But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. (Galatians 4:4-5)

Two Necessary Births

There are two elements that Jesus needed to come to earth, which are essential for His mission. Jesus had to be born of a woman and born under the Law of Moses. These two parts of the mission to save humanity explain the purpose and design of why He came. At creation, Jesus was there when Adam and Eve were created in the image of God. Adam and Eve were eternal creatures that bore the body of flesh. When sin changed the relationship between man and God, the scheme of redemption was enacted through the promises of God. To save the creature, the Creator had to become like His creation.

Jesus had to be born of a woman to be in the fashion of a man. God could have sent Jesus to earth as a full-grown man to accomplish His will, but the relationship of man to God would have been compromised if Jesus did not become like His brethren. The Holy Spirit conceived in the womb of a young virgin the spirit of Jesus to be born in the same fashion as all men. Jesus was in the womb for a period of nine months, according to the natural pattern of childbearing. When Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem, the days were complete for her to be delivered. She brought forth her son in the same manner all women bring forth their children. Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger.

To be born of a woman connects Jesus with all the children of Adam. Luke’s genealogy shows that Jesus is the son of Adam, the son of God. This genealogy ties Jesus to the human factor to share in the human experience in every way. He is God, but He became man in the flesh. Jesus knew hunger, thirst, weariness, sadness, grief, anger, disappointment, and Jesus wept. He was tempted in all points as any man. When they crucified Him on the cross, He refused the anesthetic drink that was offered so that He would experience the full measure of suffering. Jesus died because he was born of a woman.

The second necessity for Jesus was to be born under the Law of Moses. Matthew shows in his genealogy that Jesus was a son of David, a son of Abraham. He was circumcised on the eighth day according to the Law. Jesus was raised under the Law and never broke one commandment. His life was measured by the keeping of the Law. There was never a time in His life that He failed one commandment of the Law. Breaking a commandment brought the curse of sin, but Jesus never sinned. He showed humankind that He could live in perfection before the Father. No man came close to keeping the Law as Jesus. Through the example of Jesus, the Son of God proved that man is helpless without Him. The Jews could not keep the Law given to them, and the Gentiles failed in trying to be a law to themselves. Jesus was a Jew, lived as a Jew, and died to seal the new covenant with His blood in the fashion of the sacrificial lamb of the final Egyptian plague.

The fullness of time was a single time in history when everything was ready for the Son of God to come to earth. Jesus had to be born during this time, He had to be born of a woman, and He had to be born under the Law of Moses. This makes Him the perfect Savior to all men, whether Jew or Gentile. Jesus can sympathize with the trials of the human spirit because He experienced the same. Living perfectly under the Law of Moses establishes His authority as King of Kings and Lord of Lords to the salvation of all men. Born of a woman and born under the Law. Thank God.