Mark Coppock

You know what wrecked me when I was newly Christian? Genesis 22. For years as a Muslim, I was told the story was about Ishmael. Then I actually read it. I think the bigger topic isn't Isaac or Ishmael. It's this: Why would God ask Abraham to sacrifice his son in the first place? What kind of God does that? The answer hit me like a freight train, because it shattered my Muslim worldview. God wasn't being cruel, He was painting a picture. Abraham never goes through with sacrificaing Isaac. God stops him, then God provides a ram in his place. That action is not just a test or an isolated story: That's prophetic. It's a blueprint. The blueprint goes: A father. A son. A sacrifice. A substitute. You see where I am going with this. Genesis 22 is actually the heartbeat of the Gospel. God was foreshadowing the day when He Himself would provide the sacrifice. Not for one man. Not only for one family. But for the whole world. Of course, salvation wasn't earned by Abraham's performance. It came through God's provision. You can recieve this substitute and gift. Here's what made me stop and think: The Quran retells the story of Genesis 22, but removes the name of the son. Why? Because once you start following the thread through Genesis, the prophets, and the covenant promises, you eventually have to wrestle with the Lamb that comes later. You have to wrestle with Jesus. The perfect sacrifice that every previous sacrifice pointed toward. And that's when I realized: The story was never ultimately about Abraham. It was always about what God was going to do for us. And there's nothing we can do to earn His approval! We can only receive the sacrifice He already provided.

When I was Muslim, I never noticed what the Quran doesn’t have. Dates. Places. Names you can check. Read the Quran’s stories: no chronology, almost no geography, kings called only “Pharaoh,” events floating in no particular year. Where did the story happen? When? Under whom? The text doesn’t say. You can’t check it… which conveniently means you can’t crosscheck it. Now read the opening of Luke 3: “In the FIFTEENTH YEAR of the reign of TIBERIUS CAESAR — PONTIUS PILATE being governor of JUDEA, HEROD being tetrarch of GALILEE, his brother PHILIP tetrarch of ITUREA and TRACHONITIS, and LYSANIAS tetrarch of ABILENE, during the high priesthood of ANNAS and CAIAPHAS…” SEVEN historical anchors in one sentence. An emperor, a governor, three rulers with their exact territories, two high priests. And people HAVE checked — for centuries, often trying to break it. Skeptics mocked Luke’s “Lysanias of Abilene” as an error… UNTIL an inscription naming Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene turned up. Pilate was called legend by some… until the Pilate Stone was dug up at Caesarea in 1961 with his name and title carved in it. Luke 1:3-4 tells you why: “Having followed all things closely… that you may have CERTAINTY.” Certainty. That’s the offer. One book floats above history where nothing can touch it. The other planted its flag in checkable ground and said: dig. They dug. It’s still standing. Praise the Lord and His mighty God-Breathed scripture.