From Joseph to Jesus
Joseph said “Don’t be afraid, Am I in the place of God?”
Heartbreak. Horror. Sin. Corruption. These are all major themes of Joseph’s life, and the story of Genesis. From his father’s favorite to being beaten and sold into slavery, Joseph’s story completes the arc of goodness, to the fall, to God’s plan of redemption through the Jewish origin narrative in Genesis. And when you really look into Joseph’s story, it has an amazing ending.
Joseph, born to Israel (formerly Jacob), along with his 11 brothers, are having a great life, living under the command of God, when suddenly, jealousy and envy take over Joseph’s brothers as Jospeh receives a fancy coat from his father. This harkens back to Cain and Abel, because the jealously doesn’t end in a feeling, rather it ends in murderous intentions. So, Jacob’s brothers beat him severely to the point of death, but pull back from killing him outright and instead decide to sell him off to slave traders, never to be seen again.
Over time, Joseph ends up making the best of his situation, climbing the ranks of Egyptian royalty, and when famine comes across the land, Joseph unexpectedly is reunited with his family. Except now, the tables are turned. Now, it’s not Joseph who is about to die, it’s his brothers. The ones who sold him into slavery. The ones who hated Jospeh so much, that they wanted him dead. Their own brother, their own blood, they rejected. And now, they’re on the brink of death, they sit at their dear brother’s feet, begging for some grain to literally save them from starvation. From death.
And at the end of this whole saga, as Joseph’s family is expecting at the worst, swift capital punishment, and at the best, being turned away to wander in the wilderness and famine, Joseph says:
“Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result—the survival of many people. Therefore don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. Joseph and his father’s family remained in Egypt. Joseph lived 110 years.
Joseph doesn’t kill them, like they deserve. He doesn’t send them away hungry. Instead, presumably for the rest of Joseph’s life, he cares for his family. He treats them as equals, dining at the same table with him, Joseph, who is second in command to Pharaoh himself. Joseph saved his brothers from death, even though they deserved nothing.
This is the redemptive arc we find in our savior, Jesus Christ. See, even though we betrayed God in the Garden, we disobeyed Him at every turn, we made images of God to worship instead; despite all that, God sent Jesus to Earth to reclaim His people. Jesus, the perfect God-man, the Father’s prized Son, perfect and holy in every way. And what did we do? We beat him, and mocked him, and got jealous of him. We sold him into slavery in our hearts, and we took it one step further than Joseph’s brothers. We killed Jesus.
Then, humanity, we realized the famine we were in. We kept dying, one after another, with no way to stop it. Death was inevitable, and sin was abundant, there was no hope. Then suddenly, a figure reappears. Jesus Christ walks out of a tomb three days after he was buried. The only man to ever defeat death. Like the archetype of Joseph, Jesus Christ is now at the highest place of royalty, holding life itself in his hands, as we come groveling and begging that he saves us.
And Jesus doesn’t reject us, as he should. He doesn’t smite and kill us, as he should. He welcomes us into his Father’s house, and lets us dine at his table, taking care of us for eternity. This is who we worship, and who we hang our only hope on. This is the shadow we get as we read Genesis, a God who loves us enough to save us, even when we don’t deserve it.
Revelation 3:20 (CSB)
See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
