Why doesn't Paul include the details of Joseph and Mary in Galatians 4:4?
Paul omits the details of Joseph and Mary because they were already implied and prophesied in Scripture. His focus in Galatians 4:4 is the crucial point that at the fullness of time, according to God's exact timetable, the Messiah was born in Bethlehem.
Les explains that after four thousand years of varying types of responsibility, God did something totally different. The work of the cross could not be finished until Christ was first born at Bethlehem. Paul does not rehearse the details of Joseph and Mary because they were already implied and prophesied. Instead, Paul brings us to the crucial point: at the fullness of the time, according to God's schedule, at the exact right day, hour, and year, the Messiah was born in Bethlehem. This fulfilled the promise made in Genesis chapter three, verse fifteen. Les notes that someone once asked a pastor why he didn't spend more time in Paul and leave off the four Gospels; the pastor replied that if he left the Gospels, he would have nothing to say about the Christmas story. Les calls that ridiculous, because Galatians 4:4 is itself the Christmas story—it refers to Christ's birth in Bethlehem. Why did it happen? Because it was in God's timetable.
But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
More Questions
Is the Christmas story only found in the four Gospels?
Galatians 4:4 is the Christmas story — it refers to Christ's birth in Bethlehem, so Paul's letters do contain the Christmas story, contrary to the claim that you have to stay in the four Gospels for it.
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.