Commentary on the Gospel of
“Abraham rose early next morning …”—he would have hardly slept! As Jesus sweat blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, Abraham would also have suffered terribly the whole night, thinking of God’s directive. But there is a certain resoluteness in him as he gets up in the morning and walks with Isaac to Moriah. There was no way Abraham would have foreseen God stopping him at the last moment. Thus, in having decided to obey God, however painfully, Abraham has already sacrificed Isaac and proved his unwavering fidelity to God. God rewards him by preventing the actual sacrifice and returning his son to Abraham.
I wonder if God wanted Abraham, His friend, to know the pain God would undergo in giving up Jesus to be sacrificed, Jesus “His Son, His Only Son, the Son He loved.” If so, there was no greater honor Abraham could have ever asked of God—to be so trusted by God as to be allowed to share God’s grief. Would you be willing to be so trusted so as to be given a share in God’s own passion?
Credits: Claretian Bible Diary
Paulson Veliyannoor, CMF
frpaulson@gmail.com
