But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law…(Galatians 4:4).
Usually, when we contemplate the sacrifice of Jesus Christ we are drawn to the cross. It’s good that we align divine sacrifice with Calvary because there is an eternity’s worth of things (physical, spiritual, mental, and even metaphysical) to be grateful for and ponder on. But the cross is not where the sacrifice began.
Think for a moment about what we believe about heaven. It’s the perfect place.
- Perfect home
- Perfect ambiance
- Perfect culture
- Perfect society
- Perfect company
And Jesus left it all behind to save us all from our sin. The sacrifice began with the Incarnation.
The word translated “fullness” (πληρωμα) was also used in John 1:16 (for from his fullness we have all received), Ephesians 4:13 which speaks of attaining to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, and Romans 15:29 where Paul speaks of coming to Rome “in the fullness of the blessing of Christ. Obviously, in these instances “fullness” means drawing from a perfect and complete source.
So when Galatians 4:4 speaks of the “fullness of time” it means that the timing of Christ’s arrival could not possibly have been better. There was no time that could have been a better time for the Incarnation.
The world wasn’t perfect when “God sent forth his Son,” and neither were its inhabitants. But it was absolutely and unequivocally the perfect time to send Him. It could not and would not ever be better. And frankly, when you consider the implications…it is quite astounding. It is astounding on at least two fronts.
First, the Incarnation is astounding because it is so humbling. God deemed the perfect time to be not this time. Every generation thinks it is better than the previous one. New and shiny must be better than ancient and faded. Every generation thinks it is smarter, wiser, and just plain better than its predecessor. Yet there it is, on our smartphone Bible apps telling us that 2,000 years ago was a better time for the Incarnation than now or even two thousand years further out in time.
All of our technology, medical advancements, scientific discoveries, and intellectual progress was deemed inadequate by God when He considered the perfect time to reveal the plan of salvation. Think about this. The perfect time to reveal the Son of God was when there was no running water anywhere in the world, no electricity, no cars, trains, or planes to get you where you wanted to go, no radio to listen to, and no social media…anywhere.
There was no democracy on the planet. No one believed in evolution. “Rights” were exclusively for the rich and powerful. Lawbreakers were dealt with swiftly and brutally. And yet God saw the totality of time and deemed 2,000 years ago to be the absolute perfect time to send us Jesus.
Humbling.
I fully understand why we Americans call those who lived through World War II “the greatest generation.” But apparently, God sees things differently. That wasn’t the right time to send Jesus and neither is now. But two thousand years ago was. Again I say…humbling.
The timing of the Incarnation is astounding also because it is enlightening.
This is simply taking the first point to its logical conclusion. If two thousand years ago was the perfect time for God to send His Son then contrary to the belief of all the progressives…mankind isn’t creeping toward self-actualization and perfection.
From Plato to Darwin to Roddenberry, we’ve been told relentlessly that it is only a matter of time until humanity perfectly evolves creating heaven on earth. This explains why liberals and progressives absolutely hate Christmas. By its very nature, Christmas is an indictment of the notion that mankind is inching ever so incrementally closer to perfection on its own. If God believes that 2,000 years ago was a better time to send Jesus than today (or tomorrow) then no matter what we think of ourselves we weren’t ever going to create either Utopia or heaven on earth.
Jesus was born in a world and time that was hard to live in. From geopolitics to the weather it was all hard and harsh. For goodness' sake, Pilate openly admitted that he found no guilt in Jesus and yet still had him crucified. Yet, it was perfect timing.
Some people wait. They wait for more information. They wait for better circumstances. They wait for some kind of perfect alignment that comes with a flashing neon sign.
God waited for the perfect time to send His only-begotten Son. It came and went. Now there is no perfect time. Now there is only time running out. Which is why Paul would later say,
[N]ow is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2).
What are you waiting for? The perfect time?
