By analogy and prefiguring, we see Christ in the person of Isaac. Both were promised sons miraculously born at set times and obedient unto death as a sacrifice. By faith, Abraham obeyed God and offered his one and only son upon whom the promise of a nation rested.

According to the writer of Hebrews, Abraham believed that God could raise Isaac up from the dead (Heb. 11:17-19). Abraham’s faith was tested after he believed God and after he was declared righteous by faith as recorded in Gen. 15:1-6.

The Declaration: “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness” Genesis 15:1-6

1. The Declaration: “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness” Gen. 15:1-6 a.Abraham believed a “gospel” with a very simple content. b.He was declared righteous by faith.

The Demand: “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering.” Genesis 22:1-8

Gen 17:4 “You will be the father of many nations.” Gen 21:12 “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Gen 22:2 “Take your son…Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering...”

2. The Demand: “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering.” Gen. 22:1-8 a.Human sacrifice was uniquely applicable to Christ but simply a test to Abraham. b.Belief and action, faith and works are mutually affirming.

The Deliverance: “Do not lay a hand on the boy…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.” Genesis 22:9-13

3. The Deliverance: “Do not lay a hand on the boy…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.” Gen. 22:9-13 a.Isaac was spared; “God did not spare his own Son but delivered him up” (Romans 8:32). b.The ram, the substitute sacrifice was delivered; “Behold the Lamb of God”.

The Designation: “Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide” Genesis 22:14

4. The Designation: “Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide” Gen. 22:14 a.Yahweh Yir’eh: the Lord will see to it that what he demands will be supplied by his own means. b.We should designate markers of this truth in our own personal experiences.

The Deduction: The Cross represents God’s demands met by His own supply of a substitute sacrifice in the person of Jesus Christ. Isaiah 53:4-5, 10

Isaac a portrait of Jesus (Kurt Strassner) Isaac a portrait of Jesus (Kurt Strassner) Like Isaac, Jesus faced a sacrificial death at the hands of his own Father. Like Isaac, Jesus took up the wood on which he would give his life and carried it into the countryside of Moriah, around what we now know as Jerusalem.

Isaac a portrait of Jesus (Kurt Strassner) Isaac a portrait of Jesus (Kurt Strassner) Like Isaac, Jesus had questions about his Father’s plan: “if you are willing, remove this cup from Me.” Like Isaac, Jesus faithfully obeyed his Father: “yet not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

Isaac a portrait of Jesus (Kurt Strassner) Isaac a portrait of Jesus (Kurt Strassner) Unlike Isaac, there was no ram in the thicket. For Jesus, there was no substitute. Unlike Isaac, Jesus’ Father actually went through with what Abraham only contemplated: sacrificing his Son, his only Son, whom he loves—for the sake of sinners.

5. The Deduction: The Cross represents God’s demands met by His own supply of a substitute sacrifice in the person of Jesus Christ. Isaiah 53:4-5, 10 a.“He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed”. b.“It was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer…and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.”