Focus: A Submissive Son

Text: Gen.22:9

"And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and BOUND Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood."

Isaac is a character worthy of attention and emulation. Isaac was already an adult when God demanded of Abraham to sacrifice him. He did nothing to stop his father from sacrificing him. He didn't argue with his father. He didn't use force to stop his father. Like sheep, he was led to the place of slaughter, yet he opened not his mouth. Isaac yielded himself to be bound and sacrificed by his own father. He never thought that his father was stupid or cruel. He trusted in his father's judgment and surrendered to his decision.

All through his life, Isaac was the true son of his father. He followed in his father's footsteps, even to the point of repeating the errors of his father. He lived like a man who had no mind of his own. He pleased his father in all things and respected the bond they shared. The God of his father was his own God. God revealed Himself to Abraham and also to his son, Isaac. God established a covenant with Abraham and extended it to his son, Isaac.

Isaac chose to walk in the path of obedience. He made no radical departure from the ways of his father. His life was not complicated. He chose the other side of complexity, which is simplicity. Looking at Isaac, you could see a man whose life was wonderfully predictable. He lived by the will of his father. Even his marriage to Rebecca was arranged by his father. The Bible says concerning Isaac, "For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth… And Isaac DIGGED AGAIN the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them" (Gen.26:15,18). He did not change the names of the wells. He did not think of his own names. He did not even think it was necessary to change the names. His father was his role model. He restored the wells of his father and kept the names given to them by his father. Isaac might have said, 'My father and I are one.'

We see the same trend or characteristic in the relationship between Christ and his Father. As Abraham bound his son, Isaac, for the sacrifice, so God allowed His own son to be bound, and eventually taken to the hill of Golgotha where He was sacrificed. The Scripture says, "And when they had BOUND him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor" (Mt.27:2). Jesus did not object to the idea. He didn't fight against His Father's will. In fact, it was to do His Father's will that He came into the world. Before He could begin His life's mission, the Father said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Mt.3:17). That is God approving of Him as His own son. Again, we read, "Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased" (Mt.12:18). That is God approving of Him as His own servant. God approved of Him, even before He had done any work at all. In Acts, we read, "A man approved of God…" (Act.2:22). That is God approving of Him as His own man. Then, we read of Jesus saying to the people, "I DO always those things that please him… My Father worketh hitherto, and I work… The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise" (Jh.8:29; 5:17,19). It is absolutely clear from these Scriptures that Christ was totally sold out to doing His Father's will. He said what He heard His Father say and did what He saw His Father do. As a Son, He obeyed His Father in all things. As a servant, He pleased His Master in all things. As a man, He manifested the image of God before men. In all things He was utterly faithful to His Father, His Master, and His God.

We read in Hebrews 5:8, that "though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered." He was absolutely submissive and obedient to His Father. He was one with His Father in everything. He was the embodiment of God on earth. Seeing Jesus was the same as seeing the Father.

Surely, God requires no less of us as His own children. John says, "And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and DO THOSE THINGS THAT ARE PLEASING IN HIS SIGHT" (1Jh.3:22). It is our turn to keep His commandments and do things that are pleasing to our Heavenly Father. As sons and daughters of our Father, let us be submissive and obedient to Him in all things.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter