52: The Curse on Adam

Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field.” (Genesis 3:17-18)¹

After Adam sinned, the ground was cursed, and thorns and thistles came forth. The result was toil and hardship. Imagine Adam having lived in paradise with no pain and no toil, and then all of a sudden everything was difficult, and there was no way to find relief.

Today we can rejoice because Jesus took the toil, the travail, and the drudgery of this life when He wore the crown of thorns.² Jesus redeemed us from the curse of depression, heaviness, hopelessness, and fear. As the thorns were pressed into His brow and His blood trickled down His face, He paid for it all so that today He can crown us with the peace that passes understanding.

In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken;… (Genesis 3:19)

The sweat from Adam’s face speaks of the stressful life, the hard life of human effort. Prior to the fall, there was no effort. Adam had dominion over everything in the earth, and food was free for the taking. However, after the fall, the ground was hard to till and sweat poured from his face.

Fast forward thousands of years to the Garden of Gethsemane the night Jesus was arrested. He shed His blood for the toil and stressful life that began in the Garden of Eden. Jesus poured blood from His face under the extreme pressure and agony of the looming condemnation and separation from His Father because of our sin.

And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:44)

Jesus who hates sin because He loves the sinner, endured the agony and drank the cup for us. His love compelled Him to give His life for us. The sinless, pure One would be rejected, despised, stripped, spit upon, and condemned.

Jesus sweat drops of blood for us to redeem us from the curse of stress, pressure, and anxiety. Every drop of blood cries out “Peace, I am leaving you! Don’t let your heart be troubled. Don’t let it be afraid!”³ Now we don’t live under the curse that says, “By the sweat of your face we will eat bread.” Today we can live the curse-free, sweat-free life of dependency on Jesus to provide our every need.

Don’t you want to live like that? It’s only a decision — a decision to live in the moment. It’s only in the moment that grace flows. Don’t worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow has enough worries of its own.⁴

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. (Psalm 23:1-2)

(from pages 99-100 of Unveiling Jesus)

Want more from Tricia Gunn? Check out excerpts from the Unveiling Jesus 20-part series!

Unveiling Jesus, by Tricia Gunn, is a verse by verse study of the pure gospel of grace. It’s an amazing journey of love, identity, and freedom in Christ.

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¹All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New King James Version. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®.  Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.  Used by permission.
²Matthew 27:29
³John 14:27
⁴Matthew 6:34