Jesus, the Second Adam
Like the makings of any good story, the Bible begins with a perfect world. We are told that God created the heavens and the earth, the light and the darkness, the birds of the air and the fish of the sea, the plants, the animals, and finally humans. And God saw that it was good.
It’s hard to imagine exactly what the world looked like then, but I always think of a lush forest with dense undergrowth, and a waterfall pounding its way into a large lake that warmly invites your toes in for a dip. Perhaps this is because of artistic interpretations I’ve seen, or maybe it’s just the image that comes to my mind when I think of peace. Actually, it looks a lot like the paradise featured in Disney’s The Lion King, when Simba is introduced to Hakuna Matata. But we don’t have to wait long before this real life worry-free paradise is threatened and destroyed.
God created humans special: the only creation made in His image. This meant that humans were given free will. Free to do what they please, but free also to choose to worship God, and walk with Him. God gave Adam and Eve the Garden of Eden to maintain, every animal to rule over, and all of the plants and trees to eat, except for one.
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’ – Genesis 2:16-17
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?’ – Genesis 3:1
Eve responds to the serpent’s question correctly the first time, but upon further temptation gives in and eats the fruit of knowledge, disobeying God’s command. Adam, God’s prized creation chose to rebel against God. As a result, Adam and Eve, and all of humanity, were exiled from the Garden of Eden, away from God’s presence. Like any good story, the conflict disrupts paradise.
But did you notice how the serpent twisted God’s words when tempting Eve? “Did, God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” It looks like a direct quote from God, but one word was changed. That one word changed the meaning of the sentence, the meaning of the context, and the meaning of the tone of the text. And that one word ultimately led to the destruction of paradise. No wonder he’s referred to later as the Master of Disguise.
But there was another time when Satan tried to misquote God in an effort to destroy all hope for humanity. And that time, it didn’t work. Many years later, Satan met God’s first-born son in the wilderness, and tempted Him.
Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” – Matthew 4:4-7
Jesus, the second and greater Adam, called out the devil’s lies. Where Adam succumbed to sin under the pretense that he would feel like God, Jesus rebuked the devil for testing Him, because He was God. Where Adam burnt the bridge to paradise, Jesus built a new bridge so that humanity could be reunited with Him one day.
The story of the Fall isn’t a happy one. How can it be? It’s the moment of crisis that is responsible for all of the horrors we still see today: mass shootings, disease, hatred. But it’s the crisis that God sent His son to resolve. Christ, the perfect human being, died in our place so that we could be reunited with God. In Revelation we are given the promise that God is making all things new. Death is something that will die with this earth, but for those who believe in Jesus and accept His offer of dying in their place, they will be made alive again.
As I wrote this, a song came up on Spotify that fits pretty well. It’s a song called “Pieces” by RED, talking about how broken we are as humans, yet still coming to God in our brokenness, believing that He will put us back together again. We may have fallen from paradise, but God promises to make us new. Will you let Him make you whole?