“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.” (Genesis 3:15 ESV)

The Christmas season is a time to celebrate the birth of Christ and the defeat of the Devil. The incarnation of God the Son hastened the day of the Adversary’s demise. Jesus, the offspring of the woman, was born. Soon Satan and sin would be crushed.

Back in the Garden of Eden God condemned the Devil and made a promise to our first parents. Out of the ashes of the Fall rose the grace of the “first gospel” (proto-evangelium) whereby God promised a Deliverer from the offspring of the woman. Satan would bruise the heel of this offspring of the woman. But this offspring would bruise Satan’s head.

In the suffering and death of Jesus, Satan bruised the “heel” of Christ. The Devil entered into Judas at his betrayal of Christ (John 13:27) and set in motion the events that led to the crucifixion. The enemy of God must have delighted in the murder of the Messiah upon the cross. But this “bruising” came, figuratively speaking, only to the heel and not to the head of Christ. In other words, it was not a final death-blow. Jesus rose from the dead.

But the blow that Christ dealt to the Devil was much greater. In His death and resurrection, Jesus bruised the “head” of Satan. The diabolical plan of the devil to kill Christ on the cross became the very means by which Jesus redeemed sinners from their sin. And when Jesus rose again He triumphed over the power of sin, death, and the Devil. Jesus prophesied just days before His death: “Now will the ruler of this world be cast out” (John 12:21). And the final victory over Satan is secured when in the end he will be thrown into the lake of fire to be tormented forever (Rev. 20:10).

The birth of Christ is the beginning of the end for Satan. In the fullness of time God sent His Son to be born of a woman (Gal. 4:4). That promised offspring of a woman, the God-man Jesus Christ, would soon fulfill God’s plan and deal a death-blow to Satan in His death and resurrection. Jesus triumphed over the power of the Devil and guaranteed his final defeat.

Christmas is a time to reflect on the gospel – particularly, God’s faithfulness to His promise in the “first gospel” (Gen. 3:15). The birth of that baby in Bethlehem brought the good news that our deliverance through a Savior was near and the doom of Satan was certain.

The Christ child crushed the Devil.