1. Jesus Came at the Right Time (verse 4a).
2. Jesus Came in the Right Way (verse 4b).
3. Jesus Came for the Right Reason (verse 5).

I invite you to open in your Bible to Galatians, chapter 4. We are going to look this morning at one passage of Scripture (actually 2 verses): Galatians 4:4-5. This is in contrast to what we have been considering this Advent season. In recent weeks, we have been considering this theme: "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." I have argued that we see this theme over and over again in the Bible. That is, God's people have always longed for the Lord to come to their help and rescue. In preaching these messages, we have looked at large portions and themes of Scripture, rather than single verses of Scripture. I have done so because I have sought to show you how throughout the entirety of the Old Testament there was a cry for God to come and help and save his people.

From the time of the Exodus through the time of the judges, from the time of the Kings through the time of the exile in Babylon, there has always been this cry from the people of God: "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." David Mathis calls this the "universal longing" of the hearts of God's people. He wrote,

For centuries, God's first-covenant people focused [their] universal longings on a promised coming "seed of the woman," "offspring of Abraham," "prophet like Moses," and then, in full flower, a "Messiah," great David's greater offspring, a supremely Anointed one.

As the people down through the centuries cried out, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," certainly, God heard their cry. He delivered the righteous from their perils. He sent judges and kings and prophets. But he didn't help them in the grand way that Israel had hoped, in seeing the Messiah come and rule and reign over them.

One of the big questions is this: Why didn't God come earlier? Why did he wait for several thousands of years before he sent his Messiah? Well, this Christmas morning, as we celebrate the coming of Jesus, the Messiah, I want to answer that question from one passage of Scripture: Galatians 4:4-5. Let's read our text. I have chosen two verses from Galatians 4 as our text this morning because they bring us to the Christmas story, and give the purpose of why God came to be with us.

Galatians 4:4-5
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.

These verses are literally packed with truth about Jesus. They speak of Jesus' birth, life, death, deity, humanity, and purpose for living.

1. Jesus Came at the Right Time (verse 4a).

After centuries of hearing the cry, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," God finally did. And he did in his own time. He did at the right time. It was the right time, 1. Politically. Jesus came during the period of time known as the Pax Romana, when the Roman empire experienced peace like the world had never experienced before. Some have dated this as the 200 year period that began in 27 B.C. (when Octavian had fully conquered his enemies) and ended in 180 A.D. (with the death of Marcus Aurelius, the last of the "five good emperors"). During these days of peace, Rome became a united empire ruled by a single emperor with one set of laws. The roads were improved to enable easy travel around the empire. The Greek culture had permeated society to the point that Greek became the universal language at this time. Politically, everything was in place for the reception and spread of the gospel. The time was ready for Christ and the apostles.

It was the right time, 2. Spiritually. It was not just the political environment that was ready. We also see that God's chosen nation, the nation of Israel, was spiritually ready for the coming of Christ. In Chapter 3 of Galatians, Paul tells us a little bit of the history of the people of Israel. In verse 8, Paul speaks of God's promise to Abraham, which came approximately 2000 years before Jesus came. God preached "the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying 'In you shall all the nations be blessed'" (verse 8). That was God's promise. Then, some 430 years later, God gave the law to Moses. Paul is careful to point out that this law did not invalidate God's promise to Abraham to bless all nations through him. Paul writes in verse 17,

Galatians 3:17
This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.

In other words, the law was not given to replace the promise to Abraham. It had another purpose. The law was to lead the people of Israel to Christ, by showing them their sin, to show them that they would never be justified by the works of the law. "So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith" (Galatians 3:24). The "guardian" here in verse 24 is like a school-master who teaches the child. But when the child comes of age, the school-master is no longer needed. This is a picture of the law, and is the thrust of verse 25: "But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian" (Galatians 3:25).

God had first given a promise to Abraham. Then, He provided the law to teach the people of Israel in order to lead them to the fulfillment of the promise which would come in Jesus Christ. When the nation "came of age," it would be time to remove the law from them. As we see in chapter 4 and verse 4, this happened "in the fullness of time." It was the right time, 1. Politically, 2. Spiritually, 3. Prophetically. God determined beforehand exactly when his Son would live on earth.

It was not as if God was watching history carefully unfold, looking carefully to discern when would be the best time to send Jesus. It is not as if God were playing the role of a stockbroker, looking for just the right opportunity when the stock hits its lowest point, so that he can invest his money and earn the most profit. It is not as if God were playing the manager of a baseball team, watching his pitcher carefully, attempting to discern when would be the most effective time to replace him with his star reliever. God had planned it all out. Daniel had prophesied the time of the coming of the Messiah. We don't have time this morning, but I would love to show you from Daniel 9:25 how the Messiah was prophesied to come, exactly when he did. Daniel had prophesied this almost 500 years before he came. I simply leave that for you and your homework.

Galatians 4 teaches us that 1. Jesus Came at the Right Time (verse 4a), when the political season was at the strategic time for the spread of the gospel, when the spiritual climate was right for Israel to transition away from the law, when the prophetic timeline had come.

2. Jesus Came in the Right Way (verse 4b).

This tells of Christmas.

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

God came by sending his son into the world, as a man, just like us. This is the Christmas story, is it not? The Son of God, who is in essence God Himself, was born into this world just like any other baby. He came to be a man, just like us. Certainly, the birth of Jesus was special in many ways. During Christmas, we are reminded of the story of Joseph and Mary coming to Bethlehem. We remember how the shepherds in the fields were visited by angels. We know about the magi who followed the star because they wanted to worship Jesus. All of these point to the fact that this baby Jesus was special.

But the birth of Jesus was also so normal. The stories of Christmas point to the fact that Jesus was born just like any other child in this world, that is, he was born of a woman. In this case the woman is Mary, who went through the labor pains that any woman experiences. God came in the right way. He came 1. Born of a Woman. When Paul writes, "born of a woman," his emphasis is that Jesus took on flesh and blood. Jesus hungered. He thirsted. He laughed. He cried. He was happy. He was sad. He felt the pain in the death of a loved one. He felt the joy in the energy of children. He enjoyed the pleasant things of life such as eating and drinking. He suffered the pains of life such as being whipped and scourged. He was tempted. He was ridiculed. He was loved. He was helped by others. He was hated. He was a man in every sense of the word. Jesus was not a ghost. He did not just look like a man; he was a man. If you would have hugged Jesus, you would have felt the warmth of His flesh.

It was important for Jesus to become like us. In order to help us, He had to be made like us. He could not come as an animal to offer up his life for ours because "it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins" (Hebrews 10:4). Likewise, He could not come as an angel to be an atoning sacrifice because an angel's death could not atone for human sins. The only way that Jesus could help us is to be made a man, just like us, with all of the temptations and desires and passions that we experience.

Not only was Jesus 1. Born of a woman, but He was also 2. Born under the law. This simply means that He was born during the time when the law was in effect. When Jesus was born, the people of God were required to follow the legislation given in the Mosaic law. Jesus and His family followed the law very carefully. He was circumcised the eighth day, according to the law (Luke 2:21). He was presented to the Lord, after the days for purification were completed (Luke 2:22), according to the law (Luke 2:23). It was at this time that His parents sacrificed "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons" (Luke 2:24), according to the law. His family made yearly trips to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover (Luke 2:41), where many sacrifices were offered to the Lord, according to the law. This is what it means that Jesus was "born under the law."

We have seen that it was important for Jesus to be born as a man to redeem us. It was equally important for Jesus to be in subjection to the law in all things. This is partly what it means when the Scriptures say that Jesus "had to be made like His brethren in all things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people" (Hebrews 2:17). Since the people of Israel were under the law, it was necessary for Jesus to come to them under the law. Yet, Jesus rose above it all. And as a man, Jesus never yielded to temptation. Jesus never broke even one commandment. He was the spotless lamb of God, who became the acceptable sacrifice for God. The child who was born in the manger would become the man to die on the cross for our sins.

3. Jesus Came for the Right Reason (verse 5).

We read in verse 5,

Galatians 4:4-5
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.

This is really the culmination of the Christmas story. This is where it all ends. This is the very message of Christianity. Jesus came "to redeem those who were under the law." God sent forth His Son to give us 1. Redemption. He redeemed those who were "under the law." When God originally gave the law, the people received it gladly. Moses said, "And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?" (Deut. 4:8). Isaiah tells us that "The LORD was pleased, for his righteousness' sake, to magnify his law and make it glorious" (Is. 42:21). The Psalmist declared, "O how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day" (Ps. 119:97).

The law is good and righteous. Yet, when imperfect people live under the law, they are constantly confronted with their own sinfulness as they behold their own failures to live up to the righteous standards of the law. This is the experience that Paul described in Romans 7. Paul said, "The Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good" (Rom. 7:12). Paul confessed that the law was good (Rom. 7:16). Indeed, he proclaims that "I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man" (Rom. 7:22). It was this holy, righteous, and good law which revealed to Paul that his flesh wanted nothing to do with the law. He called the law "spiritual," but when he speaks of himself he says that he is "of flesh, sold into bondage to sin" (Rom. 7:14). Paul said, "I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members" (Rom. 7:22-23).

What Paul is saying is that "The law is good! I want to do the things of the law. But my flesh doesn't want it at all." This is how the law works. It is grand and holy and good and righteous and glorious! But when we, as sinful people, seek to live in accordance with it, we are confronted by our failures. We are told in Romans 3:20 that "through the Law comes the knowledge of sin."

Do you ever feel this? Are there ever things which you know you should do, but you do not do? Are there ever things which you know you should not do, but you do them anyway? The temptation of the flesh works in this manner: First, we see something that we want to have or that we want to do. Next we begin thinking about it. We begin desiring it, wanting it, and craving it. Then, like a steaming locomotive, we cannot stop the momentum and we proceed to follow our sinful lusts. This is how temptation works.

Perhaps you feel like a prisoner, or as Paul describes it, "a prisoner of the law of sin" (Rom. 7:23). Do you ever feel like this? Then the Christmas story brings good news to you this morning. Jesus Christ came to redeem those who have seen and known their sin. The Father sent His Son to rescue His imprisoned people. It was prophesied of the Messiah that He would come "to open blind eyes, and to bring out prisoners from the dungeon" (Is. 42:7). Psalm 107:14 describes it the same way, as prisoners being set free. Christ Jesus came to set prisoners free; it was His purpose in coming. He came "in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law."

Jesus did so by dying upon the cross and taking the punishment which our sins deserved. Look at Galatians 3:13,

Galatians 3:13
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree."

This is where the Christmas story ends. We begin with our baby in the manger, born at the right time, in the right way. He came for the right reason: to redeem us from our sins. This takes place on the cross. This is the fulfillment of Christmas. He was born to die.

It is in Jesus that we find 1. Redemption, but we also find 2. Adoption. Look again at our text: "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" (Galatians 4:4-5). Not only are we redeemed from our sins. But we are also adopted by God the Father. Notice how our text says that God sent His Son into the world to redeem us. But why would God do this? So that God would be the Father of many children. The purpose of Jesus was not only to save us from hell. The purpose of Jesus was to bring us into the family of God. We are sons of God through Jesus Christ. What a glorious truth!

The concept of adoption is this: a child who does not naturally belong to a family is received into the family on equal footing with the natural born children. As adopted sons of God, we are every bit of equal footing with the natural born Son of God, Jesus Christ. There are ramifications of adoption that are crucial for us to understand. If God is our Father, this means that we can enjoy fellowship with Him. We can talk with Him in prayer. We can share our joys and our sorrows with Him. We can enjoy intimate fellowship with Him. We are adopted sons and daughters of God! Verses 6 and 7 explain some of the implications of our adoption:

Galatians 4:6-7
And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

We are sons of God, so we can call God, "Abba," which means "Daddy." We are not slaves, who have no access to the Father. We are sons, who can come and enjoy fellowship with our heavenly Father. We have an inheritance waiting for us. In Romans 8:17, we are told that we are "fellow heirs with Christ." The inheritance of Jesus is our inheritance to be enjoyed with Him.

Our sermon series has been entitled, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." Emmanuel has come! This is Christmas! This is what we celebrate! May you celebrate this in your heart. May you embrace Jesus by faith today.

This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on December 25, 2022 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rockvalleybiblechurch.org.