God’s timing is always perfect. He has perfect purpose and intent in all that He does. Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us, “there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” In no other milestone in human history is this more evident than in the life of Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the center of the Bible. The Old testament predicts Him and the New Testament is His story. The late Chuck Missler used to say that “Jesus is in the Old Testament concealed and in the New Testament Revealed.” In fact, Jesus is at the very center of time itself, in the way we measure years and in the way we view history.
BC and AD are the standardized system of measuring years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars in direct correlation to the birth of Jesus. AD stands for Anno Domini (in the year of our Lord), while BC stands for before Christ. Today, secular scholars have adopted BCE (before the common era) and CE (common era), in an attempt to reflect the non-religious position of modern culture.
Interestingly, despite the appearance of religious neutrality, and the attempt to obscure an alignment with the birth of Jesus, Christ’s birth is still the historical landmark dividing BCE and CE. Jesus has had more impact upon humanity than any other person in the history of people, and His life separates human history into two distinct eras.
While most theologians focus on what Jesus said, taught and did, few conceptualize the timing of Christ’s visitation to humanity and why He came when He did. In his book, Person of Interest, J. Warner Wallace examines the question of why God chose that pivotal point in history to incarnate as Jesus. And in doing so, he reveals distinct intent in having Christ live when he did.
Wallace inquires why Jesus didn’t appear centuries earlier or decades later while acknowledging that Christ ushered in a new historical epoch. The answer is associated with communication. Not only how humans communicate with each other but also in the way that God communicates with humanity.
Technological Advancements In Writing
Most ancient forms of writing, in the form of pictographs, date back to around 3500 BC and were imprinted on clay tablets using primitive tools. This form of communication had severe limitations in conveying detailed concepts or elaborate subject matter. If Jesus would have lived when this was the prevalent form of communication, He would almost certainly not have made an impact that could be translated to surrounding civilizations in a timely and plausible manner.
Around 3000 BC, cuneiforms were developed, which permitted writers to more effectively convey their messages through the use of phonograms, or symbols for vowels and syllables. The subsequent invention of papyrus by the Egyptians, facilitated easier transportation of the written message and transformed the ability to communicate with people some distance away. Hieroglyphics were the formal writing system used in ancient Egypt and combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements.
The development of the Phoenician alphabet around 1050 BC provided the ability to record events and history as never before. It was the most widely used alphabet in ancient times and it was adopted and modified by many cultures. If Jesus had lived during this period, communicating his story to the known world at that time would have had major challenges because of extremely low literacy rates in the population, since only the ruling class had the ability to exploit written text.
It was the Greeks, in about 800 BC that utilized vowels in their written vocabulary, enabling the differentiation of similar words like sod, sad and said. And around 700 BC, the Etruscans improved upon the Greek alphabet by modifying the shape of letters. When the Romans rose to power, they adopted the Etruscan alphabet and by 100 BC it was the empire’s official writing system and spread to everywhere the Romans ruled.
The Roman Catalyst
The Greek language became the prevalent language that dominated trade and communication throughout the Roman empire. It was at this unique time in history that the culmination of communication technology facilitated the spread of the gospel message. At no point prior to this could the story of Jesus and everything He had accomplished and taught, be told and recorded for future generations and cultures with such impact.
Of course, while all this communication technology was being developed in the centuries leading up to this point, the nation of Israel was born (around 1700 BC), the Law was given to the Jews and the Temple was built, destroyed and rebuilt again in Jerusalem, thereby creating the backdrop for the drama of Christ’s ministry. Moses was educated by the Egyptians and was therefore well equipped to write the Torah (Acts 7:22).
As the Roman Empire grew and matured, it became more stable and what once was a turbulent republic transformed into a powerful and advanced civilization that encompassed most of Europe, the Balkans, Asia Minor, the Middle East and the coast of North Africa, including the Mediterranean and the Black Seas. The magnitude of the Roman Empire facilitated the transfer of the gospel without crossing borders or encountering obstacles to communication.
Under Augustus Caesar the empire enjoyed a time of peace as never before and thrived. This period (Pax Romana), facilitated the building of roads and many infrastructure improvements, including bridges and tunnels. Transportation became more effectual to the advancement of trade and human travel, including the spreading of the gospel. Nearly 47,000 miles of roads were built during this time.
Mail delivery systems were also improved. Augustus fashioned the cursus publicus, between 30 and 25 BC to deliver mail between military outposts and cities. The service also transported tax revenues from the provinces back to Rome and provided transit for officials.
These developments coincided with the expansion of the church and the spread of Christ’s followers. Because the empire transcended so many cultures, the spread of foreign ideas including ideas about Jesus, was tolerated in the early first century. The apostle Paul benefited greatly from this and the Jewish religious leaders were complicit in actively driving this evangelism away from Judea.
The Church Was Born
The thirty years between the resurrection of Jesus and the onset of Christian persecution under Emperor Nero, was all the opportunity the fledgling church needed to take root and set in motion an irreversible sequence of events that would forever change the religious landscape of the civilized world.
The book of Acts records four journeys taken by Paul as he planted churches throughout the region, from Antioch to Philippi, Thessalonica, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus and ultimately to Rome itself. Everywhere he went he could openly speak the Greek language and be understood.
The Roman empire acted as the catalyst that spread Christianity. God’s perfect timing and foreknowledge placed the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus right at the epicenter of civilization, at the precise moment when the message of salvation would explode onto the world stage in a profound and transformative phenomenon.
The apostle Paul declares in Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” In the fullness of time, Jesus Christ divided history. He is at the very center of time, in the way we measure years and perceive the past. And the Bible says that Jesus will soon divide history once again when he returns as judge to usher in another new epoch (Revelation 19-21).
What began as a tiny mustard seed has grown into an immense harvest of believers that today encompasses the entire globe. Because of God’s perfect timing, his immeasurable love and enduring patience, we can count ourselves as part of that harvest. “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9).
