Feeling the Lords Supper

John 8 Genesis 22 I was reading John 8 and came across this interesting line.

Genesis 22:1 (NASB77) Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."
How did Abraham hear this voice? Was it like Elijah? Was it something else. Abraham had a history of hearing from God. There was even the time when angels came and spoke with him face-to-face. So he knew when God spoke, Im just wondering how many times God had to say it before Abraham believed it. Because what he said contradicted everything else he had done.

John 8:56 (NASB77) "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."
What does that mean? Abraham lived nearly 2000 years before Jesus. Did you realize that Jesus was as removed from Abraham as we are from him in terms of time. That would be like me saying, Paul saw My day and rejoiced. First, he didnt see Jesus. He saw the day. The way they responded they implied Jesus said he had seen Abraham. He didnt say that either. Still its out there. Abraham saw my day and rejoiced. What does that mean? What was it that Abraham saw? How did he see it? What does this mean. Lets journey back to a pivotal episode in Abrahams life. By seeing him we see what he saw in Jesus. And this episode frames the importance of the Lords supper we are about to receive. It shows us how it felt. Abraham always wanted a son. All of his life he had wanted a son. Prayed for a son. Longed for a son. God promised him a son. But the son never came. God finally opened Sarahs womb. Abraham was nearing 100. Think of all the years he missed. Now he finally bounces that baby boy on his lap. He teaches him life. He walks with him. Every day was precious because Abraham was constantly thinking this might be his last. His life dream met, he could now go to his grave in peace. But then there came this terrible whisper.

Genesis 22:2 (NASB77) And He said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you."
Lets stop here.

We must feel the terrible consequences of sin

Genesis 22:2 (NASB77) And He said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you."
Notice it was taken for granted that something had to die for sin. Sacrifice for sin was common. They did it all the time. And by doing it they understood how terrible sin really was. These days there has been this softening I was preaching on the sacrificial system and the fact that blood was required to atone for sin. I told how Solomon dedicated the temple with 22,000 cows and 122,000 sheep. I wondered how much blood that would be. About 3-6 gallons per cow. At least a couple of quarts per sheep. Lot of blood. My son, 7, is listening beside Amy, Thats it, Im not listening any more, all this talk of blood is just too violent. . . Later Amy told me and I asked him

what he thought of my sermon. Great, without ever looking up from Nintendo, Just one thing, You should have left out all that violence. We talk about it all the time so its not a big deal to us. We never see it. We dont feel the loss. An animal was sacrificed. Big deal. Then a young boy hears it for the first time and he reacts to the violence. It was a violent thing. Judaism is a violent bloody religion. Why all the blood? God wanted us to know the severity of sin and the demands of justice. We miss that. We try to think of these things at a distance and we talk about it as if life were a small thing. These animals died. God wanted us to know that the wages of sin is death. Something has to die. Sin is no small thing to the righteous God. Weve made it a small thing. It wasnt to God. Concurrent with that is this idea. We must understand the high price of redemption.

Before we talk about that lets not overlook the obvious. Abraham understood the need for sacrifice. We are appalled at the thought of killing an innocent boy, but what about all those innocent lambs and cows and birds and animals that were killed in the system of sacrifice. We gloss over that because we never saw it. Imagine the scene. The prize family lamb. You place it on the altar and the priest slices its throat and the blood slowly drains out as the Lamb struggles to hold on to life. Then it dies. What did that feel like?

We must feel the love that God has for us

Genesis 22:2 (NASB77) And He said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you."
Moriah is the place where the temple would eventually be built 800 years later during the reign of Solomon. (2 Chronicles 3:1) It was rebuilt on this location in 539 BC and then Herod expanded and beautified it. Heres the irony. The conversation in John 8 that weve been studying took place on the same hill that Abraham offered Isaac. What an amazing coincidence. Moriah means to see. Abraham saw my day . . . on the hill called to see. Why would God do this? Why would He ask Abraham to offer his ONLY SON! He wanted him to see. More accurately, he wanted him to feel. Heres what it feels like to offer a son. By feeling it, you see the level of Gods love.

We must feel the high price of redemption

Genesis 22:2 (NASB77) And He said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you."
We read this and we are appalled at the thought of God requiring a man to offer his son as a human sacrifice. It is appalling. This never happened anywhere else in the Bible. This is the only time. In fact, God strictly forbid human sacrifice. So we know that this wasnt the norm. God is doing something else. But what?

We must feel the grace that God will ultimately provide

Genesis 22:3 (NASB77) So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. Genesis 22:4 (NASB77) On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. Genesis 22:5 (NASB77) And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go yonder; and we will worship and return to you." Genesis 22:6 (NASB77) 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 the two of them walked on together. Genesis 22:7 (NASB77) And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." And he said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"
Young Isaac asked, What will we sacrifice. We must have something to sacrifice. He knew that worship included sacrifice. He had no idea it was him.

This is the place where people see God. When we yield our treasure and trust by faith God becomes more visible and real.

Genesis 22:9 (NASB77) Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there, and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. Genesis 22:10 (NASB77) And Abraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. Genesis 22:11 (NASB77) But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." Genesis 22:12 (NASB77) And he said, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." Genesis 22:13 (NASB77) Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.
God provided a ram that day. The ram symbolized a much bigger offering. One day God would offer the perfect sacrifice to end all sacrifice. He would give his only son. Abraham saw Jesus and rejoiced.

Genesis 22:8 (NASB77) And Abraham said, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." So the two of them walked on together.
Abraham believed that if God were to take his son that he would bring his son back. This is the moment of greatest surrender. This is the moment of greatest faith.

Genesis 22:14 (NASB77) And Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, "In the mount of the LORD it will be provided."
In the mount of the Lord it will be provided. Jehovah Jirah. My God will provide.

When did Abraham see Jesus day and rejoice? Right there! Thats what we need to see as we approach this lords supper.

1. Your sin is terrible. 2. The price of redemption is costly 3. The love behind it is amazing 4. The grace is provided freely