How rich were the wise men, or Magi, who came to worship Jesus (Matthew 2:2)? Did they give enough money to support his rearing and ministry?
The economic status of Jesus' family was anything but rich before his birth. This situation, however, would dramatically change with the appearance of the Magi (wise men).
Before the Magi's arrival, Mary and Joseph could not afford much beyond the necessities of life given Joseph's job as a craftsman or carpenter. The family was not rich by any means but rather lived - in our modern terminology - from paycheck to paycheck.
So let’s take a look at this windfall.
The gold was the least of the three gifts in real money terms at the time.
The Three Wise Men obviously did not want to appear stingy, so let’s say they brought 10 pounds of gold at today’s price of $1,802 per ounce.
The word frankincense comes from an old French word "franc encens," which literally means "High Quality Incense.” It is a resin made from the sap of certain trees that grow in the parched Middle East.
Today solid resin frankincense can be sold for $50.86 a kilo (2.2 pounds), but probably had a higher price because of the logistics of transporting it and the primitive way it was made by hand. Let’s buy five pounds today.
Myrrh is also a resin, but usually found in liquid form as a fragrant oil. The tree it comes from is also native to the Arabian peninsula and Africa. At certain points in history myrrh was so valuable its cost was said to be the same as gold.
Today, high-quality, pure and natural myrrh costs about $20 for four-ounces. Let’s say the brought a quart or 32-ounces.
Here are the prices:
Gold = $288,320.
Frankincense = $102.00.
Myrrh = $640.00
TOTAL = $289,062.00
And while the prices may change, when Jesus still comes into someone’s life, they are suddenly, immensely and forever rich!
