Christian Salvation:
Abraham & Isaac (Genesis 22)
Question: Was the death and resurrection of Jesus foretold in the Old Testament?
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Overview
Both Jesus and the Apostolic Church taught that the death and resurrection of Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecy. This means that God was preparing humanity for the coming of Jesus throughout the Old Testament as different people, events and institutions point to the death and resurrection of God's Messiah. The following is an example taken from Genesis 22 and the story of Abraham and Isaac.
Abraham & Isaac (Genesis 22)
The Request: In Genesis 22:1-2, God instructs Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. The sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham is a symbolic act that pictures the sacrifice of Jesus by God. It is the sacrifice of Father and Son. Just as Isaac is the sacrificial son of Abraham, so too is Jesus the sacrificial Son of God (John 3:16-18, Romans 5:6-11, 8:31-32 & 1 John 4:9-11). Just as Isaac is the loved and unique son of Abraham, so too is Jesus the loved (Matthew 3:13-17 & 17:1-8) and unique (John 1:14-18, 3:16-18 & 1 John 4:9-11) Son of God. Just as Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac for God, so too will God sacrifice Jesus for humanity (Romans 3:21-26). It should be noted that Mount Moriah (the place where Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac) later became the city of Jerusalem (the place where Jesus was sacrificed).
The Response: In Genesis 22:3-9, Abraham responds to the instruction to sacrifice Isaac, and it takes three days for Abraham and Isaac to travel to the place of sacrifice. Just as the sentence of death was upon Isaac for three days as Abraham and Isaac travelled, so too was the sentence of death upon Jesus for three days (Matthew 16:21-23, 17:22-23 & 20:17-19). Just as Abraham figuratively received Isaac back from the dead on the third day when God withdrew His instruction to sacrifice Isaac (Hebrews 11:17-19), so too did God receive Jesus back on the third day when Jesus was raised from the dead. Just as Abraham placed the sacrificial wood on Isaac and Isaac carried the wood to the place of sacrifice, so too were the sins of humanity placed upon Jesus and Jesus carried the wooden cross to Golgotha (John 19:16-18). Just as Isaac willingly submitted to Abraham, so too did Jesus willingly submit to God the Father (Matthew 26:36-46).
The Rescue: In Genesis 22:10-14, God prevents Abraham from sacrificing Isaac and provides a ram to be sacrificed instead. Isaac had earlier questioned Abraham about having no animal to sacrifice and Abraham responded by stating that at the appointed time God will provide a lamb (Genesis 22:8 - King James Version - "God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering"). On this occasion, however, God gave a ram (and not a lamb) to Abraham and Isaac. Jesus is the Lamb of God that God later provided in fulfilment of the promise that Abraham made to Isaac (John 1:29-37, 1 Corinthians 5:6-8, 1 Peter 1:18-19 & Revelation 5:1-14). Jesus is therefore the completion of the story of Abraham and Isaac as Jesus dies as an atoning sacrifice for human sin according to the will of God the Father. It is also significant that just as the ram’s horns were caught in a thicket shortly before its sacrificial death, so too was the head of Jesus pierced by a crown of thorns shortly before his sacrificial death (Matthew 27:27-31). Abraham prophetically called the place of sacrifice: The Lord Will Provide.
The Promise: In Genesis 22:15-19, God promises that all nations will be blessed through Abraham’s act of obedience. Significantly, Abraham’s obedience was his willingness to sacrifice Isaac to God, and God vows to reciprocate the faith of Abraham. Just as Abraham did not withhold his son (Isaac) from God, so too will God not withhold His Son (Jesus) from humanity. Just as Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac for God, so too will God sacrifice Jesus for humanity (John 3:16-18, Romans 3:21-26, 5:6-11, 8:31-32 & 1 John 4:9-11). This is how the faith of Abraham will bless all nations as Abraham and Isaac prophetically enact the story of the Father and Son. In summary, Jesus is the sacrificial son of Abraham (Matthew 1:1) through whom all nations (Jews and Gentiles) are blessed by God (Matthew 28:16-20 & Galatians 3:1-22).
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Bible Passages
Genesis 22:1-2
(1) Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
(2) Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love - Isaac - and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”
Genesis 22:3-9
(3) Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. (4) On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. (5) He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
(6) Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, (7) Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
(8) Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
(9) When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
Genesis 22:10-14
(10) Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. (11) But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
(12) “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
(13) Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. (14) So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”
Genesis 22:15-19
(15) The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time (16) and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, (17) I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, (18) and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
(19) Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.
Matthew 1:1
(1) This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Matthew 3:13-17
(13) Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. (14) But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
(15) Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.” Then John consented.
(16) As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. (17) And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Matthew 16:21-23
(21) From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
(22) Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
(23) Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Matthew 17:1-8
(1) After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. (2) There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. (3) Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
(4) Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters - one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
(5) While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
(6) When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. (7) But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” (8) When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
Matthew 17:22-23
(22) When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. (23) They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief.
Matthew 20:17-19
(17) Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, (18) “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death (19) and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”
Matthew 26:36-46
(36) Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” (37) He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. (38) Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
(39) Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
(40) Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. (41) “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
(42) He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
(43) When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. (44) So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
(45) Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. (46) Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Matthew 27:27-31
(27) Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. (28) They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, (29) and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. (30) They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. (31) After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
Matthew 28:16-20
(16) Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. (17) When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. (18) Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (19) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
John 1:14-18
(14) The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(15) (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) (16) Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. (17) For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (18) No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
John 1:29-37
(29) The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (30) This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ (31) I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
(32) Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. (33) And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ (34) I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
(35) The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. (36) When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” (37) When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.
John 3:16-18
(16) For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (17) For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (18) Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
John 19:16-18
(16) Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. (17) Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). (18) There they crucified him, and with him two others - one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
Romans 3:21-26
(21) But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. (22) This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, (23) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (24) and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (25) God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood - to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished - (26) he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Romans 5:6-11
(6) You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. (7) Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. (8) But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
(9) Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! (10) For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! (11) Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Romans 8:31-32
(31) What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (32) He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
1 Corinthians 5:6-8
(6) Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? (7) Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch - as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. (8) Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Hebrews 11:17-19
(17) By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, (18) even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” (19) Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.
1 Peter 1:18-19
(18) For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, (19) but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
1 John 4:9-11
(9) This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. (10) This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (11) Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Revelation 5:1-14
(1) Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. (2) And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” (3) But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. (4) I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. (5) Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
(6) Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. (7) He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. (8) And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. (9) And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. (10) You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
(11) Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. (12) In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”
(13) Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” (14) The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.