Romans 5.6 has an intriguing clue about God’s redemption plan.  Out of all the moments in creation, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”  What made 2000 years ago the right time for Jesus to die?  Remember that after the resurrection, the plan was for believers to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.  They had to get to those places, they had to speak what they knew, and it would be great if the people they talked to had some context.  And indeed, all things were ready.

The Romans were in charge.  They had built excellent roads. Their brutal enforcement of laws, as illustrated by the flogging and crucifixion of Jesus, made robbers think twice about robbing – the roads and sea lanes were safe.  The Greeks had been around before the Romans and spread their language widely.  Most people could speak Greek as well as their native language.  The Jewish religion with a monotheistic (one God) base was well established in Judea and had spread as Jews were dispersed all over the world by captivity and persecution.  So there you have it – the witnesses for Christ could travel safely, they could talk to the people they met, and they knew to look for the Jewish synagogue when they arrived in a new place.

God is such a good planner!  We know from the Bible that he promised to give the apostles the right words to say through the Holy Spirit (Mark 13.11).  And we can see from history that He also arranged for safe and timely road trips, provided straightforward verbal communication, and placed people to be witnessed to in the entire world. Wow.  As the A-Team leader says, “I love it when a plan comes together.”

 

Read the first chapter of The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, by Jean-Baptistie Sawadogo and Marcia A Munger for a fuller development of the right time.

 See tomorrow’s post for a related message, “In the Right Places”.