The great plot conflict of Scripture is the battle for kingship of earth, a battle between the serpent and the woman’s offspring. Hostility between these two parties was promised by God (Gen. 3:15), and throughout the Old Testament physical violence and hostility ensued.
The Israelites committed genocide against the Canaanites (as to why God would do this, see The Epic Gospel We’ve Forgotten); Moses performed “great deeds of terror” (Deut. 34:12); David killed Goliath; the Levites—the priestly tribe—killed 3,000 of their fellow countrymen to purge the evil from Israel (Ex. 32:28). And then here comes Jesus, the offspring of the woman, the true Israelite, prophet, priest, and king to crush the serpent’s head, and He…dies?
This is where the great plot twist occurred. From the beginning, God deceived the deceiver (Satan) with a righteous deception. Now, don’t misunderstand me. God cannot lie. But his statement to the serpent that hostility would ensue between the serpent and the woman’s offspring, and that striking would take place—while true—was purposely cryptic and—for the serpent—misleading.
The serpent interpreted this as hostility in the sense that this was a threat to his very existence. And the serpent was not wrong. However, the serpent did not understand the game he was in. This was not a battle to be fought with swords or fists, at least not the way we typically think of it. This was a battle for the rulership of earth.
The rulership of earth can only be given to the true image-bearers of God. As the Creator and Judge of all, God created mankind in His image—as His “idols”—to visibly manifest His rule to all creation (Ps. 8). When Satan usurped this rulership, leading to the entrance of sin and death into the world, he was not acting like God’s idol. Neither were Adam and Eve.
Satan believed he was in a game where the strongest survive. So, crush and subdue humanity he must if he were to maintain his grip on the rulership of earth. After failing to deceive Jesus (Matt. 4) as he did Adam and Eve, he turned to plan B: killing this Offspring of the woman.
But what Satan misunderstood was that the story of heaven and earth is not a game about crushing our enemies in this sense. It is about demonstrating to the Great Judge and Creator of all who would be fit to rule on His behalf. Humanity failed over and over and over again. Satan accused those loyal to Yahweh (Rev. 12), perhaps to ensure his ongoing position as ruler of the earth (Matt. 4; John 12:31). But in doing so, he missed the point. The goal of creation was not to kill for the right to the throne, but to be killed to become the rightful heir of the throne.
Because, as it turns out, the plot of this story is about the battle for the kingship of earth but not in the sense of the survival of the fittest. Rather, this battle is fought on the terms of who is worthy to rule as the “idol”—the visible manifestation—of the King of Kings. Jesus was the only human Who proved Himself worthy. While Jesus offered Himself up as a sacrifice (Heb. 10:12), Satan personally handed Jesus over to be killed (John 13:27; 18:2-3).
In His death, Jesus demonstrated the true nature of God. The rulership of earth must be bound up in the true representation of God’s character. This is what it means to be God’s image (or “idol”). And in the cross, in which Jesus was crowned and lifted up, exalted as King in an upside down coronation, God’s heart was revealed through Christ, the “image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15). The true ruler does not rule in violent dominance but in loving self-sacrifice. This is God’s heart made visible in Jesus.
Because Jesus was finally the human to rule as the true image or “idol” of the Father, He was given “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18). And at the same time, the “ruler of this world” (e.g. Satan) was “cast out” (John 12:31) because, by personally handing Jesus over to be crucified, he had shown his true colors as the murderer of God’s image. In Jesus’ death and resurrection, Death was conquered, and the true Human reopened access to Heaven for all who believe in Him.
Now, as you may have noticed, the story isn’t over. Jesus died and rose from the dead 2,000 years ago. He now reigns at the right hand of God. But Satan is still present in the world. If Jesus is the offspring of the woman, why is the devil still around? If the serpent’s head was crushed, why isn’t he dead yet? And beyond this, heaven and earth are not yet one and the same place as they were in the Garden of Eden. How does all of this get resolved?
Up next: Reading Scripture Like a Novel: Plot, Part 3
Epic Gospel 