Christmas

“ But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son…” (Gal.4:4)

Just as a ship is fully equipped, with all the cargo, all the gear, and all the manpower on board to set sail, so too was time complete and equipped for the Son of God to make the journey to earth. What is the profound meaning of Christmas?

The birth of Jesus Christ was for Him a “emptying,” a unique and unimaginable descent that had never before occurred in the history of creation and would never occur again:

“…JESUS ​​CHRIST, Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men…” (Phil.2:6,7)

This literally states that Jesus Christ was God and became Man, the greatest of all descents that has ever occurred. This happened in “the fullness of time.” The time was ripe for the fulfillment of everything written about Him. Many predictions from the beginning of creation had accumulated, and in His life as a Man, they would all come true.

The first prediction was that 'behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Emmanuel' (Isa.7:14). Jesus was not the Son of Joseph. Only of Mary. That is why Joseph wanted to secretly reject her. They were engaged and had not yet had intercourse. Yet, she became pregnant. He knew the laws and was convinced that she had committed adultery. An angel had to be called to change his mind. Joseph believed the angel and was reassured of his fiance's integrity.

That the virgin would conceive had already been foretold 700 years before Christ by the prophet Isaiah. However, there is an even older birth announcement. Shortly after the Fall, God's judgment against the devil rings out: "...and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise its heel." (Gen.3:15)

The seed of the woman... The virgin Mary conceived and gave birth to Jesus. Crushing the heel of the woman's seed required the completion of a centuries-old development in martyrdom: crucifixion. This torture was invented by the Assyrians or the Babylonians, more than 500 BC, and perfected by the Romans, who drove nails through the victim's wrists and heel. The only remnant of a crucifixion ever found bears clear testimony to this method of execution. It was when this hideous torture was "ready" to be unleashed upon the Son, who would become Man, that He began this descent:

"...And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (Phil 2:8)

Only for this reason could the angel say: "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:11) For this reason, shortly after His birth, His mother, Mary, was told: "a sword shall pierce through thy own soul." (Luke 2:35)

Meanwhile, this happened almost 2,000 years ago, and we await a new fullness of time. This time it is a "fullness of the times" (plural). It is a culmination toward which all previous times culminate:

"That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him" (Eph.1:10)