Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11 ESV)
Jobs
To-Do-Lists are both wonderful and dreadful. They are wonderful because they help ensure that the jobs that need to get done are completed. Perhaps nothing will slip through the cracks. Perhaps everything will be within my abilities. They are dreadful because every To-Do-List carries an accusation that every job will not be completed. Something will slip through the cracks. Something will end up being too hard.
The Messiah had three jobs. Theologians sometimes refer to them as His Offices. He is Prophet He is Priest. He is King.
God delegated authority on earth to Prophets, Priests, and Kings. More than merely jobs, those roles were God’s connection to His People. Prophets speak on behalf of God to His people. Priests represent God’s people to God. And the King centralizes God’s authority on earth as it is in heaven.
God’s authority, delegated to humans on earth, though, always had trouble.
Most of the political, social, and interpersonal conflicts in the Bible occurred because the office bearers were unable to have unity with the other offices. Prophets argued with Kings. Kings tyrannically interfered with Priests. Priests ignored the words of the prophets.
If someone could combine the offices, effective stewardship of God’s authority would have resulted. But no human had ever been able to be all three.
Whenever humans tried, we failed disastrously. Think of King Saul. Think of Herod. Think of Gehazi. Think of every emperor in the Bible.
But the Messiah, because He was born uniting human and divine, was able to be all three.
That is why the magi brought those particular gifts. They symbolize the Christ-child’s three jobs.
God’s authority on earth is more effective because of the Incarnation. God’s authority on earth is more unified because of the Incarnation. God’s authority on earth is more helpful because of the Incarnation.
The Incarnation gives us the Prophet we need, the Priest we need, and the King we need.