Genesis 3:1–15

March 1 2017 Sermon Ash Wednesday

Life-Giving Fruit

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Readings: Genesis 3:1–15;

¹Now 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'?" ²And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, ³but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" ⁴But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. ⁵For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." ⁶So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. ⁷Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. ⁸And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. ⁹But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" ¹⁰And he said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself." ¹¹He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" ¹²The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." ¹³Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." ¹⁴The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. ¹⁵I 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."

"In the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:17). This was God's solemn warning to Adam and Eve. They could eat the fruit from any tree in the Garden of Eden. But not this one. Not the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. To do so would bring death.

But none of this mattered when it came down to it. The serpent had already begun to sink his hellish fangs into the heart of Eve. It didn't take much. A simple question: "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" (Genesis 3:1). She doubted God's word, and not hearing God's word, she lost her faith. And suddenly Eve is no longer seriously considering the consequences of her actions.

After all, the benefits seemed to outweigh the consequences, at least for the moment. Eve saw that the tree was good for food, it didn't look dangerous or unpleasant, and it could make her wise. How could something that promised such wonderful things be so bad for you? How could something so inviting, so attractive to the eye be filled with such dreadful poison?

Adam and Eve would find out the hard way that God was serious when He said, "In the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." For "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23), says the apostle. And death is what they got. For where there is sin, there is also death and damnation.

The age-old problem with mankind is that we have never stopped eating the fruit that leads to death. Every day the scene in the garden gets replayed. Man sees something that he desires. God says no. Satan taunts, "Did God actually say . . . ?" And man says, "Well, maybe just one little bite won't hurt."

You, too, know the commandments of God. You know that He requires you to be holy and to live a holy life perfect in thought, word, and deed. And yet, how quickly caution is thrown to the wind and the warnings of God's Word ignored when you see something that you want. You try to pretend that God has not spoken, or that He was not really serious when He said, "You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife" (Exodus 20:13–14, 17).

You test the limits of His patience. Like a child testing his parents, you see just how much you can get away with, just how far you can push the limits before God will inflict punishment upon you. Not content with what God has given, not content to stay within the bounds of the Law, you continually try to renegotiate with God. But this always ends badly. This was how Adam and Eve ended up banished from the tree of life and exiled from the garden. And this is why you must eventually return to dust.

Adam and Eve needed a Savior, and so do you. A Savior from sin and its consequences. One who would undo the spiritual train wreck left behind in the garden and save you and all people from sin, death, and the devil. One who would open up a way back into paradise and to the tree of life. It would the woman's seed to do this. It would take the Son of God, assuming your flesh, taking your sin, your shame, and your death upon Himself. It would take Jesus, true God and true Man, drinking the "cup of scorn and dread to crush the ancient serpent's head" (LSB 561:3).

For us, and for our salvation, this new and better Adam said "no" to the devil's temptations. Rather than eat the forbidden fruit of earthly power and glory, Christ ate ashes like bread and mingled His drink with weeping (cf. Psalm 102:9). He refused to satisfy Himself, to indulge His appetite, and denied Himself food and drink for forty days and forty nights in the wilderness. He was content to live by the Word of His Father—for you.

That is what this Lenten season is all about. Beginning tonight, we return to the garden. We remember with shame the fall of our first parents and the mortal life that we now share with them on account of sin. We remember with shame our sins; our lack of love. Our cold hearts, our refusal to help a neighbor in need. We take our place next to Adam and Eve and hear the terrifying voice of the Lord: "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Lent is a period for reflection on our sin and a time to repent and turn from our sinful ways.

But we also remember that "no creature could make satisfaction for our sins. Only Christ, true God and man, could do that" (Christian Questions and Answers, LSB pp. 329–30). Our only joy, our only comfort in the midst of sin and death is Christ, who bore our sins on the tree of the cross for us, and gave Himself over to His Father's wrath in our stead.

All of this He did so that Adam and his children might live. So that having returned to dust, we might also rise again with Him. He drank the cup of suffering and tasted death for us all so that we, the fallen sons of Adam, might once again have full and free access to the tree of life. During this Lenten season, we rejoice that this access is given to us uniquely in the salutary gift of the Lord's Supper.

Now, in sacramental bread and wine, Christians washed in the blood of the Lamb are given to eat another kind of fruit; a life-giving fruit given to us straight from the tree of the cross. This fruit is none other than the body and blood of our Lord, given and shed on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. And whereas the fruit from the tree of knowledge brought death to Adam, this is truly life-giving fruit. For Christ says, "Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever" (John 6:58).

This holy gift, when received in repentance and faith, bestows the very life of Christ and seals to the one who eats of it the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. As the hymn confesses, "Now from that tree of Jesus' shame Flows life eternal in His name; For all who trust and will believe, Salvation's living fruit receive. And of this fruit so pure and sweet The Lord invites the world to eat, To find within this cross of wood The tree of life with ev'ry good" (LSB 561:4).

We eat of this fruit in a sacramental way when we come to the Lord's Table, open our mouths, and receive "salvation's living fruit."

The thing about the Sacrament is that it is not impressive to the eyes. Unlike the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which was pleasing to the eye, there is nothing extraordinary about the appearance of this fruit. To our eyes, it seems too ordinary to be worthy of reverence and adoration. But our eyes can deceive us. We can all make the mistake of Naaman the Syrian (2 Kings 5), wishing that God would work His healing in a more spectacular way.

The unbelieving world looks at this gift and asks, "How can something so ordinary, something so unattractive, so unimpressive bestow such gifts?" The unbelieving world mocks the Christian for trusting so mightily in something that appears so powerless, just as it mocks us for placing our trust in a crucified Savior. Yet the words of Christ do not lie: "Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins."

Tonight, it is fitting that you mourn over your sins. It is fitting that you "rend your hearts and not your garments" and "return to the Lord your God" (Joel 2:13). You are Adam's sons and daughters, after all, and you lived as if God did not matter, and as if you mattered most of all.

But you do not mourn without hope. For God is "gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and He relents over disaster" (Joel 2:13). The same God who excommunicated Adam and Eve from the tree of life now welcomes you to His holy Table. In His mercy, He has left "a blessing behind Him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God" (2:14).

Dear Christians, in the beginning, God warned Adam concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil: "In the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." But now, in the body and blood of Christ, God has made a solemn promise and pledge to you and to all the faithful: "In the day that you eat of it you shall surely live." Amen.