Meditation on the Text of the Week

The Day of Visitation

But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that he might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Galatians 4: 4—5

We come now to Advent, which is the most significant event in all human history. It occurred at precisely the right time—the time appointed by God, when all was ready, when all had been prepared. The Scriptures provide some insight into what it was at that time which constituted the “fullness of time”. One is that the fullness of iniquity of the Old Covenant people had been reached. He Who was set to divide Israel, Who had been appointed for the rise and the fall of many amongst God's people, came forth when Israel's sin was at its zenith: they would arise and crucify Messiah as the ultimate expression of hatred and rebellion against the God of their fathers. God's wrath would consequently fall upon them, and not one stone would be left upon another.

As Simeon prophesied over Jesus to Mary, “Behold this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed—and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” (Luke 2: 34—35) When John the Baptist began his public ministry preparing the way of the Lord, he warned about the wrath that was to come; the axe had already been laid at the root of the trees; every tree that did not produce good fruit would be cut down and thrown into the fire. (Luke 3: 7—9) And so it came to pass.

Another aspect of readiness, of the fullness of the times, was the desperate degeneracy of the Gentile world. The futility, the emptiness, the hopelessness of life apart from God was increasingly self-evident amongst the Gentiles. The glory that was Rome had progressively degenerated into a bitter mockery. The gods had failed. The philosophers had proved futile and irrelevant. The empire was a growing tyranny, requiring more and more slaves to feed and sustain its life of conspicuous consumption and insatiable appetites.

Many Gentiles, having realised the emptiness and futility of their lives, had come to yearn for the Living God. The synagogues throughout the Empire were filled with “God-fearers”—men and women who were longing for God—the One True and Living God—and who, therefore, began to associate with the hated and despised Jews, who were His people. These people did not wish to become Jews—but they longed for the God of the Jews. They were longing for the Gospel of God's grace to come to them. They yearned for the face of God's mercy to be shown to them. Would there ever be a time when the God of glory would lift up the eyes of His countenance upon them, and grant them peace?

In Christ, the Lord it would come to pass. In Him they would hear of, and see, God's mercy. He would open His arms wide and bring them into His fold, naming them amongst the descendants of Abraham, His friend. His blood would be shed for them, washing away all their sins, cleansing them utterly. On the Cross, He would bear the sins and their curse for all His people amongst both Gentiles and Jews. He would break down the dividing wall, and His blood sacrifice would make the two into one. He would adopt them all as sons and daughters. A new humanity would be created from the inside out.

Now, two millennia later, the Gospel of our Lord has spread to every land and His enemies are ineluctably being subdued and placed under His feet. What we have seen is just the beginning. The earth will be filled with the knowledge and glory of God, as the waters cover the sea. For His people, there is joy and hope even amidst the wretchedness of Athenian boasting and tumult. As the hymn puts it:

Heav’n above is softer blue,
Earth around is sweeter green!
Something lives in every hue
Christless eyes have never seen;

This world does not belong to Athens, but to Christ. He has bought it with a price unimaginable. His price has been accepted by God the Father. Not one drop of that precious blood will have been shed in vain. Athens will attenuate and die; evil and suffering will cease. The gift of faith will be granted to all the nations. The Gospel will come to be heard by all and believed by most in every place.

As the great Athanasius once put it: Christ's taking human flesh and blood, heart and mind is akin to an exalted monarch visiting a tiny, insignificant village. Such a visit from great royalty results in an honour falling upon that village which lasts forever, as long as it kept in living memory. So, humanity and this world has been honoured, glorified, dignified and exalted before all the heavens, for He has not only visited us, He has become one of us, one with us. Messiah is now blood of our blood; flesh of our flesh: in His flesh He stands at the right hand of God, seated upon the throne of His father, David. There is no king like Him, nor will there be after Him. All heaven bows to Him and worships before Him. All earth is following in its train.

Nothing on earth was ever the same after that fateful day when Messiah came forth, born of a woman, born under the Law. Praise and thanks be to God and to His Christ; on earth, may His peace come to all men.