Jesus the Last Adam: God’s Wrath, Our Redemption (1 Corinthians 15:45 and Luke 22:42-43)

Jesus as the Last Adam is one of the most powerful truths in Scripture, as Christ came to save us from the consequences of Adam's sin in the Garden of Eden. Unpack Jesus as the Last Adam from 1 Corinthians 15:45, Romans 5:12-20, and Luke 22:42–43, learning how the obedience of Christ brought redemption where the first Adam brought sin and death. https://youtu.be/Tyi-1PlNKgE Table of contentsJesus Is the Last AdamThe Last Adam Had to Resist the DevilGod’s Wrath Builds Up Against UsThe Last Adam’s Agony in the Garden of GethsemaneThe Last Adam Had to Consume God’s WrathThe Last Adam Wanted Us to Know There’s No Other Way for Man to Be SavedJesus Drinks the Cup of God's Wrath for Us or We Drink It We forget things, so it’s good to be reminded. That’s why, throughout the New Testament, we are reminded of spiritual truths. Here are two examples of many I could give you: 1 Corinthians 15:1 I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand. Paul wanted to remind us of the gospel, which I don’t think we could be reminded of too many times. 2 Peter 1:12 I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. Peter’s referring to the qualities he mentioned earlier: virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. Then he says: 2 Peter 1:13 I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder. As long as Peter’s alive, he’s going to keep reminding believers. So, when I preach, I like reminding people of truths that they’ve heard many times before. It is a joy for me to be reminded of truths in my studying, and then to remind people of them when I preach. But I also hope to help people see new things they haven’t seen before. This is one of my other joys when studying. Helping people see new things in the Gospels can be difficult because they are the most familiar area of Scripture. And beyond that, Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane is one of the most familiar accounts in the Gospels. But there is something deep and powerful in this account that I hope prevents people from reading this account the same way. It requires looking past Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane to the first Adam in the garden of Eden. That’s where this account truly begins. Jesus Is the Last Adam Jesus has over 200 names in Scripture. We know Him as the Son of God, Son of Man, Lamb of God, and Prince of Peace. But a lesser-known title is the Last Adam: 1 Corinthians 15:45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam (referring to Jesus) became a life-giving spirit…47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man (referring to Jesus) is from heaven. The clearest passage contrasting Jesus and Adam is in Romans 5: Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. Adam is a type of Jesus. For something to serve as a type of Christ, it must look like Christ. You might be quick to say, “Then how could Adam serve as a type of Christ because Adam looks like the opposite of Christ?” But there are many ways Adam serves as a dramatic type of Christ: Adam and Jesus were the only two people in all of human history created without a sinful nature; they are the only ones to enter the world sinlessly. Adam is the head of all humanity, and Jesus, as the head of the church, is the head of all redeemed humanity. They both affected humanity more than everyone else – past, present, and future – combined: Adam brought death into the world for all people descended from him, and Jesus brought eternal life into the world for all people who believe in Him. Jesus's salvation is contrasted with Adam's sin: Romans 5:15 But the free gift (Jesus’s free gift of salvation) is not like the trespass (Adam’s sin). For if many died through one man's trespass (Adam’s sin), much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift (eternal salvation) is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass (Adam’s sin) brought condemnation, but the free gift (of salvation) following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man's trespass (Adam’s sin), death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. The word free was repeated five times, revealing another similarity between Adam and Jesus: Adam gave us death for free (when you get to heaven, you can thank him for it), and Jesus gives us salvation for free. Romans 5:18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners (this refers to the sin natures we received from Adam… something else you can thank him for), so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Adam and Jesus both imputed something to us: Adam’s sin nature is imputed to us, and Jesus’s righteousness can be imputed to us by grace through faith Romans 5:20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, The phrase all the more reveals one of the most important themes in these verses: Jesus did more than Adam. Because Adam had such an effect on the human race, we might be tempted to see him as Jesus’s equal. But Paul wants us to know that what Jesus did was much greater, which is repeated throughout the account: Romans 5:9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation…15 If many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many…17 If, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. So, yes, Adam affected mankind, but Jesus affected mankind in an even greater way. It’s not minimizing what Adam did; it maximizes what Jesus accomplished. The Last Adam Had to Resist the Devil Jesus isn’t called the Last Adam only because Adam serves as a type of Him. Instead, Jesus is called the Last Adam because He came to save us from the consequences of the first Adam's trespass. To do that, Jesus had to be victorious where the first Adam failed. Luke 4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness. Before Jesus did anything else, He went right from being baptized to going out into the wilderness to take on the devil. And Jesus’s temptation in the wilderness resembles Adam’s temptation in the Garden: 1 John 2:16 All that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. This verse looks back to Adam’s temptation: Genesis 3:6 the tree was good for food (the desires of the flesh), and that it was a delight to the eyes (the desires of the eyes), and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise (the pride of life), This is how Jesus was tempted, too: Satan said, “Command this stone to become bread,” the desires of the flesh; they were both tempted to eat what they shouldn’t. Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world: the desires of the eyes Satan told Jesus to throw Himself down, and the angels would catch Him: the pride of life But although their temptations are similar, there are also differences. Adam was tempted once and gave in, but Jesus was tempted and resisted for 40 days. Adam’s temptation occurred in the most ideal circumstances imaginable, but Jesus’ temptation took place under the most unpleasant conditions: Adam was in a Garden called Paradise: beautiful, perfect, and untouched by The Fall. It’s almost hard to believe Adam could desire anything else, but Jesus was in a barren, desolate wilderness. Genesis 3:8 describes the Garden having a nice, cool breeze, but the Judean desert averages one inch of rain per year and reaches temperatures of 120-125 degrees. Adam was with his wife, but Jesus was utterly alone. Sort of. Mark 1:13 says, “[Jesus] was with the wild animals.” This is another contrast, because Adam was surrounded by animals that weren’t wild since they hadn’t yet been affected by The Fall. Adam had all the other trees in the Garden to eat from, so he was satisfied and healthy, but Jesus went without food for 40 days and was utterly exhausted, close to death. But Jesus triumphed despite all these differences that made His temptations far worse than Adam’s. God’s Wrath Builds Up Against Us Romans 1:18 The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. God’s wrath is against all sin. Romans 5:12 sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned. ...