Christ Child to arise into His new roles—King, and God (Immanuel), and Sacrifice. With these gifts the wise men christen the Holy Babe with meaning, with purpose. These gifts reveal the path of a baby too small to even stand or speak. The wise men and their precious gifts, almost serve as prophecies for the life to come for this Infant Holy. And as they prophesy, laying the gifts at the feet of Jesus, they raise their voice in praise. They kneel in awe of the mighty things this Child will do. They kneel in awe of His power and stature, of His ever-present presence of the Holy One, of His willing sacrifice for His people. They kneel, not knowing the magnitude of what this Christ Child will do, but in humble anticipation of the incredible God they know sent them.

These wise men respond to the Star of Wonder with equal praise. Just as the skies break forth their Alleluia, so do these humble men from so far away. We will never understand the scope of what God is doing or how He is going to accomplish it, but like the wise men, we can come, stand in awe of all that we see, and break forth in praise. Praise God, our King, our Priest, our Sacrifice.