"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures," (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
The question presented before us is this: where does the Old Testament prophecy the resurrection of Jesus? This is what I will be tackling in this 2-part series.
In this first article, I will be showing how the story of Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac is a foreshadowing of the resurrection of Jesus.
First, it should be noted that the method of interpretation we are using here is what is known as typology. This rule of interpretation is found in the ancient rabbinical traditions as well as in the NT:
Ancient Rabbinic Tradition of Interpretation:
In ancient Judaism, Yose b. Eleazar the Galilean gave us 32 rules for interpreting Scripture. The 7th rule says that inferences can be made from analogies or parallel passages within the Hebrew Bible. For more information on this, see The McClintock-Strong Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol 6., pgs. 243-246.
Typological Tradition and Interpretation in the New Testament
"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up" (John 3:14)
"For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near." (Hebrews 10:1)
"because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you," (1 Peter 3:20-21a)
This puts things into perspective so that we now investigate into how the binding of Issac (also known as the Akedah) is a "type" or symbol/foreshadowing of the Lord Jesus Christ.
First, here is the full account of the story of Abraham and the binding of Isaac as given in Scripture:
"After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take 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.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. 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. 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.” 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. 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.” (Genesis 22:1-18 ESV)
It is interesting to see that Scripture actually suggests that Abraham knew that Isaac would still be alive afterwords:
"Then Abraham said to his young men, 'Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.'” (Gen. 22:5)
"By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back." (Hebrews 11:17-19)
There were quite a few Jewish sources which taught that Isaac actually did die but was raised from the dead later on, and that this sacrifice was accepted as an atonement for people who lived later in history:
"There was… a remarkable tradition that insisted that Abraham completed the sacrifice and that afterward Isaac was miraculously revived… According to this haggadah, Abraham slew his son, burnt his victim, and the ashes remain as a stored-up merit and atonement for Israel in all generations." (Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut, The Torah: A Modern Commentary, pg. 151 fn. 5)
"My beloved is unto me as a cluster of henna. cluster refers to Isaac, who was bound on the altar like a cluster of henna (kofer): because he atones (mekapper) for the iniquities of Israel." (Song of Songs Rabbah 1.4.1, Soncino Midrash Rabbah, Vol 9., pg. 81)
"When the children of Isaac give way to transgressions and evil deeds, do Thou recollect for them the binding of their father Isaac and rise from the Throne of Judgment and betake Thee to the Throne of Mercy, and being filled with compassion for them have mercy upon them and change for them the Attribute of Justice into the Attribute of Mercy!" (Leviticus Rabbah 29.9, in Midrash Rabbah, Vol. 4, pg. 376)
"It appears that this notion was widespread in medieval times: Ibn Ezra (commentary on Gen. 22:19) also quotes an opinion that Abraham actually did kill Isaac… and he was later resurrected from the dead. Ibn Ezra rejects this as completely contrary to the biblical text. Shalom Spiegel has demonstrated, however, that such views enjoyed a wide circulation and occasionally found expression in medieval writings. (Louis Jacobs, "Akedah," Encyclopedia Judaica 2:482.)
There are many parallels between the story of Akedah and the NT picture of Jesus. Here are a few of them:
-Isaac is several times referred to as Abraham's only son (Gen 22:2, 12, 16). Jesus is also referred to as the only son of God in the NT (John 3:16; Romans 8:32)
-Jesus is the Lamb of God (John 1:29; 1 Peter 1:18-19). This significance is noted by Geza Vermes in his book Scripture and Tradition in Judaism: Haggadic Studies:
""For the Palestinian Jew, all lamb sacrifice, and especially the Passover lamb and the Tamid offering, was a memorial of the Akedah with its effects of deliverance, forgiveness of sin and messianic salvation" (Geza Vermes, Scripture and Tradition in Judaism: Haggadic Studies, pg. 225)"
-Isaac was "sacrificed" and "raised" (figuratively speaking) on the third day (Gen. 22:4).
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