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

An Early Confession

The book of Galatians is one of Paul's earliest works. In it, he combatted the idea that faith plus works lead to salvation. He warned his audience about the danger of trying to obtain God's favor through the keeping of the law (and losing God's favor when disobeying the law).

And, here, to bolster his argument, Paul seems to have quoted an early Christian confession. There are some clues in the passage that this saying pre-dated Paul and that the early church proclaimed this statement. This formulaic saying was a way for believers to succinctly declare their beliefs, and it makes for a beautiful Christmas meditation because it considers four elements of his coming:

When did he come?
Where did he come from?
How did he come?
Why did he come?

Each of these questions is answered in our text, and we will take four weeks to meditate upon these answers. For this third week, we have our third question: how did Jesus come?

Let's observe.

4c ...born of woman, born under the law...

Human, Born of Woman

Over the centuries, many Christians have been bothered by the general nature of Paul's announcement: Born of a woman (4). They would prefer he say Jesus was born of a virgin.

Now, we should note that Jesus was born of a young virgin named Mary. Because she was venerated too highly in the Roman Catholic church -- a way for us to get Christ's attention -- many Protestant Christians have neglected to rejoice over this godly woman.

Mary was a courageous person who willingly accepted God's plan for her life, but her role was a costly one, especially in a society like hers. Her whole life was filled with rumors and innuendo. People whispered that she was a sinful woman. And all those whispers paled in comparison to when she watched her son die a gruesome death.

Mary paid a steep price for her devotion to God, yet she never grew bitter about what she was asked to do. In fact, when the church was in its earliest days, Mary was there, praying and waiting with everyone else for the outpouring of God's Spirit (Acts 1:14). She knew she needed a Savior (Luke 1:47). She knew the Old Testament Scriptures (Luke 1:46-48). And she knew she needed to continue on in Christ's mission.

But why is it significant that the Son of God was born of a woman? Why was it necessary? How does it help us?

Since Jesus was born of a woman, he became human. He is fully God, yet fully man -- a divine mystery that theologians call the hypostatic union. And since humanity was broken, we needed God to create a new humanity, one that is compatible with his holiness and majesty. The old humanity couldn't connect to God -- so Jesus died on the cross for old humanity's sins so that all who trust him could be forgiven and become new. But for a new humanity to be possible, we needed a new human. We'd had Adam, and we all copied his ways, but we needed another option. And Jesus is that option.

"Jesus abolished the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace..." (Ephesians 2:15, ESV)

By the way, this truth that God became man should send shockwaves through your soul. God understands you better than you know because he became like you. He experienced temptation to the furthest degree (Hebrews 4:15). He knows weakness, fatigue, and sadness. He has experienced despair. Better than anyone here, Jesus comprehends the human experience. He can sympathize with our weaknesses.

"For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." (Hebrews 2:18, ESV)

Human, Born Under the Law

Paul also notes that Jesus was born under the law (4). The weight of human obligation was upon him. The moral law of the universe weighed on his mind. The ten commandments were guiding lights for him. The ceremonial law of Israel needed to be fulfilled by him. He was born under the law and subjected to the standard of holiness laid out in Scripture.

Jesus is revealed as an obedient Son who fulfilled the law of God. He was not negligent in even one area.

"Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered." (Hebrews 5:8, ESV)

And Jesus' obedience led to life for disobedient humanity. He paved the way to new life.

But why was it important that Jesus was born under the law? Well, the entire book of Galatians is about the law. The Galatian Christians were beginning to think it would be wise to add the ceremonial law of God back into Christianity. They had begun believing they could attain God's favor that way. "Sure," they thought, "grace is required, but isn't God's grace meant to mix with our good works? Don't we have work to do to acquire God's favor?"

Jesus' birth as a Jewish man put him under the requirements of God's law, a law he fulfilled perfectly so he could be our perfect substitute on the cross.