The Gift Called Jesus Christ

After the Athens earthquake of September 9, they were temporarily displayed in Athens in order to strengthen faith and raise money for earthquake victims. The relics were displayed in Ukraine and Belarus in Christmas of , and thus left Greece for the first time since the 15th century.

Christian Scriptures record nothing about the biblical Magi after reporting their going back to their own country Matthew 2: Two separate traditions have surfaced claiming that they were so moved by their encounter with Jesus that they either became Christians on their own or were quick to convert fully upon later encountering an Apostle of Jesus. The traditions claim that they were so strong in their beliefs that they willingly embraced martyrdom. One tradition gained popularity in Spain during the 17th century; it was found in a work called the Chronicon of Dexter.

The tradition appears in the form of a simple martyrology reading, "In Arabia Felix, in the city of Sessania of the Adrumeti, the martyrdom of the holy kings, the three Magi, Gaspar, Balthassar, and Melchior who adored Christ. Later, this was all brought into question when historians and the Catholic hierarchy in Rome declared the work a pious forgery.

A competing tradition asserts that the biblical Magi "were martyred for the faith, and that their bodies were first venerated at Constantinople ; thence they were transferred to Milan in It is certain that when Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor Barbarossa imposed his authority on Milan , the relics there were transferred to Cologne Cathedral , housed in the Shrine of the Three Kings , and are venerated there today. There are several traditions on where the remains of the Magi are located, although none of the traditions is considered as an established fact or even as particularly likely by secular history.

Marco Polo claimed that he was shown the three tombs of the Magi at Saveh south of Tehran in the s:. In Persia is the city of Saba, from which the Three Magi set out and in this city they are buried, in three very large and beautiful monuments, side by side. And above them there is a square building, beautifully kept.

The bodies are still entire, with hair and beard remaining. Paul William Roberts provides some modern-day corroboration of this possibility in his book Journey of the Magi. Reputedly they were first discovered by Saint Helena on her famous pilgrimage to Palestine and the Holy Lands. She took the remains to the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople ; they were later moved to Milan some sources say by the city's bishop, Eustorgius I [60] , before being sent to their current resting place by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I in The Milanese celebrate their part in the tradition by holding a medieval costume parade every 6 January.

A version of the detailed elaboration familiar to us is laid out by the 14th century cleric John of Hildesheim 's Historia Trium Regum "History of the Three Kings".

In accounting for the presence in Cologne of their mummified relics, he begins with the journey of Helena , mother of Constantine I to Jerusalem, where she recovered the True Cross and other relics:. Queen Helen… began to think greatly of the bodies of these three kings, and she arrayed herself, and accompanied by many attendants, went into the Land of Ind… after she had found the bodies of Melchior, Balthazar, and Gaspar, Queen Helen put them into one chest and ornamented it with great riches, and she brought them into Constantinople The visit of the Magi is commemorated in most Western Christian churches by the observance of Epiphany , 6 January, which also serves as the feast of the three as saints.

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The Eastern Orthodox celebrate the visit of the Magi on 25 December. Qur'an omits Matthew's episode of the Magi. However, the Persian Muslim encyclopaedist al-Tabari , writing in the 9th century, gives the familiar symbolism of the gifts of the Magi. Al-Tabari gave his source for the information to be the later 7th century Perso-Yemenite writer Wahb ibn Munabbih. Holidays celebrating the arrival of the Magi traditionally recognise a distinction between the date of their arrival and the date of Jesus' birth.

The account given in the Gospel of Matthew does not state that they were present on the night of the birth; in the Gospel of Luke, Joseph and Mary remain in Bethlehem until it is time for Jesus' dedication, in Jerusalem, and then return to their home in Nazareth. Western Christianity celebrates the Magi on the day of Epiphany , January 6, the day immediately following the twelve days of Christmas , particularly in the Spanish-speaking parts of the world. According to the tradition, the Magi come from the Orient on their camels to visit the houses of all the children, much like Sinterklaas and Santa Claus with his reindeer elsewhere, they visit everyone in one night.

In some areas, children prepare a drink for each of the Magi. It is also traditional to prepare food and drink for the camels, because this is the only night of the year when they eat. In Spain, Argentina, Mexico, Paraguay and Uruguay, there is a long tradition for having the children receive presents by the three " Reyes Magos " on the night of January 5 Epiphany Eve or morning of January 6.

Almost every Spanish city or town organises cabalgatas in the evening, in which the kings and their servants parade and throw sweets to the children and parents in attendance. The cavalcade of the three kings in Alcoy claims to be the oldest in the world, having started in In the Philippines, beliefs concerning the Three Kings Filipino: The tradition of the Three Kings' cabalgada is today done only in some areas, such as the old city of Intramuros in Manila , and the island of Marinduque. Another dying custom is children leaving shoes out on Epiphany Eve, so that they may receive sweets and money from the Three Kings.

With the arrival of American culture in the early 20th century, the Three Kings as gift-givers have been largely replaced in urban areas by Santa Claus , and they only survive in the greeting "Happy Three Kings! In Paraguay, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, children cut grass or greenery on January 5 and put it in a box under their bed for the Kings' camels.

Christmas starts in December and ends in January after Epiphany, although in Puerto Rico there are eight more days of celebration las octavitas. In a campaign started in Spain over the fact that Balthazar is commonly played by a white person in blackface. Also in Catholic parts of the German-speaking world, these markings are made by the " Sternsinger " literally, " star singers " — a group of children dressed up as the magi.

An adult chaperones the group but stays in the background of the performance. After singing, the children write the three kings' initials on the door frame in exchange for charitable donations. Each year, German and Austrian dioceses pick one charity towards which all Sternsinger donations nationwide will be contributed. In the day of Epiphany, January 6, was made a holiday in Poland and thus a pre-war tradition was revived. In Spain and in Portugal where it is called Bolo-rei [75] , the cake, which is ring-shaped, is most commonly bought, not baked, and it contains both a small figurine of one of the Magi or another surprise depending on the region and an actual dry broad bean.

The one who gets the figurine is "crowned" with a crown made of cardboard or paper , but whoever gets the bean has to pay the value of the cake to the person who originally bought it. Whoever gets a figurine is supposed to organize and be the host of the family celebration for the Candelaria feast on February 2. In France and Belgium, a cake containing a small figure of the baby Jesus, known as the "broad bean", is shared within the family. Whoever gets the bean is crowned king for the remainder of the holiday and wears a cardboard crown purchased with the cake.

A similar practice is common in many areas of Switzerland, but the figurine is a miniature king. The practice is known as tirer les Rois Drawing the Kings. A queen is sometimes also chosen. In New Orleans , Louisiana , parts of southern Texas , and surrounding regions, a similar ring-shaped cake known as a " King Cake " traditionally becomes available in bakeries from Epiphany to Mardi Gras.

The baby Jesus figurine is inserted into the cake from underneath, and the person who gets the slice with the figurine is expected to buy or bake the next King Cake. There is wide variation among the types of pastry that may be called a King Cake, but most are a baked cinnamon-flavoured twisted dough with thin frosting and additional sugar on top in the traditional Mardi Gras colours of gold, green and purple.

To prevent accidental injury or choking, the baby Jesus figurine is frequently not inserted into the cake at the bakery, but included in the packaging for optional use by the buyer to insert it themselves. Mardi Gras-style beads and doubloons may be included as well. The Magi most frequently appear in European art in the Adoration of the Magi ; less often in the Journey of the Magi has been a popular subject in art, and topos , and other scenes such as the Magi before Herod and the Dream of the Magi also appear in the Middle Ages.

In Byzantine art they are depicted as Persians, wearing trousers and phrygian caps. Crowns appear from the 10th century. Despite being saints, they are very often shown without halos , perhaps to avoid distracting attention from either their crowns or the halos of the Holy Family. Sometimes only the lead king, kneeling to Christ, has a halo the two others lack, probably indicating that the two behind had not yet performed the act of worship that would ensure their status as saints. Medieval artists also allegorised the theme to represent the three ages of man. Beginning in the 12th century, and very often by the 15th, the Kings also represent the three parts of the known pre-Columbian world in Western art, especially in Northern Europe.

Balthasar is thus represented as a young African or Moor and Caspar may be depicted with distinctly Oriental features. An early Anglo-Saxon depiction survives on the Franks Casket early 7th century, whalebone carving , the only Christian scene, which is combined with pagan and classical imagery. In its composition it follows the oriental style, which renders a courtly scene, with the Virgin and Christ facing the spectator, while the Magi devoutly approach from the left side. See the list Paul gives from verse 11, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.

The word stabilises the other gifts; the word nourishes the other gifts; it focuses those gifts. Those other gifts are giving expression to that word in different ways. In the first list in the New Testament in I Corinthians Those are all to do with the word of God coming to a congregation.

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The next is in I Corinthians The next list in the New Testament is Romans The one other list consists of just two gifts mentioned by Peter in I Peter 4: Incidentally you will see that if these are the five lists of spiritual gifts in the New Testament this means there are no special gifts of music or singing mentioned anywhere. There is this overwhelming emphasis on the word gifts, and the very foundation of those is the gift of the apostles. This fact is of great practical significance in the life of the church.

If we lose sight of that then we have lost sight of the balance of Scripture. That is basic to our own understanding of the pattern of new covenantal worship. First we sing and pray to God, and then he speaks to us, and so the climactic aspect of worship is the apostolic word of God coming to us in the power of the Spirit by the man whom God has gifted and authorised for that very work. One kind of worship follows another. So the sermon is the climax of our worship.

So he took what was his and, absolutely freely, he gave those gifts to us. He is vitally interested in how I am going to use them, in other words, he holds me responsible for their exercise. What if your husband had given his very life building up that business? It was a business he had established out of nothing by his brilliance.

He worked long hours for years to make it profitable, and he had a workforce who were loyal and specially skilled. This was a business whose reputation was known all over the world. Again you must multiply by eternity. These gifts of Christ were bought by his agony and bloody sweat in Gethsemane and on Golgotha. They are blood-bought gifts and they have been freely and lovingly entrusted to you by him. Great praise to that man too: It was not stained by a drop of sweat or by any tears that had fallen on it. Was the master pleased? Listen to his words in Matthew So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?

Biblical Magi - Wikipedia

Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Whence came these things? What hand bestowed them?

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Why are we what we are? Why are we not the worms that crawl on the earth? There is only one answer to these questions: Who is this man who buried his talent? How will we know him? I tell you that he is the one who spurns the Bible or a Bible preaching church. He is the one who neglects the Sabbath. He is the one who loves the world and the things of the world, who belittles revealed orthodox doctrine and holy living, who never gives a reason for any hope he has to anyone who raises the subject of Christianity in his company. Daily he is robbing God.

He has been entrusted with much, but he makes no return. Again, listen to Ryle: Words have no meaning in the Bible if there is none: There is a judgment before us according to our works, certain, strict, and unavoidable. High or low, rich or poor, learned or unlearned, we shall all have to stand at the bar of God and receive our eternal sentence. There will be no escape; concealment will be impossible. We and God must at last meet face to face. We shall have to render an account of every privilege that was granted to us, and of every ray of light which we enjoyed; we shall find that we are dealt with as accountable and responsible creatures and that to whomsoever much is given, of them much will be required.

Let us remember this every day we live: In other words there is a very real danger that the gift we have may be well nigh useless. It may be languishing; it may be atrophied; it may be very close to extinction. If Timothy, who had had so many privileges, needed such an exhortation how much more do I, or you?

Unless we take immediate and urgent action then the character which God has given us will languish to the point of disappearance. Bunyan tells us of a pilgrim he calls Mr. Pliable who came to the Slough of Despond. He struggled for a short time and then got out on the wrong side and went back to the City of Destruction. You think of a woman whose voice was heard in the Prayer Meeting interceding for the church; it is heard no longer. You think of those who were involved in the life of the church, with the young people, in the outreach, in hospitality but are not so any longer.

The gifts were neglected and they died. It was not that that Christian passed through a time of hardship. The Puritans used to say that there were thousands more who perished in the trial of prosperity than who ever perish in the trial of adversity. The result is that these people ceased to have any further relevance in the church — either to God or man.

How can a Christian lose his gifts? If we despise the gifts of God in our own hearts. If we begin to scorn praying, or preaching, or rule and government, or initiative — those are fatal signs that our gifts begin to languish. Have you not heard the injunction not to quench the Spirit?

God has given us a certain gift, but like all gifts it is costly and makes demands on our time and our flesh and so we start to extinguish it without realising that this is what we are doing. To exercise this gift increasingly interferes with what I want to do with my life and so I quench it.

I give it no oxygen of faith and love; I turn off its life-support system and let it die. I am quenching the Spirit. I may also neglect it. I may fantasise that if Christ has given me a gift that that gift has such heavenly power that it is going to look after itself. I simply neglect it. If you neglect a house plant you know what will happen to it. If you neglect a pet you know what will happen to it. If you neglect a child you know what will happen to it.

Anything given; anything voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation; a present; an offering. The word gift inherently includes the notion of free.

When something is given to us, it cannot be called a gift unless it is given to us without compensation of any kind. Keep this in mind as we examine the word gift in the Bible:.

4:7-10 Christ The Giver, And The Gifts He Gives

Scripture tells us we simply cannot earn our way to heaven. Our good works are an imperfect means to a perfect destination. We could never be good enough to find ourselves in a place of perfection. For this reason, God has to do all the work of Salvation. Not a single good work can be applied to the task on our part, so there is absolutely nothing we could ever boast about:.

For by grace are ye saved through faith ; and that not of yourselves: Not of works , lest any man should boast.