Myrrh

Jesus is the Savior of the world. Jesus told Nicodemus it is by being born of the water and of the Spirit that the world is saved.

John 3:1-2 ¶There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: the same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

John 3:3,5 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God…Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

The message Jesus gave to Nicodemus that night was the gospel message. Jesus told him He would die so that the world could be saved.

John 3:14-15 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

When Jesus told Nicodemus that the Son of man would be lifted up, Jesus was speaking of the death of His human flesh on the cross.

Later, after Jesus’ death, Nicodemus brought myrrh for Jesus' burial. Myrrh is burned as incense and used in perfume. It was also used for embalming the dead.

John 19:39-40 And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.

An observation was made about the hundred pound weight of myrrh and aloes that Nicodemus brought to embalm Jesus’ body: "The quantity of the balm is extraordinary and exceeds all normal proportions. This is a royal burial."

Years earlier, when Jesus was born, wise men came seeking he that was born King of the Jews. One of the gifts that the wise men presented to Jesus was myrrh.

Matthew 2:1-2 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea 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.

Matthew 2:11 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.

How fitting the gift of myrrh: Jesus was born King of the Jews, born to die for the sin of the world. Just as the wise men offered Jesus the gift of myrrh at Jesus birth, Nicodemus also offered the gift of myrrh at Jesus death, making sure Jesus had the burial of a King.