The Story of Good versus Evil

The Preacher Creature
aka Pastor C

Everyone loves a story, especially a "good versus evil" story.  Note how popular the Star Wars and superhero movies are.  

This weekend, our church had a Pro-Wrestling Benefit show.  About 200 people, most not from the church, paid money to cheer on their favorite local wrestlers and to see a former WWE celebrity in action.


Pro-wrestling is entertainment, but it's also a story, a story with "good guys" and "bad guys."  While watching the bouts, I noted that at the beginning of a fight the "bad guys" seemed to prevail, beating the snot out of the "good guys."  But in the end, the "good guys" managed to come back and win the round.

People are looking for this type of story, and wanting to cheer for the good guys, and even wanting the story to be true.

This "desire for good to win the day" is a part of our being.   

And it begins with Genesis...  

The beginning was good, with Adam and Eve and their Creator, in Eden, in paradise.   

And then, evil enters the garden - Satan leads Adam and Eve into sin, which leads to death.

And shortly thereafter, God promises a savior, a "good guy" who will defeat evil and make it all right again.

The Bible's Old Testament tells this story over and over - Satan, sin, and death happen to God's people.  And God is always saving and redeeming them.  All of Old Testament history is a pointing to, or a foreshadowing of a savior, the "good guy" whom God promised to send.

God tells Abraham...

...and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.  Genesis 12:3

Jesus, God in the flesh, is the offspring of Abraham, that ultimate "good guy."  He is the one who has the power to finally and completely triumph over evil.  

But Jesus didn't appear as a great force who immediately destroys His enemies.  He came as a baby, as one of us.  And He lived among us, knowing our struggles, our hurts, and our sorrows.

And He was nailed to a cross, just like a common criminal, and He died.  Everyone thought that evil had prevailed, that the "bad guys" had won the victory.  It would be foolish for a savior to die on a cross.

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing...1 Corinthians 1:18

It's once again the story of good versus evil.  But this one's true, and it's better than the defeated wrestler who gets up and wins the round.  The Bible says that Jesus...

...partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil.  Hebrews 2:14

Jesus, our savior, after dying on the cross, rose from death and left the tomb, left it empty, defeating Satan, sin, and death.

Whenever you watch and enjoy a superhero movie, or any type of good versus evil story, even professional wrestling...whenever you're cheering for the good guy, remember Jesus.  

"Jesus wins" is the true story of good versus evil that inspires all the other stories.  His victory was always sure.  That's our hope, our comfort, our good news.