Jesus willingly died so we could live.
Its victims hung for hours to be mocked by humans, pec.
Crucifixion was a slow-burn death.
His dread was not of crucifixion in itself, but of God\'s wrath.
On the cross, he willingly took God\'s wrath towards sin upon himself so that he could take away the sin of the world.
He was a volunteer.
Jesus was not a victim.
We see the Bible\'s first depiction of the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
We see God sparing Abraham\'s son--his only son, whom he loved--while setting the stage for not sparing his own beloved Son.
We see God providing a substitute, so that God\'s people, embodied in Isaac, could live.
We see a father who intensely loves his son but who is willing to give him up.
What was the point of all of this? Did God not know that Abraham trusted him? The point was not for Abraham, but for us.
He took the ram and sacrificed it to God instead.
When Abraham looked up, he saw a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. 22:12).
But suddenly, the angel of the Lord calls out: 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 (Gen.
Abraham lays Isaac on the woodpile and lifts the knife.
He binds his son and lays him on the wood.
When they get to the mountain, Abraham sets up the sacrifice.
But he trusted that God would provide a Lamb somehow.
No doubt, Abraham experienced true love for Isaac: his son, his only son, whom he loved.
We can only imagine what is going through Abraham\'s head. 22:2).
Some years later, God speaks these devastating words to Abraham: 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 (Gen.
But God promised to make Abraham into a great nation, and eventually Sarah gave birth to their son, Isaac.
Abraham and Sarah were old and childless.
The first time God used a Lamb to save his people was at the very start of their story.
We understand calling someone the GOAT but not the Lamb! But John\'s first Jewish hearers would have understood.
To us, this claim makes little sense.
In the first chapter of John\'s Gospel, John the Baptist sees his cousin Jesus and declares, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29).
We see multiple moments in the Hebrew Scriptures that prefigure the exchange of Jesus\'s death.
He chose to die in our place for love.
Jesus willingly died so we could live
