Abraham in the New Testament

It is a well-known truth that Abraham is a major Biblical figure from the Old Testament, and is venerated by Jews, Christians, Muslims, and others. But what is surprising is how much space and importance is given to him by Jesus and other New Testament authors in New Testament writings.

Abraham, the  Hebrew patriarch from whom all Jews trace their descent (Genesis 11:27–25:10) was directed by God to leave his own country for another land. Abraham is given a high position of respect in three major world faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Abrahamic religions spread globally when Christianity was adopted by the Roman Empire in the 4th century, and through Islam by the Islamic Empires after the 7th century.

In Judaism Abraham is the founding father of the Covenant, the special relationship between the Jewish people and God – a belief which gives the Jews a unique position as the Chosen People of God.

The name of Abraham is mentioned right at the start of the New Testament. The very first verse says: This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham: (Mathew 1.1). When we pass through   the New Testament we are astonished at the wealth and variety of allusion to Abraham. As in the Old Testament, his position of a venerated ancestor lends him much of his significance, not only as an ancestor of Israel (Acts 13:26), but also as a representative of the Levitical priesthood (Hebrews 7:5) and as the ancestor of the Savior.

Though so far in the past that he was used as a measure of antiquity (John 8:58), he is declared to have “seen” Messiah's “day” (John 8:56). It is his faith in the Divine promise, which, just because it was for him peculiarly unsupported by any evidence of the senses, becomes the type of the faith that leads to justification (Romans 4:3). Though it was not unusual  for New Testament writers (including Jesus) to refer to Old Testament saints often in their teachings, that of Abraham is far more often. References to Abraham in the New Testament are found in no less than 75 places! Many of these are discussed below, not necessarily in chronological order.

Luke 1.72-74: At the birth of John the Baptist his father Zacharias prophecies and says “He has been merciful to our ancestors by remembering his sacred covenant—the covenant he swore with an oath  to our ancestor Abraham, We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear”.

Mathew 7-10: John the Baptist denounces the Pharisees and Sadducees for their hypocrisy:  Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.) St. Luke describes the same incident in Luke 3.8. He exhorts his listeners to turn to God. They are not safe because they are descendants of Abraham.

In Luke 13:16 Jesus challenges the religious establishment about healing on Sabbath. “This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for eighteen years. Isn't it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath?". His choice of words highlights His desire for  His followers to reverence the patriarch. Jesus was visiting the home of Zacchaeus, the despised tax collector, while the crowd wonders what made Him commit such an indiscreet act. Jesus stunned the onlookers by declaring “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham”. (Luke 19.9)

In Luke 13.28, calling people to repentance He again challenges the traditional belief that the messiah was only for the Jews. Incurring the wrath of the onlooking Pharisees and others He addresses them and declares mercilessly  ‘’There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, for you will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, but you will be thrown out. And people will come from all over the world—from east and west, north and south—to take their places in the Kingdom of God.  And note this: Some who seem least important now will be the greatest then, and some who are the greatest now will be least important then”

John 8 describes one of the most acrimonious discourses Jesus had at the temple with people who didn’t believe He came from God. In verses 23, 24 Jesus tells them using harsh words, “You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not. That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am who I claim to be, you  will die in your sins.” As the argument turns increasingly belligerent, the people around Jesus brag about their Abrahamic ancestry. They call Him a Samaritan (an abused term those days) and a devil. Responding to this horrendous accusation the Lord dropped a bombshell: “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I am! ”(John 8:58).  The crowd went mad at this and picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple.

James  2:21-24: James says that Abraham was shown to be right with God for what He did because he believed in God (Romans 4:1-5). It must be mentioned here that James and Paul are not contradicting, but complementing other.  What must be noticed here is that both apostles used Abraham’s example as evidence for their differing viewpoints. Again in Romans 4.3 St. Paul insists that it was not the good deeds of Abraham that made him right with God but “Abraham believed God, and God counted him righteous because of his faith”.

In Romans 4.11, 12 Paul explains the merits and demerits of circumcision.  He claims God  accepted Abraham and declared him to be righteous—even before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are counted as righteous because of their faith. Of course those who are circumcised also can claim Abrahamic descent, but   only if they have the same kind of faith Abraham had before he was circumcised. In  4.16 Paul explains that Abraham has pleased God through faith alone before he had heard about the rituals that would become so important to  Jews.

According to Romans 4:17  the promise God gave Abraham stated that Abraham would be the father of many nations (Genesis 17:2-4) and the entire world would be blessed through him (Genesis 12:3). This promise was filled in Jesus Christ

Galatians 3.7 develops on this theme: The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God (not those who are circumcised). 3.8, 9 says the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you’’. So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.

Galatians 3:16  God gave the promises to Abraham and his child and notice that the Scripture doesn’t say “to his children, as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says “to his child”—and that, of course, means Christ.

Galatians 3:29  And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.

Hebrews 2.16 We also know that the Son did not come to help angels; he came to help the descendants of Abraham, that is God’s people.

All that Abraham the ancestor received through Divine election, by the covenant made with him, is inherited by his seed and passes under the collective names of the promise (Romans  4:13), blessings (Galatians 3:14), mercy (Luke1:54), the oath (Luke 1:73) and  the covenant (Acts 3:25). The way in which Abraham responded to this peculiar goodness of God makes him the type of the ‘’Christian believer’’. Though so far in the past that he was used as a measure of antiquity (John 8:58), he is declared to have “seen” Messiah's “day” (John 8:56). It is his faith in the Divine promise, which, just because it was for him peculiarly unsupported by any evidence of the senses, becomes the type of the faith that leads to justification (Romans 4:3), and therefore in this sense again he is the “father” of all Christians. (Romans 4:11) in that it embraced “all the families of the earth” (Galatians 3:8). Of this exalted honor, James reminds us, Abraham proved himself worthy, not by an inoperative faith, but by “works” that evidenced his righteousness (James 2:21; compare John 8:39).

The obedience that faith wrought in him is what is especially praised by the author of Hebrews (Hebrews 11:8, Hebrews 11:17). In accordance with this high estimate of the patriarch's piety, we read of his eternal felicity, not only in the current conceptions of the Jews (parable, Luke  16), but also in the express assertion of our Lord (Mathew 8:11; Luke 13:28).

The collective term "Abrahamic faiths" that refer to the three major religions that recognize Abraham, while convenient, can be misleading, as it conveys an unspecified historical and theological commonality that is problematic on closer examination. While there is a commonality among the religions, in large measure their shared ancestry is peripheral to their respective foundational beliefs and thus conceals crucial differences.  For example, the common Christian beliefs of Incarnation, Trinity, and the resurrection of Jesus are not accepted by Judaism or Islam.

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