We Have the Good News of a Savior Who Conquers Evil based on Genesis 3:14-15

Let us pray: Let the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Some history books record that people fighting in World War I thought they were fighting “the war to end all wars.” Sadly, people all over the world were injured and killed during World War I. We know from more recent history books that World War I did not end the fighting of wars. World War II led to the wounding and death for many more people throughout the world. Since I was born a little over 60 years ago, many more Americans have suffered and lost their lives in battles fought in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan (to name a few). We still have wars going on today in Israel, Ukraine, and the Congo in Africa.

Today we will be reminded that there is a real “war to end all wars” that will one day accomplish that goal. This week’s Gospel Good News from the Old Testament Book of Genesis gives us an overview of God’s plan to put an end to all wars.

The war began in heaven. The last book of the Bible tells us about that war in Revelation 12:7–9, “Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” The apostle John wrote this in his book of Revelation. That account tells us the true identity of the serpent in the garden of Eden. The serpent who tempted Adam and Eve to disobey God’s command not to eat the forbidden fruit was the devil, also known as Satan.

On the sixth day of creation, after God created Adam and Eve, everything was called “very good.” Sometime after that the devil rebelled against God in heaven and he was thrown down to the earth with his evil angels. Sometime after that Satan tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit that he told her would make her able to know good and evil and would not lead to her death. Eve ate the forbidden fruit and gave some to Adam and he also ate. Then Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent for their disobedience.

Next, the Lord God said to the serpent, that is, the devil, in Genesis 3:14, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.” That was not good news for Satan. He had already been thrown out of heaven with his evil angels. Now he was cursed by the Lord God. That curse was what the devil deserved.

The Lord God followed that curse by telling the devil in the hearing of Adam and Eve some bad news and some good news. The Lord God continued in Genesis 3:15, “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.” I used the New International Version of the Bible when I was starting out as a pastor over 30 years ago and the words in that version of Genesis 3:15 are : “And 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.” The Hebrew word translated as “bruise” in the English Standard Version is the same word used two times. The Hebrew word is the same word in the New International Version that is translated as “crush” and “strike.” A footnote in the New International Version states the word translated as “crush” can also mean “strike.”

What does that phrase mean, “he will bruise your head and you will bruise his heel” or “he will crush your head and you will strike his heel”? That phrase is called by Lutheran Bible scholars the “Protoevangelium” or the “first gospel.” There has been enmity or hatred between the devil and human beings ever since that first act of disobedience by Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden.

The traditional way to understand the words of Genesis 3:15 is by seeing Jesus as the One who came to defeat the devil as the “offspring of the woman” who would bruise the head of Satan. According to this view, the words about “bruising his heel” refer to Jesus dying on the cross for the sins and wrongs of the world and being raised in victory on the third day.

A Lutheran pastor writes, “To understand this, it can help to consider an example from another war. In World War II, when the allies were victorious on D-Day and had successfully landed a massive army back on the European continent, the outcome of the war in Europe was certain. The decisive blow had been dealt. The Allied army would push irresistibly toward the enemy German homeland. But the war in Europe didn’t actually come to its completion until eleven months later, on V-E Day. The enemy fought tooth and nail until the end.

“In a similar way, in his death and resurrection, Christ has already dealt Satan the decisive, fatal blow that guarantees the outcome of the war. But the war won’t come to its final completion until Judgment Day, when Christ’s victory will be complete. Meanwhile, we live in the gap between the ‘already’ and the ‘not yet’—the period when the decisive battle has already been won but the fighting is not yet over; Satan and his forces will fight until the bitter end.” (See CPR Vol. 35, part 2, p. 54)

Hebrews 2:14 tells us the good news, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death (Jesus) might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil.”

In Romans 16:20 we are given even more good news, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.