Sunday is Easter, and I have been thinking lately about one of the great passages regarding the resurrection. It is Hebrews 11. Now stay with me.
Hebrews 11 reflects upon how Abraham honored God multiple times. Part of that focus is Abraham’s willingness to offer his son Isaac. God wanted to see if Abraham honestly had faith and called upon him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Abraham and Sarah had waited on God for a long time. Finally, in their old age, the blessing arrived in the person of Isaac. Then, just when Abraham and Sarah surely expected Isaac to outlive them, God seemingly pulled their joy away. He commanded Abraham to sacrifice the boy. But when Abraham’s hand lifted the instrument of death, God stopped him. In Hebrews 11, we have this jewel of a passage, “Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, so, in a manner of speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.”
I interpret that to mean that Abraham believed that if he had to kill Isaac, God would bring him back alive. Amazing. Talk about seeing the unseen!
The writer of Hebrews forces me to view the resurrection in a different light. How can I, with the benefit of the New Testament and the inspiration of all the great Christians who have gone on before me, do anything but celebrate the resurrection of Jesus? How can I not but allow Jesus’ rising from the dead to inspire my life? We talk a lot on this website about living as salt and light in our culture, but it begins with the gospel story.
We are stirred by the resurrection of Jesus.