“Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it” (Genesis 18:7).
AN ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICE
Genesis 18 begins by telling us “The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day” (Gen 18:1).
The text wants us to be under no illusions, it was “The Lord” that came to visit Abraham.
Abraham saw three men standing nearby. He immediately recognized the Lord, but this time there were two other men with him. Abraham gathers himself and hurries over to where they were and bows low before them. Then he speaks, saying, “if I have found favor in your eyes, please stay for lunch.” it was after all, lunchtime. The men agree and sit down under one of the trees.
Abraham asks Sarah and a servant to prepare food which included a “tender calf” and then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared and set the food before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree. So we see that the Lord was pleased to eat the calf that had been prepared. The tender calf was the best food that Abraham had to offer, a sacrifice pleasing to the Lord.
In a similar way we read that Jesus said, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” (Luke 22:15).
We see that Jesus ate the Passover meal with his disciples at the beginning of 14th Abib/Nisan, remembering that the Hebrew day begins at sundown. (In the Roman Julian calendar this was still the evening of Thursday, what Christians celebrate as Maundy Thursday, because the Roman day begins at midnight.) Jesus died on the same day: on 14th Abib/Nisan at about 3:00 pm in the afternoon. (In the Julian calendar this was the afternoon of Friday, what Christians remember as Good Friday.)
So Jesus was able to eat the Passover meal with his disciples at the beginning of 14th Abib/Nisan and he died later on that same day as the Lamb of God.
At the last supper they ate lamb, wine, bread and bitter herbs. Jesus ate the lamb and yet he was the Lamb. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
We see that The Lord ate a tender calf with Abraham, we also see that Abel brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The LORD accepted Abel and his gift: (Genesis 4:4).
Jesus also ate the lamb as God the Son, allowing us to see that the sacrifice on the cross was acceptable to God. “Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” (Eph 5:2).
We praise God, Christ is our sacrificial Lamb in whom we accepted by God: “to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved” (Eph 1:6).