The Scriptures testify about me

When Jesus said the Scriptures talked about him (John 5:38-39), I can’t help but think Genesis 22 was one of those Scriptures he was talking about.

God told Abraham,

Take your son…your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about. (Genesis 22:2)

While God ultimately kept Abraham from sacrificing Isaac, God did not hold back his own Son from the cross.

And so the apostle John wrote these words,

God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him.

Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice, for our sins. (1 John 4:9-10)

And again,

For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

As Abraham and Isaac went up the mountain, Isaac asked, “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

To which Abraham replied,

God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. (Genesis 22:8)

Many years later, John the Baptist would say of Jesus,

Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29)

As Isaac carried the wood of the sacrifice, Jesus carried the wood of the cross.

As Isaac “rose from the dead,” so too did Jesus. (Hebrews 11:19)

And now through Jesus, Abraham’s offspring, all the nations of the world have been blessed. (Genesis 22:18, Matthew 1:1-16)

Sometimes people wonder why we should read the Old Testament. The main reason is we see Jesus there.

So as we read the Old Testament, let’s look for Jesus together.