appropriate for
Lent or Passion Week
[ 3 voices ]

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Genesis chapter 22 gives the account of the ‘Binding of Isaac’ where God asks Abraham to make a ritual sacrifice of his only son, Isaac. The conventional understanding of this event is that God is testing the faith of Abraham, and once Abraham proves his obedience, God rewards Abraham by sparing his son.

During the Second Temple period [which included the time of Jesus], the figure of Isaac was portrayed as taking an active role in the event, a role critical as that of Abraham. Isaac was seen as a fully obedient son, a willing sacrifice compliant to God’s will. The ‘Binding’ was as much a test of the faith of Isaac as it was a test of his father. The resistance or disobedience of either would have had disastrous consequences for the Jewish people. But their obedience assured God’s blessing for generations to come

There are many indications that Jesus was understood as a ‘new Isaac.’ These points of comparison are most evident in Matthew’s Gospel, and there are also hints throughout the Pauline Letters.

The following are the main comparisons:
• Both Jesus and Isaac were promised sons conceived outside the normal course of nature.

• At Jesus’ baptism and at the Transfiguration, the Heavenly Voice spoke of Jesus as ‘my beloved son’, a direct reference to Genesis 22.

• Jesus was portrayed as resolutely obedient to God’s will. His willing sacrifice initiated the New Covenant, in the same way that Isaac’s obedience assured the Old Covenant.

• The ‘Binding of Isaac’ and Jesus’ passion both took place during the Passover season.

• The willing and active obedience of Jesus and Isaac had salvation consequences for the world.

• Two sons laid down their lives, only to have them given back to them — just as two fathers, who gave up their sons, had them restored.

The most enduring insight I think comes from the first verse of Matthew where the genealogy of Jesus named him as ‘Messiah, Son of David, Son of Abraham.’ For those Jews hoping for the appearance of a victorious Messiah who would rescue God’s chosen people, naming Jesus as ‘Son of David,’ the great king, makes good sense. But to also call Jesus ‘Son of Abraham’ modifies this kingly image. Jesus would be a king, but a king who would be tested and would suffer. To call Jesus ‘Son of Abraham’ also linked him to God’s larger covenant promises to Abraham to form a great people that would bless all nations. The comparison to Isaac was a re-acknowledgement that, even as God’s chosen, the way is through submission to God.

And we can wonder, how much did Jesus have Isaac in mind as he approached Jerusalem for a final time, as he broke bread at the Last Supper, as he prayed in Gethsemane?

There are four sections to this reading and I suggest they be marked by a 2 or 3 minute silence or the singing of a verse from a hymn.

 

‘Beloved Sons’ was first presented at the Calvin Seminary Chapel during Lent 2011.

Presentation time: XXX minutes

Click here to download a pdf file of this reading.

 

The Reading

 
ABeloved sons
BIsaac and Jesus
AChildren of promise
CBorn of miraculous birth
ABeloved sons
BBoth tested
and marked for death
CBoth fully obedient
AGiven up
CGiven over by their fathers
BRestored to their fathers
CBeloved sons
born to be a blessing to all nations
 
 
ABeloved Isaac
BChild of promise
AGod spoke to Abraham
C“I will make your name great
and you will be a blessing
You will be the father of a multitude of nations
Through your offspring
all nations on earth will be blessed”
AAnd the promise was a covenant
CChild of Promise
B“an everlasting covenant between God and Abraham
and his descendants after him”
 
CBeloved Jesus
BChild of promise
AMatthew called him
Messiah
Bson of David
Cson of Abraham
 
AAn angel visited Joseph
engaged to a young maiden
B“Your wife shall bear a son
and you will call his name Jesus
Emmanuel
CGod with us
Bfor he will save his people from their sins
CChild of promise
BHe will be great
and will be called the Son of the Most High
CHis kingdom will never end
 
[ PAUSE ]
 
CTwo sons
Born of miraculous birth
ABeloved Isaac
BBeloved Jesus
 
CIsaac
Beloved Son of the Father
A Abraham was a hundred years old
when his son was born to him
B The beloved son’s name was Isaac
A His mother had been barren
B without child
A up to her ninetieth year
C “Who would have said that Sarah would nurse children?”
B Barren mother
A Isaac was born to her
in her ninetieth year
 
[ PAUSE ]
 
B Beloved Jesus
Born of miraculous birth
A The angel Gabriel came to Mary and said
C “You will conceive and give birth to a son,
and you are to call him Jesus”
A Mary asked the angel
B “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
C “The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you
So the child to be born will be called holy
the Son of God
 
B Jesus
Beloved Son of the Father
C John declared
B “Behold the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world”
A As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water
At that moment heaven was opened,
and he saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and lighting on him
And a voice from heaven said
C “This is my beloved son,
B my Isaac
C my son whom I love
B This is my servant whom I uphold
my chosen one in whom my soul delights
I will put my spirit upon him
He will bring justice to the nations”
 
B Jesus
Beloved Son of the Father
A After six days Jesus took with him
Peter, James and John the brother of James
and led them up a high mountain by themselves
There he was transfigured before them
His face shone like the sun
and his clothes became as white as the light
B Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah
talking with Jesus
And a voice from the cloud said
C “This is my Son
B my beloved Son
C with him I am well pleased”
 
[ SILENCE ]
 
C Isaac and Jesus
Beloved Sons of God
A Both tested
and marked for death
B Both fully obedient
 
A The Binding of Isaac
Beloved Son
A Given over by the father
 
A It was at the coming time of the Passover
And God tested Abraham
B “Abraham! Take your son
your only son whom you love
C Isaac
B and go to the region of Moriah
C to the mountain where Solomon will build the Holy Temple
B Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering”
C It is written in the Book of Numbers
“You shall give to the Lord the first-born among your sons”
 
A Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey
He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac
Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham
C “Father, the fire and wood are here,
but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
A Abraham answered
B “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son”
A When they reached the place God had told him about
Abraham bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar
C “He was led like a lamb to the slaughter
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent
so he did not open his mouth”
A Then Abraham reached out his hand
and took the knife to slay his son
 
B Beloved Son
Restored to the father
A But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven
B “Abraham! Abraham! Do not lay a hand on the boy
Now I know that you fear God
because you have done this and have not withheld your son
C your only son
B I will surely bless you
and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky
and as the sand on the seashore
C Through your offspring
all nations on earth will be blessed
because you have obeyed me
I will keep you
and will make you to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles”
A Abraham looked up
and there in a thicket he saw a ram behind him caught by its horns
He went over and took the ram
and sacrificed it as a burnt offering
C instead of his son
 
A By faith Abraham
when God tested him
B offered Isaac as a sacrifice
A Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead
and so in a manner of speaking
C he did receive Isaac back from death
 
[ SILENCE ]
 
A By the time of the Second Temple
Isaac was well known
in the understanding of the Jewish people
B And the testing of Abraham
was also seen as the testing of Isaac
A As it is written in the Antiquities of Josephus:
C “Now Isaac was of such generous disposition
that suited the son of such a father
that he was pleased with what his father told him
So he went immediately to the altar to be sacrificed”
A As it is written in a Qumran text
B “‘Bind my hands’ he cried
‘Tie me well, so that I may not struggle in the anguish of my soul
and be thrown into the pit of destruction
and cause a blemish to be found in your offering’”
A As it is written in the First Letter of Clement
C “Isaac gladly allowed himself to be brought forward as a sacrifice
confident in the knowledge of what was about to happen”
A The testing of Abraham was also the testing of Isaac
C And both proved obedient
for the salvation of those who came after them
 
B Jesus
C Tested
and marked for death
B And fully obedient
 
A Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness
to be tested by the devil
After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry
The tempter came to him and said
B “If you are the Son of God
tell these stones to become bread”
C “If you are the Son of God
throw yourself down from the temple”
B “I will give you all the kingdoms of the world
if you will bow down and worship me”
A Jesus said to him
C “Away from me, Satan!”
A Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him
 
B Jesus, Beloved Son
Delivered up by the father
A From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples
that he must go to Jerusalem
and suffer many things at the hands of the elders
the chief priests and the teachers of the law
C “As you know, the Passover is two days away — 
and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified
and the third day he will be raised”
B Then the chief priests and the elders of the people
schemed to arrest Jesus secretly
and kill him
 
A Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane
He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee further along with him
and he began to be sorrowful and troubled
Then he said to them,
C “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death”
B Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed
C “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me
Yet not as I will, but as you will”
A Then he returned to the disciples and said to them
C “Look, the hour has come
and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners
Rise! Let us go!
Here comes my betrayer!”
 
[ PAUSE ]
 
B The Binding of Jesus
A It is written in the book of Numbers
“You shall give to the Lord the first-born among your sons”
C When they came to the place that is called Golgotha
they crucified Jesus there with the criminals
Those who passed by hurled insults at him
A “You who are going to destroy the temple
and build it in three days
save yourself!
Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!”
C “He saved others, but he can’t save himself!”
B “He trusts in God
Let God rescue him now if he wants him
for he said, ‘I am the Son of God’”
 
[ SILENCE ]
 
A Beloved sons
B Isaac and Jesus
A Children of promise
C Born of miraculous birth
A Beloved sons
B Both tested
and marked for death
C Both fully obedient
A Given up
C Given over by their fathers
B Restored to their fathers
C Beloved sons
A Both a light to the Gentiles
C Through whom
all nations on earth will be blessed
 
B After the suffering of his soul
he will see the light of life and be satisfied
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many
C He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted,
because he poured out his life unto death
 
A What, then, shall we say in response to these things?
B If God is for us, who can be against us?
He who did not spare his own Son
CFor God so loved the world
Bbut delivered him
gave him up for us all
Cthat he gave
delivered up his only begotten son
B — how will he not also
along with him graciously give us all things?
Cthat whoever believes on him will not perish
but have everlasting life
 
A For Christ
C Messiah, our Passover lamb
A has been sacrificed
 
A Understand, then
that those who have faith are children
of Abraham
B Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith
and announced the gospel in advance
to Abraham
C “All nations will be blessed through you”
A So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham
the man of faith
B Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law
by becoming a curse for us
 
C He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham
might be extended to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus
A so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit
 
ABC Thanks be to God