First Gospel – June 13, 2024

“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
Genesis 3:15

First Gospel

There is no darker moment in history. Tempted by Satan in the serpent, Adam and Eve have severed their bond of trust with their Creator. Sin has flowed into its place. The effects are immediate. Adam and Eve try to hide from God. When God calls upon them to acknowledge what they have done, all they do is point fingers. Eve portrays herself as a helpless victim. Adam blames his wife and even airily suggests God himself was not very helpful either.

In this moment, it is clear that Adam and Eve are lost. There is no heartfelt confession or repentance. There is no cry to God for rescue. There is only the calloused apathy of sin. In this moment, God has every right to walk away in righteous disgust. He has every right to abandon them in contempt and to the existence they have chosen: an outer darkness apart from God and his goodness.

But God does not walk away. Instead, he gives a promise. He turns to the serpent and tells the devil that someone is coming one day—someone who will be a specific offspring of Adam and Eve and who will undo what has just taken place. “He will crush your head,” God tells the devil. But in the process, the devil “will strike his heel.” He will cause this special person great suffering.

There is not much detail in this promise; more details will come later. But its brevity takes nothing away from its power, impact, and ramifications. What God proclaims within Adam and Eve’s hearing this day is what theologians call the Protevangel—the First Gospel, the first promise of a Savior from sin.

But do not forget the context of the moment. God promises to send us a Savior from sin, not because we begged him, not because we have fallen before his feet, not because we have made some effort to make up for what we have done. He sends a Savior because we need one.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, even though we wanted nothing to do with you, you rescued us anyway. What wondrous love is this, O my soul? Amen.