Location of the Crucifixion

Created Date: 20-Jan-2018
Two Events, Same Location, Points to Jesus Christ

Last updated: 31-Dec-2021
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Sections

1 God's Instruction to Abraham to Sacrifice His Son
2 Isaac was Considered Dead for Three Days
3 The Same Location

God's Instruction to Abraham to Sacrifice His Son

Abraham was instructed to take his son Isaac to a specific place and sacrifice Isaac in Genesis 22:1-2, which was a test of Faith in God. 

Note that Abraham had two sons, where the first was Ishmael with the handmade named Hagar by the request of Sarah, but Isaac was the son of Abraham and Sarah which came later and is the son of promises made by God.  Ishmael, was still blessed by God as read in Genesis 17:20

Genesis 22:1-2 1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. 2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”
Genesis 17:20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.

The testing is confirmed in Genesis 22:12, when God speaks to Abraham and positively tells Abraham that the test was a sign of obedience.  The word fear in modern-terms has taken on a different meaning where the connotation in Genesis 22:12 means reverence, respect and obedience to do what God commands.

Genesis 22:12 Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son. 

Note that God, in all of the entirety of the Old and New Testament has never required or condone human sacrifice.  Notice that God provides Abraham sacrifice in a ram, Genesis 22:13 which is a male sheep, after passing the test where there are several important points for us to recognize:

Genesis 22:13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son.

The sacrifice by Abraham was a ram, which is a male sheep, which points to Jesus Christ, as one of the symbols throughout the multiple books and authors in the scriptures as Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God.  See John 1:29, Revelation 7:14 and many others.  There is also something about the event that is discussed more in this topic's next section that is an amazing aspect that also occurred!

John 1:29 On the morrow he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world!
Revelation 7:14 And I say unto him, My lord, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they that come out of the great tribulation, and they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Isaac was Considered Dead for Three Days

In the scriptural passage dealing with Abraham taking Isaac to the mountain to perform a sacrifice to the Lord, the period of time was three days between the Abraham being instructed to go and the sacrifice.

Genesis 22:2 take your son, your only son, whom you love--Isaac--and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.
Genesis 22:4 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Consider these points:

  1. Abraham does not tell anyone, including Isaac, what God has commanded him to do. 
  2. At the moment that Abraham heard the command from God to take Isaac to Moriah, it took three days to get to the destination.  This should also remind us of the three days in the tomb of the earth that Jesus Christ spent.  (Note: Jesus Christ may have been dead for 3.5 days where there was the period of time in the tomb.)
  3. For Abraham, in his mind, the thought had to be that if Isaac is going to die, then therefore Isaac is now dead to Abraham in a symbolic sense, which also had to be very grievous for Abraham. 
    (a) This is of course is a horrible thought, but many Biblical Scholars also believe from the language in the text that Abraham also trusted God that if Isaac was to die then God would have to raise him from the dead because of the promises God made to Abraham concerning the destiny of Isaac such as many nations coming out of him. 
    (b) Therefore, Abraham trusted God and was not worried which is also a lesson for us in Faith.
  4. Notice the "only son" reference is used also in John 3:16, which matches Genesis 22:2's reference.
  5. Many Biblical Scholars point to the language of the "the boy" to indicate that Isaac was very young.  Other Biblical Scholars state the translation is inferring that Abraham, because of his advanced age, considered Isaac a young lad. 
    (a) According to textual references derived, at this point of traveling with his father, Isaac was most likely 20 to 30 years of age. 
    (b) A very obvious point is notice in Genesis 22:6 that Isaac carried the ample amount of wood necessary for a fire and offering. 
    (c) This author believes from the research, that Isaac was most likely right at the threshold of the Age of Accountability, where there is no absolute scriptural age limit, which meant Isaac was innocent and if Isaac died then he would go to Heaven.  The parallel with Jesus Christ is our Savior was perfectly innocent.

Rhetorically, does God condone human sacrifice, and the obvious scriptural based answer is absolutely "No!".  We know that God spoke about the evils of Child Sacrifice in many scriptures, so God was using this event for many, many reasons.

In Genesis 6:8, Abraham responds to the question by Isaac on "where is the lamb for the burnt offering" and Abraham says, "God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering...".  Notice the word "himself".   This is a "type" or foreshadowing of something in the future.

Genesis 22:6-8 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

Notice that Abraham did not withhold his son, which is similar to what Paul wrote that God Romans 8:32

Genesis 22:12-13 12 Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.  13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son.
Romans 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things?

The Same Location

Notice that Abraham, was taking his son Isaac to have him sacrificed as a test of Faith by God, which God was not going to allow to happen, Abraham made a very important statement in Genesis 22:12-13.  Note that the scriptural passage, because of the translation connotation may lead the reader to think that Abraham's son was a boy, where he was actually around 30 years of age based on other scriptural passages including Isaac carrying the wood.  Notice that two phrases:
(a) "The Lord will provide"  which means that God will provide a substitute.
(b) "On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided", which means this location in the future.

Genesis 22:13-14 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

There is more to the location that God sent Abraham and Isaac to perform the sacrifice ultimately of the Ram.  The location, as pointed out by some Biblical Scholars, is where the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ was held roughly two thousand years later. 

2 Chronicles 3:1 Then Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David. It was on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the place provided by David.
Matthew 27:33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull),

The question can be asked, was it on the exact spot on Mount Moriah that Abraham built the fire for the Ram offering?  We will never know but no one can deny the amazing parallels and patterns that God uses, which this is one of an uncountable list.

What to read next?

Jesus Christ Died on the Cross on Wednesday, The Crucifixion Psalm,  Risen - 4 Gospels and is there a discrepancy on Easter? and Flood ends where the next day is the first day on the new earth and it is the same day as Christ's Resurrection.  What is Salvation?  Is it is possible to lose Salvation?  We have eternal life.  Evolution is not real.  When a Christian suffers is there benefits from it.  Rewards in heaven.  Do we Tithe?  What does the 3rd Commandment tell us?  What is Grace and Mercy?  Is there an Age of Accountability?  Is there a place of unending punishment and exile form God?