Myrrh and Its Significance in the Bible

There are three important mentions of myrrh in the New Testament. First, it is one of the three gifts brought to Jesus by the Magi, men that today are often called the Three Kings or the Three Wise Men of the Christmas story. Second, before Jesus was nailed to the cross He was offered a mixture of wine and myrrh which He refused. Myrrh mixed with wine was widely used in ancient cultures as an anti-inflammatory and as an analgesic, something to deaden pain. When Jesus refused to drink this mixture, He chose to experience the terrible suffering of crucifixion with His senses intact. Third, after Jesus died on the cross, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took Jesus’ body and wrapped it in long sheets of linen with about 75 pounds of a mixture of myrrh and aloes. This process was the Jewish burial custom, and the myrrh with aloes acted as an astringent and the fragrance would counteract the odor once the body started to decay.
Jesus died on the cross, but His body did not decay! Three days after He was crucified He rose from the dead!