Today’s Sermon Notes: 3-15-2026
***You can also sign up for Pastor Drew’s podcast at Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Father Abraham
A Sermon Series
“Where Is The Lamb?”
Genesis 22:9-24
John 1:29 “The next day he (John the Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
A Father Who Holds Nothing Back (vv. 9-10)
9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
God is not cruel or seeking to strip something away from Abraham,[3]
He is foreshadowing a Savior that is coming,
God is showing how a father will sacrifice his son for the covering of sin.
So what is the test? The test is “Can I trust God?”
A Father Whose Heart Is Broken (vv. 11- 14)
11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
Jonathan Edwards in his famous sermon Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God, once said, “The use of this dreadful subject, may be for awakening unconverted people in this congregation. What you have heard is the case of every one of you who are out of Christ. That world of misery, that lake of burning brimstone, is extended abroad under you! There is the dreadful pit of the glowing flames of the wrath of God! There is Hell’s wide gaping mouth open, and you have nothing to stand upon, nor anything to take hold of! There is nothing between you and Hell but the thin air! It is only the power and mere pleasure of God, which holds you up!”
“Where is the lamb?”
“How can I be free from my sin?
“What must I do to be saved?
Acts 16:25-31 “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Our Father has seen our need (sin) and has provided a way for you to be saved from your sin. He gave His One and Only Son as a substitute for you.
Isaiah 53:5-6 “. . . he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
__________________________
In this account Abraham received a picture of what the Messiah would be like, John 8:56 Jesus is discussing who He is with the religious leaders, “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” But what did Abraham see about Jesus that made him glad?
“When he takes the knife, and stretches forth his hand to slay his son, he is made to realize the intensity of the love of him who spared not his own Son, but gave him up even to death.” Ultimately, Abraham would not have to give his son, but he would understand the love given to him and all other sinners because of the true sacrifice.
“The lamb provided for Isaac’s release, there is a vivid representation of the great principle of the sacrifice of Christ – the principle of substitution (substitutionary atonement). A ransom is found for the doomed and condemned – an acceptable victim in their place.” Abraham would know the feeling of joy and release in that he doesn’t have to give his own son as a sin offering.
“In the reception of Isaac again by Abraham virtually from the dead, and his welcome restoration to his father’s embrace – not, however, without a sacrifice, not without blood – the resurrection of the Son of God, and his return to the bosom of the Father – after undergoing that death which Isaac underwent only in figure – might clearly and strikingly discerned.”[4] What Abraham experienced showed him all that his faith longed to see. Jesus would return to and be embraced by the Father – Abraham understood what that reception would be like.
There is joy in a day of resurrection; Hebrews 11:19 “He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.” With Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, sin and death has been defeated. Death causes us to weep and mourn. Jesus thinking about his friend Lazarus’ tomb and wept. But Abraham through this experience was able to see a day when Jesus would come, and defeat death and there will be a day of resurrection when all things will be made right once more. Joy will come in the morning.
__________________________
A Father Who Is Blessed By God (vv. 15-19)
15 And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore.[5] And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.
Hebrews 6:13-15 “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise.”
James 2:21-24 “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.”
James tells us that Abraham “was called a friend of God.” – How does one become a friend of God? 1) They are called by God 2) They repent when they sin and seek to worship God as He has instructed 3) They have faith in His Word 4) They are obedient to His Word 5) Their blessing is the salvation of others – what is important to God is important to them. John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
__________________
[1] John 19:17 “So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.” Isaac is carrying the wood where he will be the burnt offering.
[2] Derek Kidner, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, Genesis (Downers Grove, Illinois; Inter-Varsity Press, 1967) 143.
[3] If this were an idolatrous stripping away for Abraham’s sake, then “Abraham without Isaac is greatly troubling, but Abraham without God is unbearable.”
[4] James Montgomery Boice, An Expositional Commentary, Genesis (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Baker Books, 2002) 698.
[5] Hebrews 11:12 “Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.”
[6] C. H. Mackintosh, Notes on the Pentateuch, Genesis to Deuteronomy (Neptune, New Jersey; Loizeaux Brothers, 1972) 98.
[activecampaign form=1 css=0]
***You can also sign up for Pastor Drew’s podcast at Apple Podcasts and Spotify
*** Click Here to go to Drew’s sermon archive on various topics.
Click Here For Last Week’s Sermon Notes:
“Moving With God When The Way Seems Twisted” Genesis 21:1-7; 22:1-8
