At every Mass we hear St. John the Baptist’s words: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Fr. Richard Simon says that line reaches back to one of Scripture’s most mysterious scenes: Abraham leading Isaac up Mount Moriah.

Isaac asks the haunting question: “Father, we have fire and we have wood, but where is the lamb of sacrifice?” Abraham answers with a promise that echoes through salvation history: “God will provide, my son.” Isaac is bound, laid upon the wood, and Abraham lifts the knife. Then, an angel stops his hand. A ram appears, and the immediate sacrifice is offered. But, as Fr. Simon notes, a ram is not a lamb.

Centuries later, John the Baptist points to Jesus and announces, “God has provided the lamb.” The “binding of Isaac” was not canceled, Fr. Simon says. It was postponed. On the Cross, the Father gives His only-begotten Son, and Mary, who had but one child, stands at the foot of the Cross and consents in sorrow, never replacing Christ’s saving work, but cooperating in the way God willed for her.

So the next time you hear, “Behold the Lamb of God,” remember Abraham’s promise fulfilled, and thank God for the Lamb.

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