God's Perfect Timing

But when the fullness of time had come...

Christmas Question 1: Why was Jesus born so long ago?

(Galatians 4:4 – Part 1, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, December 3, 2017)

Two ways of looking at our question: Dismissing what is old, Doubting that Jesus reigns now

Why was Jesus born so long ago? This question might be asked by different people who have slightly different concerns. For instance, one person might assume that newer events are always more important than older events. How could anything that happened 2000 years ago be all that relevant to life today? Another person might not been thinking of history at all, but might feel the distress of the present moment so deeply that he or she would like Jesus to be born today so that help would be with us now. Both of these people might miss what Paul was referring to when he wrote to the churches in Galatia placing the birth of Jesus at “the fullness of time.”

Controversy among the churches of Galatia at the turning point of the history of the world

In the first century, Galatia was a sizable region in modern-day Turkey that was largely a non-Jewish part of the Roman empire. When Paul and his companions had brought the message of Jesus to these Gentiles, many had come to believe that He was the Redeemer for the world. They had received Him as their Savior and Lord, and the churches that began among them were vibrant places of spiritual life. Then some Jewish Christians came to visit them and urged them that they needed to follow the Old Testament patterns of life in order to be accepted as true followers of Jesus. Paul wrote the book of Galatians in order to counteract this error. The “fullness of time” came when God's purposes in the Old Testament world were coming to a conclusion in the gift of a Messiah. The time of preparation for the eternal King of the Jews was over. The Savior of the Jews would be the Savior of the world. People like the Galatian tribes would find hope in Jesus. For the rest of human history, the Lord would use His church as ambassadors of Christ, bringing the message of hope to all the people groups of the earth.

If Jesus had come earlier or later – understanding God's sense of timing from 4000 years ago

Only God could know the right historical moment in history for the coming of Jesus. The ancient Greek language of the New Testament gives us two different words for time. One, chronos, from which we get the word chronological, is used to describe the movement of time through the months and years of history. The second word, kairos, means an opportune moment for decision or action. This second word is used by Paul in Romans 5:6 when he says, “While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” In Galatians 4:4 Paul is talking about chronological time, but by combining “chronos” with the word translated “fullness,” the two kinds of time come together in the hands of God who is in charge of everything. Only the Lord of time would know when the succession of chronos had come to the exact kairos for the coming of Jesus. That moment of change would be “the fullness of time.” If Jesus had come before that moment, it would have been too early. If he had been born centuries in the future it would have been too late. The reason is that God is in charge of time with His own sense of divine purpose. He knows what He intends to accomplish, and therefore He knew what needed to happen through the Old Testament centuries of preparation and then immediately following the coming of Christ in the New Testament centuries of mission.

Let me illustrate God's perfect sense of timing using another Biblical event, the giving of the Promised Land of Canaan to the Jews. 4000 years ago (2000 BC) God revealed to Abraham (Abram) in a vision what would take place centuries later in the days of Moses. He said in Genesis 15:13–16, “[13] … Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. [14] But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. [15] As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. [16] And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” God had a reason for the delay, and He had a purpose for Abraham's life. He also had a plan for all the Amorites that lived in the land of Canaan in the centuries between Abraham and Moses. Giving that land to Abraham in his day would not have been the right timing. Other events in God's plan for Jews and Gentiles needed to take place.

The logical fallacy of chronological snobbery and the necessity of the last 2000 years

Back to the issue of the timing of the first Christmas. Why so long ago? Can everything from ancient days be so old as to be irrelevant? Only if we consider modern man the measure of everything. This prideful view of history has been called “chronological snobbery” and it is a logical fallacy. It falls apart completely when we remember that time is in God's hands and He is working out His purposes. These last 2000 have not been a waste of time. The Lord determined that He would bring the true meaning of the coming of Jesus to all the people groups of the earth by using weak and broken people as His ambassadors. They would go to far-off lands and do what some of the missionaries of our church are working on today as they live among various tribes, learning their languages and cultures, and speaking the life-giving message of a Jewish Messiah to people who need to know how they can have peace with God. This all has taken time, and it has involved lives like yours, as people were raised up by the Almighty to believe, worship, pray, give, obey, and rejoice as God's purposes have been progressively accomplished.

God as Creator of time and Ruler over perfect timing in every life and in the history of the world

But what about those who are desperate for Christmas to take place right now. We can understand their urgency. In an age when so many things seem dangerous or just plain wrong, or when people are struggling with the present and the future, we surely understand that it might seem better to have the skies filled with angels right now announcing this miraculous birth. We understand that people want an experience of hope here and now, and not 2000 years ago in a village called Bethlehem. Is there an error in this desire?

God is not more distant today because we cannot hold Him as a baby. That baby had a life. He demonstrated who He was and He did what He came to do. His death only needed to happen once and His resurrection and ascension were real. This Jesus has all power and authority as He reigns from highest heaven. He may seem far away, but He is very near you. Paul says in Romans 10:9-9, “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” The Spirit of the Lord is at work in your heart, and in your worship. He is not distant in today's societal and personal trials. He is as near, and He is at work. One day we will see with our eyes what we are called now to believe in our hearts and sing with our mouths.

God's salvation comes at just the right time—both in your life and in the turning of the ages from the era of preparation (OT), to the season of mission (NT), and on to the eventual moment of the second coming. God's Christmas timing is perfect. Three ideas for this moment of kairos today: 1. Prepare for Christmas by reading a gospel account and seeing the turning point of history in the coming of Jesus at just the right time. 2. Prepare for Christmas by praying to God, thanking Him for the way that He has governed your life as a chosen part of the history of the world and a life that really matters. 3. Prepare for Christmas by daily using your gifts in worship and in life.