The Long Wait for Jesus

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.
Genesis 3:15

The serpent’s deception led to Adam and Eve’s rejection of God’s righteousness. The serpent would continue to be an enemy of all God’s ways. His favored method of assaulting God is to assault God’s treasured possession, human beings. His opening salvo took place in a garden paradise and his deception lured Adam and Eve into sin.

From the very beginning of fallen human history we had the promise of a Savior. Even in the midst of judgment God delivered a promise that from the woman would come One who would crush the head of the serpent.

Jesus Christ did not come in a vacuum of history. His entry into humanity fulfilled thousands of years of promise and hope. In Eden, Adam and Eve were barred from the tree of life. In Jesus Christ we are given the bread and water of life. His coming brought hope and restoration and victory over sin and the grave.

Christmas is about a Savior who entered human history to crush our age-old adversary and to pay in his flesh the penalty for our sin. We cannot celebrate his birth without remembering why he was born. Without Easter, Christmas would have no meaning.

Rejoice in the knowledge that your enemy is vanquished. Satan’s power has been crushed and God has won a people for himself. The children of God are eternally secure even though the forces of darkness continue to rage against them. People of God, rejoice! The serpent has been crushed! Your sins are paid for! You have been redeemed! You are no longer of this world but belong to the kingdom of God your Father.

All this because two thousand years ago, God took on flesh.