In Genesis 22 we find that Abraham took “the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.” But it was as Abraham and not as Isaac’s father, that he carried the “knife.”
Then the beloved and “only” Isaac (the son) speaks to Abraham (the father) saying, “Father.” Isaac acknowledges “the fire” in his father’s hand, and “the wood.” But he says nothing of the “knife,” which was also carried in Abraham’s hand.
What a lovely picture this presents to our hearts! It portrays to us the relationship between the Father and the eternal Son presented in the gospel of John. “The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world” (1 John 4:1414And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. (1 John 4:14)).
However, unlike Matthew and Mark, in John those heart-rending words uttered by our precious Saviour— “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me” are left out of divine inspiration.
In John where the relationship between Father and Son is so beautifully revealed, the “knife,” as it were, cannot be found, for it was not the Father but holy, righteous God that must turn His back on that perfect Sacrifice. The fellowship of the Father and the Son is never broken.
E. Short (adapted)