When the Fullness of Time Had Come
We all spend a lot of our lives waiting for things. Have you ever found yourself in a season of waiting, wondering when God would finally move in your situation? When we look at Scripture, we see that waiting is often part of God's perfect plan.
The Long Wait for the Messiah
When we look back into the Old Testament, we find the prophets proclaiming that one day the Messiah would come. They spent their whole lifetimes waiting and generations and hundreds of years passed. The nation of Israel in the Old Testament had waited for centuries for the Messiah to come. They endured the Babylonian captivity, when the people of Israel had been taken captive in a foreign land for 70 years.
And they waited and they prayed for the Messiah, the Christ, to come. And once they were set free, they were able to return to their homeland. But then they were attacked by neighboring nations. And then prophets prophesied that one day the Messiah would come.
After the prophet Malachi's final words, there were 400 years of silence, 400 years of continued waiting. And then, as the Apostle Paul beautifully summarizes in Galatians 4, "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those who were under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons."
The Fullness of Time: God's Perfect Moment
What made this the "fullness of time"? From a casual observer's perspective, there were several factors that made this the greatest time in history for the Messiah to come.
The fullness of time coincided with the Pax Romana, the golden age of the Roman Empire. The dates of the Pax Romana wrap right around the birth of Jesus and the early days of the spread of the Christian church. It's dated from Caesar Augustus, who took the reign in 27 BC and lasted until AD 180. These 200 years were the period of the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus and the initial spread of the Good News throughout the early known world.
Looking back on that era, we can see definite advantages to having the Messiah come during the Pax Romana. At that time, you could travel 3,000 miles and every place you went had the same language, the same culture, the same traditions, the same money, the same governmental structure, the same music, the same literature, and the same arts. What an amazing time. And it was just perfect for the spread of the good news of God's salvation to the whole known world.
The Roman Roads and Seas: Highways for the Gospel
The Roman Empire established a uniform rule of law, common currency, and secured travel and trade throughout the Empire and the Mediterranean Sea. Before the Roman Empire, the Mediterranean was plagued by piracy and warfare. But when the Roman Empire came, it put an end to war and an end to piracy on the Mediterranean Sea.
This changed everything. No longer were travelers afraid of pirates or sea battles. Free trade flourished everywhere. But it wasn't just the seas, the Romans also built an incredible network of roads.
They built 250,000 miles of roads that connected every place in the empire. These weren't double track, dirt and mud roads like what happened after the Roman Empire all over Europe. These Roman roads were something impressive.
When you follow the missionary journeys of Paul and map them out over the Roman road system, you see that Paul traveled by water and when he landed at a port, he just got on the Roman roads. The towns that he visited were just the towns that happened to be on those roads all up and down the empire.
God's Narrowing Focus Through Prophecy
God's plan for the Messiah wasn't just about timing, it was also about lineage, location, and circumstances. In Genesis 12, God told Abraham, "Leave your country and your people and your father's household and go to the land that I will show you, and I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you. And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
He's telling Abraham that one day there's going to be in your lineage a Messiah that comes and the whole world will be touched with the personhood of God.
The prophets further narrowed down the Messiah's identity:
He would come through the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Numbers 24:17)
He would be born as a child (Isaiah 9:2-6)
He would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2-4)
He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14)
A messenger would prepare his way (Malachi 3:1)
God Speaks to Key People
As the time approached, God began to speak to key people to let them know that the miracle is about to happen. He spoke to Mary, telling her she would give birth to the Messiah. Though she was young, poor, and female, three strikes against her in that culture, Mary responded with faith, "Let it be done according to your word."
God also spoke to Joseph in a dream, telling him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife. And on the night of Jesus' birth, God chose to speak first to shepherds outside Bethlehem. The shepherds witnessed a multitude of the heavenly host praising God before going to find the baby Jesus.
Life Application: God Is Speaking to You
You might think, "God never speaks to me." But here's the truth: God is speaking to you right now. And he's saying to you, “I want you to know the Messiah who came to save the world.”
If you were the only person who had ever been born in this world, Jesus is saying to you, “I would have come just for you. If there were just one person in the world, and it was you, I would have given my life just for you.” That's what God is saying right here to every single person.
What is God saying to us through this Christmas story?
Like the prophets of old, believe that God's plan will be fulfilled. The dreams that God has given you and the plans that God has given you, some of those will happen in this life, but some may happen in the future. God is just getting started in this world.
Like Simeon, wait on the Lord. We spend a lot of our lives waiting. And I think one of the things that God is speaking to us is about this very thing. The wise thing to do is to wait on the Lord, trusting the Lord's goodness every step of the way.
Like Mary and Joseph, trust the Lord's guidance. Trust what this word has to say, because even if it looks tough right now, God will carry it through.
Like the shepherds, when you hear the good news, share it. The shepherds just told the people around them. That's what he's calling us to do. Just tell the people that we know. Be Jesus for other people. Let them see Jesus in us.
This Christmas season, remember that God is speaking to you, saying, "I sent you my son so that salvation could come to the world. Now your job is to take this message and tell the world."
Reflection
In what areas of your life are you currently waiting for God to move or fulfill a promise?
How does knowing that God worked through centuries of preparation before sending Jesus affect your perspective on waiting?
What "fullness of time" moments have you experienced in your life when God's timing became clear in retrospect?
Like the prophets who never saw the fulfillment of their prophecies in their lifetime, how might God be using you for purposes that extend beyond what you'll personally witness?
Application
God speaks to us today just as he spoke to the shepherds, Mary, Joseph, and Simeon. Like the prophets of old, believe that God's plan will be fulfilled, even if you don't see it in your lifetime. Like Simeon, wait on the Lord with patient expectation. Like Mary and Joseph, trust the Lord's guidance even when his calling brings challenges. And like the shepherds, when you hear the good news, share it with those around you.
This Christmas season, recognize that God is speaking to you, saying, "I sent my Son so that salvation could come to the world." You don't need to travel far like Paul did, simply tell the people around you. Be Jesus for others. Let them see His light in you. What better time than Christmas to say, "Here's the Jesus that I know"?
Prayer
Gracious God, in this Christmas season, we celebrate the sending of your Son in the fullness of time. Thank you for your perfect plan that unfolded across centuries and culminated in Jesus' birth. Help us to wait patiently for your timing in our lives. Give us the faith of the prophets who believed without seeing, the patience of Simeon who waited expectantly, and the trust of Mary and Joseph who followed your guidance despite difficulties. Like the shepherds, fill us with joy and boldness to share the good news with others. Make us your hands and feet in this world, reflecting the light of Jesus to everyone we meet. In Jesus' name, Amen.
