I’m taking a short breath, today and tomorrow, to give added detail to the early life of Jesus. So far we have him prophesied, angelically announced, given a mother and surrogate father, born, welcomed at the temple, sought by Magi…and by Herod, moved in the night to Egypt, and later moved to Nazareth.
The opening acts of this divine drama are established. Now Jesus faces what every little boy faces in life…growing up! So while he grows up a bit, this wonderfully full of history verse in Galatians 4:“But when the time had fully come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.”
“When the time had fully come:” Wonderful, suggestive phrase. What does it mean? What I’m going to suggest is that God is incredibly organized and prepared for his salvation plan. Jesus was born into a time that was fully ripe for him and his message, as it wasn’t before, and did not remain after.
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For the first time the “known world” was at peace. The Roman peace extended from India to the Atlantic; from the fertile northern edge of the Mediterranean and Atlantic Sahara to the boundaries of the Germanic barbarians. That meant no wars of conquest to disrupt trade and communication, no preoccupation of empire with matters at its borders. This condition would not last for long. The attention of the known world was available!
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For the first time the known world shared a common language…Koine Greek, the language of trade and empire. That meant that ideas could be universally shared and understood, that written documents could be disseminated and universally understood. The message could be easily spread!
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For the first time, the known world had a reliable, stable transportation system…the Roman roads. Wherever the Roman legions went, they built roads to support their logistical train. Then governors of specific areas added secondary roads. The impact was tremendous! Journeys that had taken weeks now took days. For the first time we see the emergence of fads of fashion and hairstyle throughout the known world. Even jokes traveled quickly from one end of the empire to the other. Ideas and news could be spread from end to end of the empire at a rate hitherto only imagined.
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Perhaps most importantly, it became universally recognized that the old Gods, the mythologies of the Greeks and the Romans, and the strange gods of the Egyptians along with the fertility cults of the Semitic peoples, had lost their power. Religion had become only that…religion. And its promotion was more out of civic pride or duty than out of passion or faith. It was recognized by the historians of that day that the empire was wandering in a spiritual desert, thirsty for the water of life.
Those four conditions, brought about by God’s stewardship of history, created the “fullness of time,” the fertile ground for the rapid and sure spread of the gospel of God’s salvation. Jesus didn’t just “happen” to be born when he was. God prepared carefully and fully so that Jesus came into a world almost pregnant with need and anticipation.
This makes me think…if God is so careful and ready with the big matters of the kingdom, he surely is prepared for my needs, in my life, in this time. I think that there is a moment in each person’s life when it is their “fullness of time,” when suddenly the light clicks on and they are called to either follow or wander. In fact, for me each day is a fullness of time so that I can daily determine to follow and to be obedient to the path God has set me on. He never deserts me, and he will never leave you.
Prayer: “Great master of time, how fabulous it is to see how you plan and work and bring about just the right result at just the right time. Great God, be the master of my time and accomplish your purpose fully in my life. Moderate my impatience and my attempts to run ahead before all is ready. Grant that I might be filled with your peace, and with the calm assurance that you have all things under control. Help me walk my life simply…and in faith. Amen”