Easter Series – Week One The Plan Before the Pain

Easter Series – Week One

The Plan Before the Pain

Genesis 3:1–15

Genesis 3:1–15 ESV

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but Eve said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 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. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “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. 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.”

Introduction

This morning we begin a journey that will lead us to the most important moment in all of human history—the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Over the next several weeks, we are going to walk step by step through the events that led to the cross and the empty tomb.

Easter did not happen suddenly or by accident. Long before the pain of the cross, there was a plan. Long before the suffering, there was a promise. And long before the resurrection morning, God was already working to redeem His people.

So each week we will move closer to Calvary, watching the story unfold, seeing the tension build, and discovering how God was preparing the world—and our hearts—for the moment when death would be defeated and hope would rise again.

This series is about more than remembering a story. It is about understanding the plan of God, the seriousness of sin, the cost of redemption, and the power of the risen Savior who changes everything.

If you ask most people where the story of Easter begins, they will usually point to a manger in Bethlehem… or perhaps to a hill called Calvary where Jesus died.

But the truth is, Easter did not begin in Bethlehem. Easter did not begin at Calvary.

Easter began in a garden.

Long before the cross was raised… long before the stone was rolled away… long before the disciples ever followed Jesus…

God had already set a plan in motion.

That plan began the moment sin entered the world.

Today we open our Bibles to Genesis chapter 3, one of the most important chapters in all of Scripture.

Because if you do not understand Genesis 3… you will never fully understand the cross.

Genesis 3 explains why the world is broken. Genesis 3 explains why sin grips the human heart. Genesis 3 explains why death exists.

But Genesis 3 also contains the first promise of redemption.

Let’s begin reading in verse 1.

I. The Subtle Attack

Genesis 3:1 ESV

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

Notice something very important.

The first recorded words of Satan in Scripture are not a command to rebel.

They are a questions.

“Did God actually say…?”

The enemy does not begin with open rebellion.

He begins with doubt about God’s Word.

That is the strategy.

If Satan can get people to question the authority of God's Word, he can eventually get them to ignore it.

And church, that strategy has not changed.

Today the culture is filled with the same question:

Did God really say that marriage is between a man and a woman?

Did God really say sin requires repentance?

Did God really say Jesus is the only way to salvation?

The attack on the authority of Scripture is not new.

It started in the garden.

But notice something else in the text.

The fall did not begin with a bite of fruit.

It began with a conversation.

The Gradual Fall: How Sin Slowly Takes Ground

When we read Genesis 3 quickly, it feels like everything collapsed instantly.

But that is not what actually happened.

Sin entered the world through a gradual compromise.

And that is still how sin works today.

Very few people wake up one day and suddenly decide to destroy their lives.

Most people drift there slowly.

And that is exactly what we see happening in this passage.

Step One: Questioning God’s Word

The serpent begins by asking:

“Did God actually say…?”

The enemy wants Eve to reconsider what God has already spoken.

And once doubt enters the heart, compromise is already knocking at the door.

So he questions God’s word, then he:

Step Two: Adjusting God’s Word

In verses 2 and 3, Eve responds.

But listen carefully to what she does.

God had said:

“You shall not eat of the tree.”

But Eve says,

“Neither shall you touch it.”

She adds to what God said.

She begins adjusting the command.

And whenever people start adjusting God's Word to make it more comfortable, they are already on dangerous ground.

Step Three: Believing the Lie

Then the serpent speaks again in verse 4.

“You will not surely die.”

In other words:

God is exaggerating. God is restrictive. God is holding something good back from you.

That lie is everywhere in our culture today.

People say:

God’s commands are outdated. Sin is not that serious. Everyone can live however they want.

But the enemy has been telling that lie since the garden.

So, first they question God’s word, then they adjust Gods word, and before you know it they began to believe the lie. Once the lies become belief then they begin to justify the desires of sin.

Step Four: Justifying the Desire

Verse 6 says,

Genesis 3:6 ESV

6 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 begins reasoning with the temptation.

She convinces herself that what God forbade might actually be good.

This is how compromise works.

People begin telling themselves:

“It’s not that bad.”

“Everyone else is doing it.”

“I can handle it.”

“I deserve this.”

But sin always begins with justification.

Step Five: The Action

Then finally the text says,

“She took of its fruit and ate.”

By the time Eve took the fruit, the fall had already happened in her heart.

Sin always begins internally before it becomes external.

And church, this is where we need to be honest about what we are seeing in our generation.

There is a slow drift happening in the modern church.

Many people who claim the name of Christ are becoming more comfortable with the culture than with the Word of God.

Truth is being softened.

Sin is being normalized.

Lines that God drew clearly in Scripture are slowly being blurred.

And the danger is that spiritual drift rarely feels dramatic.

It feels gradual.

One small compromise. Then another. Then another.

Until eventually people who once stood firmly on Scripture begin to drift further and further away from truth.

But the fall always begins with small compromises.

II. The Fatal Exchange

Genesis 3:6–7

Now look at what happens next.

“So when the woman saw… she took… and she ate… and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.”

Notice the progression.

She saw. She desired. She took. She ate.

And in that moment everything changed.

Verse 7 says,

“Then the eyes of both were opened.”

But what did they gain?

They gained knowledge… but they lost innocence.

They gained awareness… but they lost peace.

They gained independence… but they lost intimacy with God.

And the first evidence of sin in the human heart appears immediately.

Shame.

The Bible says they realized they were naked and they tried to cover themselves.

And then something else happened.

They hid.

III. The Divine Pursuit

Genesis 3:8–13

Verse 8 says,

“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day…”

Imagine the moment.

Adam and Eve had just committed the first sin in human history.

And now they hear the footsteps of God.

But God does not come with immediate destruction.

Instead, He asks a question.

Verse 9:

“But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’”

God was not asking for information.

God knew exactly where Adam was.

God was offering an invitation.

It was an invitation to come out of hiding.

And here we see the heart of the Gospel.

After sin enters the world, the first move is not man seeking God.

The first move is God seeking man.

From the garden of Eden… to the cross of Calvary… to this very moment…

God is still calling out,

“Where are you?”

IV. The First Promise

Genesis 3:14–15

Now God addresses the serpent.

And in verse 15 we find the first whisper of the Gospel.

“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.”

This verse is often called the first Gospel.

Because even as judgment is spoken, a promise is given.

God declares that a battle is coming.

The serpent will strike the heel.

Painful… but not final.

But one day the offspring of the woman will crush the serpent’s head.

A head wound is decisive.

It is final.

It is victory.

And at this moment in Genesis 3 we do not yet know who this promised deliverer will be.

But the promise has been spoken.

One day someone will come.

One day someone will defeat the serpent.

One day someone will undo the curse of sin.

Closing

And from this moment forward, the entire Bible begins asking one question.

Who is the seed?

Who is the one who will crush the serpent?

Who is the one who will defeat sin and death?

And thousands of years later…

in a small town called Bethlehem…

a child was born.

And the plan of redemption that began in the garden finally began to unfold.

Church, Easter did not begin at the empty tomb.

Easter began the moment God made a promise in the garden.

Before there was a cross… before there was a resurrection…

There was already a plan.

A plan to rescue sinners.

A plan to defeat death.

A plan to crush the serpent.

And over the next several weeks we are going to watch that plan unfold… all the way to the empty tomb.