Comparing Abraham's (near) Sacrifice of Isaac to the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ

Only Begotten Son

Genesis 22:12 (DRA)

12 And he said to him: Lay not thy hand upon the boy, neither do thou any thing to him: now I know that thou fearest God, and hast not spared thy only begotten son for my sake.

John 3:16 (KJV) 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

From his son, a great nation was going to be built. His seed would number the sand grains of the earth and the stars in the sky. Yet by request from the Lord and without any argument, he was going to kill his only son begotten from Sarah, his heir. Remember that the Lord performed a miracle with Isaac being born as Sarah was ninety years old at the time and she was previously barren all her life, yet this miracle would seemingly soon be erased. Abraham was a man who grieved over the loss of loved ones (whether it was his son Ishmael or when Sarah passed away) so clearly this would have pained him deeply. Yet he did so without questioning and made his three days journey from Philistia to the mountains of Jerusalem (then called Moriah) for the sole intent of sacrificing his son.

So here is the interesting parallel. Abraham loved and feared the Lord, that he gave his only begotten son as an offering to him. But the Lord is infinite in mercy, so he stopped him from following through with this. In comparison, God loved the world (in spite of all our sins and faults), that he gave his only begotten son for us, and allowed his own son to be treated horribly and to be crucified. This shows the magnitude of the Lord's mercy that he extended this courtesy to Abraham's son that he didn't even apply to his own son.

No Need of my Goods

Psalm 15:2 (DRA) 2 I have said to the Lord, thou art my God, for thou hast no need of my goods

The difference in this situation is that the Lord does not need us but we need him. Jesus even said in the new testament that he could raise up stones to be children of Abraham. That being said, he spared Isaac, brought him to the world with a miracle birth, blessed Abraham during his own lifetime as well as his legacy which is ever-present to this day. This was simply for the fact that he was a faithful servant. God did not need Abraham, Isaac, nor anyone in the world, yet the world needed Jesus. He offered salvation from our sins and eternal life. The only thing that we need to do is declare him as our Lord and savior and he would grant it. In his life, not only did people reject him, but they sentenced him to death. The Lord shows infinite mercy despite not needing us, while humanity showed the foremost cruelty despite needing the Lord.

On the Third Day

Genesis 22:4

4 And on the third day, lifting up his eyes, he saw the place afar off. Matthew 17:21-22

21 And when they abode together in Galilee, Jesus said to them: The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men:

22 And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall rise again. And they were troubled exceedingly.

This makes me wonder if the Lord left a clue in Genesis regarding the arrival of his son. It was on the third day after the Lord gave his order when Abraham would sacrifice Isaac. In Abraham's eyes, Isaac was as good as dead for that time period until the angel of the Lord put a stop to his action. Regarding Abraham's imagination, it would be as if his son resurrected at that moment. Many thought Jesus was truly dead (including his own disciples) despite the fact that he gave numerous clues of his resurrection (by literally saying it, saying he will destroy and rebuild the temple in three days, as well as mentioning the sign of Jonah, who dwelt in a whale for three days). He was not truly alive again to them until the news of his resurrection. Even then, his own disciple Thomas wouldn't believe it until he actually saw Jesus. Jesus seemed dead to all (or close to it) for three days, whereas Isaac seemed dead to one for three days.

It is clues like these that truly reveal the reality of the bible from its very beginning to the very end.

Source:

https://www.christianity.com/jesus/death-and-resurrection/resurrection/did-jesus-predict-his-resurrection.html