Even though it seems a lot longer, thanks to the insane days of this covid-19 pandemic, it was just in late February we began this blog series. Today – on Good Friday – I want to conclude it. Our key verse has been Genesis 3:15. The Amplified Bible renders it this way: “And I will put enmity (open hostility) between you and the woman, and between your seed (offspring) and her Seed; He shall [fatally] bruise your head, you shall [only] bruise His heel” (brackets in original). Jesus Christ’s death on the cross wasn’t an accident; it was God’s plan. Centuries before, in Genesis 3, it was predicted that His heel was going to be bruised on the cross. Why? To atone for humanity’s sin.
Watchman Nee is his classic work “The Normal Christian Life” writes, “We need forgiveness for the sins we have committed, lest we come under judgment; and they are forgiven, not because God overlooks what we have done, but because he sees the Blood…It is God’s holiness, God’s righteousness, which demands that a sinless life be given for man. There is life in the Blood, and that Blood has to be poured out for me, for my sins…The Blood of Christ wholly satisfies God.”
This is supremely good news. But there is more! Genesis 3:15 says that not only will Christ’s heel be bruised, but also He shall "fatally bruise" the head of the devil. As I was putting all this together, I remembered a talk by David Kyle Foster; years ago, someone gave it to me as a gift, on a cassette tape (anyone remember those?). In it, Foster stated that Satan worked so hard to instigate the death of Jesus on the cross, but even through that, God was at work, and Satan just ended up dooming himself in the process. As Foster aptly put it, the devil actually “signed his own death warrant.” The brilliance of God astounds me!
Let me try to illustrate this. Last Sunday, Fox Sports re-aired Super Bowl 45. This is when the Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers by a score of 31-25. No matter how close the score was at various junctions, Packers fans could watch the game last week without any fear, because they knew victory was already certain (Steelers fans probably just skipped it altogether). In the same way, the devil is defeated. Oh, he can rear his ugly head, but Jesus won the victory on the cross!
In conclusion, while I don’t want to move to quickly from this scene of Christ’s love for humanity at Calvary, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention one last thing. While Jesus was undeniably dead, on Sunday, He arose from the grave! Once again, Genesis 3:15 – in the Amplified Bible – says that the devil’s demise will be fatal, but notably, the verse concludes with these words: “you shall [only] bruise His heel.” In the book of Acts, we see Christ’s disciples repeatedly testifying to what they had seen with their own eyes: Jesus’ death and subsequent resurrection. At one point in Acts we read this powerful declaration:
“And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death. Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead” (Acts 13:28-30). In verse 38 it says, “Therefore, let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you, the forgiveness of sins; [39] and by Him everyone who believes is justified.”
Kevin
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