So much of what happened in Genesis 22 pictured Jesus. I imagine Jesus referring to it on his walk with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24:27, when “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”
Like the story in Genesis 22 of God telling Abraham to “Take your son, your only son, whom you love,” clearly picturing Jesus as God’s only son whom he loved. And telling Abraham to “go to the region of Moriah” to sacrifice Isaac “as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about,” an obvious parallel with Jesus being crucified on Mount Moriah, where Jerusalem was built.
And carrying right on with the parallels in verse 3, we have Abraham saddling up his donkey and taking two servants with himself and Isaac to the place where Isaac would be sacrificed – just as Jesus (in Matthew 21:1-2) sent two disciples to fetch a donkey for him to ride on his way to Jerusalem where he would be sacrificed.
And in verse 4, it was “On the third day” that “Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.” That links to Jesus too, when he “began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem….to be killed but on the third day be raised to life again” (in Matthew 16:21). So Jesus knew on the third day he’d be raised back to life again, which is interesting because it was on the third day Abraham told his servants that “we will come back to you.” “WE will,” he said, meaning that both he and Isaac would be returning, so Abraham had grasped that if Isaac was to be sacrificed he would also be raised back to life again – and on the third day too.
And then in verse 6, “Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac,” a direct parallel with Jesus having to carry his own wooden cross. And just like Jesus’ cross, the wood that Isaac had to carry was heavy too. For a burnt offering to totally consume a body (which it was meant to do) it took about 60 pounds of wood, which suggests Isaac was more than a youngster (“boy” in verse 5 can also mean young man).
Which meant that Isaac was also strong enough to resist the very old Abraham sacrificing him, but like Jesus he willingly submitted (verses 8-10).
So many parallels – and one more in the next blog too, in the statement to Abraham in verse 12: “Now I know that you fear God”…
Buck To Basics 