Rio Rancho Presbyterian Church

Join us for Pizza and Puzzle night this Saturday, September 19th from 5-7pm at Rio Rancho Presbyterian Church! $15 each for all you can eat! Donations support our Scholarship Fund!

There is something deeply overwhelming about realizing that one of the most emotional stories in the Old Testament was quietly pointing to Jesus all along.

In Genesis 22, God tells Abraham to take his son Isaac up a mountain and offer him as a sacrifice.

And the wording matters.

“Take your son, your only son, whom you love…”

Those words echo through Scripture.

Isaac was not just Abraham’s child.
He was the promised son.
The miracle son.
The one through whom God said blessing would come.

And yet Abraham obeyed.

As father and son walked together up the mountain, Isaac carried the wood for the sacrifice on his own back.

Then Isaac asked a question that would echo for generations:

“Where is the lamb?”

Abraham answered,
“God will provide for Himself the lamb.”

At the time, Abraham could not have fully understood how prophetic those words truly were.

Because centuries later, another Father would lead His beloved Son up another mountain.

And this Son would carry wood on His back too.

But this time there would be no ram caught in the thicket.
No last-minute rescue.
No substitute stepping forward.

Jesus Himself would become the Lamb.

The parallels are impossible to ignore.

A beloved son.
A father willing to surrender him.
A mountain of sacrifice.
Wood carried upward.
A willing submission.
And the promise that God Himself would provide.

What happened with Isaac was a shadow.

What happened with Jesus was the fulfillment.

And maybe the most breathtaking part of the story is this:

God stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son.

But when it came time to save humanity, the Father did not stop the cross.

Because this sacrifice would not be symbolic.

It would be final.

Isaac was spared because a ram took his place.

Humanity is spared because Jesus took ours.

This is why the story of Abraham and Isaac is far more than a lesson about obedience.

It is a revelation of the Gospel.

Long before Calvary, God was already painting the picture of redemption into the pages of Scripture.

The cross was never God reacting to human failure.

It was always the plan.

Every detail pointed forward to Jesus.

The beloved Son.
The Lamb provided by God.
The sacrifice that would bring salvation to the world.

And maybe this is why the Bible feels so alive when you begin to see Jesus woven through every story.

Because Scripture is not random.

It is one unified story of redemption leading to Christ.

So when you read Genesis 22 now, do not just see Abraham and Isaac walking up a mountain.

See the shadow of Calvary.

See the Father who would one day give His Son.

See the Savior who carried the wood willingly.

And see the overwhelming love of a God who provided the Lamb so we could live.

God is here for you! Whether you want to start over and call this day one or maybe you’re on day 5,380. You are His child and through His Grace you’ve been saved. Go and speak his blessings with others!

Please join us for our Ash Wednesday service this evening at 7pm.
Rio Rancho Presbyterian Church
1004 24th St. SE, Rio Rancho, NM