Providence - Jesus

I suppose the supreme example of providence, is the life of Jesus and the historical setting he was born into.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem which at the time was under Roman rule. Under the reign of Augustus Caesar, Rome had ended its longest, bloodiest civil war. What at the time was called the Pax Romana (Peace of Rome), the Romans were able to vastly expand their borders. North Africa, western Asia, and much of Europe was occupied by Rome and the peace that the Romans enjoyed during that time would also allow for the story of Jesus to spread.

However, that peace would not last for ever. In A.D. 70, the Roman Army in responding to greater provocations from the Jews, who more and more wanted their independence, attacked Jerusalem in a war the historian Josephus would call, “The Jewish Wars”. During this time thousands of Jews are slaughtered, the temple was destroyed, and most of the Jews who survived flee the area.

So it turns out that Jesus is born during the perfect time for his influence to be most greatly felt. Had Jesus been born a few years earlier no one would have ever heard of him because the story of his life would not have been able to spread over the entire area of Rome. Had he had been born later, he would not have been tolerated by a stricter Roman government and would not have been able fulfill the prophecies he made about the temple because it was no longer there.