Why He Came Where He Came When He Came

If a person ever asks you why God chose to send His Son at the point in history that He did first say "because they had counted down all of the B.C. years" and then use this information to help with your serious reply.

The Perfect Time Religiously- The canon of the Hebrew Scriptures had been complete for approximately 400 years and the insufficiency of the Jewish system of religion was evident. God did have a people preserved through that time by His Scriptures, but Judaism needed to be completed. The rest of the story had to be told. The Messiah had to come. God's righteousness for forgiving sin, even through the Jewish "system" had to be vindicated (see Romans 3).

The Perfect Time Culturally- Many might say that today the world is smaller than ever, and in some ways that is true when you take into account travel and media. But during the time of the New Testament you had a much smaller world culturally. Because of the big empires that had ruled in the world you now had a single language that was at least functional throughout the world. That happens to be the language (Greek) in which the New Testament was written.

The Perfect Time Politically- Again we see the sovereignty of God over political leaders as the Roman Empire was used for His purposes. Not only did God's plan from eternity past include using certain people in killing His Son (Acts 4:23-31), but He also used the entire political system to His advantage. If nothing else consider that Rome established safe roadways that were used for the propagation of the gospel.

The Perfect Time Judicially- The practice of crucifixion has long been considered the most horrific form of execution in the history of man. To some this was a device that man stumbled across and then realized to be a terrible form of torture, however, it so happens that the sacrifice for the redemption of man came at the same time as this horrible torture device. This is not only significant because it was spoken of centuries before it happened (see Psalm 22) but also because God used this horrible practice to demonstrate how terrible it was for Christ to bear His wrath.

God's sovereign work in history is undeniable when you consider the perfect timing of Christ's advent. It seems to me that this fact makes belief that He will make the events that we are told will surround the second advent come true as well.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen