When Was Jesus Born?
Today we enjoyed our “family Christmas” with Nath
an’s family here in Georgia. It was good to see everyone once again and to enjoy a good meal and time of conversation and more gifts. The warm temps here the Atlanta area allow us to enjoy a meal on the deck. Not what you would experience in Colorado regardless of how mild the winter.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…. “But when the right time came, God sent his Son, who was born from a woman and lived under the law. God did this so that he could buy the freedom of those who were under the law. God’s purpose was to make us his children.” Galatians 4:3,4 ERV
The actual date of Jesus birth is still a mystery. We know that it wasn’t December 25. Many believe the date of birth was more likely in the spring around the month of April. What we do know is the whenever Jesus was born it was the “right time” or as some versions state, “in the fullness of time.”
So the ultimate importance is the realization that when Jesus was born it was the “right time” in God’s plan of redemption. When Jesus was born we see that the world was ready, spiritually, politically and economically. There was a yearning among God’s people for God’s intervention into their lives. They wanted the Messiah to come and to restore the power and reign of David as the prophets foretold.
Politically the Roman empire with its unified political structure, the Roman roads and a unified language, brought a unity to the world at the time that had not been experienced in the past. When Jesus came to this world as the light of world we see the fulfillment that, “the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” (Matt. 4:16 NIV)
The “take away” for us today is to be reminded that what the Lord does in His plan of redemption does not happen by accident or chance. We see this in the birth of Jesus, we see it in the timing of His death. During the feast of Tabernacles some guards were sent to arrest Jesus, but they failed. We read, “Then the leaders tried to arrest him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.” (John 7:30 NLT) In the garden Jesus was “sorrowful unto death.” Yet the heaviness of what He was facing and the attack of Satan did not keep Him from His journey to the cross. It was on the cross that Jesus cried, “It is finished.” (John 19:30)
As we anticipate the return of Christ that has been prophesied by the prophets of old, we realize that it will happen. And when it happens it will be at the “right time.” God is still in control, He know what He is doing and just as the birth of Jesus and the death of Jesus happened in accordance with God’s time, we can be confident that the end of the age will happen when God says it is time.
Until that point, we continue to serve, trust and share the good news with others. There are many who have predicted the “day of Christ’s return.” All of them with 100 percent inaccuracy. During His ministry, Jesus told His disciples, “…about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matthew 24:36 NLT) After His resurrection, Jesus told His disciples, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.“ (Acts 1:7 ESV)
We are reminded that we don’t know, but God the Father does know. That is the only reassurance that we need as we work and pray and anticipate the day of Christ’s return.