In Paul’s fiery defense of salvation by grace through faith, apart from works of the law, to disciples in Galatia, he asserts that by grace we are heirs. In that discussion, he said this:
Galatians 4:4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law… (NIV)
I don’t think that Paul was implying that God was waiting around for just the right time. What he was directly saying was, God is sovereign over time. The right time was not accidental, but purposeful. It was the fullness of time because God declared it so. Nevertheless, it’s helpful to make a couple of observations about that time, by looking at two dominant rulers at the time of Jesus’ birth.
First, there is Herod (the Great). He was a consummate political animal. He was Idumaean by birth but raised as a Jew. In order to seem legitimate as King of the Jews, he married Mariamne, from the ruling Jewish line of the Hasmoneans. He learned to adroitly “kiss up” to the Romans, who let him rule Israel.
Herod was also a great builder, whose buildings included the port of Caesarea Maritima, the palace in Jerusalem, Masada, and most notably, the Temple.
All of that was overshadowed by his ruthless paranoia. He had Mariamne and three of his sons executed (along with many others), out of fear that they were plotting against him. Augustus once said of the kosher tyrant, “It is better to be Herod’s pig than his son.” As Herod’s death approached, he ordered his officials to Jericho, intending to have them all killed at his death. Josephus says that he wished to make sure people mourned at his death. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed when Herod died. Herod is best known, however, for his despicable part in the nativity story(1). It is hard to imagine a less worthy recipient of the appellation “Great,” or title, King of the Jews! Yet he was there in the fullness of time, when the truly great King of the Jews was born.
Now, turn to Octavian. Born to Roman aristocracy, whose maternal uncle was Julius Caesar, Octavian became the first Emperor of Rome. Taking his uncle’s surname, which became a title, and adding a word that meant exalted, He became Caesar Augustus. The Greco-Roman world he ruled gave us three important aspects used by God and the early church.
Greek as a common language (the New Testament was written in Greek).
Safe travel by road and sea (Roman roads can still be found).
Pax Romana (Peace of Rome), though often brutal, opened the world for the spread of the Message of Jesus.
With Augustus came the beginning of the emperor cult. It was a cult that would not tolerate rival kings and claimed Caesar as lord. This would lead to the death of Jesus, and persecution of the church. An ancient city in western Turkey, called Priene sought to ingratiate Rome by changing its calendar to coincide with Octavian’s birth, writing:
“Since Providence, which has ordered all things and is deeply interested in our life, has set in most perfect order by giving us Augustus, whom she filled with virtue that he might benefit humankind, sending him as a savior, both for us and for our descendants, that he might end war and arrange all things, and since he, Caesar, by his appearance (excelled even our anticipations), surpassing all previous benefactors, and not even leaving to posterity any hope of surpassing what he has done, and since the birthday of the god Augustus was the beginning of the good tidings [gospel—εὐαγγέλιον] for the world that came by reason of him…”
Augustus wasn’t Herod, but he wasn’t Jesus, either. The birth of Jesus also brought about a new calendar (still with us), marking the year of the Lord (Anno Domini—AD), the true Lord.
All of this and more was part of God’s time. He is still the sovereign of history, and its climax will come in His time, not ours. In 1719, the great English hymn writer, Isaac Watts, wrote a meditation on Psalm 98. That meditation became the marvelous carol, “Joy to the World.” Yet, Watts was not writing a Christmas carol, rather, he had the return of Jesus in mind. Watts reminds us that we live in between the two comings of the true KING! We can’t predict when and shouldn’t try (that’s the Father’s business). What we can do is pray with the early church Maranatha and be ready by doing His will. If the Messiah comes in my lifetime, I would far rather He finds me caring for the least of those, His brothers, and sisters, than on a mountaintop looking skyward! Here we find the true Christmas time.
Tim Kelley
(1) Although Matthew is the only source of the “slaughter of the innocents,” the death of the young children in Bethlehem might go unnoticed by historians, but would be in keeping with Herod’s known character. I encourage you to watch Peter Ustinov’s powerful, but uncomfortable portrayal of Herod in the miniseries, “Jesus of Nazareth.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru1gKBmgqvk