So God promised Abraham that he would have a son and that through that son the Promise would be carried on. Even though Abraham was almost 100 years old, he and Sarah were finally given their son Isaac. Here he was! The child of the promise! The child they would never have thought to expect except for the Lord's promise. Here was the one who would grow up to have his own kids so that Abraham's family would be just like God said: more than the stars of heaven. Except when Isaac is just about grown up the Lord tells Abraham to go kill him! God has promised that through this son, Isaac, the Promise would be carried. And then God tells Abraham to kill Isaac! What do you do when God says one thing and then says something completely different! What are we supposed to think when God seems to so blatantly contradict Himself? What are we supposed to think when the Word of God tells us what a beautiful picture marriage is supposed to be and we are married in the church with the Lord's blessings and then it seems like the marriage is coming apart? What are supposed to think when God's Word says, “train up a child in the way they should go and when they are old they won't depart from it” and we've brought our kids to church their whole lives and they just get to a certain age and decide they don't really need church anymore? What do we do when we hear over and over that God loves us and then we find out we have some terrible sickness or disease from which we might even die! What do we do when we hear over and over that our sins are forgiven and yet we carry around a load of guilt that just won't go away? These contradictions, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, between what the Lord says and what is, are our being tested as Abraham was tested. When you know God's promise but the exact opposite happens then pay attention: this is test. But this is only a test!
When Abraham was tested, what could he conclude? On the one hand, God said his son was the one who would be the heir of the promise. But God also said that Abraham had to kill the boy. So what does Abraham cling to? How does he reconcile these two completely different messages from God? The book of Hebrews says that Abraham believed that if God had to raise Isaac from the dead, that's what He would do. In other words, Abraham figured that even if he killed his son Isaac, the Lord would still keep his promise by raising Isaac from the dead and making him the father of many nations. Here's another one: We heard the Father's voice declare about Jesus, “This is my beloved Son!” And yet now the Father is going to let Jesus be arrested and beaten and mocked and scourged and crucified and die, forsaken on the cross! So is Jesus the Father's beloved Son or not? He says one thing and does another. But here is where the contradiction is overcome and answered. In Jesus on the cross you have the greatest contradictions joined. In Jesus you have the God who hates and despises sin and the God who forgives and has mercy. In Jesus you have the Law which promises punishment to those who break it and the Gospel which promises forgiveness to those who cannot earn it. In Christ we have the huge contradiction that Man is God and that God dies. Christ can cry out “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me!?” because He still believes and holds fast to the promise that He is the Father's beloved Son.
Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus died for you. His death is for YOUR salvation. Therefore, anything when you experience that seems to contradict God's promises to you in Christ, is ONLY A TEST. Christ has died and taken away all your sins. He has risen and conquered death. You are Baptized and that makes you a child of God. Your sins are forgiven for Jesus's sake. You have His body and blood in you. Therefore when you experience things in this life that contradict that, don't believe them! Don't think God has thrown you under the bus! Usually our first reaction is despair: “Why is God doing this? He says I'm His child so what did I do to deserve this?” Or “I've tried doing it the Lord's way and it seems like that only leads to misery and problems!” These are the devil's whisperings which want to teach you despair. The devil says, “See? God's not true. He's a liar! He says one thing and does another. That's God for you, Mr. Bait and Switch!” But we know that the Devil is the one who is the liar! As Jesus says, he's not only a liar but the Father of lies. He's always been a liar. So when everything in your life seems to scream “Not a child of God! God's lying! God's playing you!” then hold on tightly to His promises which cannot be broken. Here is the Promise Jesus gives, “If anyone keeps My Word, He shall not see death!” Not even death itself can harm you because the Lord's made such a promise. When these contradictions are thrown at you, run to church. Hear your baptismal name. Hear the absolution. Hear the preaching. Eat and drink more Jesus! These gifts of Christ will sustain you against the things that seem to contradict them!
And how is the contradiction finally resolved for Abraham? He says to Isaac, “The Lord will provide a lamb for Himself.” And then, when the angel stops him from actually killing Isaac, there is a ram caught in a bush that they can sacrifice. Then He names the hill “The Lord will provide.” An even better translation is “the Lord will be seen.” This is the hill where the Lord is seen. Because the angel of the Lord shows up and keeps Abraham from killing His Son. But also because this may have been the very hill that almost 2000 years later the Lord was seen upon, nailed to the cross. Upon mount Calvary the Lord is seen saving us. Suffering for us. Dying for us. Pouring out blood and water for us. On that hill, not Abraham's son, not a ram caught in a thicket but the Son of God is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. On the mountain of the Lord He will be seen. Calvary is that mountain. Calvary is the mountain where the Lord can be seen answering for our sins and forgiven them. Calvary is the mountain where the Lord can be seen taking the place of sinners in order to save us. Calvary is the mountain where the Lord is seen rescuing us from death and hell. Calvary is the mountain where the Lord is seen being Abraham's Savior and Isaac's Savior and ours too.
Jesus tells His enemies in today's Gospel, “Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He did see it and was glad.” That's because Abraham learned that on the mountain of the Lord it's not we who die or our kids who have to die. It's the Lord's lamb who dies. Brothers and sisters in Christ, because Abraham knew the promise of the Savior who would come, he was comforted when everything seemed like the Lord was contradicting Himself. When the crosses and trials of your life seem to say that the Lord says one thing and does another, then look to Christ and see that it's not true! Look to Christ and know what the Lord's heart toward you always is. Trust in your Baptism. Believe the absolution. Cling to Christ's body and blood. There you have the true promises of God that can never be overcome, even when it seems like they are being contradicted. For after all, you have Christ's resurrection to answer the question: Does God love His Son or not? He said He did but then He killed Him. But then He raised Him and that's the final answer! Life. Forgiveness. Victory. These things win out over whatever the devil has going. And they are your victory in Christ. Does God love you or not? He must. For He has provided a Lamb for you, His Son Jesus Christ! Happy Lent in the Name of Jesus. Amen.
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