Easter Sunday: Raised the Third Day (April 4th 2021)
When you heard this passage read on Easter Sunday morning, what did you think?
But did you rather questions went through your mind as you thought about Genesis 22 on Easter Sunday? Not the Matthew 28 or one of the other gospels. Not one of the many passages in the New Testament that talk about the resurrection but Genesis 22 the story of Abraham and the offering of Isaac. Maybe you wondered why God would tell Abraham to make a human sacrifice. And maybe wondered why Abraham would be willing to do such a thing.
Many people have asked was it right for this for God to do this? And how would I feel if God told me to do such a thing. These are questions that could have occurred to you. But I'm afraid that if you read the passage in these ways to answer those kinds of questions. You're not reading it as the apostles did or as the early church fathers did. What they saw In this passage was a prophecy of the resurrection of the Messiah. Isaac is the child of Promise. He is a type of Christ Abraham here is a type of God the father and the ram in the thicket is a type of the substitute that is provided for us to die in our place. The story is not about the morality of child sacrifice. It's not about Abraham's inner feelings as a father or Isaac's ambivalence about obedience as a son. Rather it's about the Covenant promises that God made to Abraham in Genesis 12 which involved blessing coming to the entire world through the descendants of Abraham now, so I think it's the one and only son of Abraham and since Abraham has been told that the hist ascendance will be named through Isaac. He is the crucial link to the Future Seed of Abraham and his survival is essential to God being able to keep his promise.
So the story is about how Abraham could reconcile God's covenant promise with God's command to sacrifice Isaac.
We're not left to speculate about the answer to this question really where we're told in the New Testament. How did interpret this passage? We're told that Isaac in in Hebrews 11. We're told that Isaac was the child of Promise. He was the miracle baby. He was the one born to Abraham when he was a hundred years old and Sarah went was 90 years old long past the age of natural child during the birth of conception. And birth of Isaac was a miracle. It was something that happened as a result of the miraculous Act of God. He considered there for Abraham. It were told here. He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead from which figuratively speaking he did receive him back. Isaac is raised from the dead In this passage figuratively speaking according to the author of the of the letter to the Hebrews and as such he is a type or a foreshadowing of the resurrection of the Messiah. And the point is that Abraham believed that even if Isaac died that God could raise him from the dead. And why would Abraham believe that will the author of Hebrews tells us because Abraham had already experienced one Miracle one example of God giving life out of non-life with the with regard to Isaac and Abraham considered that if God could do it once. Could do it twice.
That's why Abraham was willing to obey God's command even though it made no sense, even though it seemed to be in conflict with the promise of God.
As if this wasn't enough explanation the Apostle Paul gives us more. In in chapter 4 he's talking about how Abraham is the father of all those who have faith and how the faith of Abraham is the key issue and whether we are saved or not no matter whether we are Jews or Gentiles and so in Romans floor, he he says this is why it depends on faith in order that the promise me rest on Grace and be guaranteed to the one who shares the faith of Abraham who is the father of us all as it is written. I have made you the father of many nations in the presence of note the god in whom he believed who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that are not In hope he believed against hope that he should become the father of many nations as he had been told. So shall your Offspring be he did not weaken in his face when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb no distrust made him waiver concerning the promise of god notice. The promise of God is the beginning and end of this passage. It's all about the promise of God and it's all about Abraham believing that promise in spite of everything that was obviously a normal and natural. He believed that God could keep his promise super Naturally by a miracle.
Abraham's Faith was in the creative power of God noticed that Paul brings two things together in this passage. He brings together the fact that God brought the universe into being out of nothing and the fact that God gave an elderly couple past the age of child-bearing a miracle, baby. Pisces the two things are similar. And Hebrews the passage, we just looked at ads 1/3 that that God also that Abraham therefore believe that God could raise Isaac from the dead raising somebody from the dead giving a couple who were childless a baby and creating the universe in the first thing in the first place. What do these three things have in common? There are all examples of the unique power of God who can give life out of non-life only Yahweh. The god of Israel can do that. None of the other gods of the Nations can do such a thing. No other power of the universe can do such a thing only the God who called the world into existence is able to give life to that which is not alive that we was even able to raise the dead that is blue god poem Abraham believed in you see this passage is telling us about food at God is Who Abraham who was the object of Abraham spay? This passage is not about us and our feelings. It's about God because faith is only as important as the object in which that faith is placed. You can have face of the wrong thing. And it does you no good at all. You can say I just have faith that everything will work out. Well, maybe it will and maybe it won't but are you putting your faith in Abraham put his faith in God and Paul in Romans 4 is saying that when we put our faith in God that is the reason why were saved that is the reason why we have hope that is the reason why we can have confidence. It's because of who our faith is in the God created the world the God who gives life out of non-life the guy who can raise the Dead.
I maybe it's becoming clear what this passage has to do with Easter.
Because Easter reveals the God who can raise the debt. Easter is so important in the Christian calendar because it's a Sunday where we think about the resurrection and we think about the action of God in history to raised Jesus from the dead and we reflect on what kind of God must got beef to do a thing like that. That's why this day is so important. Because it points us to the nature of the one true God.
You know, it's interesting that the disciples initially were surprised by the resurrection. We're told in the New Testament that they were basically hiding they were not expecting a resurrection. They were depressed. They were scared. They were they were demoralized. You see that mess with Thomas the 11 the other others of the 11 say that they've seen the Risen Lord and he says I won't believe till I put my hands in the womb. When Jesus is walking on the road to Emmaus and Resurrection Day and the two disciples are going and and he asked them about recent events and they profess to be completely mystified by by the stories. They've been hearing about Jesus being alive. They don't understand it. They don't know if it's true. They don't know what to make of it. And Jesus says to them o foolish ones. And slow of heart to believe all that the prophets of spoken was it not necessary that Christ should suffer these things in enter into his glory and beginning with Moses and all the prophets. He interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. beginning with Moses notice beginning not with the Messianic prophecies in the latter prophets like Isaiah and Micah no beginning with Moses beginning with Genesis. I wonder if Genesis 22 came up in that bible study on the road to Emmaus. I feel that it's probable that it did. Because Jesus is using this passage to explain why they should not have been surprised. Why they should have been expecting this to happen.
This is why Paul holds up Abraham is the one who has great faith. You see the fact that the disciples were not expecting the resurrection shows that they still had some things to learn about the nature of God and they learn those things through the resurrection appearances do the teaching of the holy spirit that Jesus sent after you send it to the father. And by the time they wrote down the New Testament writings the letter of Paul to the Romans at the letter to to the the Hebrews. They had gotten the message. They had understood the meaning of Easter and I long for us to understand the meaning of Easter this morning. I want you to understand the meaning of Easter to Dunder standard Easter is more than a nice story about Springtime and bunnies and Hope and New Life Easter is not just about procreation and the New Life is Beautiful is that is the comes through natural human processes, but Easter is about the nature of the God we have faith in it's about the nature of the god in whom I hope And that God is different from any other God or any other power any other being that God is able to give life and that same resurrection power that is in that that raised Jesus from the dead that same resurrection power that Abraham had his faith in that power is available to us today and it's in you it's in you because the holy spirit is in you. Power is able to change you and it's able to give you victory over sin. It's able to give you hope in adversity. It's able to sustain you through life. Because it's real because it's God's power because God is real.
On Easter. We celebrate the resurrection power of God.
Just to show you how the apostles read a passage like this. I want you to look consider a phrase in this well-known passage in 1st Corinthians 15 work. I was talking about the resurrection. And he says I I declared unto you of first importance what I receive he received a sort of like a Creed really a a a series of statements that he got from the Jerusalem apostles. These were something that we don't know whether this was memorized and stated in church every Sunday or whether the baptismal candidates confessed this as they at the confession of their faith before baptism, but just need words. We're already at this point 20 years after the resurrection traditional words used to describe the central events of the Christian faith.
That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures that he was buried that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures. Many New Testament Scholars have read those words and wondered to themselves. Where is it? Say in the Old Testament that the Messiah would be raised on the third day. Urban articles written about this people have wondered what she talking about and they suggested some passages in the Old Testament and concluded that that couldn't be it for a lot of people. This is mysterious. Where would the Apostle be getting? It's not just the fact that that Paul mentions the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. It said he mentioned it in the context of repeating words to go back to the very foundation of the church. Where is that all the apostles believe words that make sense to everybody if you were a Christian in Jerusalem in the year 640 or 45 a d You would have heard these words over and over again and they would be you would sit what everybody else that. The Jesus was was raised the third day according to the scriptures. Everybody knows that and yet today people think we're where they get that.
I just have you noticed that. that Genesis 22 verse 4 were told that Abraham and Isaac arrived at the base of Mount Moriah and they they go up and we're told that it's on the third day. It's on the third day that Isaac and Abraham Ascend to the mountain and the events that are recounted in that chapter unfold and as Hebrew says Abraham receives his son back from the dead figuratively speaking. The resurrection happens on the third day. Your other cases of of Third Day mentioned in the Old Testament. Jesus says to at one point that they will have no sign but the sign of the prophet Jonah. Lisa's destroy this body in the three days. I will raise it up. What you talking about? You talking about Jonah who is resurrected from the great fish on the third day. To the apostles and the early church fathers the idea that the resurrection would happened on the third day was just as Jesus said in Luke 24, it was necessary that this would happen because it was in accordance with the scriptures. How does the New Testament open well? Think about this promise that got it made Abraham. Think about the promise in Genesis chapter 12 1 2 3 Bulwark sad Abram go from your country and your Kindred your father's house to the land. I will show you and I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great and you will be a blessing and I will bless those who bless you and he moved dishonors you I will curse and in you all the nations of the Earth. All the families of the earth will be blessed. So as we turned it the New Testament open to page 1 Matthew chapter 1 begins with a genealogy a genealogy that traces the lineage of Jesus back to Abraham. Why because the New Testament presents Christ as the Fulfillment of the abrahamic Covenant?
Genesis 22 is not about Abraham's interpersonal conflicted feelings. What about the ethics of child sacrifices not about how you would feel about giving up whatever is nearest and dearest to you. It's about the Covenant. It's about what it means to have faith in this God of the Covenant. Issue is who has entered into Covenant with us? Can he be trusted to keep his promises? No matter what?
Now if you have your Bibles open just go with me noticing a few things verse by verse in chapter 22.
notice first of all, the command verses 1 and 2 And God tested Abraham and said to him Abraham and he said here. Am I three times in this passage will read these words. Here. I am I Abraham simply places himself at the disposal of God hears God's voice. Is he right at him out here on my he's ready to a bag. He's ready to do. Whatever. God says take your son your only son whom you love verse to how could we read that and not hear echoing in our minds John 3:16? For God so loved the world that he gave his only son. Whoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life. You noticed that he's told to go to Mount Moriah. You know where Mount Moriah is rights in Jerusalem. It's Temple mount. Mount Moriah, is that Hill? Up up to the north of the city of David where where David took the Canaanite City and built his City up to the north of that is a is the the the the top of the hill Called Mariah with a with a big rock sticking out of it. It was on that rock that Abraham sacrificed for nearly sacrificed Isaac and it was that rock over which the temple holy of holies would later be built. It was on that rock that sacrifice after sacrifice would be made in Solomon's Temple.
Notice the obedient response in versus 3 to 10. Noticed we've already said on the third day. This happened noticed that Isaac carries the wood up the mountain Abraham lays it on him. Just as Jesus carry his cross up Mount Calvary which by the way is visually in sight of Mount Moriah.
Notice Abraham's words. God will provide the lamb Abraham is a prophet. What were told in the New Testament that he's a prophet and he speaks prophetically here. God will provide a lamb and it says it has a double meaning. It has an immediate application right there and then God will provide a lamb he did he provided a ram in the second. What means more than that God will provide a lamb and that that lamb is is the one of whom John the Baptist spoke when he played it in John 1:29 said Behold the Lamb of God who comes to take away the sins of the world.
Then go to sleep divine intervention.
Here we see the angel of the Lord intervene and prevent Abraham from carrying out the sacrifice.
Abraham does not have to sacrifice his son.
God the father has to sacrifice his son. for salvation to be accomplished the text makes it very clear that Abraham was ready to go ahead with the sacrifice. He was ready to kill Isaac when he said to the servants the boy and I will go up and worship and come again to you. He didn't think that the boy would come begin with with him. He didn't think Isaac would come back with him because he wasn't going to kill Isaac. But he thought that Isaac was going to come back because he thought he was going to kill Isaac and God was going to raise him from the dead. That's what Abraham thought.
Notice that the ram is provided and Abraham therefore calls the place the Lord will provide it again. He speaks as a prophet. The Lord will provide it could be taken to mean I want to memorialize this place as the place where God provided the ram instead of my son. The Lord will provide that's the kind of God. He is. He's the kind of guy who will provide but it has another meaning and it's a future meaning. The Lord will provide in the sense that the Lord has provided for this occasion, but he will provide in a greater way in the future.
Why does Abraham why is he sure that God will provide because that's the kind of God God is And it's about the nature of God. Who is this God of the Covenant? He's the God who provides? He has provided Isaac the child of Promise. He will provide the lamb. He will keep the Covenant and all of the all of the promises will come true and the families of the earth will be blessed through the Seed of Abraham. Abraham seed will be multiplied. Folks we are the Seed of Abraham. We are the Fulfillment of this promise. What what gems is 12 in Genesis 22 are talking about is not just something that happened in the life of Abraham, but it is the consequence of the abrahamic see the coming to Isaac and Jacob and Joseph and to the children of Israel and leaving down to the Messiah Jesus Christ. And then to the all the Gentiles and Jews who have been incorporated into the Messiah. The Seed of Abraham is now millions and millions of people and all over this planet today. There are millions of Christians celebrating Easter believing in The God Who can raise the dead believing in The God Who can give life believing in the God who keeps his promises. promises made to Abraham
and the and the angel of the Lord reiterates this this Covenant with Abraham. It's like he he he says it over again. It's like first be sending for him. I will do these things. Then he miraculously gives them Isaac and then he texts me and then after all of this he says again now I told you I would do this. I'm telling you again. I'm going to do this. I'm going to to reaffirm the promises of Genesis 12:3. I really am to save the world through your descendants.
And that's the gospel is preached to the nation's today in the time between the first and second coming of the Messiah the promised Abraham is being fulfilled. And it's happening. Happening this moment. Don't you realize that what we're doing right now? The proclamation of the Gospel of the resurrection of the Messiah is happening at this very moment in this very place and many other places around the world. But this is it. This is the Fulfillment of the prophecy. This is the Fulfillment of the promise. This is the Fulfillment of the Covenant with God said he would Abraham what he said he would do it stop raining right now. And you are the Seed of Abraham.
The three things that we can take away from this there are many things that we can take from this passage. I've only begun to expound the passage if I if I had an hour and a half maybe I could I could say everything that there is to say about this passage. But here's three things that you can take home. First this passage is not about feelings. It's about faith. It's not about how you feel. And this is a generalization about the Christian Life, you know. It's not about you and me and our emotions. It's about God and his resurrection power. You might be afraid let's say you're afraid of something. You're afraid that maybe you're in a situation where you're afraid you're going to die. Know if your Pagan death is the worst thing that can happen death is the end. There's nothing after death.
But because of who God is because of who is the God we worship. Even if you die, you don't die. Even if you die, the promises will come true. Even if you die, even if the worst happens to you.
Covenant will still be kept. Promises will still happen. God will still be faithful because he can raise the dead and that's exactly what he has promised to do to everyone of you this morning who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. He has promised to raise you from the dead.
And because of that promise it doesn't matter how we feel we're going to feel all different way. Sometimes we're going to feel happy and sometimes we're going to feel sad. Sometimes we're going to feel excited. Sometimes we're going to be scared. Sometimes we're going to have competition. Sometimes we're going to be confused. It doesn't matter.
It's not about feelings. It's about faith. second This is a powerful picture of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead as the Fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham. Your customer is not just a collection of stories with morals. This is a prophecy of the coming Messiah. The Old Testament is about Jesus. Learn to read the Old Testament like an apostle. and then thirdly real faith is resurrection faith. The only kind of faith that matters is Faith In The God Who can raise the Dead? Cuz only such a God. Can we trust it with our lives? Abraham was willing to trust God with Isaac's life.
Are you willing to trust God with your life? That's the faith that Abraham had faith that even goes beyond death. That's the face were called to have if the promises of God are just for this life will sometimes they're fulfilled and sometimes they're not but God is a God who can bring out things into existence out of nothing and a God who can raise the dead. This is the one we worship. This is the one we believe in. It's a real faith is resurrection Faith. That's why Easter is the center of the Church calendar. It's the center of the Christian year because Easter is the most the most blindingly obvious revelation of the nature of God that you could ever imagine. Easter is about the God who raised Jesus from the dead. Hallelujah I'm at.