After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

—Matthew 2:11

The gift-giving continues! Last week we began unwrapping the gifts God gave to all humanity when Jesus was born, and there’s no way I could write this series without writing about the gifts the Magi brought. They are all heavily symbolic and prophetic, revealing different blessings God was sending us through His Son, Jesus. We’re going to dive in and rip those figurative layers of wrapping paper off until we get to the deep meaning and truth God always weaves into His perfect plans, and this week we’re going to start by peeling back the layers surrounding gold.

Layer 1: Gold was the most valuable metal at the time.

This one kind of seems like a no-brainer. Of course, gold is valuable. It’s still incredibly valuable today, so what could there be to learn from the fact that gold was valuable? 

First, we need to be clear. Gold wasn’t just a valuable metal. It was the valuable metal. Today several metals are more valuable than gold, but back then, gold was the highest standard. 

Next, we need to remember how that gold was delivered to the young Messiah and His family. A group of men who were most likely incredibly wealthy and powerful decided to spend several years of their lives looking for a baby rather than tending their estates for the specific purpose of giving Him a stash of the most valuable metal at the time.

And all they got in return was a couple of hours in His presence. 

There is nothing in the text to suggest that they felt like they had been ripped off or let down. In fact, they didn’t start presenting the gifts until after they had fallen on their knees and worshiped Him. If they weren’t impressed with what they’d found at the end of their search, they could have just quietly led their camels away without getting out the gifts, but what they found underneath the light of the miraculous star was more valuable than the years on the road and the sacrifice of gold.

Layer 2: Gold reveals that Jesus is King.

Royalty has long been associated with gold. Kings wear gold crowns and gold jewelry. They were surrounded by wealth and would often give or receive gold as gifts, so it’s not a big jump to say the gift of gold was indicating His role as king, but it’s a little more significant than that.

Not only did gold represent royalty, but it was incredibly uncommon for anyone outside of royalty and the priests in the temple to own gold. This would have especially been true during the Roman occupation when the people were subjected to heavy Roman taxes, so this was a very unusual gift to give to a young child, making it a clear statement about who Jesus was.

Layer 3: Gold was associated with God’s presence and worship.

From the time when Moses led the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt, gold was associated with the presence of God and worship. The Egyptian people had given the Hebrews many gifts of gold when they finally left and this was eventually used to build the Tabernacle in the wilderness—a tent to house God’s presence. 

Gold was also used on the ark of the covenant and later, after the people had settled in the promised land, gold was used to decorate the temple. Gold’s value and purity made it a wonderful symbol of God’s presence.

So when the wise men gave the young Jesus the gift of gold, it was revealing where God’s presence had landed. 

Layer 4: Gold was associated with security because it was nearly indestructible. 

Now this one takes a little bit of thought. I remember very little from high school chemistry, but one thing I do remember is that gold is malleable, or able to be shaped and molded. As far as metals go, it’s a relatively soft one, so it might seem like this last point doesn’t make sense, but when I say that gold is nearly indestructible, I’m not talking about the gold object. I’m talking about the gold.

Let’s take a gold ring for example. Especially if it’s a high-quality gold that is very pure, it will be easy for the ring to get scratched, dented, broken, misshaped. But all the while, the gold will still be gold. In fact, even when gold comes into contact with one of the most destructive forces they knew of in the first century—fire—the gold still remained gold. Instead of turning to cinders and ash, it just gets purer.

Because of its ability to withstand even exposure to fire, it was associated with stability. It was consistent, and in many ways, permanent because it is resistant to corrosion. 

So let’s put all the pieces together. Through the gift of gold, God was revealing the incredibly valuable truth that the King had arrived. He was the embodied presence of God and would be as stable, permanent, and everlasting as the purest gold. That’s an amazing gift. It’s priceless peace that comes from knowing that He is here and He will never disappear or leave us. Merry Christmas!