Genesis 45:3-15
Of all the bold claims that Jesus makes about himself, this
one has to be near the top of the list.
He says to the Jews, “You search the Scriptures because you think that
in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,’ John
5:39
In other words, Jesus claims, the entire Old Testament is
about him. It bears witness to him. Not just the parts that tell us that the
Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, or that he would be born of a virgin. Not just the parts that say he will be
descended from David and Abraham and will be a blessing to all nations. But the entirety of the Scriptures testify to
Christ – bear witness to Christ – they show us Jesus. That’s what they are for! One way or another, that’s what they are all
about.
And here in Genesis 45 we have yet another example. Here we have a very poignant story of an
unusual family reunion. It is full of
drama and suspense. You could easily
imagine it not ending on a happy note. Today
someone would probably make it into a reality TV show. But here in the reunion of Joseph and his
brothers in the land of Egypt, we see a witness to Christ, as well as an
example of Christian love and forgiveness even when it seems least likely.
Joseph is our Christ figure.
Of course he’s not Jesus, but the events of his life remind us of
Jesus. They point us to Christ in
sometimes not-so-subtle ways.
Joseph is the favorite son of Jacob’s favorite wife. Jesus as the Son of God is the only-begotten,
but the bright jewel of the Father’s crown.
Joseph was clothed with a special garment, a gift from Jacob, to show
his favor and approval of this special son.
Jesus is clothed in the glory of God the Father, and fully deserving of
all the honors that are bestowed upon him – and more.
Joseph has the miraculous ability to both dream and
interpret dreams. He is, in this way,
like a prophet who receives a special insight or message from the Lord. Jesus, of course, is the ultimate prophet –
who brings us the Word of the Father because he is the living word of the
Father from eternity
Joseph’s dreams had his brothers bowing down before him in
thinly veiled symbolism of 11 sheaves bowing before the one, or the stars and
sun and moon bowing before the one star.
Though it would one day come true when Joseph ascended to power in Egypt
and his family came bowing before him – they still didn’t like the idea
much. Their jealousy and resentment is
easy to understand, sibling rivalry rooted in the preferential treatment that
Jacob had given Joseph from his birth.
Jesus too, would see all bow before him – though that hasn’t
happened yet. But at the end, on the day
of his coming, at the name of Jesus every knee will bow in heaven and on earth
and under the earth – and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father. When Christ
returns in triumph all will acknowledge him as Lord – either in faith, or by
force.
But also, like Joseph, Jesus faced jealousy and
resentment. The Jews who opposed him,
particularly, had it in for Jesus. Like
Joseph’s brothers plotted his demise and sold him into slavery – Jesus, too,
was betrayed and sold for 30 pieces of silver, and his disciples deserted him
and left him to his enemies. Joseph was
unfairly accused and thrown into a dungeon to rot – as good as dead. Jesus was
unfairly accused, and nailed to a Roman cross in a travesty of justice. But Joseph would be remembered, restored, and
eventually ascend to rule over all of Egypt save for Pharaoh himself. Jesus, too, was remembered, and God raised
him from the dead, exalted him to the very throne of heaven, and placed all
things under his feet.
Joseph, like Jesus, shows us a riches-to-rags-to-riches
story arc, in which God vindicates his righteous one after many trials and
tribulations, and in Jesus’ case, even death.
But also, like Jesus, all this happened to Joseph for a
purpose. Joseph explains it:
And now do not be
distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me
before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two
years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor
harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and
to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but
God.
Later, after their father Jacob died, Joseph would again
forgive his brothers and reiterate, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it
for good”. And so again, like Christ, we
see God working good out of evil – even as the greatest evil and injustice of
the cross has become the greatest good for all men of all times and
places. For by the cross, God gives life
to us who starve in the wilderness of sin.
By the cross, God brings forgiveness to bear on us who have wronged our
brother and our Lord. Through evil, God
brings good as only he can, in Jesus Christ our Lord.
We can see ourselves in this story – first as the scheming
and jealous brothers who couldn’t stand that someone else gained a favor we do
not. Their covetous hearts mirror our
own. We can’t stand to see others do
well, receive blessings and adulations while our own supposed good deeds go
unnoticed. It burns us, or rather, it
inflames our Old Adam, to see the supposed injustice of it all. And all too often we seek that justice by our
own hand.
We may not murder our brother or crucify him, throw him in
the pit or sell him into slavery. But we
treat our brothers and sisters with contempt nonetheless. We commit all manner of sins in heart and
mind, even if we’ve learned not to let those things out in the open. And yes, once in a while, it does slip, and
we do outwardly sin against our neighbor – sometimes in spectacular and
embarrassing fashion. And sometimes we
must even stand before the one we’ve wronged like Joseph’s brothers did before
him.
What a blessing to know the forgiveness of a Christian! To know how it works, and that it is not only
from God to us, but for us to our brothers and sisters in Christ. What a joy it is, and I’ve seen it many
times, when Christians can practice confession and forgiveness, repentance and
mercy amongst ourselves. You know we
take it for granted that God forgives us in Christ – but we can always do
better in applying that same forgiveness to each other.
Joseph and his brothers show us a wonderful example. You can feel the tension as they fearfully
stand before the one they’ve wronged, knowing he holds all the cards – and
could have them destroyed. But in tender
mercy, he loves them, he forgives them, he even weeps tears of joy that they
are before him. The past is the past,
the bygones are all gone.
So it is with Christ.
He who holds all the cards and could destroy you, who stands as judge
over you and over all, whom you have offended by your sinful thoughts and words
and deeds – he receives you as his brothers and sisters. He welcomes you warmly, embraces you with his
love and mercy. And the former things –
the sins of the past – are no more.
The same Christ calls us to love our enemies, for so he does
to us. In his sermon on the plain from
Luke’s gospel reading today – we hear the same kind of merciful love for our
enemies, for the Father has shown such mercy to us.
Joseph does one more thing for his brothers – he promises to
provide for them. He sets them up in the
land of Goshen, and makes sure they are well taken care of. He gives them a home where they can weather
the years of famine still to come. And
we know that in the ensuing years that family would grow into a great nation –
and the stage for the book of Exodus is set.
Our Lord Jesus Christ provides for us – a place to weather
the famine. He gathers us by his Spirit
to the Goshen of the Christian church.
Here he grows us into a mighty nation – though sometimes weak and feeble
in number, but always strong in faith.
Here he feeds us with the bread of life – his very body – and the
life-giving blood he shed for us on the cross.
Here we are safe and secure, not by the river Nile, but in the waters of
Baptism. Here he keeps us by his word,
in his grace, and promises to be with us.
And just as Israel’s sojourn in Egypt would end, and out of
Egypt God called his son – so too will the church one day be called forth to
our promised land, our eternal home.
Then the Judge of All will once again hold court, and we who have sinned
will stand before him – only to be declared not guilty for eternity. Then we will enter into the final rest with no
hunger or thirst, no scorching heat, no enemies to assail us, and not even a
tear will moisten our eye. For God
himself will wipe them all way.
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