God had promised that Abraham would bless all the families on earth (Genesis 12:3). Jesus is the blessing to all nations. The Gospel of Matthew opens with the genealogy of Jesus, which directly connects Jesus to Abraham. Matthew 1:1 This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham.[1]
God changed the name of Abraham’s grandson Jacob to Israel. He had twelve sons who became the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel. These people are known as Jews today. The Jewish prophets foretold the coming of the Messiah. Jesus fulfilled these prophecies, even though many did not recognize him.
Confusion About Jesus
John 8: 31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?”
34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. 37 Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message… “for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example. 40 Instead, you are trying to kill me because I told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing.[2]
Jesus Paid the Price for Our Sin
The Jews of Jesus’ day didn’t realize they needed to be set free from their sin. Jesus died on the cross to pay the blood price for our sins. We receive the forgiveness of our sins through faith in Jesus. Abraham had looked forward to a promise of a blessing.
Paul preached about the good news of this blessing. Acts 13: 32 “And now we are here to bring you this Good News. The promise was made to our ancestors, 33 and God has now fulfilled it for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus… 38 “Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. 39 Everyone who believes in him is made right in God’s sight—something the law of Moses could never do.[3]
The people of the Old Testament had temporary animal sacrifices until the Messiah, Jesus, came. Through the promises God made to Abraham, they looked forward to that fulfillment. We, today, look back to Jesus’ work on the cross.
Colossians 1: 20 And through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. 21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. [4]
Truly, Jesus is the blessing to all nations. To find out more, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/abraham-faithful-to-the-end
[1-4] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Tyndale House Publishers.