Crushing the Serpent
| And I will put enmity between you (the serpent) and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel. (Genesis3:15) |
In the movie, the Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson portrays Jesus praying in the Garden - and Satan, in the form of a serpent, is trying to talk Him out of going to the cross. The scene culminates in Jesus praying "Not my will, but Yours be done." As Jesus gets up to meet Judas and the soldiers coming to arrest Him, He stomps His heel on the head of the serpent who is tempting Him.
It is a powerful portrayal of the fulfilment of the oldest Messianic prophecy...
When Adam and Eve fell into sin, God announced the consequences on Adam, Eve, humanity and the serpent. The prophecy reveals the ongoing enmity between Satan and humanity. Right at the very beginning - just hours after Adam and Eve rejected God's commands and tried to be their own gods - God promised that their enemy, Satan, would be defeated by a Son (an offspring of the woman) who would crush his head. But it will come at a cost - the serpent will strike the Saviour's heel)
The arrest, the mocking, the scourging, the nails, the cross - all of this is Satan's strike to the heel of the Saviour. But the Saviour will rise. Sin, Death and Satan are to be defeated.
As we head into this third last day of Lent and the beautiful Easter story unfolds, let us consider this:
Right at the beginning, when Adam and Eve sinned, God was clear - this is what it would take and this is what it would COST.
- Right at the beginning Jesus was willing to pay the price,
- just before He was sent into Mary's womb Jesus was willing to do it (See Philippians 2:6-7),
- during the temptations Jesus was willing to do it,
- in the Garden He was willing to do it.
And then He DID it.
They will proclaim his righteousness
to a people yet unborn--for he has done it.(Psalm 22:31)
Let us worship Him in awe-struck wonder!
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This brings us to the end of the devotions for Lent and Holy Week.
May you and your loved ones be blessed as we celebrate the greatest love ever shown.
EmmDevs will resume when schools re-start.
(This was a re-worked EmmDev tweaked from a few years ago.)
