Jesus: Snake Crusher Extraordinaire || Punishable by God || Week 2

Welcome to our brand-new series called “Punishable by God.” We are moving on to Genesis 3 to discuss the punishments and consequences that God dishes out to the serpent, Eve, and Adam.

Last week, we opened up our discussion on the consequences God gave to the serpent. We introduced the Satan character from the perspective shown in the book of Job. We examined how the snake was the most cursed animal and how those curses are a way of understanding life without God. We also looked at this depiction of the new heaven and the new earth after the battle with the snake.

This week, we continue our discussion with the focus of a future descendant of Eve crushing the head of the snake while the snake bites the foot of them. To refresh our memory, let’s re-read Genesis 3:15

15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

The serpent striking the heel is Satan’s many attempts to defeat Jesus during his life on earth. The offspring striking the head is a prophecy about Satan’s defeat at Jesus’ resurrection. The blow to the head is deadly, while a blow to the heel isn’t.

We will explore these concepts deeper through the false teachers of Jesus’s time and the resurrection of Jesus. Let’s get into it. 

Checking the Truth

We open this part of the discussion by hearing John say this about false teachers in John 8:44.

44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. 

Like before, let’s start by understanding the purpose of the Gospel of John and the context of this verse.

John wanted to prove that Jesus was the Son of God and that all who believed in him would have eternal life. The Gospel of John has six unique miracles not found in the other three. Over 90% of John’s Gospel is unique. The Gospel of John has no genealogy or record of Jesus’ birth, childhood, temptation, transfiguration, appointment of the disciples, or any account of Jesus’ parables, ascension, or great commission. 

John 8 falls almost in the middle of John’s message about the ministry of Jesus being the Son of God. John 2:13-12:50 includes encounters of Jesus with people who believe and don’t believe, encounters of Jesus with the religious leaders with conflicting beliefs, and encounters with important events in Jerusalem. John 8 opens up with the story of the adulterous woman being forgiven (8:1 – 11). Jesus spoke to the crowd, telling them he was the “light of the world” (8:12-20). Jesus then warns the crowd of the coming judgment (8:21-30). Jesus then speaks to the believers about who God’s true children are (8:31-47), which is where we find John 8:44.

Jesus calls out the believers for not truly following and doing what they are supposed to be doing, saying that they are responding out of their sin and evil. Because they believe in his words, Jesus says their true father is the devil. Satan didn’t like the truth, as lying is more consistent with their character. Jesus is known as “the truth,” so the people who respond with hostility and anger aren’t willing to believe in the truth. 

I have read this verse a handful of times in my studies but never realized the severity of the conversation. We see the people overwhelmed with their hatred of truth, love of lying, and murderous intentions. All of this Satan used to obstruct the work that God started. We see this in the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4.

I’ll see if I can summarize the story quickly and get my point across so we can continue because we have three more scriptures to discuss. 

Adam and Eve have two kids in Genesis 4, Cain and Abel. Abel grew up to be a shepherd, while Cain was a farmer. They made their offerings to God. God accepted Abel’s gift but not Cain’s. Why? Well, we don’t know for sure. Some scholars believe it was because Cain didn’t give the best of his crops while Abel gave the best of his animals. We see in Proverbs 21:27 that:

27 The sacrifice of an evil person is detestable, especially when it is offered with wrong motives. 

Cain could have had a bad attitude about what he gave or that his offering didn’t meet God’s standards. We don’t know, but we see that God gave him a chance to do what was right to correct the wrong because sin was getting ready to overcome him. Cain resolved his frustration by murdering Abel. Cain’s emotions caused him to take the life of one of God’s children, another human. Cain committed a sinful act, as his parents did. Cain received his punishment from God, but his punishment wasn’t evil but a way to correct Cain for his actions. Unfortunately, his descendants didn’t correct themselves. As we see in Genesis 6-9, God flooded the earth to purge the world of sin and start again with Noah’s family. 

Satan got his first win in Genesis 3, which paved the way for a second one in Genesis 4, and repeatedly happens until Jesus appears. The truth came to defeat Satan by becoming the perfect sacrifice for our sins and allowing us to be forgiven and have a relationship with God. We see Jesus attempting to correct the wrong that Satan committed, which happens. Jesus is the truth that is more powerful than any lie Satan could tell us. 

Fact Check 

Let’s move to the book of Romans. Paul wrote this letter to the Christians in Rome to introduce himself and present his message before Paul got there. He wrote this with intention. He organized and carefully presented a statement of faith. Paul tells the Christians in Rome what to believe (Romans 1-11) and how to believe (Romans 12-16). 

We pick up in Romans 16, where Paul greets his friends and gives final instructions to these Christians. The instructions primarily involve watching for false doctrine being taught and doing right. Hear what Paul says in Romans 16:20:

20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. 

God’s peace will overcome any temptation. The grace of Jesus resides with us. God’s peace is more significant than anything we can perceive and understand. God’s grace is something that we can never lose because we are God’s chosen people. God loves us more than words can say. Paul wants us to remember this as we hear sermons, read our Bibles, and read self-help books and blogs. Thousands of things are trying to get our attention all the time, so we must always ensure we seek God’s truth. There’s an example in Acts 17 where Christians fact-checked God’s word. It’s Acts 17:10-12, and this is what it says:

10 That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 

11 And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. 

12 As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.

The audience that went to hear Paul and Silas ensured that what they were saying aligned with what their scripture said, even days after they left. I believe it can be hard to do this in today’s culture because there are different denominations and structures of beliefs regarding the variety of Christian doctrines. You and I can read this passage from Acts and glean different things that can lead to different interpretations and beliefs. 

“So Marc, how do I ensure that what I hear falls under the correct doctrine?” First, pray to Jesus and ask him to reveal the truth when it feels hidden. Second, and this is my personal belief, see if what you hear falls under Jesus’ two greatest commands: Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Love your neighbor as Jesus loved you. If the truths fall under those categories for you, then I believe it’s truth. If not, I encourage you to wrestle with why and how they don’t align and see if your truths need to change or if you can solidify your belief structure. Thirdly, read your Bible. Check out the teachings of the Bible and see how they align throughout the Biblical story from both the Old and New Testaments. It’s a journey I’m walking this year in my Bible reading plan. Seeing how Old Testament teaching, concepts, and themes show themselves in the New Testament has been eye-opening for me (and maybe lead to future message series 😉 ).

Eternality

Our last section of this message is in the book of Hebrews. The unknown author wrote this book to present how sufficient and superior Jesus is. The author presents this purpose by showcasing men and women from the Old Testament and talking about their faith and obedience. 

We’re picking things up in Hebrews 2. The author warns the audience against drifting away from Jesus and talks about Jesus as a man or human. Hear what the author says in Hebrews 2:14:

14 Because God’s children are human beings – made of flesh and blood – the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 

It’s a significant part of Christianity summarized here. Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth as a human (born in a human birth). Jesus came having flesh and blood, just as you and I do. Because he was human, he could die. He could die a death that acted as a sacrifice for you and me so that our sin becomes forgiven and we could have a relationship with God. Only by dying could we see the divine power Jesus had to overcome death, defeating it, hell, and the grave. This act fulfills what Genesis 3:15 says. The snake has been crushed and defeated. The snake didn’t die, meaning it still exists, but Jesus has the power to overcome the power of Satan. This belief is why the power of Jesus is the most incredible power we can and do wield because the Holy Spirit resides in all of us, thanks to the story of Pentecost. 

We follow Jesus to the ends of the earth, loving as he loved us. Through our words and our actions, we spread the love of Jesus like medicine for a wounded world. We could take the snake venom from Satan and do the same thing but poison the world instead. What should we choose? Medicine! We can use the exact words and actions to do either good or bad, so how can we discern this? We can reflect on how we’re acting and what we’re saying by looking at our heart posture. 

Our heart posture involves looking at the “why” and “how” of our actions. If our “why” and “how” involve good intentions, we have a good heart posture. We have a bad heart posture if our “why” and “how” have any evil intentions. Check this example: an old lady is struggling to walk to the door, and you notice it. If you choose to hold the door open because you want to help her out, then it’s a good intention. If you choose to hold the door open because you know you should and don’t want to look rude, it’s a not-so-good intention. “Marc, aren’t those the same thing,” you may be asking. Yeah, they can be. The good intention example, you’re thinking of your neighbor first. In the bad intention example, you’re thinking of yourself first. That’s how our heart posture operates.

I’m wrapping up this message here. I hope you enjoyed this message as we talked about watching what content we take in because many things are also pulling our attention. We discussed how seeing what we take in aligns with godly living, primarily Jesus’s top two commands. We then discussed the importance of Genesis 3:15 becoming fulfilled and what that means for our hearts. 

Next week, we move to discuss Eve’s consequences. It’ll be a shorter message, mainly because her chunk of this section is only a verse long, but who knows? The Spirit will move and decide it as I write. Until then, stay blessed!