“After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.’ So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey…and his son Isaac…cut the wood…and went to the place of which God told him.” – Genesis 22:1-3
“And Isaac said to his father Abraham, ‘My father!’ And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’ He said, ‘Behold , the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’ Abraham said, ‘God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.’ So they went both of them together.” – Genesis 22:7, 8
“The next day he (John the Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'” – John 1:29
The Christmas story is the story of the God who provides. This is another timeless characteristic of our Creator, He provided a way where there was no way. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He laid down His life that we might have life. He came as the Lamb of God, the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. This is the story of the Gospel…this is the story of Christmas.
Paul says it this way, “We have concluded this; that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised. – For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15, 21).
God has revealed Himself to us and the light has exposed our sinfulness and our need for redemption. In our shame we hide from God’s searching eyes because we know that our sin requires us to go to the altar, the mountain, and pay the price, but God intercedes. He provides the sacrifice. He Himself becomes the Lamb in our place and we receive the pardon of a merciful Savior!
God came into our world to provide the way home. Because of His great love for us and His boundless mercy, we are set free and there is now “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”! (Romans 8:1). It was more than a baby that was born into that manger. It was the Lamb of God! This is the Christmas story!