Sermon for 8/28/22: Eleventh Sunday After Trinity

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Blood and Life

Genesis 4:1-15

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

 

The tragic story of Cain and Abel actually began with great hope. Eve had given birth to her first child. And she remembered the promise God had given to her and Adam when the world had fallen into sin and darkness. Even as the Lord was preparing to expel Adam and Eve from the Garden, He gave them the first Gospel promise of a Savior: “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.” From a woman would come the One who would crush the head of Satan and bring salvation to the world.

When Eve gave birth to Cain, she assumed that he would be the one to fulfill this promise. Most translations of the Bible, including the one we read, have Eve saying something like this: “I have acquired a man with the help of the Lord.” But the Hebrew of the Old Testament says, simply: “I have gotten a man, the Lord.” Rightly, Eve believed the promise of God and looked for its fulfillment. Wrongly, as it turned out, she thought Cain was the Messiah. And this would have made perfect sense to Eve. From the beginning, it was clear that, even in judgment, God was always bringing the message of His grace alongside. When Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden, God provided the skins of animals to make clothing to hide their nakedness. By the death of another, by the shedding of blood, they were covered. This pattern continues throughout all of Scripture.

But what was Cain’s reason for killing his brother? We are told that Abel was a “keeper of sheep,” while Cain was a “worker of the ground.” At some point God requested an offering, so each brought something of what he had. Abel brought a first-born animal from his flock, while Cain brought an offering of grain from his fields. God was pleased with Abel’s offering, but had no regard for Cain’s. From all that we are told, one of the reasons for the rejection of Cain’s offering was the attitude of his heart. After all, God does not need our gifts, but He wants us to appreciate what He has done for us.

It’s also important to understand that Abel’s life and death were prophetic. In the end, it was only the death of a living, breathing animal, spilling blood on the ground, that satisfied the Lord’s request. Abel was a shepherd, just like his descendent David. And just as Abel was murdered by a vengeful, jealous man, so was Jesus murdered by those who despised Him. When Abel’s blood was poured out in those ancient days, it became a loud voice crying out condemnation against Cain. The blood was clear and certain proof that Abel had been murdered. So God came to Cain, and asked him: “The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.” And so, Cain was cursed; the soil would never cooperate with him. He would be forced to roam the earth, exiled from his homeland.

And yet, even in the midst of this message of judgment, God, as always, brings the promise of grace. Cain was afraid that when others heard about Abel’s murder, they would seek him to kill him. The Lord said to him: “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Scripture tells us that God put a special mark on Cain to protect him, lest any who found him should attack him. It was a mark of grace. We saw a similar kind of mark being placed on the door posts of the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt at the Passover. The angel of death was sent to kill every first born male in Egypt. But God told that angel to pass over any house that bore the blood, the mark of salvation.

The sevenfold wrath of God, which could have immediately turned Cain into a smoldering cinder, was reserved to be poured out fully on Christ Himself at Calvary. This would be the belated fulfillment of that original promise given to Adam and Eve. Here Satan would bruise the heel of the Son of Man, but the Son would crush the head of the old evil foe. Perhaps you remember that when Jesus died, a soldier stabbed Him in the side, and a pool of blood poured out on the ground. The blood was clear and certain proof that Jesus had been murdered. And that blood, like the blood of Abel, cried out from the ground, but with a different message. The cry was not “Guilty!” but “Innocent!” It proclaimed that, just as God was satisfied by the bloody sacrifice brought by Abel, He also had regard for the offering of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And now this blood and righteousness of Jesus covers us like the mark of Cain, telling the angel of eternal death and condemnation to pass over us when it sees the blood of the Lamb. But this is the way God has always worked. By the death of another, by the shedding of blood, Adam and Eve had been covered from their shameful nakedness. By the death of Christ and the shedding of His blood, we have been marked in Holy Baptism, and we are clothed with righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, now and forevermore. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.