The Road to Emmaus#4 Cain & Abel Genesis 4:1-16

1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” 2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” 8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?” 10 And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” 13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. 16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

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The tale takes a violent twist as a young man with anger-management problems lashes out in deep-seated fury at his better-than-you brother, shocking four & five year old Sunday school pupils, and teaching them that (if they ever need to know) God likes sheep more than vegetables; that they should try not to be jealous, and that they should never ever kill their siblings in fields, behind their mums’ backs.

However, the lesson is not “be like Abel and not like Cain.” The reality is that we are all like Cain and not even our best efforts can fix that. We’re not good enough for God.

Cain and I

A. Cain is a son of Adam and Eve = Cain is a sinner

He inherits sin from his parents.

“Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” Romans 5:1

Sin is in the DNA of every person. Sin is not just something we do, it’s who we are.

B. Cain is a worker of the ground = Cain suffers the consequences of original sin

The sin of Adam & Eve affects the entire human race. Sin polluted the good gift of work (given by God before the fall), making it hard, for all people.

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I am a sinner

The Road to Emmaus#4 Cain & Abel Genesis 4:1-16

God said to Adam, because he had sinned, “cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.” Genesis 3:17-18

The consequences of sin included hard work, a broken world, natural disasters, disease and death.

C. Cain’s offering is disregarded. He isn’t accepted = Cain’s sacrifice is inadequate

Cain’s work and his offerings do not make God accept him. He is not good enough for God. “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” but Cain cannot do well, for he is a sinner.

God is offended when bad people pretend to be good and try to earn his favour.

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; how much more when he brings it with evil intent. Proverbs 21:27

We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. Isaiah 64:6

Even our ‘best,’ our good deeds are considered sinful. Nothing we do can earn God’s favour and acceptance.

D. Cain was very angry and his face fell = Cain is a joyless sinner

Cain is a sinner because he inherits this identity from Adam, and he is a sinner because he commits sin himself.

Before the act, he is already guilty of murder, as he has committed it in his heart: “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgement.” Matthew 5:22 He is empty of joy, as all sinners are.

E. Cain was a murderer = Cain’s sin leads to death and hurts his family

Though every human without Christ lives dead, Cain committed the first murder in the Bible, and Abel physically dies.

Cain sinned, Abel died, and Adam & Eve lose their children. Sin doesn't only affect the individual, it damages others and ruins relationships.

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I suffer the consequences of original sin

My effort is inadequate.

I am a joyless sinner.

My sin leads to death and hurts others

The Road to Emmaus#4 Cain & Abel Genesis 4:1-16

F. Cain was cursed = Cain is away from the presence of the Lord

Sin leads to being cursed. Being cursed looks like separation from God. Cain is a fugitive and a wanderer; without God, he is lost and restless.

“They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.” 2 Thessalonians 1:9

Grieving Adam and Eve, having lost both their sons, and hopeless Israel, reading this text that Moses wrote for them, would have looked at the catastrophic results and spreading reign of sin, and longed even more for God’s promise to come true; they would have looked forward to Jesus, the seed of the woman who would defeat sin, as promised by God in Genesis 3.

Abel and Jesus

Who is Abel?

I. Offspring of the woman II. Brother of the ‘bad guy’ III. A shepherd IV. A worshipper of God V. Innocently killed by Cain VI. His blood cries out for Cain’s curse

Who is Jesus?

I. Offspring of the woman

“The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.” John 1:14 MSG

God has to punish sinful humanity, so Jesus becomes human, is considered sinful (1 Corinthians 5:21) and is punished instead. (Romans 8:3)

He is Emmanuel, “God with us.” He is our Advocate, God for us.

II. Brother of the ‘bad guys’

Jesus “is not ashamed to call them brothers.” Hebrews 2:11

Jesus identifies with rotten sinners and calls them family. He is our brother, and His Father is our Dad. Orphans get to sit at the King’s table.

III. A shepherd

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:11

Jesus isn't the shepherd who sacrifices His sheep; He is the shepherd who is the sacrifice, for His sheep.

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I am cursed. I am wandering, far from the presence of the Lord

The Road to Emmaus#4 Cain & Abel Genesis 4:1-16

He cares for His sheep. He leads His sheep and they follow Him. He provides for His sheep, and they want nothing (Psalm 23:1), for He is everything they need. “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:28). He gives them full and lasting life. He keeps them as His own.

IV. A worshipper of God

“And walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:2

Like Abel’s, Jesus’ sacrifice pleased the Father. The Father is pleased by Jesus loving and dying for us. God is glorified in our joy, brought by Jesus. Jesus worshipped by creating more worshippers of God.

V. Innocently slain by us

“Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Acts 2:36

[Peter] says to this crowd, "You killed Jesus. You're responsible for the death of Jesus. You did this.” …Not everyone in that crowd was responsible for the death of Jesus physically or actively… Is it true that you and I have killed Jesus? In some sense, very much so. You and I are responsible for the death of Jesus Christ…How can this be true that we would be guilty of the murder of Jesus Christ the Son of God?… In Romans, chapter 3, starting in verse 23, it says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” - Matt Chandler

I killed Jesus. He died because of me, because of my sin.

However, Jesus’ life wasn't taken from Him like a defenceless victim; He chose to die and He laid His life down.

“No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” John 10:18

VI. His blood cries out

“But you have come…to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” Hebrews 12:22,24

“The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground.” (vs10-11)

Abel’s blood calls Cain a murderer, condemning and cursing him. Jesus’ blood speaks a better word, calling us loved and forgiven children of God.

“For though Abel’s innocent blood cried out for justice against sin, Jesus’s innocent blood cried out for mercy for sinners. Abel’s blood exposed Cain in his wretchedness. Jesus’s blood covers our wretchedness and cleanses us from all sin.” - Jon Bloom

“Jesus is the true and better Abel who though innocently slain, his blood cries out not for our condemnation but for our acquittal.” - Tim Keller

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The Road to Emmaus#4 Cain & Abel Genesis 4:1-16

What God does with sinners like Cain

In the same breath Cain complains against God’s punishment - “my punishment is greater than I can bear” and realises that he deserves more - “whoever finds me will kill me.”

Cain deserves to die, but he doesn’t. He expects to be killed, knowing that he deserves to die and justice demands that he dies, for:

“Whoever sheds the blood of man,     by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” Genesis 9:6

But God is gracious. Even more so towards us.

In Christ, we don’t get what we deserve. We don’t die, we live. And, unlike Cain’s pitiful existence, we truly live joyful lives in God’s presence.

Because of the cross. Because of what Jesus did for us. He took our curse and He died our death.

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.’” Galatians 3:13

Chris Showens explains that God put a mark on Cain, which both reminded him of his sinfulness and protected him. That’s like the cross - looking at it, we are painfully aware of our sin, and at the same time, the cross is what protects us from what we truly deserve - the wrath of God.

Real worship

Hebrews 11:4 explains that “by faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain.”

Abel’s sacrifice was accepted because he had faith, and “without faith it is impossible to please God.” (Hebrews 11:6). He was relying on Jesus to save him (the man promised in Genesis 3:15), not his offering, not his good works. Rather, his sacrifice was a grateful response to God, not an attempt to earn his grace.

In worshipping God in all of life - in giving our adoration, our songs, our time, our service - it must stem from faith, being rooted in the Gospel.

Real worship also is an interior affair, not an outward show. Jesus said that “true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23). Worship involves the head and the heart - knowing the truth about who God is and what He has done, and feeling deep affection for God in one’s spirit.

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The Road to Emmaus#4 Cain & Abel Genesis 4:1-16

Questions

1. What is your initial reaction to this unlikely story?

2. Look at the passage. What do we learn about Cain?

3. What does Cain teach us about ourselves?

4. If we inherit our sinful nature from Adam and Eve, why are we to blame?

5. What consequences of original sin do you suffer from?

6. How do you try to make God accept you? What effect does this effort have on you?

7. Why would God consider your ‘righteous’ deeds sinful?

8. How has my sin hurt others? How have I been hurt by others’ sins?

9. Why is being away from the presence of the Lord such a terrible thing?

10. Look at the passage. What do we learn about Abel?

11. What does Abel teach us about Jesus?

12. What does it mean for you that Jesus became a human, and that He is your brother?

13. How is Jesus your Shepherd?

14. Do you consider yourself as being responsible for the death of Jesus?

15. How does Jesus’ blood speak a better word than Abel’s?

16. Have you ever thought that God was gracious to Cain? How does God show grace to him?

17. Do you see the cross as a sign that you are under God’s protection? Protection from what?

18. Why was Abel’s sacrifice accepted whilst Cain’s wasn’t?

19. How do I recognise when my worship isn't real? And how do I change that to have true worship?

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