~ Judica ~
Readings: Genesis 22:1-14 | Hebrews 9:11-15 | John 8:46-59
Text: Genesis 22:1-14
“God, what in the world are You doing? I can’t handle this! I just got done with the last wrench You threw in the works!” There are times like this, where honestly, we have no idea what our God is at work doing—only that it’s hard and we can’t see how it’s going to work out. But in these times, He doesn’t necessarily tell us what He’s thinking, except the familiar words of Jeremiah 29:11: “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Yet, there is a time where we are given a glimpse into the Divine’s thoughts. That is the passion of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. There, God tells us so much of Himself, that the Father speaks directly from heaven three times: at Jesus’ Baptism, at the Transfiguration, and in John 12 when Jesus prays, “’Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven: ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’”[1]
But when it comes to the Passion of Christ, we’ve heard it so many times and seen different depictions, that its full weight doesn’t always hit us. That’s why we turn to Abraham, so that we can learn what cost and pain God bore to secure our salvation. The test of Abraham shows us something we can relate to about the Father’s offering.
Recall that Abraham had waited for his son Isaac. In fact, he had waited an entire lifetime; Isaac was born to him at one hundred years old. Isaac was quite possibly the most special child ever given in answer to prayer. He meant everything to Abraham, and he was the fulfillment of God’s promised mercy.
But then God gives the command: “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” Is this some kind of perverse humor on the part of God? This sounds more like something out of pagan mythology. The thought must have crossed Abraham’s mind, “God, what are you thinking?” God demands the life of Abraham’s promised son. This is the same son God had said, “The son of your own loins will be your heir.”[2] And Abraham believed God and “saddled his donkey” with Isaac.
Abraham did not know the outcome of this. On the way, Isaac noticed that something wasn’t right about their sacrifice, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham knew, but didn’t want it to be true. Yet, he knew that this is how it must be. His God of promise had given the command. So, prophesied unknowingly to Isaac, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.”
St. Paul would later call Abraham the “man of faith”[3] because he obeyed God’s Word even though it meant terrible personal loss. God had called him away from his family, and had lived as an alien in the land of Canaan for 25+ years.[4] God had given Him Isaac and now it seemed the Lord would once again take away. “9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.” Abraham remained completely faithful to God’s command, “not turning to the left hand or to the right.”[5] His upraised hand held the knife that would put his own son to death. It wasn’t the same as Job, who lost his family to natural disaster. It wasn’t even like Adam who lost one son to the evil of his firstborn.[6] No, Abraham held the knife because God had commanded it.
“11But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.”
Abraham’s faith in God was justified because he offered up his son, his only son. But God did not take Isaac’s life. The Lord provided a substitute for the life of Abraham’s son: a male lamb for a burnt offering. And that is how it continued for Israel all their days under the Law of Moses—the lives of bulls, sheep, goats, and birds for the life of the Israelites.[7]
“God…gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish.” In the fullness of time,[8] it became clear that God was not interested in taking the lives of Isaac or the herds and flocks of Israel for sin. He had another Sacrifice in mind—a Lamb which He would provide for Himself. Yet the Lamb He had in mind was His Son, His only-begotten Son.
God had told the first sinners that the cost of sin was death. The conscience of man from then on bore witness that God’s wrath had to be answered in the death of the sinner. And death must come, but God does not delight in the death of the sinner. Yet, when God provides for Himself the Lamb, there is no substitute. No ram caught in the thicket can stand in place of this true Sacrifice, this Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And the Father knows this. From Adam and Eve, whom He clothed with the skins of slain animals, to the countless animals slain for Israel, God knew that He must give up His own beloved Son so that the world may be saved. He had to forsake His only-begotten Son, that sinful man might live.
And the Son knew this too. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”[9] But He knew that there was no substitute for Him. He had to drink the cup of wrath right down to the dregs.[10] He was utterly forsaken, cut off from the land of the living, yet at the end of His passion, He prayed in true faith, “’Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!’ And having said this he breathed his last.”[11]
God provided for Himself the Lamb, and because of Him, your life is saved. “God so loved you that He gave His only-begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” God gave up His Son into death so that you are His child and call on Him as Father. And He tells you no lie: You are truly His children because He adopted you in the waters of Holy Baptism. “You are all sons of God, through faith, for as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ…29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”[12]
And should you doubt God’s love for you, look back and see what price He paid for your salvation. The Father suffered His only-begotten Son to be betrayed, mocked, flogged and beaten, crucified, dead, and buried. And all of this was for you, so that you would be His child. St. John tells us, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God, and so we are.”[13] God has the kind of love for you that means bearing pain, blood, and grief all so that you are now His dear child.
All of this speaks volumes to those times in our life when we don’t know what God is up to. St. Paul writes, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”[14] God gave His most priceless treasure so that He would vanquish sin, death, and Satan to win you. He bears His heart there. He vividly exclaims that He has no evil plans for His children by faith. As He said through Jeremiah, His plans are “for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” even if you sit in the ashes of grief.
So, while this life can be a painful struggle, rest assured that as God’s child, you know His heart. He may not let you in on the details of the things that trouble you, but He has shown you His Father’s heart. Your Father, the God of heaven and earth, will indeed work all together for good for the ones He calls His children. Our guarantee hung on the cross, bleeding and dying, and now lives forevermore. Amen.
[1] John 12:28
[2] Genesis 15:4
[3] Galatians 3:9
[4] Genesis 12:4
[5] Deuteronomy 5:34
[6] Job 1:18-19; Genesis 4:8
[7] Leviticus 1:1-17
[8] Galatians 4:4
[9] Matthew 26:39
[10] Isaiah 51:17-22
[11] Luke 23:46
[12] Galatians 3:26-27, 29
[13] 1 John 3:1
[14] Romans 8:32
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