Where the Story of Jesus Begins

The Beginning

We might think that the story of Jesus begins when we get to the Gospels. But the Gospel writers work from Genesis to introduce us to Jesus, the Christ. Matthew 1 begins with the “genealogy” [Gk. “generations” or “genesis”] of Jesus Christ. Luke traces Jesus’s ancestry all the way back to Adam (Luke 3:23–38). John begins his Gospel with “In the beginning,” mirroring Genesis 1:1, telling us that Jesus, the Word made flesh (John 1:14), was there in the beginning and that all things were made through him (John 1:3). John tells us that “in him was life” and that that life “was the light of men” (John 1:4), revealing that to eat of the tree of life is to feed on Christ and that to bask in the light that radiated through creation is to see “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6).

In Genesis 1–2 we read about the triune God’s creation of a realm in which he intends to dwell with humanity made in his image, reflecting his own glory. We get a sense of his original purpose when we hear the instructions given to the man and the woman. They are to work and keep the garden, evidently reflecting God’s ordering and filling work in the way they are to be fruitful and multiply, bringing order to the wilderness surrounding the garden, thereby expanding its boundaries so that eventually the wilderness would be eradicated and the whole of creation filled with image-bearers. They would live in this garden sanctuary, which would eventually extend to every corner of the earth, and enjoy his abundant blessing, including the blessing of his very presence in their midst. We could say that from the very beginning God intends for his son and his bride to enjoy sabbath rest in his presence in a new creation. That is what we see in these first two chapters, though we know it is going to be thoroughly disrupted or derailed in the very next chapter. But, as we continue working our way through the Bible, we will discover that this intention will not be thwarted. Indeed, this is still God’s intention. The heavens and earth created in Genesis 1–2 will be recreated, culminating in a new heaven and a new earth, which will be filled with those who bear God’s glorious image living in a garden sanctuary that will extend to every corner of the earth. This is where the story of the Bible begins and where it is headed.

Genesis 1–2 begins the Bible with so much bright beauty and expectation—a creation in which families live and work together, enjoying the presence of the one who made them, exercising dominion by bringing order and beauty to the barren wilderness that surrounds the garden, and anticipating the rest to come when the work is finished. Crowned with a measure of God’s glory (Ps. 8:5), they anticipate becoming even more glorious should they pass the test of the forbidden tree.

Beholding Christ

Nancy Guthrie

Daily Bible reading introductions by Nancy Guthrie provide background, context, and perspective to guide readers into greater understanding of each day’s text as well as insight on how the passage uniquely reveals the person and work of Christ.

The Curse

The scene of Genesis 1–2 was so good and so beautiful that we hate for anything to spoil it. But that is exactly what occurs in Genesis 3. A serpent slithers into the garden paradise to suggest to the woman that God is not as good as she and Adam have been led to believe and that, when God said they would die if they ate of the forbidden tree, he was lying to them. Sadly, she believes the serpent! It sounds so simple when we read, “She took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate,” but the impact is cosmic.

This should be the end of the story. The man and woman made in God’s image have sinned and deserve to die. But instead, when we hear God’s footsteps in the garden, what we find is the beginning of a greater story. God comes and curses the serpent, putting enmity (or ongoing conflict) between the serpent and the woman. God is not going to allow the woman to make peace with the serpent and his evil. This is cause for hope. There will be ongoing conflict between her offspring and the offspring of the serpent, which helps us to make sense of all the conflict we read about in the rest of the Bible’s story. But then God says something that shows us that this curse is laced with grace. He tells the serpent that one particular offspring of the woman, the second Adam (Rom. 5:14), will one day do what the first Adam should have done. He will crush or bruise the serpent’s head, putting an end to his evil, though in the process this offspring’s heel will be bruised. And so begins the watching and waiting for this promised offspring.

We might think that the story of Jesus begins when we get to the Gospels. But the Gospel writers work from Genesis to introduce us to Jesus, the Christ.

While God curses Satan personally and the ground particularly, neither Adam nor Eve is directly cursed. Instead they are objects of God’s tender mercy. Indeed, before they even hear about how the effects of the curse will impact them, they hear the promise of their redemption through the promised offspring. God follows this first gospel promise by preaching the first gospel sermon—not in words but in symbol and action, demonstrating in a way that will become clearer as the Bible’s story continues how a sinful person can come before his holy Creator in an illustration of substitution, as an innocent animal is slain to cover the sin of a sinful person (Heb. 9:22).

Genesis 3 ends with Adam and Eve’s being ejected from the garden of Eden. Sinful people simply cannot live in God’s presence. And so begins the outworking of God’s plan to deal with the sin of his people in a full and final way so that they can one day be restored to his presence to live in a garden even better than Eden.

This article is adapted from Beholding Christ: A Daily Guide to Seeing Jesus in All of Scripture by Nancy Guthrie.

Nancy Guthrie (MATS Reformed Theological Seminary) teaches the Bible at her home church, Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Franklin, Tennessee, as well as at conferences around the country and internationally, including her Biblical Theology Workshop for Women. She is the author of numerous books and the host of the Help Me Teach the Bible podcast with the Gospel Coalition. She and her husband founded Respite Retreats for couples who have faced the death of a child, and they are cohosts of the GriefShare video series.

Beholding Christ in All 66 Books of the Bible

Nancy Guthrie

October 15, 2026

As we open our Bibles, we behold him in shadows in the Old Testament and in substance in the New Testament.

Introducing ‘Beholding Christ’ and the ‘ESV Beholding Christ Bible’

October 11, 2026

Each book of the Bible is a chance to encounter Jesus, and every day of the year is an opportunity to seek him more deeply and learn how each passage uniquely reveals the person and work of Christ.

Why Does Jesus Call Himself the “Son of Man”?

Alistair Begg

June 30, 2026

Jesus, interestingly, never refers to himself as the Son of God. Other people mention him in those terms, but his favorite self-designation is actually Son of Man.