A Dress Rehearsal for Calvary

Sermon OverviewScripture Passage: Hebrews 11:17-19; Genesis 22:1-14Hebrews 11 recalls the story of Abraham and Isaac from Genesis 22 when God called a father to offer up his son as a sacrifice. This story was a dress rehearsal for Calvary, in which God the Father would send His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins.“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called,’ concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense” (Hebrews 11:17-19).In the passages from Genesis and Hebrews, Isaac serves as an Old Testament illustration of Jesus Christ. His birth was prophesied and preset, and he was conceived miraculously. His mother Sarah had him after she “passed the age of childbearing” (Genesis 18:11).Isaac’s name was divinely given; he was very loved by his father. He was offered up as a sacrifice and raised from the dead, as Hebrews 11:19 says, in a figurative sense. In the same way, Jesus was miraculously born of a virgin, and was specifically named by the Father, who loved Him. God sent Him as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, and He was raised from the dead.Genesis 22:2 says, “...Take now 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.”There was a purpose for this specific place: it speaks of the cross of Jesus Christ. As Isaac was led up a mountain to be sacrificed, Jesus also ascended a hill called Calvary, where He died.Just before Abraham was to sacrifice his son, God provided a ram to take Isaac’s place. Likewise, God kept His promise to us and provided a Lamb, His only Son Jesus Christ, whom He loved, to take our place and to die for our sins.Adrian Rogers says, “His name is Jehovah-Jireh (the God who provides), and the God who gave the first great gift is the God who will see us through.”Apply it to your lifeDo you believe in Jehovah-Jireh—the God who provides? Keep your faith in Him, who willfully gave Jesus, and will not hold His love back.