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Herbal Gifts of The Magi
Dec
Two thousand years ago the world was changed forever. A new star appeared in the heavens to herald a long-awaited event; the birth of Israel’s Great King, the Messiah, the Son of God. Wise men from the East had long watched for the promised sign. When they saw it, they rejoiced and began their long travels to honor the newborn King.
When they arrived in Jerusalem, they presented themselves at the palace; for where else would one look for a great king?
What they found instead of a great king was Herod.
After the birth of Christ, Matthew records:
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
Saying, Where is he that is born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
This was a little unsettling to Herod who was a Roman-appointed puppet king over Israel and had no interest in being dethroned by a Messiah. He called his scribes and chief priests and demanded to know where the scriptures said the Messiah would be born. They told him that the records were clear; He would be born in Bethlehem.
So Herod put on his well-practiced, smiling politician face (the one he’d worn to kiss up to the Romans so he could be king instead of the one who should have had the job, Joseph of Nazareth, the direct, male-line descendant of King David) and told the wise men that the New King was to be born in Bethlehem. “Do let me know where you find him” he said, “So that I can come and worship him too.” As soon as the wise men had left, Herod told his soldiers to start sharpening their swords because he had a job for them to do in Bethlehem. (Matthew 2:1-9)
Having learned the prophesied location of the birth, the wise men proceeded to Bethlehem.
Matthew continues:
And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11)
You can read the rest of the story in Matthew. As one might expect, God had other plans for His Son than to be murdered by a narcissistic tyrant. So, he sent some angels down to tell the wise men Herod was a dirtbag and to tell Joseph to head to Egypt to save his family. I’d guess the wise men had already figured out that Herod was a dirtbag, after all, he knew nothing about his religion’s most important prophecies. But, having an angel tell you something can be a good motivation to take it seriously.
The gifts offered by the Magi were of significant symbolic importance. Gold, even in those days, was wonderfully valuable stuff. Even so, both frankincense and myrrh were much, much more valuable than gold. Both frankincense and myrrh are resins from trees that grow on the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa. Most of the price was due to the high shipping costs. You see, to get a pound of frankincense or myrrh, you had to pay a band of nice Bedouin fellows to sit on camels for a couple of years and travel roads thick with thieves and bandits to Arabia or Africa and back. Anyone that has actually sat on a camel for half an hour (let alone a couple of years) will understand the reason for the high shipping fees. These days frankincense and myrrh are pretty inexpensive because the nice Bedouins just put the stuff on UPS planes and you can get it in a couple of days.
In addition to the monetary value, those two resins had some important symbolic significance as well. Frankincense was regarded by many cultures, including the Jews and later, the Christians, as a substance whose aroma could help bridge the gap between Earth and Heaven. It was used in incense burned in the temple at Jerusalem and is still used in Christian and religious observances. It was believed to open the spiritual receptivity to the Divine and help man to feel the influence of God. Of course, it should help women too…but women typically need lots less help with this sort of connection than men do…but I digress.
Frankincense (often called Boswellia in the herb trade) is also a wonderful anti-inflammatory herb, especially when combined with turmeric. The two of them together have a powerful, synergistic, 1+1=3, mutually-enhancing relationship. Frankincense is also very good for respiratory illnesses like asthma and bronchitis. It has some antimicrobial effects as well. I recently learned, from a kind email from one of you, that Frankincense has a specific, deadly effect on the exact kind of tumor that has been giving me trouble this year (benign meningioma). There are several excellent studies showing this effect. How’s that for a nice Christmas present? :0). Frankincense has some important neuroprotective powers for the brain as well.
Myrrh was used by the ancients as incense and in holy ointments as well. It’s also a powerful antibiotic and was used for bacterial diseases, wounds, dental infections, and toothache. Its also an excellent anti-fungal for topical issues with ringworm or athlete’s foot. I often find it effective for gastrointestinal infections as well and for cases of gastric distress such as in IBS or Crohn’s. It has some muscle relaxant properties that can help with cramping. It was sometimes offered to those being crucified by the Romans. Mixed with vinegar or wine, it gave some relief from the pain of that horrible death. Jesus refused the offering. His was a pain that was not to be dismissed or hidden by an intoxicated stupor. The most notable use in the time of Jesus was for the embalming of the dead. Because of its cost, it was typically only used for the noblest and great.
So, what were the Wise Men saying with these three gifts as they knelt and worshipped their Savior and King?
They were saying,
Gold: “Lord you are our king and the treasures of the Earth are yours.”
Frankincense: “Lord, you are our connection to God and our advocate with the Father. Through you, we can have access to Him.”
Myrrh: “Lord you will die and sacrifice your holy life for your people.”
We still use gold and frankincense and myrrh to do good things. All three are a blessing. But only once have they been used for such an important purpose; to celebrate and honor the birth in Bethlehem and the coming of Immanuel, God with us.
I wish you all a Merry Christmas,
Doc Jones
The HomeGrown Herbalist School of Botanical Medicine.
This is great and precious. Thank you so much.
Interesting take on the gifts. Thanks. Hope you have a Merry Christmas and a healthy and happy New Year!
That was just what I needed today as I am sitting in the emergency room with my son going through some surgery complications! Thanks so much & Merry Christmas 🎄
I hope it all goes well Myra Jo. :0)
Humor and CLARITY! L love your writing!
Thank you! So beautiful! All Glory to the Lord!!! God bless you and keep you and your family♥️🙏🏻🌅✝️🕊🎶
I too gives my thanks to you and all your spiritual guides (and I am sure you have many ). Lotte
I love this article so much, Doc! You are a miracle as well. I found your telling of the story fascinating and, with your ready sense of humor, hilarious. I’m so glad, too, that you learned of the application of frankincense to that tumor. An immensely fun and wondrous Christmas to you and your family!
Thank you for that precious presentation and song with your family!!!!! Really appreciated it and Hope that you and your family have a very Merry Christmas and Healthy and Happy New Year!!!!!
Also appreciated your presentation in New York City!!!!! God’s richest blessings to you and the family!!!!!
This is just a wonderful family moment that you have shared. It is precious, innocent & reflects the true meaning of why we celebrate Christmas – the birth of our Savior, Jesus, the Christ. May the Lord bless you & your family. Thank you so much!!!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to the Jones Family! Thank you for sharing your lovely family with all of us!
Thank you ALL and MERRY CHRISTMAS from our family to you and yours too! May God continue to bless and keep us whole with will hearts to serve with compassion to ALL men and women at any time of year.
That was awesome I loved it thank you so much and please tell the children how much I appreciated their Christmas story
A very Merry Christmas and a bright. blessed and wonder filled New Year to you and yours!
Thank you for another heart-warming post.
I knew there must be a plant substance that could help you. I’m glad you found out and shared it with all of us. 🙂 Will you use it? If so, how? Topically, orally, tincture, tea….?
The funny thing is I’ve been using it A LOT recently without knowing why. Boswellia (frankincense) is one of the main ingredients in my Joint support formula. My Joint support formula works great for joint inflammation but it isn’t very tasty. I’ve taken it for years off and on when I’ve had achey joints (too many years wrassling cows puts a lot of miles on your body). It always worked really well but, as I said, tasted pretty bitter. The past couple of months it’s tasted good to me, ridiculously good like sweet, vanilla syrup. My brain apparently thinks it’s lots more important for me to take it these days than my knees ever did. I didn’t know until recently that frankincense just happened to have significant adverse effects on exactly the tumor type (beinign meningioma) that I have had growing in my noodle.
Here’s an article about that phenomenon: https://homegrownherbalist.net/2021/07/cravings-and-pharmacognosy/
Listen to your body. It knows stuff.
This touched me deeply. I am so grateful for our precious Savior, Jesus Christ! Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Love the story! You have a beautiful family. Merry Christmas everyone. May God bless you all
Merry Christmas. What a beautiful retelling of the birth of our Savior. Tell the children they did a wonderful job. The singing was great and I was very impressed with how well the girls were able to help you tell the story of the first Christmas.
Beautiful, Thank you for sharing the true meaning of Christmas. God bless you and your beautiful family this next year.
That was so sweet – thank you so much Doc Jones for sharing your family with us and BEing a source of Light in a dark world.
Glad you enjoyed it Erin.
About mid summer, I felt the inspiration to pull together these three treasures to create a unique gift box for my nephew’s Christmas present this year. The box came to me freely as a recycled cosmetics marketing package seemingly to confirm this idea as a good one. I already owned the 2 essential oils and resins. All I needed was the gold which I purchased golden $1 coins from my bank (Sacagawea $1 coin, for example). I remembered this unique presentation that you wrote about this great event. I hope you don’t mind, Doc, if I copy and use parts of it to explain the true meaning behind our Christian Christmas. I’d like to put it in the box. Thanks for your great way of putting things down in a way everyone can enjoy.
Love, love! Thank you for sharing Jesus.