Genesis 3:15 (ESV) 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.”
Luke 2:1-7 (ESV) 1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
Glory to God in the highest! He has done it!
God promised so long ago under the direst of circumstances that one day a descendant of Eve would come and crush the head of the serpent that had brought so much destruction. Although that serpent would strike the heal of the Crusher, and the Crusher would be wounded, in his wounding he would deal the death blow to death itself and put an end to the curse that was placed on all created order and on mankind once and for all.
So much time and hardship have passed since that awful day in Eden. The day you eat of it, you will die, the Lord said. But eat from the one forbidden tree our parents did, and since then death has reigned. Death has caused murder, disease, famine, and all manner of natural disasters because sin broke absolutely everything.
But God, being rich in mercy, didn’t fail. Father, Son, and Spirit set in motion the eternal plan to redeem all of creation and mankind from the curse of sin.
Since that day Adam and Eve’s descendants have been looking for a hero. Our superhero narratives give away our longing. We long for stories of a hero to come and rescue victims and willing participants from the clutches of an evil antagonist that has caused so much devastation.
In the fullness of time, the Lord himself invaded his own land that was temporarily taken by the dark lord, and Luke announces that invasion like a war correspondent embedded with the soldiers who are liberating a captive people so that he may tell the story of the liberation. And what a story he tells!
This invasion of righteousness, holiness, and peace would have a great cost in the death of our great Liberator, but he would conquer death itself in rising from the grave, and the result would be eternal life for all who would follow after the conquering Lord Jesus in faith.
As we remember, with Luke’s record, the day the Lord brought to fulfillment his great promise, let’s celebrate, let’s worship, let’s remember.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Merry Christmas!
Theology in the Dirt 