In this sermon, we dive into the tragic and heartbreaking narrative of Genesis 4—the story of Cain and Abel. While it is a story that causes us to lament the reality of sin and injustice in our world, it also serves as a powerful Old Testament shadow that points directly forward to the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Before we enter Genesis 4, we must remember the promise made in Genesis 3:15. God speaks to the serpent: there will be war between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman — culminating in one who will crush the serpent's head.
The serpent is a liar and a murderer. That war begins immediately in the very next chapter.
Setting the Stage
Genesis 4 opens on the heels of the Fall. Adam and Eve now have two sons — Cain, whose name means given one, and Abel, whose name means breath or vapor — a foreshadowing of his brief life.
Eve holds her firstborn with hope: "I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord." An offspring has been promised. Could this be the one?
Two Offerings, Two Hearts
Both brothers bring sacrifice. Cain offers fruit of the ground; Abel brings the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions. God regards Abel's offering — but not Cain's.
Why Was Cain Rejected?
Not because it lacked blood — grain offerings are accepted elsewhere in Scripture. Not simply because it wasn't his best, though Abel's offering was clearly his finest.
Hebrews 11:4 Answers
"By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain." Without faith it is impossible to please God. Cain's problem was Cain — he came in pretense, not faith.
The Way of Cain
Empty religious performance with no faith. Self-justification. Cain would rather seem righteous than be righteous. God inspects the giver's heart before the gift itself.
Sin Crouching at the Door
Cain's Response: Anger at Grace
Cain was furious. His face fell. His brother received grace because he came by faith — and Cain despised both his brother and his Maker. Sin always leads to misery.
God shows up with a warning that is also an invitation: "If you do well, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it."
A Pastoral Warning
The word desire here mirrors Genesis 3:16 — sin desires to war against you, to master you. God's question to Cain is an invitation to repentance. Cain nurtures his hatred instead.
Innocent Blood Shed
Cain speaks to Abel. They go out to the field — a place they had been countless times. And in premeditation, with hatred having mastered him, Cain rises up and kills his brother.
Why Abel?
1 John 3:12 — "Because Cain's works were evil and Abel's were righteous." Abel was murdered for righteousness.
God Is Watching
God appears with questions — as in Genesis 3. "Where is your brother?" An invitation to confession. Cain lies: "I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?"
Blood Speaks
"The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground." Abel never speaks a recorded word — yet his blood still cries out for justice, vindication, and defense.
The Pattern: Seed of the Serpent
Genesis 3:15 promised war between two seeds. Cain — a liar and a murderer — is a spiritual offspring of the serpent. He believed that by killing Abel, the promises of God would fall. He was wrong.
This pattern of the seed of the serpent warring against the seed of the woman runs through all of Scripture — and culminates in the entrance of the Promised One of Genesis 3:15.
Jesus and the Pharisees: Cain's Pattern Repeated
When Jesus arrives, he addresses a particular group in Matthew 23:33–35 — calling them "serpents, brood of vipers." He says: "On you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, beginning with the blood of righteous Abel."
In John 8:44, Jesus tells them: "You are of your father the devil… He was a murderer from the beginning and the father of lies." The Pharisees despise grace. They conspire, they lie, they gather false witnesses — and they murder innocent, righteous blood. Abel is a type of Christ. Cain is a type of the Pharisees.
Jesus' Blood Speaks a Better Word
Abel's Blood Cries Out
Justice. Vindication. Defense. "God, defend me." It is a loud and righteous cry from the ground.
Jesus' Blood Speaks Better
Hebrews 12:24 — the blood of Jesus speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. Justice has been satisfied. Vindication secured. Defense provided.
"Abel's blood cries out for vindication. Jesus' blood, Christian, on your behalf cries out — I am your vindication."
We Have All Been Cain
Without exception, all of us have been Cain — hostile to God, alienated from him, haters of grace, sin mastering us, proud and vengeful. We deserve all that Abel's blood cries out for.
But God, in his kindness, sent his Son. Innocent blood shed on our behalf. By faith, we are no longer seen as enemies of God — but children of God. A new covenant has been brokered.
Does the Blood of Jesus Speak for You?
All the injustices we feel deeply — our God sees them. Jesus, who shed his blood, is risen and coming again. When he returns, he wages war and wins the day. Every wrong made right.
The Question
Does the blood of Jesus speak for you? Or are you here this morning like Cain — under pretense, sin still mastering you?
The Invitation
Come by faith. Jesus' blood on the cross is graciously given to speak over all who will come. Any can come.
The Hope
We who were far off have by the blood of Christ been brought near. Our risen King is coming again to make all things right. In that truth, we rest.
"The next time he shows up, there will be blood — but it's not his. He's waging war, and he wins the day."