compel the Virgin Mary to say “Yes”, rather than, “No”. Indeed her glory is that she said “Yes” freely. How could you allow all your hopes and dreams for mankind to hang by the thread of somebody's consent? And what would you do, if that consent were refused? Make no mistake about it, the likelihood nowadays is that the answer would be “No”. Whether people had finer characters in those days, were less concerned with their happiness and self-fulfilment, or were more willing to sacrifice themselves, it is no good denying that devotion to duty is nowadays not a popular slogan. So you would have to choose your time well, when the chance of a positive response was greatest. All is not lost today. Much in science has only become possible with the arrival of computers; our attitude to the heavens has been changed as dramatically by the Voyager satellites, as by Newton's law of gravitation. In the spiritual world too, it is possible to have a breadth of knowledge, and therefore a maturity of outlook, that was not possible a century ago. But it would not be possible to have a Redeemer nowadays. The time for him must always be very limited indeed. Probably historically there was only one time: when Jewish devotion was surrounded by Greek culture and a rather brutal Roman peace. Only in those conditions would a very gifted Jewish boy see the need to respond to his vocation to be the Redeemer; because if he did not, there would be nothing left. Thank goodness he did!
In theological terms, the answer is that his Godhead is the price of his obedience. He is perfectly free to lead his own life, but the price of his doing so has to be the surrender of his divinity. Just as the ordinary man has to surrender part of his consciousness to do evil, so the Redeemer has to surrender his Godhead to be independent, like Esau for a plate of stew. And this surrender must be so terrible as to be unthinkable; in other words the terror of the surrender must not be remote and metaphysical, it must be immediate and vital.