Finding Christ in the Curse

Thank you for reading this sermon from Christ Fellowship. I hope and pray that this sermon will be a blessing of grace and truth to you. With that said, let me encourage you not to use this sermon as a replacement for your local church. Christ Jesus did not establish his Church simply for us to consume content. Instead, He calls us to be part of a real, covenant family.

A big problem usually requires a big solution. The oil pressure in my sons Jeep gets dangerously low when the engine warms up. I’ve been trying to deal with it with quick and easy fixes like changing the pump and using thicker oil. But I knew the real problem was the engine needed new bearings. I finally changed the bearings, and it fixed the problem, but it was not easy! It took me a solid two days.

Big problems usually require big solutions. The Bible starts almost immediately with a big problem. God creates the universe. He creates two human beings. And then, very quickly, everything seems to fall apart.

If you’ve spent any time studying Christianity, you already know that the solution involved the death of God’s only Son. That’s a heavy, costly solution. And because humans don’t like to think of themselves as “the problem”, I think we have a hard time grasping the significance – even when it is explained to us repeatedly.

That’s why we talk so much about Christ and His work. That’s why Jesus Himself spent hours on the day of the resurrection explaining the significance of His work and all the connections to the Old Testament to a couple of disciples on the Road to Emmaus.

And that’s why we are now beginning a study of Christ in the Old Testament. Why was this God’s plan? Why do we resist or suppress the truth of the Gospel? Why is it necessary for us to keep reflecting on it?

Over the next several months, we are going to do a survey of some key Old Testament stories looking for their connection to Christ. My hope is that we will have a greater appreciation for God’s plan and a better understanding of why the cross was so necessary.

We are going to walk the Road to Emmaus together, looking for the Messiah in an ancient text that has stood the test of time. We will begin with a verse-by-verse study of Genesis 3.

Genesis is the first book of the Bible. It was written by Moses to explain the cosmic order. It was given to the first Israelites as they left Egypt for the Promised Land. He’s trying to establish their identity as God’s covenant people. He’s also trying to communicate that there is one sovereign, good, and holy Creator – not multiple gods as the Egyptians believed.

He teaches that Yahweh is different from these other gods, that the world is broken, and that it needs redemption. And he’s showing them that God’s plan of redemption was set in motion from the very beginning.
In other words, what we are about to read was written to former slaves learning to live as God’s people. They already understood the basic principle I mentioned earlier – big problems usually require big solutions.

They’ve already experienced the ten plagues. They’ve already witnessed the death of the Egyptian firstborns. They’ve already seen God part the Red Sea and drown the army pursuing them. They’ve spent their whole lives up until now living as slaves… beaten and oppressed.

They knew the world was broken. They knew suffering is real. They knew something is very wrong with this world. And I think it is important to keep that in mind as we read.

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’?”

The Bible later identifies the snake as the devil. But it’s also important to recognize that God created this snake. This is not another god speaking to the woman. This is a creature trying to convince another creature to betray her Creator. And it all starts with this question… “Did God actually say?”

Satan tried the exact same tactic with Jesus in the wilderness. He asked a question. “Are you really the Son of God? Prove it.”

The strategy is clear and simple. Why do you trust God? Should you trust God? And He uses the same strategy today. The devil’s ultimate goal is to destroy our trust in God.

2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,

3 but God 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.’”

The woman’s response is correct with one problem. She adds the phrase “neither shall you touch it.” God did not say that. She added it. Why does that matter?

It matters because she is about to act on a weakened grasp of God’s Word. In fact, if she added this on her own initiative, it’s possible that sin has already been committed.

When Satan tempted Jesus in the garden, he quoted Scripture to challenge Jesus’ understanding of God’s Word. Jesus passed the test that the woman failed.

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.”

This response contains both a lie and a half-truth. The lie is that they wouldn’t die. Satan explicitly calls God a liar. Then he backs it up by providing a half-truth – that eating the fruit would give us something that humans don’t already have: the knowledge of good and evil.

He makes it sound like God is keeping them from something good, something better. Once again, Satan did the same thing with Jesus. He tempted Jesus with several things that sound good on the surface, but there’s a hook underneath the bait. Jesus saw the hook. The woman did not.

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.

Notice that sin always looks attractive on the outside. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be tempting.

Notice also that Adam has been here the whole time. The woman didn’t go fetch her husband or trick him into eating. Adam has been there with her… passive… disengaged… failing to lead.

This is interesting because the Bible places the greater burden on Adam. His job was to lead and his failure to lead is the great sin here that plunged all humanity into sin and death. He fails to correct the serpent. He fails to correct his wife. He fails to refuse the temptation. And the Bible lays the fault primarily with Adam.

Jesus is not portrayed in the Bible as the second Eve, but as the second Adam. Adam was silent and weak, but Jesus confronted the Devil and He kept the faith.

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.

We’re going to camp out right here for a moment. The first impulse humans have after committing sin is to do what? Cover it up… Talk about a weak solution for a major problem.

But this is a fascinating and profoundly theological response. They immediately experience an icky feeling for something that isn’t actually wrong. Their nakedness was not the problem. They had been naked the whole time!

Instead, they are feeling something we now call “shame”. This is a physical action trying to compensate for a spiritual, emotional, and relational problem they have created. They feel exposed for the first time. They feel vulnerable. And they immediately try to solve it by their own efforts.

That reveals something about humans that we cannot afford to miss. This is the first religion. Humans immediately respond to the shame of sin with self-righteousness. We think we can handle this on our own.

Of course, the foolishness of this action is obvious. The fig leaves would have withered and died within days.

It’s worth mentioning that Jesus only explicitly cursed one object during his entire ministry – a fig tree with no fruit on it. And immediately after he cursed it, it began to wither and die.

Why? Because a religion of human effort is futility.

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?”

Notice that God speaks to the man, not the woman. Who is God holding accountable? The man.

And the question, “Where are you?” is deeply symbolic. Already God is showing us His heart. He is pursuing Adam. He is inviting confession. Matthew Henry says this question is the call of a grieved father to a lost child. He’s inviting repentance immediately.

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.”

Adam is now afraid of His Creator. Something is definitely broken. Adam has never felt this kind of fear before. He’s hiding in shame.

11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

God, of course, already knows the answer. He’s asking to invite repentance. But watch how Adam responds.

12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”

Notice that Adam shifts the blame, not only to his wife, but also to God! You gave this woman! What is he implying? “If you hadn’t given me this woman, I wouldn’t be having this problem.”

This is also telling. Once again, it shows our tendency to deal with sin by doubling down on self-righteousness. I’m not the problem… she’s the problem! And you gave me the problem, so you’re the problem! But it isn’t my fault.

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.”

Adam fails to repent, so God graciously turns to the woman offering the same opportunity. But she makes the same choice. She shifts the blame to the serpent. And who created the serpent? God did. Which means she is also implying that God is to blame.

Both of them are determined to avoid responsibility and THAT is the most devastating part of the story. They are now blaming the only One with the power to make things right.

And this leaves God in a difficult position. He told them they would die, and they chose not to believe Him. And now, when given an opportunity to repent, they reject it and defend themselves instead of taking responsibility.

This leads to a series of consequences that God places on each party involved.

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.”

16 To the woman he said,
“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be contrary to your husband,
but he shall rule over you.”

17 And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.

19 By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.”

For the sake of time, I’m not going to be able to breakdown all these consequences except to say that they accurately describe the human experience, don’t they? The entire world seems to be living under some sort of curse. This is not the way things are supposed to be.

Any honest assessment of our circumstances should lead us to that conclusion. There’s plenty of beauty in the world, but there are also lot of terrible things. Christianity makes sense of the world in a way that no other story does.

We feel this shame. We hide our sin. We try to justify ourselves and blame others. Our relationships are strained by fear, pride, and pain. We live with a sense that we were made for something more. Isn’t there something in you that resonates with the idea that the world is not the way it’s supposed to be—and that somehow we’re part of the problem?

Remember, the Israelites hearing this for the first time would have nodded in agreement. They had just experienced the worst parts of humanity as slaves – laboring for other people under the threat of constant abuse. And as we study Israelite history, we’re going to find out that they aren’t any better than the Egyptians!

But right in the middle of the consequences, God inserts a prophecy. Did you catch it? Verse 15. It’s often called the proto-evangelion. The first Gospel prophecy. Someone born of a woman is going to defeat the Devil! It’s vague. It’s mysterious, but it’s there!

Now watch how the story ends.

20 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

The Gospel begins with sinners trying to cover themselves and it ends with God clothing us with garments that required death. Animals had to die to make these skins. Already, God is suggesting that their problem is bigger than they realize and that the solution is going to need to be bigger than they expect.

This isn’t just a story. I’m convinced this happened and that it is central to the religion of the Bible. I’m also convinced that when Jesus taught his disciples on the Road to Emmaus, this must have been where he started.

There is no Gospel without the Fall.

So where does that leave us? The first humans tried to cover their sin. They tried to blame their sin. But they couldn’t fix their sin. And neither can we. The problem is too deep. It’s too human. It’s too universal.

But even here, in the ashes of Eden, God comes walking. He comes calling. And He comes covering. Not with leaves, but with sacrifice. Not with denial, but with grace.

This is where the gospel begins—not with a cross, but with a curse… and a promise. A promise that a descendant of the woman would come and crush the serpent’s head, even if it meant being wounded in the process. That promise is Jesus. And every Old Testament shadow we explore in this series will point us back to Him.

So, if you know the world is a mess—if you know you are a mess—take heart. God already knows where you are. And He hasn’t come to destroy you. Our sin has real consequences, but He’s come to seek and to save what was lost.

Let’s keep walking the road to Emmaus together, hearts burning, eyes opening, as we see Christ Jesus.

Lord’s Supper:
The covering that required death is a beautiful foreshadowing of the work of Christ. Jesus is the only human who had the right to shift the blame, because He was blameless. But He took the curse on Himself in our place. We bring our sin to Him and He exchanges it for righteousness.