January 1, 2017 Galatians 4:4 COJLBC Imagine Life Without Christmas by Mark Jarvinen Most of us have seen the Christmas Classic It s a Wonderful Life starring Jimmy Stewart as George Baily. Remember how George dreamt of seeing the world when he grew up? Well, if you ve seen the movie, you know he received the dubious honor of taking over the family s struggling real estate business instead, putting his dreams of travel and adventure on hold. The plot thickens when George s uncle carelessly misplaces the $8,000 needed to pay off the loan of the miserly banker in town, a payment that would keep the banker from foreclosing on the family business. After a frantic search to no avail, George, in frustration and defeat, thought he d be better off dead than living. But in a dream sequence, with the help of a good-natured old angel, George was given the opportunity to see how different things would have been if he had never been born. In the dream, he saw how his life touched others positively in ways he had never realized. Having just completed our celebration of Christmas, aren t you glad we don t have to wonder what life would be like if Jesus had never been born? To get a handle on this, listen to Galatians 4:4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman. Fortunately, the fullness of time has come. Let s consider two points together this morning: I. The World Was Ready. II. Jesus Was Ready. 1
I. THE WORLD WAS READY It was the fullness of time. There were 400 years of silence between the Old Testament and the New Testament - between Malachi & Matthew. There were no Prophets - no Scripture was written - Heaven seemed silent. But God was preparing the earth for the coming of His Son, Jesus. God was preparing the earth so that WHEN Jesus came, the Gospel could be spread throughout the whole world. God spent the silent 400 years preparing HISTORY for HIS STORY, the birth of Jesus. How did God prepare the world for the birth of His Son, Jesus? A. God Used The Greeks It Was the Fullness of Time CULTURALLY. Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire, in 333 B.C. This meant that Greek culture began its influence over the Jews at that time. When the Greeks conquered the world, the Greek language became the universal language. Everybody knew a little Greek. They read and wrote Greek. All legal documents were in Greek. I studied Greek in college and seminary. WHY? Because the New Testament is written in Koine Greek (the language of the market place). It s as if God said: I want a UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE, so that when Jesus is born, everybody can hear about My Son s birth. 2
The Disciples could take the message of Jesus to the whole world - BECAUSE - there was a UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE. B.- God Used The Romans It Was the Fullness of Time POLITICALLY. In 63 BC, the Romans conquered the Greeks. It s as if God said: I want a UNIVERSAL PEACE so the news of My Son Jesus can be spread easily throughout the world. When the Romans took power, there was one government over the entire world. No need for passports - no fear of going into enemy territory - no fear of wars to avoid. Followers of Jesus were free to travel the world with the Gospel because there was only one government. In the fullness of time God sent forth His Son, Jesus - God had it all planned out. God said: I want a good ROAD SYSTEM, so people can travel easily to spread the Gospel. Everyone has heard about the Roman road system - All roads lead to Rome. It was also true that Roman roads led everywhere it was all part of the plan. C. God Used the Jews It Was the Fullness of Time SPIRITUALLY. God said: I want the world to know that there is only ONE GOD. God had used the Jews for 4000 years to spread the idea 3
that there was only one GOD. At the time of Jesus birth, the world was a pagan world. The GREEKS had their many gods & goddesses. The ROMANS also had their many gods & goddesses. The ROMANS even brought to the world the idea of worshipping a MAN. Caesar said that he should be worshipped as a god. But nevertheless, in the midst of thousands of petty gods, for 4000 years God had been preparing the world - through the Jews - through people like Abraham, Moses, David, and others, that there was only ONE God - Jehovah. And Jehovah had revealed to the Jews, throughout their history, that the MESSIAH would come, to save the world from their sins. Never before had the expectation of a Messiah been so great. History was pregnant with expectation. The term fullness of time implies a gestational period, a ripening. God was getting ready to move decisively in history. God had spent 4000 years planning the birth of His Son, Jesus. That s why, when Jesus was born, the blueprint had already been drawn. A universal LANGUAGE a universal PEACE a universal ROAD SYSTEM the concept of ONE GOD the MESSIAH. The world was ready for Jesus! II. JESUS WAS READY. Jesus was ready to come to earth! Most of you know what it s like to move. I ve moved 6 times since I ve been married. There s packing - leaving your old home - getting your new home ready. Turning on the utilities, phone, and internet. Changing doctors and other services. 4
Building new relationships. It s quite an ordeal - a BIG CHANGE! Jesus was moving! He had a big change to make. Think of it! He left His position of authority at God s right hand for a feeding trough in a lowly stable. He left the fellowship of God the Father - to live among the disease, crime and sin of this world. He left the work of sustaining the creation - to die on a tree He had created. He left the splendor of Heaven - knowing that His destiny was the lowly Hill of Golgotha, there to lay down His life for us. He left it all to become God in the flesh. The time had come. All was fulfilled. Jesus was to make His move from Heaven to earth. After 400 years of silence, God was to speak once again. BUT - this time, He would send His Son - not just another Prophet. JESUS was ready and the WORLD was ready. NOW, for a moment, try to imagine what life would be like without Christmas. What if Jesus hadn t come 2000 + years ago? What if there had never been that first Christmas? What if the fullness of time had not yet come? 1.- It wouldn t be the year 2017 AD (annos domini year of our Lord). We d have a different calendar system. 2.- There would be no Christian holidays. Imagine life without Christmas and Easter. 5
3. We d all be Gentiles and likely not in touch with the God of the Bible. Imagine no fellowship with God. No clear concept of life after death. CONCLUSION: If there had not been the FIRST CHRISTMAS, I dare say that the world would be a lot less hopeful evil would abound to a much greater extent. In fact, without that first Christmas, I wonder if we d feel like George Baily, like life wasn t worth living? Now turn the corner in your thinking and contemplate what we have in Jesus. Who in history has had an impact on the world like Jesus? As an infant, in spite of being born in poverty and obscurity, he alarmed a king at the news of his birth. As a man, without the benefit of medical training, he healed the sick, made the lame to walk and the blind to see. Without earning a degree, or founding a university, Jesus has had more students than any institution of higher learning and has become the subject of the world s greatest book. He was UNIQUE and PERFECT both man and God. As a man, he became tired, but as God he said, I will give you rest. As a man he became hungry; but as God, he said, I am the bread of life. As a man he thirsted; but as God he gives living water so we need never thirst again. 6
In the final analysis Scripture says that one day, at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Some will do so from hearts of worship; others, because they no longer have a choice. Jesus announced that he is the way, the truth, and the life. The good news is that His offer of life is available today to all who believe. What if Jesus had never been born? We would have no intimate knowledge of God. We would not, indeed we could not, know His salvation. But the good news is that Jesus was born on that first Christmas day. God s salvation came to earth in the form of a babe in a manger, whose name is Jesus, the one born to bring us the forgiveness of sins, which we will remember anew as we partake in the Lord s Supper. In this good news we celebrate. In this message we rejoice. Life is worth the living because we have a living hope who is Christ the Lord, whom to know is life eternal. A-men. 7