Anchor My Faith

Abraham Rejoiced

Scripture: John 8:56

We ended the previous lesson with several unanswered questions from verse 56: “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” Let us begin with the word “rejoice.”

Abraham rejoiced in that he looked forward to the day of the Messiah with desire for it to occur and as he envisioned it in his mind it filled his heart with joy. We should be looking forward to heaven with desire and as we envision it in our minds our hearts should be filled with joy, but I am not sure that is a meaningful example for today’s western Christian. We are such friends with the world and know so little about God’s word that we lack the desire or the knowledge of the Word to be filled with joy as we anticipate going to heaven. Maybe a better example would be marriage. A bride has a wedding date set and looks forward to it with desire for it to arrive and as she anticipates the event it fills her heart with joy. But with premarital sex as prevalent as it is today, how would the wedding night be much to look forward to?

“Abraham rejoiced that he would see” could be rendered that he earnestly and joyfully desired that he might see or have a view or distinct conception of it. As I don’t expect to go to heaven today, Abraham did not expect that the Messiah would appear during his life, but that he might have a clear image or description of it in his mind and a foresight of the times of the Messiah.

“Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day” the day of the Messiah. By “day” we are not referring to a single day, but a period when the appearance and the manner of life of the Messiah will be experienced. Two other examples of “day(s)” might help: the days of the Son of Man and the days of Noah. We see this in Luke 17:26 ESV: “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man.” Perhaps in both of those cases it is called his day because he will act the most conspicuous part of those days as he and his work will characterize the times in which he lives. The days of Noah, the days of the Son of man, and the days of the Messiah are called that because each has been or will be a remarkable time of his manifestation.

“Abraham . . . saw it,” but did he? Hebrews 11:13 will answer the question: “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar.” Abraham did not live to see the times of the Messiah, but he was allowed to have a prophetic view of the Messiah and understand the design of his coming; a design that clearly involved him. For that design see Genesis 12:3, Genesis 18:18, Galatians 3:16. Abraham was permitted to have a view of the death of the Messiah as a sacrifice for sin, represented by the command to offer Isaac; Genesis 22:1-13 and Hebrews 11:17-19.

“Abraham . . . saw it and was glad.” To view the promise of the coming Messiah so clearly made Abraham glad. By faith Abraham looked into the distant future and rejoiced to see Jesus the Messiah. Should we not rejoice that he has come and completed the work he was assigned to do by the Father? Should we not look forward to his return and our time with him in heaven?

Conclusion

It is lessons like this that allow us to dig a bit deeper and see the work of God more clearly. There is so much about God that we would not know or experience if sin had not entered the picture and damaged God’s creation. The more I study the Scriptures, the more I realize this.