Galatians 4:4a
God's Perfect Christmas Timing
Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall
Galatians 4:4a (Holman) When the time came to completion, God sent
His Son, born of a woman.
Jesus was born at precisely the right moment, "when the time came to completion." The phrase refers to a strategic instant, an appropriate time.
God carefully chose the exact day for Christ to be born on. The birth of God's Son was an earthly event in time that took place at a heaven-appointed moment and had significance in eternity.
History tells us God was converging positive and negative forces to make 4 B.C. the perfectly chosen year. At least three positive circumstances showed that the time truly had come to completion.
One, a common government. Rome ruled. The world was largely at peace. Hence, there was freedom of travel from one part of the Empire to another. Such widespread open travel between nations was not experienced again until the late 20th century.
Two millennia ago, God used freedom of travel to further His kingdom. Surely He wants us to do it again. We must not waste this opportunity.
Acts 1:8 can be more easily obeyed now than has been the case for over 16 centuries. How many countries are we taking the Gospel to? Early believers were stewards of mobile freedom in their day. We are stewards of it now.
Two, Roman roads. To connect the 113 far-flung regions of the Empire, the Roman army built over 50,000 miles of stone-paved roads. They were built so skillfully that many are still in use 2000 years later.
Their purpose was to give the army quick transport to squelch rebellions anywhere in the Empire. These roads turned into highways on which Christians carried Christ's message to the ends of the Earth.
The early believers were good stewards of transportation. How many cars, trains, or planes have we ridden recently to carry out our assigned Kingdom mission? How far would Christianity have spread if the early believers had traveled with the Gospel only as far as you and I have carried it?
Three, a common language. Greek was almost universally spoken. Alexander the Great had spread it across most of the known world. People from Europe to India knew Greek. This removed a difficult barrier to spreading the story of Jesus.
English, now for first and second language users the most spoken language on Earth, is the leading language of scientific research and international discourse, and the official language for aerial and maritime communication, the United Nations, and the International Olympic Committee. God gave early believers Greek. Has He maybe given us English to enable us to do a worldwide work for Him again?
In addition to positive circumstances that showed the right time had come for Jesus to be born, several negative influences were also at work. By the time Christ arrived, the world should have been better able to appreciate its need for Him. Centuries of human history had been allowed to elapse in order that the world might exhaust every strategy to attain its own moral deliverance.
God gave people plenty of time to work things out by ourselves, but we failed miserably. By the time Jesus came, Earth was in a terrible predicament, unable to lift itself out of a hopeless, helpless condition. Our plight was deplorable and desperate. We were in critical condition. For life's real problems the ancients had found no help in any of these failed experiments.
One, the arts failed. Ancient Greeks founded Western culture, excelling in oratory, poetry, painting, and music. Greek architecture and sculpturing fascinate the modern mind. But morally it was all for naught. What good are the arts if they point us only to ourselves? We cannot deliver us. We need help from beyond ourselves. The arts ultimately help us if they point us to the one Artist who can save us.
Two, education failed. Greeks were the first to study botany, medicine, physics, and zoology on a scientific basis. Greece produced the world's first gifted historians and mathematicians. All this knowledge failed to save their civilization. Without God, education produces knowledgeable, well-schooled individuals who often fail morally and do not understand how to know Jesus.
Three, government failed. Rome brought political peace, but very form of government had been tried in vain to bring about personal peace. Conquerors tried war; Greece tried democracy; Roman law influenced European law; governments lifted the standard of living and promoted commerce, but all for naught in the moral realm.
The combined efforts of Israel, Greece, Rome, and every other government failed to lift humanity from the muck and mire of immorality and cruelty. When Jesus came, the world was facedown in hopelessness because mankind had tried in vain every form of government they could invent to deliver themselves.
Four, philosophy failed. Greece produced the world's best humanistic thinkers. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are a trilogy modern philosophers try in vain to excel.
Yet, even these three could not keep their country from dying of self-indulgent evil. What good are ideas if they do not lead us to serving Jesus, the only idea that can rescue us?
Five, recreation failed. To escape reality, societies often become excessive lovers of pleasure. Greeks were the first to hold athletic games, and to hunt and fish on a large scale for fun. Rome observed over 100 holidays a year. In Rome's Circus Maximus, which seated over 150,000, chariot races were held, and spectators bet on charioteers. People regularly spent much time at the gymnasiums, a system very similar to our modern day health clubs.
Fun is not a panacea. Relaxation and mental diversion will not solve the serious problems of society. An old saying says many go fishing, not knowing it's not the fish they are after. They long for something more and deeper.
Six, religion failed. Massive numbers of Greeks and Romans lost faith in their mythological religion, and turned to Oriental religions for spiritual aid and comfort. These beliefs also left them empty. Even Judaism, having God's law and God's word, became corrupt. Religion in all its forms had had ample opportunity, but had proven to be utterly powerless in lifting us up.
The primary difference between Christianity and other religious systems is; others are people's attempt to reach God; Christianity is God's attempt to reach people. It's about God becoming flesh to save us.
Arts, education, government, philosophy, recreation, religion—all these experiments failed to redeem humanity, but the sad truth is; the main thing we learn from history is that we don't learn from history. Thousands of years of unsuccessful repetition should speak clearly to us, but we still try to save us.
Useless schemes of yesteryear are constantly resurrected to fail again. Arts, education, government, philosophy, recreation, and religion have all been tried time and time again. They will not help.
Apart from the saving power of Jesus, the world will continue to grow worse. Our only hope for salvation is Jesus' blood. A society's life can be good only as long as it adheres to Biblical principles. People try everything else, rejecting the fact Jesus died "when the time came to completion", at the very moment on which history and eternity hinge.
We know God loves us for He sent His only begotten Son to come live among us, and die for us. We were helplessly sick people who had no hope of recovery. We were totally unable to rescue ourselves from the devastating effects of the Fall. We know God loves us because Jesus came to help us when we could not help ourselves.
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