Good Friday 2021
Genesis 3.15
Introduction
Before we moved back to Michigan in 2013, Bethany and I lived in Kentucky for several years. Our two oldest boys were born there. For the last two years we lived in the bluegrass state I pastored a small rural church. One day we were driving to visit an elderly couple from the church that lived out in the sticks. As we were driving down the gravel back road to their house a big snake slithered across the road and Bethany let out a high pitch scream. Now Bethany is one of those wives who will let out a gasp while I’m driving that will scare me half to death. Then she’ll say something like, “sorry babe, my friend just texted me blah blah blah.” As bad as that is normally, this was not a gasp. This was a high-pitched scream at the unexpected sight of a snake.
There’s something unsettling about snakes. Even Indiana Jones, the man who is not afraid of anything, the man who single handedly rescued the Ark of the Covenant from the Nazis, even he hated snakes. When he jumped into Jock Lindsay’s plane to find Reggie the snake in his seat, he was not happy. At one point he famously asked, “Why did it have to be snakes?”
The bad blood that exists between humanity and the reptile goes back to the beginning. It goes back to the very first man and his wife. And it is the reason for Good Friday. The death of Jesus Christ on the cross is the result of and the salvation from what Pastor Kevin read in our call to worship. On this Good Friday 2021 we’re going to spend the few moments of this homily meditating on the curse YHWH gave the serpent in the garden.
Genesis 3.15 has been called the protoevangelion, the very first gospel. But what does God’s curse of the serpent have to do with the gospel? And what does it have to do with Good Friday? The answer is death, the death of Adam and the death of Jesus. And why the death of Jesus is good news.
Death from Adam
The story begins before Genesis 3, though. God spoke all of creation into existence. He created Adam in his image. He then created Eve from Adam because it was not good that the man was alone. God then gave Adam a command.
The command was that he was not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for the day that he ate of the tree he would surely die (Gen 2.17). It’s important to note that YHWH gave Adam the command not to eat of the tree before he created Eve. Eve did not hear the command from the voice of God; Adam did. That means Adam bore the responsibility to teach his wife and children the word of God.
Then we come to Genesis 3. Scripture says the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that YHWH God had made (Gen 3.1). As Western Christians we’re so familiar with this pericope that we don’t hear it like the original audience did. Moses’ ancient Near Eastern readers would have been alerted to what is going on here. Israel also would have known that the serpent was an unclean animal. They would have known that this was not good – an unclean animal is in God’s perfect garden. This is a problem.
The serpent’s words confirm their suspicions. He says to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’” First things first, let us repent of our fluency with this narrative. It has never been normal for snakes to talk. It is not normal now and it was not normal then. Eve should have been freaked out. Like, why is this snake talking to me? But instead of questioning her scenario she converses. And what is this talking snake saying? He’s questioning the word of God. “Did God really say?”
Eve responds that they can eat of the fruit of the trees but God said they must not eat of the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden; neither shall they touch it, lest they die. Here we have our very first case of legalism in the Bible. Eve adds to the word of God. YHWH never said she couldn’t touch the tree. This is an extra biblical rule.
Remember Eve didn’t hear God give Adam the command so it’s logical to assume that Adam told Eve not to touch the tree overprotecting her from eating the forbidden fruit. But that was not God’s word. Whether they had good intentions or not they added to the Word of God. Like 20th century fundamentalists that say don’t drink alcohol so you won’t be a drunkard, they condemn Christ himself who was fond of wine. Lord, forgive us when we bind the conscience of people with extra biblical legalism.
And then in verse 4 we hear the very first lie that echoes in our hearts to this day. The words of the serpent are the essence of total depravity. They encapsulate the idolatry and rebellion, which are the seeds of all sin ever committed: You will not surely die. The words of the enemy falsely promise that there are no consequences for sin. God told Adam that the wages of sin was death (Rom 6.23) and the serpent claims the opposite. He said that the wages of sin are eternal life. He told Eve that if she ate her eyes would be opened and she would be like God.
But the serpent is a liar. Eve was already like God. Adam and Eve were created in the image of God. But the woman listened to the serpent:
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate (Gen 3.6).
And there we have the big reveal. Adam was standing there the whole time and he did nothing. Adam was the one YHWH commanded not to eat. It was his responsibility to teach and protect his wife. Adam was called to be the priest-king of this cosmic temple that God created. When he saw the serpent slither into the garden and start talking to his wife he should’ve crushed the serpent’s head right then and there.
Even if it got to the point when Eve ate and then handed the fruit to him Adam should have called upon the LORD and confessed that his wife had sinned. Then Adam should have offered himself as a sinless sacrifice in the place of his wife. But he didn’t. He ate. And when Adam sinned, humanity and all of the creation fell with him. Just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned (Rom 5.12).
Death of Christ
But thanks be to God that the story of redemption doesn’t end there. When his people sinned God came running. And the first thing God does is judge the serpent. In Genesis 3.15 YHWH says: I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. Pastor Kevin is going to preach Easter Sunday about the bruising of the serpent’s head. Let me invite you now, if you are looking for a place to worship the risen Lord Jesus this Sunday please join us at 10:30 am.
But the bruising of the serpent’s head is only one half of the first gospel promise. The other half is that there will be an offspring of Eve and the serpent will bruise his heel. And this is what Good Friday is all about. The second person of the Holy Trinity was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. Good Friday is about the day when the serpent struck the heel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus lived covenant faithfulness. He lived a life without sin. He was the unblemished lamb who takes away sin. And on the very first Good Friday he died on the cross in the place of his people. The Lamb of God died bearing the wrath of God for the sins of the elect. Jesus experienced the hell of God’s justice. He bore the damnation of God. Jesus did what Adam didn’t. Jesus stood up and said, “my bride has sinned and I will die in her place.”
Like I said we’re not going to spend time tonight thinking about the crushing of the serpent’s head, but don’t worry Sunday is coming. It is interesting though that the Scripture says that this man will bruise or crush the serpent’s head and the serpent will bruise his heel. The Hebrew word for and is the copulative conjunction וְ. One Hebrew lexicon says that this word, “possessed a demonstrative force” Another way to say it is that the serpent’s head will be crushed by the serpent’s bruising of his heel. The victory of God comes through the death of Jesus Christ. We will have a lion on Sunday because he is the lamb on Friday.
And we will have cause for rejoicing come Sunday but for tonight we must feel the weight of our sin. Sin brought death. The perfect Son of God died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures (1st Cor 15.3). But the death of Jesus brings life. If you will repent of your sin and trust in Jesus Christ alone you will be saved. Acknowledge that you are a sinner who deserves hell. Repent of your sin and look to Jesus Christ alone for your only hope in life and death. If you do so God will save you right now. Confess what we sang at the beginning of our liturgy: “Behold the man upon the cross; my sin upon his shoulders; ashamed I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held him there until it was accomplished. His dying breath has brought me life; I know that it is finished!”
Conclusion
I wish that Eve had had the same reaction to the serpent that Bethany did on that old gravel road. I wish that she wanted nothing to do with him. I wish that Adam had been more like Indiana Jones and loathed the snake rather than listen to him. But if it were me I would have done the same thing. But there was one man who didn’t. The man Jesus Christ went toe-to-toe with the devil in the wilderness and he won. Jesus Christ stood as a substitute for his bride on the cross. Adam sinned with the tree bringing death. Jesus died sinless on the tree to bring us life. And on Sunday when Jesus Christ walks out of the tomb that bruised heel will crush the head of that evil serpent. Man, that’s a Good Friday!