This Christmas Eve, I want for us to consider a picture. This was drawn by Sister Grace Remington, who lives in the Mississippi Abbey in Dubuque, Iowa.^[1] It's a picture of two women. One is pregnant. The other has really long hair, covering her body. Do you know who they are? They are Eve and Mary.

This picture shows the Old Testament meeting the New Testament. Eve stands as a representative of the Old Testament saints, who were longing for the Messiah to come, who were saying, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." And she finally gets to see the coming of the Messiah, in the womb of Mary. It reminds me of what took place on the Mount of Transfiguration, when Jesus was transfigured from his normal appearance to a white glowing image. On that mountain, appearing with him were some characters from the Old Testament: Moses and Elijah. They actually talked with Jesus. They talked with him about his "Exodus," that is his leaving the earth, his crucifixion, his dying for our sins. It was everything that they were waiting for. Moses and Elijah, prominent figures in the Old Testament, had an opportunity to see their coming redemption with their own eyes.

And that's what we see here in this picture. We see the Old Testament meeting the New Testament. We see Eve, long after her sin, her hair has grown long, having the opportunity to see her coming redemption. Now, of course, this picture isn't depicting reality. Eve and Mary never really met. In reality they lived thousands of years apart. Eve lived long ago in the garden of Eden, and Mary lived during the days of Jesus. In fact, she gave birth to Jesus. That's the child in her womb. But this is a nice symbolic picture, full of meaning for us this Christmas Eve.

What I love about this picture is that it brings the entire Bible into view. On the one hand, we have Eve, who lived on this planet when it was only six days old. Then, we have Mary, who lived during the turning point of history, when Jesus came to die on the cross for our sins. (She was there to see it). Finally, you have the allusion to the end of time, when Satan, the serpent of old, is finally defeated. So, it spans Biblical history, from the garden of Eden to the days of Jesus, to the end of time.

This comes right in line with what we have been looking at this Christmas season at Rock Valley Bible Church. I have been preaching a series of sermons entitled, "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." In those sermons, I have tried to show that this has always been the cry of the people of God. From the Garden of Eden to Moses and the Prophets, throughout all of the history of Israel, they all cried out, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." From the time of Moses, there has been a longing from the Jews for God to come and redeem them from their oppressors. Throughout the history of Israel, there has been this longing in the heart of the Jews, for a Savior to come, and a King to rule them. All of the judges who saved them, and all the kings who ruled among them, none of them were quite what Israel was looking for. They were mere shadows of what they were looking for. The prophets are constantly pointing us to the day when the Lord, himself, would come and dwell among them. "Behold, Your God," says Isaiah, "He will tend his flock like a shepherd" (Isaiah 40:9, 11).

This painting is entitled, "Mary Consoles Eve." You can see Eve, still holding the fruit in her hand, a reminder of her sin, which plunged the world into darkness and despair. You can almost sense the weight of sin upon her shoulders. If she and Adam hadn't sinned, then sin wouldn't have entered into the world. If she and Adam hadn't sinned, then death wouldn't have spread to everyone in the world. We would not have known sorrow and pain and enmity and strife. If she and Adam hadn't sinned, then wars and famines and thefts and adulteries would be absent from the world. If she and Adam hadn't sinned, there would never have been a holocaust. There would never have been the civil war. There would never have been a world-wide flood. If she and Adam hadn't sinned, fathers would not provoke their children to wrath, pastors wouldn't fall to immorality, rulers would not subject their people to tyrannical rule.

But these things are very present in our world. Adam and Eve experienced the guilt and pain of this. You can almost see the weight of the responsibility of sin upon her. Her expression of sorrow shows her regret. She is blushing with shame. She is hanging her head in sorrow, not able to look up. She is still holding on to her reminder of sin, as she clutches the fruit in her hand, holding it close to her heart. She hasn't cast the fruit aside. It's an ever-present reality in her life.

Can you imagine what Eve could be saying to Mary at this moment?

As Eve says this, Mary is looking compassionately at Eve, with a tender gaze of hope at the sorrowing one. "Mary Consoles Eve." Mary places her comforting hand upon Eve's cheek, so as to give her physical assurance that all will be well. It seems as if Mary is saying, "It will be alright, my child. It will be alright." The only reason why all will be well is because of the child that is in Mary's womb.

Another sister in the Abbey wrote a poem describing what Mary could be saying to Eve at this moment:

The focus in this painting is upon the child in Mary's womb. Eve may be looking down in sorrow over her sin, but she is looking directly at Mary's baby bump. And Mary is bringing Eve's hand close, perhaps even to feel the baby kick. Of course, the child is Jesus, who is God in the flesh, come to dwell among us. This is what we celebrate this Christmas Eve. We celebrate the child. We celebrate that God "so loved the world, that he sent this child into the world, that whoever would believe in him would have eternal life."

Now, it's not that Jesus simply appeared on the scene, as some surprise. No, his coming had been promised in the Old Testament, even as early as Genesis, chapter 3. After Adam and Eve ate the fruit in disobedience to God, God cursed the serpent. And in the curse, he gave a promise:

Genesis 3:15
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.

That's the allusion of the picture. We see the serpent, nipping at the heels of Eve and Mary. And we see Mary, stepping upon the head of the serpent. Really, this is the only thing that I don't much like about this picture. It wasn't Mary who defeated the serpent of old. It was Jesus, the baby in the womb, who would grow, and become the prophet, and challenge the religious leaders in their hypocrisy, and be crucified upon the cross for our sins. And by his resurrection, he rendered Satan powerless.

Jesus is the one who came to crush the serpent's head. Not Mary, as the picture depicts. But then again, this picture isn't trying to portray everything. But it shows well enough that the serpent's days are close to an end. In fact, you might even argue that the serpent isn't quite dead yet in the picture. Mary is merely holding it down. Do you notice how Eve is still being ensnared by the serpent? If she would take another step, I'm sure that she would surely trip and fall.

But there is hope in this picture. Though Eve is burdened with sin, though Satan has her wrapped in his clutches, there still is hope. Mary is extending hope to Eve. Not because of what Mary will do, but because of what the child will do. The hope is in the baby, soon to be born. For Eve, in the picture, the hope is all in the future. It's based upon the promise of Mary's words.

Now, Mary had the promise from God that this child would save us from our sins. In Matthew 1, we read of how the angel told Joseph,

Matthew 1:20-21
"Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

But for us, we have seen this promise fulfilled. We have seen it in the Scriptures, where we read of how this baby Jesus grew up to be a mighty prophet. He was everything that the Scripture prophesied him to be. He healed our diseases. He taught us the way to heaven! He died for our sins. This is our hope. Our hope is in the child that God has given to us.

You may be here tonight, feeling like Eve, feeling like your sin is great, feeling like you have no hope. If that's you, you are in the perfect spot to receive some consolation. This Christmas Eve, may you find hope in the baby that we worship and celebrate this evening. Jesus said,

Matthew 11:28-30
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

So, come to Jesus. Let him console you. Though Jesus conquered the serpent on the cross, there still awaits the day when Jesus will ultimately crush the serpent's head. Paul said in Romans 16:20, "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." It is Jesus who will bring an end to sin and its misery.

This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on December 24, 2022 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rockvalleybiblechurch.org.

[1] The picture and poem are available at Marg Mowczko, "Mary Consoles Eve," accessed December 24, 2022, https://margmowczko.com/mary-consoles-eve/.

[2] Ibid.