“We’ll be turning to the gospels this morning.” Many have heard that from a church pulpit. We immediately head to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These are the most familiar gospels.
Actually, the first gospel is found in Genesis 3:15, where God speaks to the serpent, after he had beguiled Eve with his lies, and she proceeded to partake of the forbidden fruit. God cursed him and declared that he would grovel in the dust, crawling on his belly all his days.
Verse 15: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” The Living Bible translates it this way: “From now on, you and the woman will be enemies, as will your offspring and hers. You will strike His heel, but He will crush your head.”
This verse is called the Protoevangelium, the “first gospel.” It clearly foretells Jesus’ victory over the machinations of Satan to thwart God’s eternal plan of salvation. God said Satan would “bruise His heel,” indicating the attacks he would instigate against Jesus—the three temptations, the struggle to physically survive Gethsemane, the vicious flogging, and the brutal crucifixion, where His lifeblood was spilled.
That being said, God then declared the heart of the gospel: “but He will crush your head.” The striking of Jesus’ heel was Satan’s best shot. But a bruised heel is not lethal. What is lethal is a crushed head. There’s no surviving that.
The atonement on Calvary by the supreme, perfect sacrifice and the empty tomb of the Risen King forever vanquished the power of that scurvy serpent. This is the gospel—the testimony of Jesus Christ. It started before the earth’s foundation and is revealed to us in Eden’s Garden.
~ Vickie Richey
Christ Fellowship