“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 origins of Christmas do not begin simply a little over 2,000 years ago with a baby in a manger in Bethlehem. The beginning of Christmas goes far deeper and far earlier than the opening pages of the New Testament. In fact, as the prophet Micah says, Christ’s coming is “from of old and from ancient days.” Christmas is not a last-minute rescue plan. It is an ancient promise that stretches all the way back to the dawn of human history. Christmas actually begins in the Garden of Eden.
Genesis 3 is the first chapter of the Christmas story. Here, in the midst of humanity’s first sin, in the middle of judgment, curse, and spiritual ruin, God gives the first announcement of the gospel. Many theologians call Genesis 3:15 the “protoevangelium,” the first good news. It is the first prophecy of Christ. It is the beginning of Christmas.
God says to the serpent, “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.” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said, “The Bible is nothing without this verse, because this is its message.” If you remove Genesis 3:15, you remove the story of salvation. Christmas disappears. The gospel disappears. But God places a promise of grace right in the middle of humanity’s darkest moment.
Before we can understand that promise, we must understand the problem it answers.
Genesis 3 tells us what is wrong with the world. This chapter explains everything from war and natural disasters to broken families and fractured relationships. It explains why our bodies age, why we experience fear and shame, why death exists, why we feel the ache of life in a fallen world. All of it traces back to this moment.
God created the world and declared it “very good.” Adam and Eve lived in perfect fellowship with God, surrounded by His blessing and provision. Yet into that paradise slithered a serpent. Moses does not tell us where the serpent came from, but the rest of Scripture identifies him clearly. Jesus calls him “a murderer from the beginning.” (John 8:44) Revelation calls him “the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan.” (Revelation 12:9) This is the enemy of God and of God’s people.
Notice Satan’s strategy. First, he questions God’s word: “Did God actually say?” Then he distorts God’s word by twisting God’s gracious provision into a harsh restriction. Finally, he contradicts God’s word outright: “You will not surely die.” At the heart of the temptation is a lie about the character of God. Satan wants Eve to believe that God is holding out on her, that she can find something better outside of God’s will.
This is still the nature of temptation today. Sin always begins with believing lies about God and believing lies about what will satisfy us.
Then comes the sin itself. Eve takes the fruit, Adam joins her, and in that moment they are not merely breaking a rule. They are attempting to take God’s place. It is rebellion. It is unbelief. It is the creature attempting to be the Creator. This is why the consequences are so severe.
What follows is shame, guilt, hiding, blame-shifting, and the unraveling of human relationships. Adam and Eve try to cover their own shame with fig leaves, just as we often try to cover our guilt with good works or excuses. But none of it works. The holy God calls them to account. Their sin deserves judgment.
Genesis 3 then shifts to God’s judgments. God pronounces His curse upon the serpent, upon the woman, and upon the man. The serpent is condemned to humiliation and ultimate defeat. The woman will experience pain in childbearing and conflict in her closest relationships. The man will face futility in his work, frustration in creation, and eventually physical death. Humanity loses the Garden. We lose access to the presence of God. The way back is now barred unless God steps in and intervenes.
But even in the midst of the curse, notice God’s first words to the man and woman. His first words to them are not destruction, but “Where are you?” It is a word of grace, calling them out of hiding and back toward Himself.
And then, right in the middle of this judgment, God gives a promise.
This is the beginning of Christmas. This is God’s first promise of a Savior. How do we know verse 15 is about Jesus?
First, it is a divine declaration of war. God Himself says He will intervene: “I will put enmity.” This is God promising to undo the serpent’s work on behalf of humanity.
Second, the promise centers on a single offspring. The Hebrew grammar shifts from plural (“offspring”) to singular: “He shall bruise your head.” God promises a child, a specific descendant, who will defeat Satan. The rest of the Old Testament keeps asking the question: Who is this promised seed? Every major covenant from Noah, Abraham, and David echoes this promise, pointing forward to a coming child. Isaiah says, “For to us a child is born.” The New Testament identifies Him clearly: Jesus Christ, born of a woman, the long-awaited serpent-crusher.
Third, this victory will come through suffering. The serpent will bruise His heel. Both the serpent and the seed of the woman will inflict “death blows.” So then how does the promised child destroy the serpent? By crushing his head. How does the serpent kill the seed? By striking his heel. The promised child will triumph by laying down His life. At the cross, Christ takes the curse that we deserve. He dies in our place, rises in victory, and crushes the head of the ancient serpent forever. He will undo the curse and defeat the Enemy.
In other words, the “God-ordained” way in which this One born of a woman would have victory over the Ancient Serpent will come at the cost of his own life. “Serpent, you will kill him (strike his heel), but by killing him, he will undo everything that you have done (bruise your head).”
How Should We Respond This Christmas?
First, remember and celebrate that our enemy has been defeated. Christ has removed Satan’s only weapon, the accusation of guilt. Colossians says Christ “disarmed the rulers and authorities” through the cross. (Colossians 2:15) Christmas is a reminder that Satan’s doom is certain.
Second, respond with faith. Access back to God does not come through good works, trying harder, or covering ourselves with fig-leaf righteousness. It comes only through trusting in the promised Seed, Jesus Christ.
So as we continue in this advent season, anticipating Christmas Day, behold the child promised in Eden. Marvel at the grace that shines brightest against the dark backdrop of sin. And place your faith in the One born to crush the serpent’s head.
This is the beginning of Christmas.
