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pecatholic
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Why did Jesus come when he came? Why not 1000 years before he did or why not now?
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apromisemade
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Who knows. I’m just thankful he came at all.
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cranster
Guest
I’ll give it a go.
He came in the fullness of time. If He came earlier the Jews probably would have stoned Him to death. If He came later, like today, and claimed to be God, He would have just been thrown on a psych ward. Since Jesus love is infinite, He chose to go all the way in His love for us, meaning He drank the most bitter Chalice possible, both to express that infinite love, and satisfy God’s Justice. He came at a time when the Roman’s were in charge. They were masters at torture, and death. There was not a point in time when he could have suffered more. He drank the greatest cup of suffering possible out of love for us and for our salvation.
He came in the fullness of time. If He came earlier the Jews probably would have stoned Him to death. If He came later, like today, and claimed to be God, He would have just been thrown on a psych ward. Since Jesus love is infinite, He chose to go all the way in His love for us, meaning He drank the most bitter Chalice possible, both to express that infinite love, and satisfy God’s Justice. He came at a time when the Roman’s were in charge. They were masters at torture, and death. There was not a point in time when he could have suffered more. He drank the greatest cup of suffering possible out of love for us and for our salvation.
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Peter_Dawson
Guest
I say that He came when He came because of a special circumstance in the world at that time.
HOW: He came as a Jew because Jews belong to no one, philosophically making the message available for everyone.
WHERE: He came to the Middle East, the crossroads of the world.
WHEN: And He came just as world communication on the waves was beginning to become a possibility.
HOW: He came as a Jew because Jews belong to no one, philosophically making the message available for everyone.
WHERE: He came to the Middle East, the crossroads of the world.
WHEN: And He came just as world communication on the waves was beginning to become a possibility.
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NHInsider
Guest
Mark Shea does a nice exploration of this question about the “fullness of time” in one of his books - I think it’s in Making Senses of Scripture. He talks about how both the faith of the Jews, looking forward to the Messiah, and the “wisdom” of the Greeks, who had found both paganism and philosophy lacking, were at a point where they were ready to receive the Gospel, and of course as has been noted here, the Pax Romana and the transportation and communication systems of the Romans made it possible for the Church to spread the Good News over a wide portion of the world in a relatively short time.
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Eileen_T
Guest
The Roman Empire had opened up travel and communication throughout Europe. They had systems of government in place that made for stability etc…
The rise of Christianity at that time was perfect - as God’s timing always is - and because Christianity was well enough established by the time that civilization started to break down, it enabled them to use the structures of the established Roman Empire to expand across the Roman Empire and beyond.
Peter Dawson:
The rise of Christianity at that time was perfect - as God’s timing always is - and because Christianity was well enough established by the time that civilization started to break down, it enabled them to use the structures of the established Roman Empire to expand across the Roman Empire and beyond.
Peter Dawson:
The Jews were the race chosen by God - His Chosen People - Jesus could not have come as anyone other than a Jew.I say that He came when He came because of a special circumstance in the world at that time.
HOW: He came as a Jew because Jews belong to no one, philosophically making the message available for everyone.
Because that is where the Jewish people lived!WHERE: He came to the Middle East, the crossroads of the world.
Agreed. Because of the Pax Romana, or Roman Peace, which enabled safety across the countries controlled by Rome.WHEN: And He came just as world communication on the waves was beginning to become a possibility.
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cassini
Guest
Great question. The Scriptures tell us He came in the ‘fullness of time’. Interpreting that is easy if one has the faith. For me it means He became man when the timing was PERFECT, that is, the past, present and future of the human race was acomplished and the timing was right for Christianity to emerge. The old Testaments were completed and all in them acomplished. Just study the history of Catholicism thereafter as it spread throughout the world - ‘to ALL nations’ and you will get a sense of that timing.Why did Jesus come when he came? Why not 1000 years before he did or why not now?
It is always a good idea to keep in mind everything to do with God is timed exactly for our benefit to attain salvation. No matter what it is - good or bad from our perspective - it is allowed for our ultimate good.
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Peter_Dawson
Guest
Reality is complex, but God is not bound by its details. He is more aware of the Butterfly Effect than any human. By adjusting the details of reality a teensy weensy bit in the remote past, He could easily have arranged for ANOTHER group to be The Chosen People, and for that group to have lived ELSEWHERE.The Roman Empire had opened up travel and communication throughout Europe. They had systems of government in place that made for stability etc…
The rise of Christianity at that time was perfect - as God’s timing always is - and because Christianity was well enough established by the time that civilization started to break down, it enabled them to use the structures of the established Roman Empire to expand across the Roman Empire and beyond. The Jews were the race chosen by God - His Chosen People - Jesus could not have come as anyone other than a Jew. Because that is where the Jewish people lived!Agreed. Because of the Pax Romana, or Roman Peace, which enabled safety across the countries controlled by Rome.
I agree with your concept that the message spread quickly and efficiently through the Roman Empire. I don’t know how much “safety” there was. The number of martys was vast.
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o_mlly
Guest
Beats me! We cannot know why God does what He does or why He chooses to enter time at a particular instance to do it. To do so we would have to have at a minimum God’s perspective from His position in the center of eternity.Why did Jesus come when he came? Why not 1000 years before he did or why not now?
What we can know with certainty is what He chose to do and when He chose to do it, is the perfect act at the perfect time.
Peace,
O’Malley
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