What’s the most meaningful gift someone has given you?

Most likely, it meant so much because that person knew you REALLY well.

That person knew your interests and values. Maybe even your quirks.

The gift was personal to YOU.

The gifts we receive say something about us.

The gifts we give say something about the people we give them to.

Although the Three Wise Men in Matthew 2 did not know Jesus personally, their gifts told volumes about their recipient. Somehow, they knew that Jesus was worthy of their worship. They knew that Jesus was royalty. For this reason, they selected gifts that were customarily given to kings.

James Montgomery Boice provides these helpful insights about the significance of the three gifts they presented Jesus:

• “Gold is the metal of kings. When gold was presented to Jesus, it acknowledged His right to rule.”

• “Incense…was used in the temple worship. It was mixed with the oil that was used to anoint the priests of Israel. In presenting this gift the wise men pointed to Christ as our great High Priest, the one whose whole life was acceptable and well pleasing to His Father.”

• “Myrrh was used for embalming. It was a gift of faith. We do not know precisely what the wise men may have known or guessed about Christ’s ministry, but we do know that the Old Testament again and again foretold his suffering.”

Jesus received gifts that pointed directly to His prophesied role as Messiah. They whispered promises of all that He would do on our behalf – both in His earthly ministry, and echoing into eternity as our King of Kings, our Great High Priest, and our Risen Savior. They were gifts that spoke the Gospel.

THREE Applications

1. This Christmas, enjoy the sweetness of relationships that make each gift under the tree meaningful. Each one tells a story of personal bonds between family and friends.

2. Believer, take a moment to remember what God’s gift of salvation communicates about you. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” The gift of eternal life means that you are deeply and dearly loved by the Living God. By a miracle of grace and mercy on the cross of Christ, you will spend forever enjoying His presence.

3. Finally, ponder what your gifts to God communicate. Each act of service, every loving deed, each display of compassion toward a hurting world, each financial offering, each lyric sung in worship, is a gift that powerfully declares something about God’s great worth.

   I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1)

   Your devotion to Christ is a gift that speaks powerfully about Him. What do we have, that we have not first received? We can give love offerings to God because He first loved us. He has absolutely filled our lives. And out of the overflow, we lift up our very lives – all we have to bring. He is worthy of it all.

Luke 2:25-32 (ESV)

“Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

‘Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.’”

Luke didn’t tell us if Simeon’s hands were recognizably worn, contoured by the evidence of a long-practiced skill or trade. We don’t know if his ascent into the temple was a little slow and labored. We don’t know if he understood the significance of his trip that day. We just know that he carried with him a promise that God made to him personally: he would see the Messiah in his lifetime.

Did he marvel with each passing day, month, year – that his eyes would see God’s salvation? His eyes. His parents lived in anticipation, as had their parents, and their parents. Each passing generation added another layer of longing for the promise foretold by prophets and more recently revealed…to him.

Did the wonder in his eyes match the astonishment in Mary and Joseph’s as he cradled their son? Did these new parents shed joyful tears as they watched Simeon bless God the Father for sending Him? And did some of those tears spring from the relief of yet another confirmation that the angels’ messages were true?

God was validating His plan as it unfolded before the eyes of a waiting world.

It’s easy to rush past this small interaction in the Christmas narrative, but slowly savored, it offers a breathtaking image of the Trinity. God the Spirit reveals to Simeon that he would see the Messiah before he dies. Jesus is born – the Word made flesh. God the Spirit leads Simeon in a divine appointment to the new family of three. Simeon cradles God the Son in his hands and then engages God the Father, blessing Him for keeping His promise and sending the long-awaited “consolation of Israel” in human form, now nestled in his arms. God the Spirit, the Son, and the Father, in perfect union, orchestrate a single moment in the temple to introduce salvation to a darkened and pain-laden world.

God is still validating His plan as it unfolds before our eyes. We find ourselves in another “waiting” season of redemptive history, as we collectively anticipate the return of Jesus, not as a baby, but as a bridegroom. And as we wait, the Holy Spirit keeps confirming that, amidst a world crippled by confusion and crisis, God’s plan is actually unfolding just like He promised it would. He’s whispering reminders of the promise. He’s validating the Messiah, in a thousand ways.

Every time a heart is stirred and softened to the presence of Christ…
Every time a relationship is reconciled by the peace of Christ…
Every instance where the church is built on the foundation of Christ…
Every time the gospel is presented with the love of Christ…
Every time a sickness is reversed by the healing power of Christ…
Every time depression and despair are overpowered by the goodness of Christ…
Every time a prayer is answered in the name of Christ…
Every time eyes are opened in true understanding of the mercy of Christ…
Every time a believer is baptized to declare the joy of new life in Christ…

…the Holy Spirit reaffirms the promised unfolding work of the risen Messiah until He comes again.

Jesus is building His church today. He is reconciling men, women, and children to Himself, today. He is spreading the joy of the knowledge of God everywhere, today. And He’s doing it through those who are led by His Spirit. It’s unthinkably amazing that God chooses to use people like Simeon, and like us, to carry out His redemptive plan.

The invitation for us is to marvel at our God, Three In One, who never stops working, even in our waiting. May it be said of us, as it was said of Mary:

Luke 1:45
“And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

“I will be with you.” Depending on who’s speaking, it’s difficult to find a phrase more laden with comfort. When spoken by a parent, it’s powerful enough to embolden a thousand “firsts”. When whispered by your closest friend in the middle of a waiting room, it’s pure borrowed courage. It’s the quiet presence of a faithful brother or sister who can’t fix the situation but is committed to sitting with you in your pain. It’s the unquestioning resolve of your spouse to fight your sin with you instead of walking away. It may be the most native need of the human soul: the promise of presence. Beginning with the Garden of Eden, God has instilled in His children an innate desperation to hear these words from Him…

…And He’s been speaking them over us ever since. 

The following passages form a collective glimpse of this promise, echoing across the pages of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation. Oh friend, read and relish His words with an ear inclined to hear His heartbeat:

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Genesis 26:3
Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.

Genesis 28:15
Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.

Exodus 3:12, 14
He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” …And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Numbers 14:9
Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.

Deuteronomy 20:2-4
“Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”

Deuteronomy 23:16a
He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him.

Deuteronomy 31:6, 8
Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

Joshua 1:5
No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.

Judges 6:16
And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”

1 Kings 11:38
And if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.

1 Chronicles 17:8
”…and I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.”

2 Chronicles 20:17
You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”

Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Isaiah 41:10
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 43:1-2
But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”

Ezekiel 36:27
And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 14:16-17
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:23
Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”

2 Corinthians 13:11
Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:9
What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

1 John 4:16 
“So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”

Revelation 21:3
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.”

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God has always dwelt with His people. Stretching from Genesis to Malachi, God dwelt with His children, in clouds by day and pillars by night, in burning bushes and on mountaintops, in a moving tent, and in the Temple’s holy of holies. But it seems the greatest and most profound iteration of “I will be with you" was showcased over 2,000 years ago in a humble manger scene. What could have communicated His nearness more powerfully than God being born in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:7)? 

Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Listen carefully, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will call his name Immanuel (God with us).

In the most demonstrable way possible, God pledged “I will be with you” to us in Christ. And ever since Christ returned to the Father’s side, He has dwelt with us in Spirit. Jesus Christ’s redemptive work guarantees we will dwell with God forever. He is with us, and He will always be.

“Immanuel, God with us.”
It is hell’s terror.
Satan trembles at the sound of it…
Let him come to you suddenly,
And do you but whisper that word,
“God with us,”
Back he falls, confounded and confused…
“God with us” is the laborer’s strength.
How could he preach the gospel,
How could he bend his knees in prayer,
How could the missionary go into foreign lands,
How could the martyr stand at the stake,
How could the confessor own his Master,
How could men labor
If that one word were taken away?…

“God with us” is eternity’s sonnet,
Heaven’s hallelujah,
The shout of the glorified,
The song of the redeemed,
The chorus of the angels,
The everlasting oratorio of the great orchestra of the sky.

– Charles Spurgeon