Les Feldick Bible Study

Why doesn't Paul mention Joseph and Mary in Galatians 4?

The details about Joseph and Mary were already implied and prophesied, so Paul did not need to rehearse them; he moves directly to the crucial point that Christ was born in Bethlehem at the exact time appointed by God's timetable, when the fullness of the time had come.

Les explains that after four thousand years of varying types of responsibility, God does something totally different. It begins with the fulfillment of a promise made in Genesis chapter three, verse fifteen. In verse four, when the fullness of the time was come, it means that according to God's schedule, at the exact right day and hour and year, the Messiah was born in Bethlehem. Paul does not have to rehearse all the details of Joseph and Mary because that was already implied and prophesied. Instead, Paul brings us right to the crucial point of Christ's birth in Bethlehem, and the reason it happened was that it was in God's timetable. This is the Christmas story, if you want to call it that.

Galatians 4:4

But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

More Questions

When was Christ born according to Galatians 4?

Christ was born in the fullness of time, right on God's timetable, as Galatians 4 teaches.