3. Replacement. “And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.” (Gen. 22:10-13). The ram was offered “in the stead” of Isaac. Jesus was offered in the stead of sinners. “Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father” (Gal. 1:4) “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matt. 20:28). “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).
Jesus stated that His life was given as a ransom for His people. (Matt. 20:28) We understand the concept of someone being held captive and someone else paying the ransom money to deliver them. Jesus paid the price to redeem us from our bondage to sin.
Paul wrote to Timothy that Jesus “gave” Himself as “a ransom for all to be testified in due time.” (1 Tim. 2:6). The apostles testified of the death of Christ and the nature of the redemption which He accomplished. The concepts of ransom and redemption go together, and it was by Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself that both occurred. “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” (Titus 2:14).
Through His sacrifice, Jesus died in our place, paying the price for our sins. The "offering of Isaac" pointed to this.
Grace and Peace Ministries