Where’s the Gospel in the Story of Adam and Eve?

The gospel begins not in Matthew, but in Genesis—with the promise of a Redeemer in the garden, the covering of shame, and the sacrifice that points forward.

Before the cross, there was the garden of Eden. After the bite from the forbidden tree, after Adam and Eve’s shame, after their hiding—God came walking. Not with thunder, lightning, and shaking of the earth, but with a question: "Where are you?"

The first sin was not just disobedience—it was one of distrust. A grasping for wisdom apart from the giver and a distrust of God’s goodness, provision, and sovereignty. In an instant, sin entered the world. “By the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners…” (Romans 5:19) Innocence was lost and fig leaves were put together in a desperate attempt to cover their sin and shame, but fig leaves, our own works, were never going to be enough.

What happened next would change everything:

"And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them." (Genesis 3:21) Blood was shed and a life was taken. Not theirs, but another’s. Every covering after this—every lamb on the altar—speaks the same truth: Someone must die to cover our sin. “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” (Hebrews 9:22) And from that moment on, the thread of mercy winds its way through the scriptures—pointing forward to another covering and another costly act of grace and mercy.

The gospel doesn’t begin in Matthew. It begins here in Genesis. In the garden, we ran and hid and tried to cover our own sin and shame— but in the garden He came looking for us and covered us— and He would do so in a more once and for all, final way at the cross.