SON OF ABRAHAM (Various Scriptures)
INTRODUCTION:
Last Sunday we began a five-part series for the Christmas season. This series will look at the instances when Jesus Christ was called the Son of someone. We began by looking at Jesus as the Son of Adam which really focused on the humanity of Jesus, that He was truly human. It was important for the Son of God to become like us so that He could be our perfect substitute, our spotless sacrifice. Without the death of the sinless Lord Jesus Christ there would be no Christmas, there would be no salvation, there would be no forgiveness and we would still be dead in our trespasses and condemned to die.
This morning we are going to look at Jesus as the Son of Abraham. Next Sunday we will look at Jesus as the Son of David. In the morning service on Christmas Eve, we will look at Jesus as the Son of Mary and in the evening at our Christmas Eve service we will look at Jesus as the Son of God. As we enter into the Christmas season lets rejoice and worship the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of Adam, the Son of Abraham, the Son of David, the Son of Mary, the Son of God. Let’s pray before turning to the Scriptures.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles this morning to Matthew 1:1, this will be our jumping off point. We will look at various Scriptures this morning as we look at Jesus as the Son of Abraham. As I stated last week most biblical scholars believe the genealogy found here in Matthew 1 is the genealogy of Jesus through Joseph, His legal earthly father. It was because Joseph acknowledged Jesus as his son that Jesus had the right to the throne, but that is next week’s message. Please stand, if you are able, as I read the opening verse to Matthew’s Gospel.
Matthew 1:1,
“The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:” (Matthew 1:1, NASB95)[1]
FATHER ABRAHAM (Matthew 1:1; Genesis 12:1-3; 15:1-6)
In this one verse we are told that Jesus Christ is the Son of two of the most important men in the history of the nation of Israel. God made covenants with both of these men, and here Matthew is telling us that Jesus is the fulfillment of these covenants. The covenant with David we will look at next week, but this morning we want to begin by looking at the covenant that God made with Abraham and how Jesus Christ being the Son of Abraham is the fulfillment of that covenant.
As a child going to Vacation Bible School, we used to sing a song called “Father Abraham.” The main line of the song was, “Father Abraham had many sons, many sons had Father Abraham, I am one of them and so are you, so let’s all praise the Lord.” This was just a kids’ song, but we will see this morning that there is some truth in it for those who have put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.
We are first introduced to Abraham in Genesis 11 where he is listed in the book of the generations of Shem. Remember Shem was one of the sons of Noah and it is through Shem that Abraham can be traced. When we first meet Abraham, his name is Abram, and he becomes the main figure in chapters 12-25 of Genesis. In Genesis 12:1-3 we have the covenant that God made with Abraham. Listen as I read what God spoke to Abram, “Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.’ ” (Genesis 12:1–3, NASB95)[2] This is what is called the Abrahamic covenant, in later chapters it is repeated and expanded upon. God told Abraham to go forth and leave behind his country, his relatives, and his father’s household and to go to a land that God would show him. God also promised Abraham that He would make him a great nation and that God would bless him and make him great. God promised to protect him and to bless those who blessed him and to curse those who cursed him. Finally, God promised that through Abraham God would bless all the families of the earth. How would God do this? God would bring a descendant of Abraham into the world to be the Savior, and this is how God would bless all the families of the earth through Abraham.
There was just one problem, Sarah, Abraham’s wife was barren, and Abraham and Sarah were old and beyond the age of childbearing so how could God make Abraham into a great nation and bring a Savior into the world to bless all the families of the earth. God appeared to Abraham again and Abraham brought up this “problem” to God. In Genesis 15:1-3 we read, “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.’ Abram said, ‘O Lord God, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’ And Abram said, ‘Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.’ ” (Genesis 15:1–3, NASB95)[3] So Abraham tells God that because he has no children, a servant that was born in his house would be his heir. We read God’s response to this “problem” in verses 4-5, “Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.’ And He took him outside and said, ‘Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ ” (Genesis 15:4–5, NASB95)[4] God promised Abraham a child, a descendant from his own body to be the heir and to be the start of the great nation that God would make from Abraham. In verse 6 we read, “Then he [Abraham] believed in the Lord; and He [The LORD] reckoned it to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6, NASB95)[5] Abraham believed God’s promises to him by faith and God credited it to him as righteousness. Abraham came to God in faith, believing God’s promise to send a Savior through him, just as we must come in faith believing that the Savior has come and died for our sins and rose from the dead.
ABRAHAM’S SEED (Genesis 22:17-18; Galatians 3:15-18)
God’s promise to give Abraham a son came true when Abraham was 100 years old and his wife Sarah was 90 years old, so the birth of Isaac truly was a miracle of God. This was the son of promise. When Isaac was a young man, possibly a teenager, God spoke to Abraham again and told him to take his son, his only son, whom he loved and go to a mountain that God would show him and offer Isaac as a burnt offering. This was the son of promise and now God is asking Abraham to sacrifice him as a burnt offering. In Genesis 22 we read of this event, how Abraham took his only son Isaac to the mountain God showed him, and he built an altar, bound his son, and laid him on the altar and lifted the knife above him to slay his son. Just as he was about to plunge the knife into the boy the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and told him not to slay the child. The Lord said to Abraham in Genesis 22:15b-18 “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” (Genesis 22:15b–18, NASB95)[6] Because Abraham was willing to do whatever God asked of him, even to the point of sacrificing his son, his only son, the son of promise, because of this God again promised to greatly bless Abraham and to greatly increase his seed (or descendants) so they will be as the stars of the heavens or the sand on the seashore. Then God says something very specific that refers to Jesus Christ, God says, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 22:18a, NASB95)[7]
How do I know that this is talking about Jesus Christ? Because Matthew 1:1 told us that Jesus the Messiah is the Son of Abraham. But it is not only because Matthew writes that Jesus is the Son of Abraham, Paul by inspiration of the Holy Spirit uses Genesis 22:18 to show us that it refers to Jesus Christ. Paul was teaching the Galatians that the Abrahamic covenant supersedes the Law of Moses simply because the promise came first. Paul writes in Galatians 3:15-18, from our Scripture reading this morning, “Brethren, I speak in terms of human relations: even though it is only a man’s covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it. Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ. What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.” (Galatians 3:15–18, NASB95)[8] Paul is telling us that Jesus Christ, the Son of Abraham is the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant, He is the seed that blesses all the nations of the earth by bringing salvation through His death and resurrection. This was the reason He was born, so that He could die and become sin for us that we might be the righteousness of God through Him. The Law which came four centuries after Abraham does not invalidate the covenant God had made with Abraham, all that God has promised to Abraham will be fulfilled. This is another part of the wonder and awe of Christmas, God is a promise keeper and just as He sent His Son as the Seed of Abraham, so He will fulfill all His promises.
SON OF ABRAHAM (Hebrews 2:16-17; Galatians 3:6-9)
Jesus Christ, the Son of Abraham we learned last week took on humanity for us, Hebrews 2:14-15 taught us that He became like us so that through His death He might render powerless the one who holds the power of death. That one is Satan and his defeat at the cross meant freedom for those whom he held in slavery through their fear of death. Hebrews 2:16-17 tell us, “For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:16–17, NASB95)[9] These two verses tell us that Jesus Christ, the Son of Abraham did not become a Son of Abraham to help the angels, He became a Son of Abraham to help the descendant of Abraham, to help those who are descended from Abraham. Because this is who He came to help, He had to become a descendant of Abraham so that He would be like His brothers in all things. He willingly became the Son of Abraham so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the things pertaining to God. Only a descendant of Abraham could become a high priest, and by becoming a merciful and faithful high priest, Jesus Christ made propitiation for the sins of the people, the descendants of Abraham. What does it mean that He made propitiation? It means that His death on the cross makes it possible for us to approach a Holy God and find forgiveness. If Christ had not died on the cross on our behalf, we would only find God’s throne a throne of judgment, but because Jesus Christ died on the cross what would be a throne of judgment becomes a throne of mercy where we can find forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ and what He did for us through His death and resurrection.
But these verses say that Jesus became a Son of Abraham to help the descendant of Abraham, what about those of us who are not descendants of Abraham? Paul addresses this in Galatians 3:6-9 when He wrote, “Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.” (Galatians 3:6–9, NASB95)[10] If you have put your faith in Jesus Christ, believing that He died for your sins on the cross, believing that He was buried and on the third day rose from the dead, then according to these verses that faith makes you a son of Abraham. We are the brothers and sisters that Jesus Christ came to help, we are the Gentiles that the Scripture foresaw that God would justify by faith, He would declare us righteous just as He declared Abraham righteous when He believed God. This righteousness is not of our own making, but it is the very righteousness of Jesus Christ bestowed on us because of our faith in Christ. So, another part of the wonder and awe of Christmas is that Jesus Christ became a Son of Abraham so that those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.
CONCLUSION:
Remember I mentioned a kids’ song called “Father Abraham” near the beginning of my message. “Father Abraham had many sons, many sons had Father Abraham, I am one of them and so are you, so lets all praise the Lord.” As we close this morning, I want you to close your eyes and ask yourself if you are a son of Abraham, are you numbered among his descendants because of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? What I mean by your faith in Christ is that you have repented of your sin, you have recognized that you have sinned and you have confessed that to God and you have understood that there is absolutely nothing that you can do to make yourself acceptable to God but you believe that God the Son, Jesus Christ, the Son of Abraham took on human flesh and became like you so that He could go to the cross and pay the penalty for your sin, you believe that He died there as your substitute, that He was buried and was gloriously resurrected on the third day proving that His payment for sin satisfied God’s wrath against your sin. Believing this you ask God to forgive your sins and save you from His future wrath. If you have done this your sins are forgiven and you are saved, you are one of the many sons or daughters of Abraham and just as his faith was credited to him as righteousness, God has canceled your debt of sin and credited the righteousness of Jesus Christ to your account. You can do this in the quietness of your own heart right now. If you speak to God this morning and for the first time are forgiven and saved, do not keep it a secret. Tell someone, tell me I would love to know and welcome you into the family, Abraham’s family, and God’s family.
Maybe you are here this morning and you have been a son or daughter of Abraham for a long time because of your faith in Jesus Christ. As you think about this fact this morning, rejoice that your Savior was willing to become the Son of Abraham to help His brothers and sisters, to become a faithful and merciful high priest in things pertaining to God. As you celebrate Christ’s birth this Christmas let’s remember that He is no longer an infant in a manger, but He is our merciful and faithful high priest, and He is interceding for us right now.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation. Emphasis mine.