"But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." [Gal 4:4-5]
God tells us that when the fulness of the time was come, Jesus was sent forth to earth in order that He might save us. The word “fulness” in the above passage means to be complete, to be filled up; that is, the completion of the time. We see obviously from this passage that there was no other time for Him to arrive; the exact time Jesus came into the world was the only sufficient time for such an event. It should not have happened earlier, nor later, but right when it did, so that the moment when Jesus came forth is described as “the fulness of the time.”
In God’s perfect timing, and in coordination with all of the Godhead, Jesus’ coming forth took place, who origin as Micah says, was “from of old, from everlasting.” [Mic 5:2] It should come as no surprise to us, really, that God had preordained the exact time. Certainly, He had many reasons to do so. But one in particular shows us very particularly God’s awesome character.
Jesus was born at such a moment in history when Rome essentially ruled most of the world, including Israel. This being the case, recognize that Jesus was born and grew up at a time when the most severe of capital punishments was crucifixion. This was no mistake. For many, many years prior, even before crucifixion, David and Isaiah had written in detail regarding the Messiah’s death in drastic detail, speaking of how He would die such a death. [Psa 22, Isa 53] It is stunning to come to the realization that this was planned. No doubt God could have planned for Jesus to appear at any point in history. The choice was His; for it is written, “…he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” [Dan 4:35] And The Lord Jesus, knowing He must die for our sins, did not choose to come at a time when a less brutal form of punishment was more common. No, but our Glorious King, came when the most brutal of capital punishments existed and was perfected by the Romans. Jesus could have avoided much pain; He could have died a less brutal death to pay for our sins; but He did not. No, but Jesus, The King of Glory and Bishop of our Souls, waited until crucifixion would certainly be used for His sacrificial death, which was “a sweetsmelling fragrance [to God].” [Eph 5:2]
Indeed, we have for our Savior a strong and courageous man, without fear and without compromise, whose character and integrity is beyond the strength of diamond; and not just a man, but God Himself. Let us think deeply upon this and drink from this well, for Jesus is one of great strength and great glory, a God very much worthy of all our adoration and devotion; a God who cares for us and who died for our sins and who took no shortcuts in doing so.
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