Isaac – a Type of Christ

What does it mean to be a Type of Christ? Join me on this journey and allow the Bible to come alive to you. Throughout scripture, there are many types of Christ. Some of those types are people who walked this earth thousands of years before us. The events in their lives pointed forward to the new covenant and to Jesus Christ.

You don’t need to know these things to be a Christian or to live in the power of God. Yet, understanding the foreshadowing helps us understand what God is really about. Understanding gives us insight into His character and the way God does things- past, present, and future. Understanding increases our faith and our hope.

Only (and long-promised) son – a type of Christ

Isaac was the only son of Abraham and Sarah, and the long-promised child for them in their old age. Long past their prime, they experienced the miracle of a longed-for son when God gave them Isaac. In this we see Isaac, a type of Christ.

Abraham and Sarah waited for 25 years after God first promised a son, just as Israel waited for release from slavery and entrance to the promised land. This story shows us that God has His own timetable, and it often does not mesh with ours.  In due time, Isaac was born. The world waited for many years for the promised Messiah.  In due time, Christ was born. The promised Messiah did come. This is one way we see Isaac as a type of Christ.

The Sacrifice of Isaac- a type of Christ

God told Abraham one day, “Take now your son, your only son . . . “.  Scripture tells us that the next morning Abraham left for the mountain. He took his son and his servants with him. On that last long leg of the journey, Abraham placed wood on his son. Isaac carried the wood intended for his own altar. In the same way, Jesus was made to carry His own cross as He walked toward Golgotha. Along the way, Isaac asked his father where the lamb was for their sacrifice. Abraham replied that God would provide a lamb.

Isaac became as “a lamb led to slaughter” and allowed his father to bind him and put him on the altar. Jesus submitted to His Father’s plan in the same manner for us. Even before His death, He proclaimed it was His choice to do the will of His father.  God provided a ram caught in the thicket, and Abraham was spared from killing his own son. In a similar way, God provided a “ram” for our sins. That lamb was His own sinless Son. On this altar of sacrifice, we see Isaac as a type of Christ.

First fruits and without blemish

Through the life of Isaac, we see that scarlet thread of redemption pointing toward Jesus and the cross.  The people were required to bring their best and their first fruits.  I Corinthians tells us that Jesus became the first fruit.

Animals without blemish were required for sacrifices. Jesus, our Savior, was without sin, without blemish.  Yet, He became sin for us so we can be free.

Forever free

In addition, the same God who gave His own son is also able to give us all things. Romans 8:32 says: He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not, with Him, also freely give us all things?”

Through Christ’s sacrifice, we can be free forever. Believing and obeying are what God asks us to do. He holds nothing back in giving us His best, proof positive in the gift of His only Son. Through the Spirit, we can continue to walk in freedom. Can you imagine the joy and freedom Abraham felt after he put that ram on the altar?! That’s what we experience when we accept the gift given to us through Christ, our sacrificial Lamb.

Attribution and appreciation to freebibleimages.org  for the photos in this blog post.