Joseph a Picture of Jesus: Savior

Genesis 50:20; John 11:49-50

It can feel extremely difficult to do the right thing when someone has wronged you. Our natural inclination is to write them off or to try and get even. Perhaps this is why we love hearing stories like the story of Joseph. He suffered for somewhere between 13-15 years and yet he still accomplished God’s plan to save the lives of all those who had wronged him. He became the savior of his brothers and their children. He also was the savior of Egypt (gentiles). Yet again, God orchestrated his life to be a picture of His Son.

But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

Genesis 50:20

And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.”

John 11:49-50

In Joseph’s case, the men who had sold him into slavery had now stood before him asking for help. Without his help, they would die. He literally held their lives in his hands; the question was, what should he do? Since Joseph was a righteous man, he provided help, but not before he created some angst for his older siblings. He had to make sure they understood that it was he who was saving them. It was not Egypt. It was not Pharaoh. It was this prime minister to whom they were speaking. It was the second person in the kingdom of Egypt that they come to for salvation.

In the passage from John, Caiaphas, speaking as a prophet, said that it was better for one man to die, than for the whole nation to die. In his sinful way of thinking, he probably thought that Jesus was going to bring down the wrath of Rome upon Israel. He did not know that God was using his attempt as a sinful statement to speak a greater truth. Jesus would die for the sins of not just all of Israel, but all of humanity.

Like Joseph’s brothers, we must fall before the feet of Jesus. Jesus is the second person of the Trinity. It is to He alone that we go for salvation. In Joseph’s story, his brothers went to him for grain (for bread). Jesus said, “And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). We must go to him to have our spiritual hunger met.

What I love about this illustration is not just that both Joseph and Jesus were able to save, they were willing to save, and they did indeed offer salvation, but who they offered salvation to. Joseph said, “You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good”. Joseph was sold into slavery and imprisoned for years by the same people he was now saving. Jesus was criticized, condemned, and killed by the people He offers salvation to. While I may not have been crying “crucify Him”, it was my sins (and yours) that nailed Him to the cross in the first place. God used the mistreatment and abuse of both of these men to elevate them into a position where they could save their kin. Joseph saved his brothers and Jesus as the second Adam (I Corinthians 15:20-23) offering salvation to all of mankind. There is one last aspect of this I want us to look at. In the context of the story, Joseph is saying this to reassure his brothers that they are forgiven. Their fear is that Joseph is going to take vengeance on them now that Jacob has died. He tells them that not only has he saved their lives, he has forgiven their sins against him, and they are no longer under condemnation. That is exactly what the Gospel message is to us. We are saved, forgiven, and set free from the condemnation of sin. Jesus is never going to take vengeance on those who have come to Him for salvation. Just as Joseph wanted his brothers to relax and live with him like brothers, so Jesus wants us to reverentially (He is still God) relax and live in relationship with Him as our older brother (Romans 8:29).

Father, thank You for yet another great picture of the world of Jesus demonstrated through the life of Jesus. We are so thankful for the salvation that is offered in His holy name. We are also grateful that we are not under condemnation or fear of retaliation for the suffering He endured. May we live in confidence of His and Your love!