Eternal Hope
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken;
for dust you are and to dust you will return.” 20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. 21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. (Genesis 3:17-21)
2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face … 5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” (John 19:2-5)
21 Since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:21-22)
all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken;
for dust you are and to dust you will return.” 20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. 21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. (Genesis 3:17-21)
2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face … 5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” (John 19:2-5)
21 Since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:21-22)
Yesterday we saw that God had planned for Jesus to die for our sins long before Adam and Eve sinned in the garden. Revelation 13:8 and 1 Peter 1:19-20 inform us that Jesus was as good as crucified before the creation of the world. That’s an amazing thought! The Gospel is God’s eternal message of hope for humanity, even during Covid-19.
The earth was cursed with thorns. Adam was cursed with sweat upon his brow. We are therefore meant to see the link when Jesus wears a crown of thorns when he dies. The name Adam is Hebrew for Man, so we are also meant to see the link when Pontius Pilate declares over Jesus at his trial, “Here is the Man!” Jesus is the true and better Adam, the one who perfectly resisted temptation and who died to protect his Bride. Everything that Adam lost for us through his sin, Jesus won back for us through his sacrificial death, which is foreshadowed by the slaughter of innocent animals in the Garden of Eden to clothe Adam and Eve. As in Adam we die, so in Christ we are made alive!
It is really important that we grasp this at our own moment in history, when people are left reeling by Covid-19. The coronavirus is included in the curse that came on Adam. So is the fear and the poverty and the loneliness and the frustration that Covid-19 has brought upon the world. The Devil would love us to imagine, as Christians, that the Gospel is not really the message that people need to hear right now. Remembering that the Gospel is God’s eternal message of hope to humanity reminds us how much people need to hear about the victory of Jesus right now.
The earth was cursed with thorns. Adam was cursed with sweat upon his brow. We are therefore meant to see the link when Jesus wears a crown of thorns when he dies. The name Adam is Hebrew for Man, so we are also meant to see the link when Pontius Pilate declares over Jesus at his trial, “Here is the Man!” Jesus is the true and better Adam, the one who perfectly resisted temptation and who died to protect his Bride. Everything that Adam lost for us through his sin, Jesus won back for us through his sacrificial death, which is foreshadowed by the slaughter of innocent animals in the Garden of Eden to clothe Adam and Eve. As in Adam we die, so in Christ we are made alive!
It is really important that we grasp this at our own moment in history, when people are left reeling by Covid-19. The coronavirus is included in the curse that came on Adam. So is the fear and the poverty and the loneliness and the frustration that Covid-19 has brought upon the world. The Devil would love us to imagine, as Christians, that the Gospel is not really the message that people need to hear right now. Remembering that the Gospel is God’s eternal message of hope to humanity reminds us how much people need to hear about the victory of Jesus right now.
1) Try to think of all the people in your life who are experiencing pain right now as a result of Covid-19. How is what they are living through a direct result of sin’s curse that came upon the earth in Genesis 3?
2) The Christian Gospel can be summarised as “If Adam lost it, then Jesus restores it.” How could you proclaim the Good News of Jesus to the people you have listed and who need to hear God’s eternal message of hope?
3) Take some time to worship Jesus for what his victory means for you personally and to pray that he will help you to take some small steps today to proclaim his victory to others who are in need.
2) The Christian Gospel can be summarised as “If Adam lost it, then Jesus restores it.” How could you proclaim the Good News of Jesus to the people you have listed and who need to hear God’s eternal message of hope?
3) Take some time to worship Jesus for what his victory means for you personally and to pray that he will help you to take some small steps today to proclaim his victory to others who are in need.
Father God, I thank you that we have a true and better Adam. Thank you that Jesus succeeded wherever Adam failed and that he restores to us all that Adam lost. Help me to proclaim this Good News to those around me today. Help me to bring your eternal message of hope to this lost and coronavirus-infected world. I ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you have time, consider carrying on your conversation with God using one of our helpful Prayer Pathways.
Today’s Everyday Devotions have also inspired a devotional video that you can watch on our YouTube channel.
Today’s Everyday Devotions have also inspired a devotional video that you can watch on our YouTube channel.