"It is finished."

“And I [God] will put enmity between thee [the serpent] and the woman, and

between thy seed and her seed: it [or ‘he’] shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15).

“When Yeshua therefore had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished: and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost” (John 19:30).

Genesis 3:15 is generally regarded as the first Messianic prophecy, the first direct statement to predict a Messiah, a Redeemer who would someday come and undo the damage that the serpent did in Paradise.

Genesis 3:15 is just one single verse, but it reveals quite a few details about the coming Messiah.

First, it tells us that the Messiah will be an individual, not a group of people, because the singular, not the plural form, is used.

Second, it tells us that the Messiah will be a man, not a woman, because the male gender is used.

Third, it tells us that the Messiah will be born of a woman and therefore human, not some extra-terrestrial being who wings his way to earth like a pagan god.

Fourth, it tells us that the Messiah will be conceived without male sperm, because He is called “her seed,” not “man’s seed.” The Greek Septuagint translates “her seed” as her sperma. Women do not produce sperm (seed), yet the Messiah is called her sperma, her seed. The fact that the Messiah will be conceived without male sperm from a human father tells us that He will come into the world through a supernatural conception.

Fifth, it tells us that the Messiah will totally destroy the serpent by crushing its head, because once a serpent’s head is crushed, it is doomed.

Sixth, it tells us that the Messiah’s redemptive work will involve suffering on His part, because the serpent will bruise His heel.

Seventh, it tells us that the Messiah’s suffering will not defeat Him nor destroy Him, because a person can recover from a bruised heel. A crushed head is fatal, but a crushed heel is not fatal.

So Genesis 3:15 gives us a seven-point outline that prophesies the gospel of Yeshua. It gives us a picture of one very special Man, born of a woman, but without any biological earthly father, crushing a serpent’s head with His foot. He kills the serpent, but He gets bitten on the foot in the process, yet He recovers (through the Resurrection, we later learn), and thereby destroys the devil.

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same, that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14).

When Yeshua cried out on the Cross “It is finished,” this was not a cry of self-pity. It was not a “Woe is me, my life is finished” cry of sorrow. Rather it was a cry of victory! The work of redemption was complete. Yeshua’s suffering as the seed of the woman was sufficient to pay the penalty for the sins of the world.

At the beginning of Yeshua’s earthly ministry, John the Baptist had hailed Him as the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Now, as Yeshua’s earthly ministry was coming to a close on this Passover of passovers, He was dying as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world.

When He knew that His redemptive work was complete, He cried out “It is finished” and bowed His head and gave up the ghost, commending his spirit into the hands of His heavenly Father.

The serpent’s head was crushed through the bruising of the heel of the seed of the woman. The Messiah’s redemptive work was finished. He still had more work of a different sort to do. After three days He would have to rise from the dead, then appear to hundreds of reliable witnesses for forty days, ascend to heaven, and send the Holy Spirit when the Day of Pentecost was fully come. And He is still working in the world today by His Holy Spirit in the hearts of His people. And He still needs to come back and set up His Messianic Kingdom on earth someday. But the price of redemption for the sins of the world was paid once and for all.

“It is finished” means that the Enemy is defeated and doomed. The serpent is still thrashing around like a chicken with its head cut off, so the serpent can still do some damage with his death throes. But the serpent’s head is crushed. There is no hope of recovery for the serpent. Yeshua rose from the dead and thereby recovered from His bruised heel, but the devil is doomed and defeated. There is no hope for the serpent. His head is crushed. His destiny in the lake of fire is sealed.

If you are in Messiah, if you have believed into Him, and if you walk after the Spirit and not after the flesh, then the devil has no power to condemn you for the sins of your past.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Messiah Yeshua who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Rom. 8:1).

We just finished celebrating Sukkot, the last of the Fall Festivals. The cycle of God's Festivals will start again next spring with Passover, when we focus on Yeshua as the Lamb of God. As we await the arrival of Passover, resolve by the grace of God to walk in the fullness of your redemption by walking not after the flesh but after the Spirit. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:14).

| DB

After reading numerous books and hearing various sermons, Daniel Botkin noticed that few teachers taught on the book of Ezekiel.

There is an abundant amount of lessons to be drawn from Ezekiel.

Join Daniel Botkin as he shares his insight and some of the lessons he has seen in this elusive book. Get this 5-DVD teaching on Ezekiel by Daniel Botkin on the HRN website and find more teachings by Daniel there, too!

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Image (Top): ADM Adam, David, Messiah an original drawing by Daniel Botkin from his Crayon Drawings Gallery. See more of his art on his website DanielBotkin.com