Three Wise Men

Three Wise Men

I stumble upon many fascinating discoveries in my research and I am very happy to share this story with you. How wonderful to find a story of Christ’s birth that I’ll bet few have heard. Frankincense and Myrrh are well known to everyone familiar with the story of Jesus, as two of the three gifts brought to the newborn King by three wise men. Marco Polo was pleased to have discovered in Persia new information on the legend, of the three wise men.

In Persia is the city of Saba, from which the three kings set out on their journey to adore Jesus Christ. They are buried in this city in three very large and beautiful chambers, side by side, upon each of which stands a well kept masonry tomb. Their bodies are still preserved, with the hair and beards. They are called Jasper, Belthasar and Melchior. Marco Polo asked the people of the city about the three magi but could find no could tell him more than these three wise men had been buried there long ago. Later at the castle of the fire worshippers he found a man who told him this story.

“In the distant past three Kings of this country set out to adore a prophet newly born, taking three offerings, gold, incense and myrrh, in order to discover whether this prophet was a god, a king, or a physician: they said that if he took the gold he would be a king, if he took the incense he would be a god, and if he took the myrrh he would be a physician.

When they came to the place where the child had been born, the youngest of the three men went in and found the child to be the same age as himself, and he came out astonished. After him the next, who was quite young, went in and likewise thought the child was of his own age; he too came out astonished. Then the next, who was very old, went in and he had the same experience as the other two and he came out deep in thought. They discussed the matter and all entered to see the child together. So they did, and found the child to be thirteen days old, as in fact he was.

They adored him and offered him the gold, frankincense and myrrh; He received all three offerings, this meant that Jesus is a God, a King and a physician.

Frankincense is the rarest spice on earth. At the time of the birth of Jesus, it was found only in the land of Arabia. The frankincense-bearing land is mountainous, and has a difficult terrain. Frankincense is the congealed sap of a small tree. Only the royal slaves and convicts handled it, for the conditions of the foggy damp air were unhealthy. It was harmful to those sailing by and fatal to those working there, hence the reason this incense was so highly praised and valuable.

Myrrh-producing tree is well known in Israel and Assiria. Myrrh is tapped twice a year and is used in perfumes. Myrrh was common in Egypt and used in embalming. In ancient Greek, Jewish and Roman used myrrh as medicine to prevent going bald, birth control and as an ointment to heal all maladies of the skin.

Both Frankincense and myrrh were used in wedding celebrations, as it was believed the scents enhanced lovemaking.

I hope you enjoyed this story, I have a special Christmas recipe for today. I found this on a plaque at the Lions thrift store in Yachats:

A Happy Home

Take love and loyalty; mix it thoroughly with faith.
Blend it with tenderness, kindness and understanding.
Add friendship and hope.
Now fold soft blankets over children and sprinkle with kisses.

"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!"
Crystal Hayes can be reached at crystalhayes@peak.org