Thayer Thursday – God’s “Only Son”
Chris Thayer is the Director of Discipleship at Good Shepherd Church in Charlotte, NC where he oversees adult life groups and Biblical education. On Thursdays I share his weekly “Thayer’s Thoughts” for small group leaders, which are based on the previous Sunday’s sermon. Click HERE to watch or listen to the accompanying sermon.
As is mentioned in this week’s sermon: Paul, a first century Jew and Pharisee, was thoroughly steeped in the Old Testament scriptures. He would have had most of the Old Testament memorized, especially the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible). So when we read his letters in the New Testament, it should not surprise us to find quotes and allusions from the Old Testament.
In Romans 8:32 we come across one such allusion. It echoes a famous Old Testament Story found in Genesis: God’s testing of Abraham by telling him to sacrifice his promised son, Isaac.
“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”
Genesis 22:1-19 is a confusing story. God’s request of Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac is at the very least odd, and for most modern readers barbaric and cruel. Why would God ask Abraham to kill his son whom God promised him? This story has had discussion surrounding it for thousands of years by people who were confused and tried to discern its significance. So we’re in good company. As you wrestle with this passage of scripture, there are several things to keep in mind.
First, Abraham did not receive this request out of the blue. It was the culmination of multiple events in his life. This test of Abraham’s faith in God only came after he had shown his faith in God on many other occasions. Abraham was going to be the person through which God would bring about His rescue plan for all of creation. God’s promises to Abraham (that He would grant him descendants as numerous as the stars and ultimately that He would bless the nations through Him) was wrapped up in the impossible birth of his son Isaac. At the heart of this story is not Abraham’s willingness to follow through on an audacious request by God, but his trust in Him to fulfill His promise.
Second, we get glimpses that Abraham is both distraught by the request yet confident in God. We see his distress when the writer tells us he packs for the trip and then chops the wood for the sacrifice, rather than packing after he had finished preparing (!)—showing he was in a bad state of mind. Conversely, we see his confidence when Abraham tells Isaac (who was surely wondering what they would kill at the altar) that God would provide the sacrifice and his servants that both he and his son would return from the mountain. Abraham knew that God would somehow come through, but was also scared.
Finally, this story is one of several that points to a greater reality. Through this act of obedience, God was prefiguring what was to come 2,000 years later. Abraham was a shadow, a glimpse of what would ultimately be done by God. Along with the story of the Passover lamb from Exodus and others, God is preparing the hearts and minds of His followers for what He is going to do to fix the world. To bring His plan of rescue to its climax. God the Father would send His only son Jesus to die on the cross.
>However, unlike with Isaac, there was no other substitute that would work. Our rescue depends solely on the death & resurrection of Jesus. How great the Father’s love for us that He “did not spare His own Son, but gave him up for us all…”
Chris Thayer
Categories: Biblical Theology, Blog, Hebrew Bible, New Testament, Thayer Thursday