THE LINC COLLECTIVE

On the first pages of the Bible, we’re introduced to the idea of a future deliverer who would confront evil and rescue humanity—the Messiah.

(This fully animated series, presented by The Bible Project, traces key biblical themes from their first appearance through the entire narrative of the Bible. With videos ranging from 1-6 minutes long – you can work through the whole series with your group or choose from the playlist. Either way, we encourage you to open in prayer, facilitate conversation and make it practical. Read the Word together, ask questions of the text and see what God wants to say and do.

Click here for the full playlist of 25 videos walking you through key themes in the bible from Genesis to Revelation, or continue with the specific theme below.)

The serpent will bite his heel, and he will crush his head:
In the very beginning of the Bible, we see Adam and Eve living with God in the garden of Eden. But the humans are quickly led to rebellion by a snake who persuaded Adam and Eve to rebel against God’s commands.

This rebellion led to shame and separation from humanity’s Eden-ideal. But in this story, we see God make one of his first promises in the Bible. It’s a rescue plan to restore humanity back to their place in the garden. God promises that the seed of the woman would one day rise up against the snake to crush its head. But the snake would strike the heel of the snake crusher. It’s a confusing promise, left with no further explanation until later in the story, when God makes another promise to a man named Abraham.

God promises Abraham that through his descendants, all nations will experience blessing. And God promises to one of these descendants, a man named Judah, that a great king would come from his line. This king will be the one who destroys the snake and fulfills the promise God made to Abraham.

But one by one, the kings of Israel fall short of destroying the snake and restoring humanity. In fact, they end up following the same patterns of rebellion against God. When the Hebrew Bible comes to its close, the promised king has still not arrived.

The Messiah, the Snake Crusher:
So what does Messiah mean? For the Israelites, the Messiah referred to this promised king who would defeat evil and restore humanity to the Eden ideal. When Jesus arrived on the scene, a son from the line of David and Judah, he said he came to usher in God’s Kingdom. He was the king the people had been waiting for. But in his mission to destroy human evil, he himself was destroyed—killed on a cross by the very people he came to save.

Jesus’ death was not the end of the story:
Jesus’ death fulfilled the promise that God made all the way back in the garden of Eden. Evil had struck the Messiah’s heel, but the Messiah still defeated evil, atoning for the sins of all humanity. When Jesus rose from death, he asserted his ultimate authority over death and evil, dealing the snake a fatal blow.

• Scriptures: Genesis 2:15-17; Genesis 3:1-5; Genesis 3:15; Genesis 12:1-3; Genesis 49:8-12; 2 Samuel 7:12-14; 2 Chronicles 36:17-20; Isaiah 53; Matthew 16:21-25; Matthew 28; 2 Corinthians 5:2-4

• Revelation: What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through the text?
• Response: How does this revelation affect the rest of your life – i.e. what is your appropriate response/act of obedience?
• Prayer.

Want to dive deeper into this theme? Check out the study notes here.