How can it be possible that God would ask Abraham to sacrifice his son?

Questo articolo è disponibile anche in: Italian English Spanish

Good morning, Father Angelo,

I am having some questions regarding my faith, for example:

How can it be possible that God would ask Abraham to sacrifice his son?  He is asking him to commit a grave sin, how can he prove his faith by committing a grave sin?  I understand that there wasn’t the true intention for him to accomplish it, but it remains as a contradiction in any case.

Moreover, I do not understand this: How can it be possible that, in the Gospel according to Matthew, Judas hanged himself, while Luke in the Acts of the Apostles says the Judas fell headlong and he burst open (therefore it implies that he killed himself by falling off an elevated point).

Thank you so much, Father Angelo, have a great day and I send you my best greetings.

_______________________________________________________________________

The priest’s answer

 Dearest,

1.It must be kept in mind that Abraham came from a land of idolaters.  

Now, during those times, in those regions human sacrifices were expected.

This is the reason why Abraham is not surprised by the request that God made to him. And he obeys.

2. This sacrifice was accepted by Abraham and it was accepted also by his son Isaac, as it is written in the sacred scripture: “When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.  Next he bound his son Isaac, and put him on top of the wood on the altar.

Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son”  (Genesis 22, 9-10).

Then, an angel appeared who told Abraham: “Do not lay your hand on the boy, said the angel. Do not do the least thing to him.  For now I know that you fear God, since you did not withhold from me your son, your only one” (Gn 22, 12).

3. The Bible of Jerusalem connects this command with the ritual prescription of the redemption of the first born sons of Israel: these, like all the first-fruits, belong to God; but they must not be sacrificed but ransomed (Exodus 13, 11).

So, this story implies the condemnation which many times the prophets talked about regarding the sacrifices and the young boys, as one can read in Leviticus 18, 21: “You shall not offer any of your offspring for immolation to Molech, thus profaning the name of your God. I am the Lord”.

4. The Bible of Jerusalem highlights the example of Abraham’s faith “that finds here its  most culminating point.

The Fathers saw in Abraham’s sacrifice the figure of Jesus’s Passion, the only son”.

The Holy Fathers were referring to what it is written in the Letter to the Hebrews.  “By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name”.  He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead, and he received Isaac back as a symbol” (Hebrew 11, 17-19).

5. In effect, the whole story’s purpose is to evidentiate Abraham’s obedience.  It is an obedience saturated with a very sure faith that God will fulfill His promises and that from Isaac his lineage would have continued still, maybe through a resurrection of the dead.

This is Saint Thomas’ thought who wrote that: “Abraham in his old age believed God promising that in Isaac he would be blessed in his seed.  He also believed that God could raise the dead.  Therefore, when he was commanded to kill him, there was no further hope for Sarah, who was now very old, to have a child, since Isaac was already a youth.  Therefore, since he believed that God’s commands must be obeyed, nothing else remained but to believe that He would revive Isaac, by whom his seed would be called. (..)

This, therefore, was the greatest proof of his faith, because the article of the resurrection is one of the most important” (Commentaries on Hebrews 11:19).

I bless you, I wish you the best and I remember you in prayer.

Father Angelo