Christmas is often synonymous with gift-giving. Like many, I find joy in selecting presents for loved ones, perhaps even more so than receiving them myself. The Christmas shopping, however, isn’t always a breeze, which makes being ahead of schedule this year a welcome relief.
Just recently, I visited Barnes & Noble and was pleased to find all the books on my list in stock. Following that, our family embarked on a gift-finding mission to Toys R Us, Zany Brainy, and the Cherry Hill Mall, specifically for the cousins. My wife, Lisa, has efficiently wrapped and prepared most of these gifts for shipping. We’re now left with the challenge of finding gifts for those notoriously hard-to-buy-for individuals and, of course, a few extra surprises for our children.
This tradition of Gift Exchange is deeply rooted in Christmas celebrations, particularly in Western cultures. Its origins are loosely connected to the very first Christmas, marking God’s unparalleled gift to humanity: His Son, Jesus Christ. Scripture beautifully describes Jesus as God’s “indescribable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15) and the one « in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge » (Colossians 2:3).
When God bestowed this extraordinary gift, certain individuals recognized the profound need to reciprocate, to offer a gift back to God. These were the Magi, the Wise Men from the East who journeyed to Bethlehem to find Jesus. Matthew 2:11 recounts, “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.”
The worship offered by the Magi held immense significance. As kings themselves, their act of bowing down was a powerful acknowledgment of Jesus as the King of kings. Their adoration also fulfilled biblical prophecy. Isaiah 60:3 prophesied about the coming Messiah: “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” This promise began to materialize almost immediately after Jesus’ birth. The Magi represented the nations that would come to worship Christ.
The treasures they presented were equally significant. These costly gifts underscored the immeasurable worth of the recipient. Moreover, the specific gifts themselves carried symbolic weight. Gold, a gift befitting royalty, is a symbol of kingship. Incense, prevalent in ancient religious worship, including in the tabernacle (Exodus 30:1; 40:5; Hebrews 9:4), represents prayers in the Bible. David’s plea, “May my prayer be set before you like incense” (Psalm 141:2a), and Revelation 8:4’s description of “the smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God,” exemplify this. Myrrh, used as a spice in embalming, prepared the deceased for burial.
Each gift uniquely foreshadowed aspects of Christ’s saving mission. Gold, for a king, pointed to Jesus’s destiny as King. While the Magi worshiped him as King of the Jews, his resurrection established him as “the ruler of the kings of the earth” (Revelation 1:5). Incense, for a priest, symbolized Jesus as our High Priest, interceding with our prayers to God.
Jesus also offered himself as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. The Bible subtly connects myrrh to his death. Wine mixed with myrrh was offered to Jesus on the cross (Mark 15:23). Furthermore, Nicodemus brought “a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds” to prepare Jesus’ body for burial (John 19:39-40a). These details echo the Magi’s gift of myrrh in Bethlehem, a subtle hint of Jesus’s destined sacrifice from birth.
The first Christmas was indeed marked by a profound gift exchange, one of eternal consequence. God’s gift was His Son, our Savior. The Magi’s gifts, treasures of nations, symbolized Christ’s kingship and sacrificial death.
In our contemporary Christmas gift exchange, the paramount importance lies in receiving God’s gift. The sentiment on a popular Christmas card rings true: “Wise Men Still Seek Him.” God sent Jesus Christ as our Savior, and eternal life is a free gift for everyone who believes in Him. Following this, our response should mirror the Magi’s: offering ourselves back to God in worship. Our treasure is not gold, incense, or myrrh, but our lives dedicated to His service. This spiritual gift exchange is the most meaningful transaction of Christmas.
The presents we exchange with each other are, by comparison, secondary. Giving gifts isn’t inherently wrong, of course. However, as Christians, our gift-giving should reflect God’s grace. Much of our current practice is reciprocal; we give expecting to receive. Thomas Hobbes’s famous observation, “No man giveth, but with intention of good to himself,” often rings true.
In my own family, our gift ritual has become increasingly elaborate, involving name drawings and detailed lists, often with catalog numbers and ordering information. Little is left to spontaneity, which admittedly makes it easier to get people what they need or want. But as Christians, some of our giving should transcend mere reciprocity and become truly gracious. We should actively seek opportunities to give to those genuinely in need, those who have no claim on our generosity. For when we were truly in need, without any claim on God’s grace, He bestowed upon us the greatest gift imaginable.
© 2025 Tenth Presbyterian Church. By Phil Ryken. Website: tenth.org
