Galatians 4:4

December 25 2012 Christmas Day Sermon

It's About Time!

⁴But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,

Sermon

A small boy kept asking his daddy to help him build a tree house in the backyard. The man said he would "when he had the time." However, each time the boy asked, his daddy was involved in a business meeting, a golf date, some pressing job around the house, or a social engagement. One day the boy was hit by a car and in critical condition in the hospital. Sadly, as the man stood by his son's bedside, the boy's last words were, "Well, Daddy, I guess we'll never get to build our tree house." Of course, the boy did not want a tree house half as much as he wanted the love and the time of his father.

In Jonathan Swift's amazing book Gulliver's Travels, written almost three hundred years ago, the hero of the story, Gulliver, finds himself on an island inhabited by tiny Lilliputians. These small creatures comment on this giant's god that looks like a pocket watch. The Lilliputians notice that Gulliver, the giant, seldom did anything without consulting his god, the watch. It was his oracle. It pointed out the time for every action of his life.

Time. Short on time. Not enough time. Ran out of time. You've heard them all and said them all. What's this sermon about? It's about time.

The wonderful news at Christmas time is this:

God Is above Time

and Uses Time for His Eternal Purposes.

I.

Time consumes us. Whether like the busy dad who ignored his son or like Gulliver and his god, our lives are consumed by time and concerns about time. "Too many things to do, not enough time" may be our life's motto.

Our sermon text from Galatians tells us: "But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth his Son" (Gal 4:4). This is talking about the birth of Jesus.

"The fullness of time" is a wonderful phrase. One could say that it means not too early, not too late, but just at the right time. The time was "full." Imagine that you are very thirsty and that you've poured yourself a tall glass of water. You filled the glass to the very top. The water is not running over, but it is filling the glass so well that even one more drop would cause it to run over the lip of the glass. The glass is full. It's just right. How was the time full when Jesus was born that first Christmas? Why did God the Father send God the Son at the time he did?

Over the years, biblical scholars and world historians have strived to unpack this "fullness of time" phrase from Galatians 4. Here, in brief, are a few of their ideas.

The conquests of Alexander the Great. Alexander III of Macedon, who destroyed the Persian Empire, soon became the ruler of the civilized world of his day. With the spread of his kingdom came the spread of his language—Greek. Soon, all the known world used Greek as the common language, the "lingua franca." Wherever one traveled, people could communicate in Greek. Consequently, when Jesus came into the world, he met a world that shared a common language. Whether his message was taken to Spain, Egypt, Turkey, or Italy, there would be people who could understand it, if it were proclaimed in Greek. Surely this is why the New Testament was written in Greek and the Old Testament was translated into Greek. Surely the heavenly Father used Alexander's kingdom to prepare the world for the Savior's birth. It was the fullness of time.

Roman unity. At Alexander's death, his empire began to crumble. Four of his generals struggled for control of various parts of the kingdom. Wars and conflicts were everywhere. But then, in 63 BC, control was won by the newest world power—Rome. Soon, Roman rule welded together the divided kingdom. This new, unified empire needed to be counted, a census taken, and it was this census that brought Joseph and Mary to their ancestral town, the place the Messiah was to be born, the little town of Bethlehem.

What's more, in a unified kingdom, this flourishing Roman Empire, travel was easy and safe. Law and order ruled the land. Not before or after had this part of the world enjoyed such an extended period of peace. This was called the Pax Romana—the Roman peace. Due to such peace, Jesus, as well as his disciples who followed after him, could travel freely to spread the Gospel. Jesus could accomplish so much in his three shorts years of ministry. His disciples could soon start new churches all over the Roman empire. Surely the heavenly Father used Rome's temporal peace to spread the news of his eternal peace. It was the fullness of time.

The Roman roads. The Roman ruler Caesar Augustus commissioned workers to build a network of military roads from one end of the kingdom to the other. Such building projects could only take place in a time of peace. Some suggest the foundations of these ancient roads made possible the European superhighways. These roads provided easy access to all corners of the Roman Empire, ensuring speed of travel for military and economic purposes. But these were also the roads Mary and Joseph traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem. And how wonderful that later these very roads, built for a military and economic kingdom, should be the pathways used by the messengers of God's kingdom of peace. How difficult, if not impossible, would travel have been for Peter, Paul, and all the others if not for these roads. Surely the heavenly Father used Roman roads for his purposes. It was the fullness of time.

The Hebrew dispersions. After the fall of Israel (which came before Alexander the Great), God's people were scattered all over the Assyrian and then Babylonian and then Persian empires. This was done to assimilate them into the culture of their conquerors. They had to find a way to keep their faith alive. It was at this time that these scattered peoples, each in their own area, began the synagogues. The very name synagogue means "the gathering together." Here in these synagogues, the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament) were studied. Here in these synagogues was kept alive the hope for the Messiah. Now, here is a question for you. Where was it that Jesus and his disciples after him first went to share the Gospel of the Messiah who had come? It was to these synagogues spread all over the civilized world. It was in these places that the Gospel message first took shape into the Christian Church. These scattered places of people searching the Hebrew Scriptures, waiting for the Messiah, became the bases of operations for the quickly growing Christian faith. Surely the heavenly Father used the dispersions (which were meant to destroy Israel) to spread the Good News of the Savior of Israel and the entire world. It was the fullness of time.

The good news for us is this: in days past and even today, it is the fullness of time. Our loving God is the Lord of time and history. Our times are in his almighty hands. Here we find great comfort for our lives today, whatever faces us. If our heavenly Father can use the kingdoms and events of world history to accomplish his purposes, surely he can use the events in our lives today to care for us and to accomplish his will for us. We have a mighty and loving God. Our times are in his hands. Even when our fleshly eyes cannot see it, our spiritual eyes can see: God will take care of us. God's lordship over time and his timing in our lives is for our good. But there is more.

St. Paul tells us, "While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly" (Rom 5:6). In Christ Jesus, almighty God took time for us. In Christ Jesus, almighty God broke into time and at the cross defeated sin, death, and the devil. And he did this for us! We who by nature have no time for God, who are too busy not only for our own sons but for his, too, who time and time again rebel against him, who deserve his eternal wrath, instead receive his love and mercy. God tells us through the prophet Isaiah, "In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you" (Is 54:8). This is the timeless message of Christmas!

The wonderful radio personality Paul Harvey shared this following Christmas story. A family was all ready to leave the house for the evening worship service. Just as the mother and children were at the door, the father declared, "I'm not going. It just doesn't mean anything to me anymore. It just doesn't make any sense to me anymore—all this Christmas and Jesus and all the rest. You and the kids go. I'm staying here." Mother and children left. The man made a cup of tea. He sat in his living room chair, staring into the large window watching the blinding snow that had just begun. Then he heard a loud "thump" as if something had been thrown against the window. The same sound soon followed, and in anger the man ran outside to discover the culprit. What he found was not what he had expected. Lying in the snow below the window were two small birds. They had obviously been confused by the sudden storm and had flown blindly into the window, seeing only the light in the house. Looking around, the man saw a number of little birds huddled near a tree. They seemed to him to be getting ready to make the same mistake the dead birds had made.

"What am I going to do to save you poor things?" the man cried. He tried to scare the birds away by waving his arms, but to no avail. He tried to bring them to safety by opening his shed and turning on the light, but they wouldn't go into the shed. Spreading bread crumbs on the ground also didn't work. They wouldn't go where it was safe. Just then he heard another of the deadly "thumps." "What I am going to do to get you poor confused things to safety?" he said aloud. His heart was breaking for the helpless birds. Soon he fell on his knees in the snow and cried out, "If only I could become a bird and lead you to safety; if only I could become one of you, then you would understand, and I could save you."

There in that snow, at that moment, the man experienced his "fullness of time." At that moment, he knew why Jesus came and why he became a man. The man now knew why he and everyone else needed a Savior. That snowy Christmas Eve was his fullness of time and unto him was born a Savior, who was Christ the Lord.

"And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son" (Lk 2:1–7 KJV).

Christmas reminds us that God is the Lord of time. He uses time and history and the events of our lives for his eternal purposes. In Christ Jesus, he has taken time for us. We are invited this day to slow down and receive anew his Christmas gifts of love, mercy, and forgiveness. He invites us to entrust our lives and times to him.

It's about time.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.