Good New amid chaos

Genesis 3:15

By Ysrael De la Cruz

Today is considered the 2^nd Sunday of advent, a Sunday of preparation for the arrival of Christmas.  Once Thanksgiving is over, many people start their preparation for Christmas; going to the stores you are reminded that Christmas is coming.  Taking a walk in the neighborhood reminds you that Christmas is near as you look and enjoy the lights and decorations all around you.  Christmas this year will come during a pandemic.  It is as though there is hope and good news in the middle of chaos.  Christmas will come, nothing will stop it from coming.  During the Christmas season it is common to hear sermons about the announcement of the angels to Mary, “ You will be with a child and give him the name Jesus.” or to the shepherds “I bring you good news of great joy for people.”

The first announcement of Good News happened in the book of Genesis.  It came about amid chaos, confusion.

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.”

Genesis 3 tells us the sad story of how mankind failed God.  It is known as the fall of mankind.  Fall from what?  From their position they were given by their Creator.  Adam and Eve went against God’s instruction because the serpent suggested to Eve that God was not being completely honest with them.  God said not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and Satan said, if you eat of it, you will be like God.

This created the biggest problem in the world, a problem that we still feel the effect today and is the cause of the evil we see around us today.  Sin entered the world of humans and it affected their relationship with their Creator; It affected the relationship with each other (Ever wonder why we can’t get along with certain people? Or why there is racial discrimination in societies? Sin.

It affected the relationship between people and nature.  Everything was turned upside-down in the world of man.

However, amid all this, there is good news.  God announced the gospel in Genesis 3:15 This announcement pointed to hope and restoration.

“I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring….

God announced a war (animosity) between the woman and Satan and the descendants of the woman and the descendants of Satan.  From that moment on Satan has been at war with every person born in the world.  Every person is born of a woman and such person is a potential candidate for Satan to manipulate and destroy.  You see evidence of this war in the next chapter in Genesis where a man killed his own brother.

Every attack of Satan against a person is against the offspring of the woman because everyone is born of a woman.

God announced that one of the offspring of the woman will crush the head of Satan, even though Satan will strike his heel.  He will bring an end to this war.

Notice, the text talks about a “He” (Male) born of a woman will put an end to Satan’s schemes.

Thousands of years later God announced through the prophets the coming of the one who will crush Satan’s head.  Isa.7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

This child would be born without the intervention of a man.  He will come from a woman and his name will be Immanuel (God with us).

Satan thought he won the battle at the crucifixion.  Jesus was nailed to a cross with nails on his wrists and his heels.  Satan struck the offspring of the woman and he thought he won the battle.

But Jesus crushed Satan’s head with his death and resurrection.

Hebrews 2:14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,

1 John 3:8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

Even though people created the problem way back in Genesis. God announced the solution to the sin problem.  This is the gospel, good news for the world.  Jesus is the solution to our problems created by sin. This world is full of problems, but in the midst of it, God sent us a solution two thousand years ago.  Jesus continues to be good news for our world.