It Was Jesus All Along (Gen. 3:1-15; Rom. 5:12-19)
Jesus Christ’s death on the cross to save humanity wasn’t an accident or God’s plan B. It was God’s plan all along since the beginning of creation. Kick off the Easter season by understanding God’s big story throughout Scripture. (Hint: It was Jesus all along.)
Transcript
Today, we’re kicking off a new series called Easter Eggs: Traces of Jesus across Time.
If you’re a movie fan like me, then you know all about Easter Eggs—those little bits in movies that reference other movies. Like..
Did you know that the Pizza Planet car from Toy Story has been in EVERY Pixar movie.
Or that the infinity gauntlet appeared in the original Thor, a full 15 movies before Thanos in Infinity War.
Or my favorite – C-3PO and R2-D2 are hieroglyphics in Indiana Jones. It was “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” after all.
Did you also know that there are little Jesus Easter eggs all throughout the Bible—prophecies, references, symbols—all pointing to Jesus. You’ve seen that in a couple videos we’ve watched so far. Jesus was God’s plan all along.
Well, for the next 15 minutes, I want to tell you about the problem that “Jesus all along” solves. Ya see, Jesus is the answer. The answer has been Jesus all along. But what’s the problem? What’s the big existential problem that he solves? What’s the problem in your life that Jesus solves?
The story of the Bible is the story of us. It’s the story of people trying to solve this problem without Jesus. And I bet that’s your story as well. I know it is mine. You’ve tried to solve this problem without Jesus, and it hasn’t worked. And now it’s time to understand why.
So, what is this problem? Sin. Sin has been the problem all along. And Jesus has been the answer all along. I summarize it like this:
From the beginning, God’s plan was for Jesus to rescue humanity from sin, evil, and death. From the beginning, God’s plan was for Jesus to rescue humanity from sin, evil, and death.
Genesis
Let me explain… We start in Genesis 3 with the Adam and Eve’s sin and its consequences. Man and women disobey God, and it has consequences. Doing things our way instead of God’s way always has consequences.
God says to the serpent, the representation of evil, this: “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers.” This is why Pang Foua says she hate snakes—it’s biblical!
But then God says something truly incredible. He reveals his divine plan. In the first few pages of the Bible, he tell us what the rest of the Bible is going to be about. It’s the first great Jesus Easter Egg. God continues, referring back to Eve’s offspring “he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Gen 3:15)
That “he”—that’s Jesus. Sin may bite at his heal, but Jesus Christ will crush its head. One of the first things we learn in Scripture is that: Sin will not win. You may feel like sin is winning… in your life, in our world, for women or for people of color. But in Christ, sin will not win. Remember, in Christ, bruised heels still crush snake heads.
Romans
To understand this, we have to jump ahead to the New Testament book of Romans, where the Apostle Paul talks about this very thing. Today, I’m going to read out of the New Living Translation because some of Paul’s writing gets complicated, and this translation of the Bible helps make it easier. It’s Romans, chapter 5, starting with verse 12. “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.”
This is what’s called original sin. It’s the idea that because Adam sinned, we all possess a sin nature. Now, even if you don’t believe in original sin, you have to acknowledge one thing—sin has entered into your soul because of your own sin. So, whether it came from Adam’s choice or your choice, we are marred by sin.
Paul then makes a great summary statement: “14 Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come.”
Remember, it was Jesus all along. Jesus was the new Adam or second Adam. The way it was meant to be. Kinda like Zach Snyder’s Justice League. It’s the way the original Justice League should’ve been.
Next, Paul contrasts Adam and Christ. But more importantly, he tells us what God is like. If you only read Genesis 3, then you might think God is a harsh or unfair—punish all of humanity for one guy’s mistake. But Paul in Romans, reminds us that God deals with his people with grace—getting something we don’t deserve. In fact, the word “grace” is mentioned five times in the next three verses.
“15 But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. 16 And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. [19] But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. 18 Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. 19 Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.”
Jesus is like Adam in that what he did affects all people. But, unlike Adam, who brought death, Christ brings life.
Christ’s power as the second Adam more than reverses the dire consequences of the first Adam’s sin. In Christ, God didn’t just get rid of sin; he also gave every one of us a free, grace-filled gift of life and victory over sin.
So, what difference does this make for you? I’m going to give you two:
First, some of you are still living under Adam’s curse.
You haven’t received God’s gracious gift of life, forgiveness, and righteousness. You are still living as a slave to sin, instead of living in triumphant victory over sin. You are living in and with Adam, instead of living in and with Jesus Christ.
Decide today, right now, that you’re going to accept God’s gift of grace in Jesus Christ. Confess your sin. Receive his forgiveness. Receive eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Second, some of you are trying to earn your place with God.
You come to church or watch online. You try to be good—drink less, control your temper. You tell yourself that you should pray more, try harder. If you’re a good enough person, then God would accept you.
You’re trying to solve the problem without Jesus.
You need to stop trying so hard to be accepted by God. Love, forgiveness, righteousness—those are all God’s gracious gift to you. Grace is getting something you don’t deserve. If you’re trying to be good enough to receive this gift, it’s not grace anymore.
There’s a beautiful Amy Grant song that goes like this:
I wish I could tell myself
Don’t try so hard
God gives you grace and you can't earn it
Don't think that you're not worth it
Because you are
He gave you His love and He's not leaving
Gave you His Son so you'd believe it
You're lovely even with your scars
Don’t try so hard
Conclusion
Think of how much God loves you to plan the story of your freedom in such detail, and over such a long time. His love is incredible! You may feel like you don’t have much to offer God. You may feel like you have done something unforgiveable, that God is done with you. That’s simply not true. The God who put an incredible plan in place for Jesus to come, loves you despite your sin. And in a couple weeks, we celebrate Easter—that is truly great news!
