Advent Day 2: Genesis and Jesus

"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." Genesis 3:15

When looking for verses about Jesus, Genesis is usually the last place I look. For the longest time, I thought the only passage in the Old Testament that talked about Jesus at any length was Isaiah 53. But sure enough, Jesus is everywhere throughout the Old Testament...even in Genesis.

Right after Adam and Eve eat the fateful apple and fall out of community with God, God veils his plan for redemption in the punishment he gives. He tells the snake that there will always be enmity between Eve's offspring (everyone) and the snake (an embodiment of Sin and Satan). At the same time, he ends the curse with the very strange and cryptic line, "he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." Theologians call this line the Prolegomena, which means the "first thing". This is the first mention or allusion to Christ that the Bible makes. Eve's offspring (Christ) will one day crush Satan, but he won't do so without injury to himself either (the Cross).

When this was first explained to me, the impact was a little lost. It was probably all the fancy terminology. But as I thought more about it, I became more and more amazed. From the very beginning, the moment mankind fell from grace, God had a plan, and that plan was Jesus!

I want to challenge us this Christmas season as we think about Jesus' birth to remember that him coming was no accident. He was there even in Genesis. He was God's conquering lamb prepped, ready, and waiting for the right time to stoop down and conquer over the evil one enslaving the world.

Praise Jesus that he was no accident!

...

On another note, as I wrote this post I was listening to Andrew Peterson's Christmas album, Behold the Lamb. He is an incredibly gifted, theologically-minded songwriter and shares his Christmas album as a free listen every year. So check it out right here.