This is the time of year when holiday lights and decorations are everywhere. In the midst of the festive displays, you often see Nativity scenes that depict Mary and Joseph and the infant Jesus in a manger. And although this scene is familiar, many people don't actually understand why it's significant. On Truth for Life Weekend, Alistair Begg explores key questions surrounding Jesus' incarnation, beginning with. When?
Yeah. Galatians chapter 4 and verse 4, and our text is essentially here in verse 4 and 5. But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son. Born of a woman born under law. to redeem those under law.
that we might receive the full rights of sons. We'll just read on the next two verses. Because you're sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, the Spirit who calls out, Abba, Father.
So you are no longer a slave, but a son. And since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. You might find it helpful just to keep your Bible open at that passage or prop it up in front of you. Although the gospel records will be familiar to many of us, because routinely we turn to them, at least at this time of year, if not on other occasions. Many of our friends and neighbors would have to be honest and say that Jesus is to them.
At the very best, something of a mystery, something of an enigma. Even in our own country, where we tend to think that the Christian message is very familiar to people. Many of our friends are once again confused about who Jesus was, who he claimed to be. And certainly they are unsure. If we were to ask them why was it you believe that Jesus lived, and more importantly, why did he die?
Now, we can take core samplings of our culture in a number of ways. One of the most obvious is to ask school children what they know about these things. I was struck by the fact that someone with a group of school children had asked them, who do you think Jesus was? One bright spark, believing to be on it, immediately said, He was the one who took from the rich and gave to the poor. And of course, he was wrestling, I think, with 2 Corinthians 8:9, that though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor.
But unfortunately, he got Jesus and the disciples mixed up with Robin Hood and his merry men. And being asked the question, What is a Christian? one little girl responded, Aren't they the people who grow their own vegetables? You just wonder really what goes through the minds of people when we think about these things. But it is a salutary reminder to those of us who believe that this message is not as clear.
In the minds of our friends and work colleagues, as we may think it is. Part of the reason, of course, is because it's not really too clear in our minds either, and when we come to articulate it, we don't do a very good job. When I was a small boy, Probably about 11. I thought that I might become a newspaper journalist. And I was told that if you were going to be a journalist, You needed to be able to address the who, what, why, where, when questions.
and make sure that you got them into your paragraph very, very quickly. I only had one piece that ever made it into a newspaper in Glasgow, and that was when I saw a large truck. Drive through the front yard of a house, break down a wall, and stop just inches from the family room window. And I immediately went to a phone box, put in the money, phoned the the press office of the city newspaper and told them that I had seen a collision and described the who, the what, the when, the where and the why to them. And as a result of that, they sent me a postal order for two and sixpence and an encouragement to tell them any other exciting things that happened to me along the journey.
Well, that was both the beginning and the end of my journalistic endeavors. But I have never forgotten those who, when, what, why, where questions. And indeed, I try and employ them as much as I can when I'm reading my Bible and certainly when I'm trying to understand what's going on. I say that this morning because I have just three of them for us. that I think will help us to gather our thoughts.
That is, first of all, the when question. then the what question, and then the why question.
So our subject this morning is when, what, why. as it relates to Galatians four verses four and five.
Now you'll see if you allow your eyes to gaze at the text that the when question is raised for us, indeed it is addressed for us, but when the time had fully come. Or you may have a different translation which reads when the fullness of time had come. Which gives the idea of time filling up the way a bathtub might fill up with water. And when it had finally reached its Its fullness, then that was the moment in time when the intervention took place.
Now, what Paul is referencing here Is the moment that was determined by God's eternal decree. This little phrase, when the time had fully come, when the fullness of time had come, references the fact that God decided to intervene at a moment in time. And Paul, not only here, but in the rest of his writings. is clearly convinced That the issues of time are under God's control. And that It is therefore no surprise that the coming of Christ Is not regarded by the Apostle Paul as an accidental intervention, but it is regarded by him as a divine appointment.
In the Romans passage, which was read earlier, Paul again uses similar phraseology. You perhaps recall it, at just the right time. Christ died for the ungodly. And when he addresses the intelligentsia in Athens, In Acts chapter 17, He tells the people listening to their surprise no doubt. that God is in charge of both geography and history.
And that it was God who established the boundaries and the places. for the existence of men and women and nations. And also And I quote him, it was God who determined the times set for them.
So you have this vast notion. of an eternal God who stands outside of time. And yet invades time. in the person of his son Jesus. Time, of course, is an issue for all of us.
We spent a lot of time trying to find out what time it is. Literature, poetry, contemporary songs are not unfamiliar with addressing the issue of time. Jim Croce, whose life was cut short in time, was concerned if he could perhaps contain time or save time in a bottle. The birds, jumping on Ecclesiastes 3, reckoned that there was a time to every purpose under heaven, a time to be born and a time to die. And of course Chicago spent a fair amount of time trying to answer the question, does anybody here know what time it is?
Does anybody really know what time it is?
Now, this issue of time is therefore not addressed haphazardly, but purposefully. God had determined the time, and when that time had fully come. But anybody reading history might be tempted to say, well, wasn't it a rather strange time to come? Don't you think there would have been Perhaps a better time to come? Tim Rice in Jesus Christ Superstar, all these years ago now, puts that question, that notion, on the lips of Judas.
Do you remember that song? Which goes like this: Every time, says Judas to Jesus, every time I look at you. I don't understand. Why you let the things you did get so out of hand? You'd have managed better if you'd had it planned.
Now why do you choose such a backward time? and such a strange land. If you'd come today, you could have reached a whole nation. Israel in 4 BC had no mass communication.
Now, don't get me wrong. Don't get me wrong. Remember that song? No, okay, that's fine. You go get Go get the album and listen to it, and you'll find that it is actually there, and it addresses the question that is here in Galatians 4:4.
What a strange time, but it was the time that had reached its fullness.
Now it's These questions are not the Issues, but they are not. inconsequential either. Because even A scant knowledge of the historical context into which Jesus of Nazareth came. Allows us to see that actually Palestine was not such a strange place. And this wasn't actually such a strange time.
Palestine, if you take a world map, is uniquely positioned for the spread of the gospel into Asia, into Africa and into Europe. Indeed, you might say that it is actually the very best place for launching such a worldwide inter uh continental movement. And the time is interesting. I don't want to belabor this, but I wrote four things in my notes that you might find helpful in thinking it through. I wrote the word expectancy.
The time was marked by expectancy. Expectancy, particularly in the Jewish world. Because the Jews were looking for a Messiah. And in the intertestamental period, they were wondering when these prophetic passages, the story that had come through the lips of Micah, the great pointing forward of Isaiah and others, would finally come to fruition. And children would have asked their parents and their grandparents Are we going to have a Messiah, Grandpa?
Will there be one who comes and fulfills what the prophets have said? And oh yes, they would have said before they tucked the little ones into bed, yes, we're expecting him any day now. Expectancy. It was also a period in history that was marked by security. The security that came about largely as a result of the impact of the Roman Empire.
And they had given the Pax Romana They had established peace and security. And they had built roadways. that made possible the movement of people in a way that hadn't happened before. Not simply within the framework of Palestine itself, but stretching way far and beyond that. At the same time, the era was marked by clarity.
A clarity that was unique essentially to the Greek language. which had increased its hold and its influence on people at that time. And they began to communicate with one another in a way that crossed their national and ethnic boundaries.
So, I think it's important for us to recognize that: expectancy, security, clarity. But it was also a time that was marked by what we might refer to as futility. futility, and particularly in the religious realm. Inasmuch as the old mythological gods of Greece and of Rome. Which had held sway in the minds of people for a fair amount of time.
They were beginning to lose their hold. People were beginning to grow tired of them. People were beginning to doubt whether these gods could actually do anything. Again, you think of Acts chapter 17 and how Paul says to them, I can see you're a very religious group of people. Your place is full of idols.
You even have an idol to a statue to an unknown God. And in their search for meaning and significance and purpose, they were looking beyond themselves for some kind of religious experience that was both real and satisfying.
Now these four observations, as I suggest to you, do not address The reason That Paul writes as he does here in Galatians 4. We're going to come to that. The reason that they don't is because the context doesn't suggest it, and secondly, because these features are not unique to any period in history. I mean, we could take the issues of expectancy or security or clarity, whatever, and we could argue that today is far better on each of those fronts to a far greater extent than anything that they ever knew. And certainly the quest for religious meaning and significance for a purpose beyond ourselves is certainly a part and parcel of contemporary culture.
And This past week, one of the icons of contemporary culture when it comes to being an expert on futility, namely Woody Allen, had his birthday. And uh one of my colleagues Knowing my interest in Alan, he gave me one or two anecdotes that came out as a result of his birthday. Quotes that I hadn't seen. For example, says Woody: Life is full of loneliness and misery and suffering and unhappiness. And it's over much too quickly.
Yeah. He's so clever. Or his statement regretting life: he said, My one regret in life is that I am not someone else. Which ties in with the Talented Mr. Ripley, if you remember that movie when Matt Damon playing the part of that individual takes on the character of somebody else and hides behind the.
identity of someone. And in the process of that, he declares, I I've always thought that it would be better to be a fake somebody than to be a real nobody. It's quite a statement. And you could argue that the World of Hollywood The world of Cardboard, California. where nothing is real.
And where just getting up brings you down. According to Neil Sadaka. That is perhaps the great striking emblem. in our Western culture. of the futility That marks So many lives.
And then with his enigmatic style that is quite Perilous. Woody Allen says, And after all, how can I believe in God? when just last week I got my tongue caught. in the roller of an electric typewriter. You just have to think about these things.
Now these external factors are not the issue. They're not irrelevant. How then do we know How can we say with any more certainty the When That is here in verse 4. How can we speak to the actual issue?
Well, the way to do that in any Book, as well as in any book of the Bible, is to make sure that you don't launch the verse out of its context. And you're going to have to trust me on this and do the rest for homework. But if you go back into chapter 3, you will see that Paul there draws his thoughts around. Three historical figures: the figure of Abraham, the figure of Moses, and the figure of Jesus. And in chapter 3, he shows how God gave a promise to Abraham.
that through his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed. And that God gave the law to Moses. a law which he intended Would reveal sin And which would in turn draw men and women to the Lord Jesus Christ, the third historical figure who is mentioned. The Lord Jesus Christ being presented here and elsewhere as the one who is the end of the law. who by his life and by his death has silenced the law's condemnation.
But what has become apparent is that instead of the law serving its purpose, i.e., serving as an avenue that leads people to Jesus, The law had become a cul-de-sac. Bringing people to the point of despair.
Now, if you think about that in contemporary terms, it's not difficult to understand. There are many religious people who are devout in their interest. Concerning God. Concerning Christ. concerning the expressions of religion.
Who If pressed will be honest enough to say That their religious experience does not bring to them Forgiveness? Any sense of palpable Visceral. being forgiven. does not bring to them any sense of security that they belong to God. Any sense of peace that all is well with God.
And any sense of hope that their future is secure in God. And it is not on account of the fact that they are not engaged in religious pursuit, they are very zealous in these things. But as they confront themselves again and again by the rules and the regulations. It leaves them feeling sad, hopeless, empty, and despairing. Because the more they are confronted by the standards of righteousness, the more they are aware of the fact that they do not, cannot meet those standards.
And unless someone comes to say that this law that was given Was not a ladder up which men and women are to climb so as to reach heaven. But it was given as a mirror So, as to show men and women the marks and smudges of sin and rebellion. on our faces Thereby saying to ourselves, then if this simply shows up my smudges and my sins and my inconsistencies, and I cannot wash myself in the mirror, Where may I be washed? Then the law fulfills its purpose of sending men and women to this wonderful story of Jesus and his provision. But then and now It is not uncommon for men and women, if they talk about salvation at all, to think of it in terms of a reward to be earned.
And seldom as it really is. as a gift. to be received. I can think of no more futile exercise than a religious experience which depends entirely on my endeavours, in order to make myself acceptable to God. and to keep myself acceptable with God.
But there will be people every day of this week. Here in Cleveland. who will attend church.
Well-meaning religiously focused individuals. who have not actually understood. What was happening? when the time had fully come.
Now from the when, let's go quickly to the what. What? When did this happen? When the fullness of time had come? What happened?
Well, he tells us in a phrase, God sent his Son. God sent his son.
Now Paul is not here giving us a detailed outworking of the doctrine of the Incarnation, but in the phraseology that he uses, in the Greek verb exepistylen, he is giving to us a word which means sending out from a previous state. He was sent out from a previous state. And what Paul is doing here is making sure that those who read his letter understand That The life of Jesus did not begin in Bethlehem. That Jesus did not all of a sudden come into existence when he was born as a baby. Thereby making him different from anyone else.
When our children ask us, where was I before I was born? The answer is you did not exist before you were born. But for someone to ask that question of Jesus would demand a different answer, wouldn't it? You have that actually when Jesus is being interrogated by Pilate in John chapter 19. And Pilate says to him, Where did you come from?
You remember that? And it says, John says, and Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate could never have got his head around it. He could never have understood it. He would never have grasped it.
It would have taken so long to address.
So, this phrase here is speaking to the fact that without ceasing to be what he was, namely God. He became what he was not, namely man. If you're listening to Truth for Life Weekend with Alastair Begg, we'll hear more about Christ's incarnation next weekend.
Now, here at Truth for Life, we know the holidays can feel overwhelming. It's easy to get caught up in the festivities and be distracted from the real reason why we celebrate Christmas. Our prayer is that the Bible-centered teaching you here on this program helps you reflect on what God's Word says about why Jesus came, what He accomplished in His life and death, and what that means for us today. I hope you're finding our current study encouraging in this way. Another way to stay focussed on God is by spending time every day meditating on His Word.
And if you're looking for a devotional to start the new calendar year, I want you to check out one we are currently recommending. It's called Morning and Evening. It was written by 19th century pastor and theologian Charles Spurgeon. Alastair has updated the language in this devotional to make it easier for us to understand today. This is a high-quality hardcover devotional that includes two readings for each day of the year: one that begins your day and one that concludes it.
In the introduction to the book, Alastair says Spurgeon's daily devotional readings have stood the test of time and are unrivalled as an example of deep theological insight and warm pastoral concern.
Now, this is the last weekend we'll be featuring this classic devotional. If you'd like to find out more about morning and evening, visit our website truthforlife.org. I'm Bob Lepine. Thanks for taking time out of your weekend to study the Bible with us. Many people like to suggest that all religions are basically the same, we just have different names for God.
Next weekend, we'll find out why it's impossible for true Christians to accept that kind of point of view. The Bible teaching of Alastair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life. Yeah. Where the learning is for a living.
