THE LIFE OF JESUS-
But when the fullness of time had come; God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
At the end of the Book of Nehemiah, the wall around Jerusalem was completed and dedicated. The Law had been restored. Jews were freed from exile and many now lived in Jerusalem. God had tufted His promise. Approximately 20 years later the temple was rebuilt. After Malachi completes his prophecy, the world endures approximately 430 years of silence from God. The next great event anticipated by the Jews is the coming of Messiah - the Christ. They believed He would defeat all of the enemies of Israel. Then he would resign as a super king and return rule of Israel to the Jews. Why did the Jews have to wait so long?
In Galatians 4:4, Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write that Christ would come "in the fullness of time." To state in another way, when the time was just right, what made the time Jesus came to earth just right?
We read in II Chronicles 36 that the Jews had been taken captive initially by the Babylonians (or Chaldeans). This was in approximately 614 B C. We read in Daniel 5 that the Babylonian Empire was overthrown by Darius the Mede approximately 65 years later in 539 B.C. The Medes and Persians ruled over this empire, including the Jews, until 331 B.C. At that time Alexander the Great defeated the Persian army with his superior naval and ground forces. The Greeks ruled Israel until 143 B.C. when the Jews revolted. The Romans led by Julius Caesar and general Pompey gained control of Israel in 63 B C. The Romans controlled Israel at the time Christ was born.
Over several centuries and under the influence of four different cultures, the Jews were influenced in a number of ways. The Jewish nation was much different when Jesus was born compared to the nation that the Babylonians took into captivity in II Chronicles 36. This had been foretold in the dream of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar as revealed by God to Daniel. In the second chapter of Daniel, Daniel tells the king about four empires that would rule before the eternal kingdom would come into existence. These empires each brought characteristics that benefitted the establishment of God's kingdom on earth. When these were in place, Christ was born.
Consider the following contributions of each ruling empire to the establishment of the church.
Babylonia- The captive Jews could no longer worship in the temple. Under the Law of Moses, the Temple was the center of sacrificial form of worship. The priests were responsible for teaching the Law to each generation. The temple had been destroyed. It was in Jerusalem anyway and the Jews were slaves without the freedom to travel back to Jerusalem. The Jews were also scattered around Babylonia in several different cities. The Temple was replaced by an institution known as a synagogue. Jews assembled in each city to worship, sing, pray, and discuss God's law. The influence of priests declined and they were replaced by rabbis. Rabbis were considered to have superior knowledge of the law and were held in positions of great respect. Many written interpretations by the rabbis became popular and were often given more importance than the Torah itself. The lack of oversight of the priestly line of authority and the rise of rabbis led to special interest groups and different schools of thought in different synagogues. The synagogue was useful in the spread of the church in the first century. An example is the apostle Paul. On his various missionary journeys, Paul knew where to go on the Sabbath to be able to speak to an assemble audience of Jews who had many common roots with Christianity. They believed in God, they knew of the promised Messiah, they knew the Torah and the prophets. Many of the first Christians were Jews converted to Christianity by teaching they first heard in synagogues.
Medo-Persia- We all know about Daniel's night in the lions' den. We can read about ft in Daniel 6. King Darius planned to set Daniel over the entire kingdom because of his excellent character. Jealousy of Daniel's conternporaries motivated them to press the king to decree that any man who prayed to any man or god other than King Darius over the next 30 days would be thrown into the lions' den. When Daniel prayed three times during the next days as he always did, his action was reported to the king. In reporting this, the government official reminded king Darius, "Remember, O king, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict of the king can be changed." The king was forced to place Daniel in the lion's den even though he liked Daniel. Justice applied to everyone regardless of personal feelings. This blind justice concept has been carried down through various civilizations until today in the United States. Paul used the justice system in the Roman Empire for his benefit several times. The establishment of the early church was facilitated by this justice principle establish in the Empire of the Medes and Persians.
Greece- Alexander the Great enjoyed great military success and spread his empire over a large geographic area, including into India. Along with the Greek culture comes the Greek language. The universality of koine (common) Greek language was extremely valuable in spreading the good news of the coming of Christ.
Roman- The Romans were goad at taking the good from previous civilizations and adopting those into their own system. The Greek language was used throughout the Roman Empire. The Roman justice system maintained the principles of the Medes and Persians. The Jews under Roman control still met in synagogues as well as participated in Temple worship in Jerusalem. Under Roman control, the entire civilization enjoyed a period of unprecedented peace and economic prosperity that began in 27 B C. and ended in 180 A.D. This period is referred to as "Pax Romana," which literally means "Roman peace." The Empire spanned from England in the north to Morocco in the south and Iraq in the east during this period of peace, the Roman Empire reached its peak in terms of land area, and its population swelled to an estimated 70 million people. Nevertheless, Rome's citizens were relatively secure, and the government generally maintained law, order, and stability.
Questions-
1. List the empires in chronological order that ruled over Israel after it fell as we read in III Chronicles 36.
2. List the contributions each empire made to civilization that led to the proper time for the coming of Christ.
3. Could it be just a coincidence that Jesus was born at the beginning of an unprecedented period of peace when several valuable tools for establishment kingdom - the church - were in place?
4. Is it the providence of God that this time was chosen for His birth?
5. How do we enjoy the providence of God in our lives today?