“the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert”
Often, when we consider the timing of an event in history, we wonder why that time, rather than 10 year later, or 100 years earlier. In today’s Gospel reading, Luke gives a very detailed historical account of people that help set the stage for John the Baptist and ultimately the coming of Christ. We will explore the people Luke brings up and why John the Baptist and Jesus come on the scene when they do.
Why does Luke put the writing of Isaiah in his gospel? “In doing so, he presents his theme of the universality of salvation, which he has announced earlier in the words of Simeon (2, 30-32).”[i]
Who is Tiberius Caesar? Tiberius was the ruler (or Caesar) of Rome. “Tiberius succeeded Augustus as emperor in 14 A.D. and reigned until 37 A.D. The fifteenth year of his reign, depending on the method of calculating his first regal year, would have fallen between 27-29 A.D. Luke’s gospel gives us one of the most accurate historical dates when he references the “fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar”[ii].
Who was Pontius Pilate? As the scriptures point out, he was the “procurator” (not really the “governor”)[iii] of Judea beginning in 26 AD – 36 AD. “The Jewish historian Josephus describes him as a greedy and ruthless prefect who had little regard for the local Jewish population and their religious practices.”[iv]
Who was Herod? This specific “Herod” Luke is speaking of is Herod Antipas. The word “Herod” was used as a title just like “Ceasar” was used as a title. “Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great. He ruled over Galilee and Perea from 4 B.C. to 39 A.D. His official title tetrarch means literally, ‘ruler of a quarter,’ but came to designate any subordinate prince.”[v]
Who was Philip? Like Herod Antipas, Philip is a son of Herod the Great, tetrarch of the territory to the north and east of the Sea of Galilee from 4 B.B. to 34 A.D. [vi]
Who were the high priests Annas and Caiaphas? “Annas had been high priest 6-15 A.D. After being deposed by the Romans in 15 A.D. he was succeeded by various members of his family and eventually by his son-in-law, Caiaphas, who was high priest 18-36 A.D.”[vii]
Why does Luke list the names of Pilate, Herod, Annas, and Caiaphas? The names Pilate, Herod, Annas, and Caiaphas appear at both the birth and crucifixion of Our Lord to show the link between the birth and death of Jesus. “All these names – Pontius Pilate, Herod, Annas and Caiaphas – belong in the Passion of Christ. So then why do we hear them now before his birth? To remind us of why the Lord was born:’ Jesus Christ was born to die on the cross’ (Saint Leo the Great). The winding road that Christ makes straight is the way to Calvary. With Christ we want to ‘advance secure in the glory of God…with his mercy and justice for company.’ We do that this Advent by living the memory that Christ is born to save us. The ‘affection of Christ Jesus’ moves us to embrace every sacrifice that prepares in us the way of the cross. In Christ’s flesh ‘all flesh sees the salvation of God.’”[viii]
Who is John the Baptist? He was the last and the first of the prophets in that his mission was to announce not only the coming of the Messiah, but also to be the first to proclaim that the Messiah has arrived. “St. John the Baptist is the Lord's immediate precursor or forerunner, sent to prepare his way. ‘Prophet of the Most High’, John surpasses all the prophets, of whom he is the last. He inaugurates the Gospel, already from his mother's womb welcomes the coming of Christ, and rejoices in being ‘the friend of the bridegroom’, whom he points out as ‘the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world’. Going before Jesus ‘in the spirit and power of Elijah’, John bears witness to Christ in his preaching, by his Baptism of conversion, and through his martyrdom.’”[ix]
Search: John the Baptist
Search: John the Baptist: Link between the O.T. and the N.T.
Why does the word of God come to John when it did? The simple answer is because it is exactly when God wanted it to happen, but to answer the larger overall question of exactly why then, only God can answer. Similarly, we ask a logical follow up question: “why does Jesus come into this world when he did?” God willed the time of Christ’s coming and as it says in Scripture, Jesus came in the “fullness of time”. “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption.”[x]
Today, we are able to see the events of salvation through a much wider lens, knowing the events leading up to Christ’s life and the 2000 years following. We can objectively look at history and see now that Jesus came when He did in order to fulfill every prophecy that was made by God through the prophets. “The coming of God's Son to earth is an event of such immensity that God willed to prepare for it over centuries. He makes everything converge on Christ: all the rituals and sacrifices, figures and symbols of the ‘First Covenant’. He announces him through the mouths of the prophets who succeeded one another in Israel. Moreover, he awakens in the hearts of the pagans a dim expectation of this coming.”[xi] Ultimately though, we will never fully know or understand because we are not God. God is outside of time. He sees the beginning, the middle, and the end.
On a similar note, we must recognize that the entire life of Christ, not just His arrival in history, is a mystery; “Many things about Jesus of interest to human curiosity do not figure in the Gospels. Almost nothing is said about his hidden life at Nazareth, and even a great part of his public life is not recounted. What is written in the Gospels was set down there ‘so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.’”[xii]
What is the “fullness of time” in our lives? We can become very anxious in life, especially as we discern God’s will for our lives. We either want to know God’s will now, and are not patient as God reveals His will to us, or perhaps God has revealed His will, but it is not what we will so we continue to discern, ignoring the obvious. When we are discerning God’s will for our lives, we must be patient, but then when He reveals it to us, we must not hesitate to act. Saint John the Baptist and our Blessed Mother did not hesitate to act once the “fullness of time” had taken place. Our Lord affirms the message and mission of Saint John the Baptist when He says, “After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: ‘This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.’”[xiii]
Why is it important to not hesitate to act when the “fullness of time” occurs? Time is important to our temporal life. If we are baking cookies and the fullness of the cooking time occurs, we must act by taking out the cookies or they will burn. A running back must run through the hole created by his linemen at just the right time, or he will be tackled. God is eternal but works in our temporal life. Therefore like Saint John the Baptist and our Blessed Mother, we must act at the right time.
The Church reminds us each Advent season to be ready now! The time for us to repent and make straight our paths for the coming of our Lord is now! It was not just for people 2,000 years ago or for people in the future, but for us today! “When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Savior's first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming. By celebrating the precursor's birth and martyrdom, the Church unites herself to his desire: ‘He must increase, but I must decrease.’”[xiv]
Jesus was born “so that we might receive adoption” as Saint Paul says. Each of us has been created as a son or daughter of God, and in response we are called individually to call God “Our Father”. Each time we pray the “Our Father” we are affirming that we indeed have chosen to receive this adoption that was presented in the “fullness of time”, a fullness that extends to each individual.
[i] Footnotes NAB 3, 1-20
[ii] Footnotes NAB 3, 1
[iii] cf. Jerome Biblical Commentary
[iv] Footnotes NAB 3, 1-20
[v] Footnotes NAB 3, 1
[vi] ibid
[vii] ibid
[viii] Magnificat, Vol. 14, No. 10/December 2012
[ix] CCC 523
[x] Galatians 4:4-5
[xi] CCC 522
[xii] CCC 514
[xiii] Mark 1:14-15
[xiv] CCC 524