Those who read both the Hebrew Bible as well as the Gospels know that there is a deep connection between them. The Hebrew Bible is a record of predictions about a future Messiah, and the Gospels elaborate on Jesus, the person who is purportedly the fulfillment of those predictions. Both the Hebrew Bible and the Gospels are remarkable by themselves, but read together they are nothing short of astonishing. It makes for a fascinating study to analyze those connections of which there are hundreds. This article will examine one set of those connections: the ones between Joseph and Jesus. The story of Joseph also has a potential connection to the nation of Israel, and at the conclusion of this study we will explore that association as well.
But before we start, it might be helpful to examine the different types of connections so that we can establish an understanding of all the different prophetic genres. The most obvious connection is the simple, straight-forward, precise and unequivocal prediction. The Hebrew Bible records various precise details that the Messiah is expected to fulfill, and the Gospels record the fulfillment of those matter-of-fact predictions. Consider the prediction recorded by the prophet Micah. But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. (Micah 5:2) That prediction regarding the town in which the Messiah would be born was recorded sometime prior to 700 BC. (Micah 1:1) Then over 700 years later, priests in Jerusalem would make reference to that prediction to alert King Herod as to where the Messiah would be born. The alleged fulfillment of that specific prediction is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. Let’s read it for ourselves.
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. (Matthew 2:1-6) The Roman Senate had conferred on Herod the title, King of Judea, and as you read the story further in the Book of Matthew, it is clear that Herod felt threatened by the arrival of another potential King of the Jews. So again, the prophet Micah predicted exactly what town the Messiah would be born in, and the Gospel of Matthew recorded the straight-forward fact that Jesus born in that town. And Matthew recorded that not only was Jesus born in Bethlehem, but seven-hundred years after the prediction in Micah was established, Biblical scholars interpreted it as a prophecy about the birth place of the Messiah. That connection is very straight-forward, unequivocal and powerful.
There is another type of connection that is predictive in character, but it is more like a foreshadowing rather than a direct prediction with a corresponding specific fulfillment. Consider the story of Jonah as recorded in the book by that name. Most of us are familiar with that story. The entire narrative is only four chapters long, and it is well worth the read. It’s easy to connect on an emotional level with that story. God directed Jonah to go warn the people of Nineveh to repent or face His wrath. Rather than obeying that direct command from God, Jonah went in the other direction. As a matter of fact, Jonah boarded a ship sailing 180 degrees in the opposite direction that he should have gone if he had intended to comply with God’s directive.
It is then that God sent a storm that was so ferocious that it caused all the men on board the ship to fear for their lives. It is remarkable that when Jonah confessed his belief that his God (i.e., the God of the Jews) had sent the storm because of his disobedience and that they should throw him overboard to calm the seas, the non-Jewish sailors still tried to save their lives without sacrificing Jonah to the storm. Their sense of honor and comradery is a moving aspect to this story. However, when they realized that their options were completely expended, they eventually did throw Jonah overboard. As Jonah had predicted the raging seas were quieted. With faith in Jonah’s word, they had sacrificed his life to save their own. Before heaving Jonah into the roiling waves, they made a declaration that amounted to a profound prayer to God. 14 Wherefore they cried unto the Lord, and said, We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee.15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. (Jonah 1:14-15)
Once Jonah was submerged into the water, a great fish (or whale) sent by God swallowed him whole. Jonah survived in the belly of that fish for three days after which time he was belched up onto dry land. After that traumatic event, Jonah relented to God’s command and travelled to Nineveh. Once there, he finally proclaimed God’s call to repent. Remarkably, the Ninevites repented immediately, and in response to their true contrition, God was merciful and decided forgo their punishment.
It would seem like a happy ending to this very readable story, but Jonah was not pleased by this turn of events. Basically, he ranted and irreverently spoke to God. I can picture him raising his fist and shouting, “I knew this would happen!” A superficial reading of Jonah’s reaction leads us to imagine that this story might be moderately humorous, a light-hearted interlude sandwiched in between more dire prophetic books. But is it really humorous? Jonah knew that God was merciful, and therefore, he was confident that God would forgive the Ninevites, if they repented. And that is why he went the other way. He didn’t want to preach God’s impending judgement on the people of Nineveh because he didn’t want them to change. He didn’t want them to humble themselves because he didn’t want God to forgive them. Jonah knew that if they repented, then most likely God would be merciful. Jonah knew that mercy was part of the character of God. But the dilemma for Jonah was that he had wanted God to punish the Ninevites instead of forgiving them.
As you meditate on the broad outline of this story, it becomes less funny and more malevolent. The hidden recesses of Jonah’s heart had been exposed. Jonah didn’t like the Ninevites. He wanted to see them all punished. It’s grim, but he wanted them to suffer. Maybe he had an excuse. Historically, the Ninevites had invaded, persecuted and oppressed the Israelites. But was that a valid reason to want to see that entire group of people be punished and suffer?
And this is where the short, simple story of Jonah connects with my heart. To some extent, am I like Jonah? Would I rather see people who I don’t like suffer the punishment of God, or would I rather that they humbled themselves and repented? If I’m being honest, I sometimes harbor a dark attitude not dissimilar to the one that Jonah nursed. The Holy Spirit convicted me when I meditated on the true meaning behind the story of Jonah. Is my heart like Jonah or is it more like God’s? Clearly, God did not want to see the Ninevites suffer. God wanted them to humble themselves and be spared, and that was the reason that God wanted Jonah to warn them one last time. God’s justice demanded consequences, but God’s mercy followed humble repentance.
The story of Jonah is interesting but somewhat dark, so why do we make a connection between Jonah and Jesus? We make the connection because Jesus told us to. An interchange is recorded for us in the Gospels where some religious leaders demanded a sign from Jesus in order to prove that he was the Messiah. In response to their demand, Jesus referenced the story of Jonah. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. (Matthew 12:39-41)
It’s an interesting connection, because at first glance the connection between Jonah and Jesus is not obviously apparent. For one, Jonah and Jesus responded to God’s command in totally different ways. Jonah rebelled from following God’s command whereas Jesus obeyed God’s central directive to die on the cross. Let’s recall Jesus’ response in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before his crucifixion. Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. (Luke 22:42) So in at least one very key way, the analogy between Jonah and Jesus breaks down. Jesus obeyed God, whereas Jonah had rebelled.
However, Jesus did allude to this story as a foreshadowing prediction that would serve to mark his identity as the Messiah, so even though every element within the story of Jonah did not perfectly match, the overall narrative did have some key elements that foreshadowed the life and mission of Jesus. The most obvious connection was the conspicuous detail regarding the fact that Jonah spent three days in the belly of the whale before he was restored to the land of the living just like Jesus spent three days in hell before God resurrected Him to eternal life. That connection is unmistakable. But there are other connections between Jonah and Jesus that are instructive. In the Book of Jonah, the sailors declared that Jonah was innocent because, as far as they could ascertain, he had done nothing wrong. Then they sacrificed his life to save their own. This reminds me of Jesus’ declaration in the Gospel of John. Jesus said that His life was meant to be a sacrifice, and those who believed in His declaration, would be saved. (John 3:16) The sailors’ act of propitiation toward God was based solely on their trust in the word of Jonah. And when they sacrificed Jonah, the wrath of God was satisfied, and the storm was stilled. All of those elements match the story of Jesus and His mission precisely.
Both Jonah and Jesus proclaimed that the sacrificial offerings of their lives would save the lives of others. The sailors believed Jonah’s declaration, and they acted on it. As a result, their lives were saved just as Jesus promised that if we believe on Him and His sacrificial death, then our lives will be saved. And the sacrifice of Jesus’ was a propitiation toward God’s wrath against us just as Jonah’s sacrifice satisfied the wrath of God that the sailors were experiencing. And again, Jesus referenced this story specifically, so clearly Jesus endorsed the element of foreshadowing as a marker for identifying Him as the Son of God, even though all of the elements within the story were not a perfect match. The story of Jonah is not a perfect match to the life of Jesus, but it is none-the-less predictive in a foreshadowing manner.
At this point it might be helpful to define what foreshadowing is. Foreshadowing is a literary device employed by an author to show or indicate something beforehand. In one sense, foreshadowing, as in the case of Jonah, is proof that the Bible has a single author, namely God. God worked through men and inspired them to write the words, but the words that they wrote were the thoughts of a single author, God. The fact that the multiple writers were separated by centuries, a millennium in some cases, demonstrated that it was God who inspired their words. It was a singular author, God, who indicated in the Book of Jonah what would happen in advance, and the fulfillment of that foreshadowing was confirmed by the Gospel records.
The Apostle Paul was a Jewish scholar who was steeped in the Hebrew Scriptures. He described himself in his letter to the Philippians. Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee. (Philippians 3:5) Since Pharisees were Hebrew scholars, Paul understood the Hebrew Bible as well as any scholar would. And Paul recognized that God used allegory in the Hebrew Scriptures. In trying to explain a truth about God, Paul made a reference to the two sons of Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac. And Paul called that actual story an allegory. For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.(Galatians 4:22-24) It’s interesting to note that when you read the entire narrative about Abraham and his travails regarding Sarah becoming pregnant in the book of Genesis, there is nothing in that story which asserts that it should be understood allegorically. When we read the account in Genesis, it appears to simply be a story about Abraham and Sarah and their efforts at having a child. However, Paul, a Hebrew scholar, looked back and identified that passage as allegorical. It was foreshadowing on the part of God.
The are many more stories in the Hebrew Bible that foreshadow the life and mission of Jesus. Many of the characters written about in the Hebrew Bible serve as types of Jesus. The story of Joseph as recorded in Genesis is one of them. The story of Joseph is like the story of Jonah in that it indicated in advance what the Messiah would do. Then Jesus “fulfilled” those predictions, and the Gospels are the record of that fulfillment. As a matter of fact, many more details link Joseph to Jesus than do Jonah and Jesus. So even though Jesus did not highlight the story of Joseph as he did with Jonah, the story of Joseph foreshadows the life of Jesus in a powerful way. Let’s analyze the story of Joseph and then look forward to the Gospels. And when that is complete, let’s consider whether or not there is a foreshadowing quality as it relates to the Jewish people of today.
Joseph’s story began with his father, Jacob, who was renamed Israel by God. Israel had twelve sons, and Joseph arrived toward the end of that family. Joseph was son number eleven. However, he was Jacob’s favorite. Knowing that Joseph was the favorite caused his ten older brothers to be envious of him. Their envy was stoked by dreams that Joseph had experienced and subsequently shared with his brothers. In the dreams, Joseph indicated through a metaphor that all the brothers, as well as their father, would one day worship him. Their growing envy led to an intense desire to kill him. But in the story, the brothers decided that they would just sell him into slavery rather than actually kill him, so that they would not be responsible for his innocent blood. They would just tell their father that a wild animal had eaten him. So, the brothers sold Joseph into slavery. When the father, Jacob, heard their concocted tale related to the death of his favorite son, he was devastated. Even though their father dramatically expressed his overwhelming love for Joseph one final time, the brothers were convinced that their problem had been solved, and they would no longer be forced to endure their father’s favoritism being demonstrated so openly.
But unbeknownst to them Joseph’s story continued, and years later his life would once-again intersect with their own lives. As stated, Joseph’s brothers sold him to some slave traders on their way to Egypt. Once in Egypt, Joseph was sold to a man who trusted Joseph enough to eventually turn over the management of his entire household to Joseph. Unfortunately, just as Joseph’s life was gaining respectability and security, he was falsely accused of a crime he didn’t commit. As a result of the false accusation levied by the wife of his master, the master threw Joseph into prison. Eventually, through some remarkable circumstances, Joseph was elevated to second in command of all Egypt. His overnight transformation from prisoner to high authority occurred because he had a special communication channel with God. (God revealed the meaning of dreams to Joseph.)
Once Joseph had been elevated to be “lord of all Egypt”(Genesis 41:43), he married a Gentile bride vowing to forget his Hebrew brethren. And that is the point of the story when his brothers ventured back into the picture. The world was experiencing a famine, and Joseph’s brothers were at the brink of starvation. They had travelled to Egypt to beg Joseph for food never imagining that the person with whom they were pleading was the young brother whom they had sold into slavery years earlier. They couldn’t have imagined anything so incredible. They assumed that the man to whom they pleaded was an Egyptian. At that point, Joseph decided to test them to determine whether or not the brothers would acknowledge their sin in how they had dealt with him years earlier. The way that Joseph engineered the test of his brother’s character was fascinating and masterful. In the end, the brothers passed the test, and in a stunning conclusion, Joseph revealed his identity to his dumb-struck brothers.
Joseph’s revelation of his identity clearly stunned the brothers, but they were forced to accept it because they knew it to be true. The father, Israel, eventually arrived in Egypt and acknowledged Joseph’s identity as lord of all Egypt thus confirming the details of Joseph’s earlier dreams. After the father died and was no longer restraining Joseph from exacting revenge, the brothers panicked and told Joseph another falsehood. They told Joseph that their father had issued a command before he died directing Joseph to refrain from taking revenge on his brothers for their act of betrayal. It was at this point, that Joseph expressed his forgiveness toward his brothers and then quoted one of the most memorable lines in the entire Bible. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.(Genesis 50:20) Some of you are already making the connections with the story of Jesus, but let’s take a few moments to carefully dissect the many key elements of this story and see how God used it to foreshadow Jesus’ life and mission.
Joseph was Jewish. This seems like an obvious and rudimentary detail with which to begin, but it really is quite key. He was one of the twelve sons of Jacob, the man after whom the Israelites were named. We don’t want to get ahead of our study, but Joseph eventually saved the Israelites from starvation. And he was thoroughly Jewish. Joseph was not an outsider who travelled from afar to the land of Israel to save the Jewish nation. Joseph was one of the original sons of Israel, and God used him to save the Israelites as well as the entire world from worldwide famine. As we know, Jesus was Jewish as well. According to the Gospels, this was an important detail because the Gospel according to Matthew began in the very first verse with information regarding Jesus’ Jewish lineage. He traced His ancestors back to Abraham. (Matthew 1:1) And according to the Gospel writer John, God declared that Jesus would become the savior of all mankind. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. (1 John 4:14)
Secondly, Joseph knew his brethren intimately, and he used that knowledge to convince his brothers that he was, in fact, their brother. There is a scene prior to revealing his identity where Joseph assigned seating arrangements to his brothers in their perfect birth order. (Oldest to youngest) He also gave a larger meal portion to his only full brother. (The older ten brothers were half-brothers) And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another.34 And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin’s mess was five times so much as any of their’s. (Genesis 43:33-34) One has to wonder how important a detail this became with regard to the brothers eventually accepting Joseph’s true identity. I’m sure that Joseph looked very different than he did when he was a young man because quite simply, he was many years older. Also, he certainly dressed like an Egyptian and probably wore his hair differently than his bearded brothers did. And most discordant of all, he appeared to be the ruler of all Egypt and not the disconsolate little brother whom they had betrayed years earlier and had thrown into a pit. All of these shocking details would have made it difficult to accept that he was their brother, and yet Joseph had telegraphed his intimate knowledge to them beforehand to help confirm his identity. Seat assignments in perfect birth order could only have been known by an intimate family member.
This aspect in the story of Joseph where he used “inside information” in order to confirm his identity matches a key concept that the Gospels recorded about Jesus. Jesus expounded on this idea to his followers. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.(John 14:29) Jesus declared “inside information” to help confirm his identity. One example of this is found in the Gospel of John. The religious leaders were demanding a sign to prove that Jesus was who he claimed to be. Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?21 But he spake of the temple of his body.22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said. (John 2:19-22) In this short vignette, Jesus made a prediction, and He used a metaphor to do so. Jesus’ prediction was shrouded in opacity until he was resurrected, and then the truth of what he had said exploded in the minds of His disciples. It was inside information that Jesus employed to confirm his identity much like Joseph had done with his brothers.
Another type of inside information that Jesus possessed was His knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures. It was mainly people within the Hebrew “family” who knew the Hebrew Bible. Jesus was well aware of all of the Messianic predictions embedded in the Hebrew Bible, and Jesus used that inside information to confirm His identity just like Joseph used the intimate knowledge of his brothers’ birth order to confirm his identity. At one point Jesus emphatically declared that He did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets, but He came to fulfill them. Think not that I [Jesus] am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.(Matthew 5:17) Parenthetically, this is one reason that God used the Jewish nation. The ancient Israelites recorded and preserved all of the prophecies regarding the Messiah. It is those recorded predictions that we can read two-thousand years later and can use to identify Jesus as the Son of God. We owe the Jewish nation a debt of gratitude for the service that they provided to God for our benefit. By recording and preserving the prophecies about the Messiah, we can know that Jesus was who He said he was.
Another detail that connects Joseph and Jesus was the fact that Joseph was the favorite of his father, Israel. In other words, the focus of Jacob or Israel was on Joseph, just like the focus of the Hebrew Bible, and therefore the Israelite nation, was on the Messiah. Jesus, who according to the Gospels is the Messiah, would be in the role of the favorite son of all Israel, just like Joseph was the favorite son of his father Israel. Also, at the start of this story, Joseph was alone with his father in the family tent, and the father sent Joseph to seek out his brothers. The Bible indicates that before Jesus was born, He was with His Father in heaven, and His Father sent Jesus to seek out his brothers who were also sojourning in the land of Israel.
Further, Joseph’s brothers rejected Joseph’s dreams, and they hated him because of those dreams. For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.(Genesis 37:7-8) Joseph’s dreams implied that the brothers would one day worship him. Because of their intense hatred of Joseph, the brothers decided that they would kill him in order to get rid of the dreamer. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.20 Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit….(Genesis 37:19-20a)
The religious leaders of Jesus’ day hated Him. Ostensibly they despised Jesus because, from their perspective, He was the ultimate dreamer. Afterall, Jesus announced that He was the Son of God implying that they would one day bow down to Him just like Joseph had described in his dreams about him and his brothers. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.65 Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.66 What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death.67 Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands…(Matthew 26:63b-67) And the religious leaders decided to kill Jesus just like Joseph’s brothers decided to kill him. The ostensible reason for His execution was the content of His vision about Himself. The implication of Jesus’ “dream” meant that they, the religious leaders, would one day worship Him as the Son of God. This dream and their reaction to it is identical to the brother’s reaction to Joseph’s dream when he indicated that they would one day worship him. And underlying the ostensible reason was an unspoken emotional motivation. The brothers were simply envious. Joseph’s brothers couldn’t stand the fact that Joseph was the favorite. They were intensely envious of him. And his brethren envied him….(Genesis 37:11) Likewise, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day moved to have Him killed because they, too, were motivated by intense envy. They said that they were killing Him because he had uttered blasphemy and declared Himself to be the Son of God (i.e., they were killing him on account of his “dreams” about Himself), but the emotional motivation behind their murderous rampage was envy. They did not confess to this emotional motivation, but Pontus Pilate recognized that subconscious fact none-the-less. For he[Pilate] knew that for envy they had delivered him. (Matthew 27:18)
So, both Joseph and Jesus had the identical dynamics transpiring during their executions. And the actions and motivations of Joseph’s brothers were so intricate, and yet each of these elements foreshadowed specific circumstances and emotions for the religious leaders when they had Jesus executed. Joseph and Jesus were both favorites of the father. The father sent them to reach out to their brothers. They were both executed by older “brothers”. The ostensible reason for the execution was the expressed vision related to their own status. And the unspoken motivation behind their execution was envy. It is astonishing how many details of this part of each story is so identical. The story of how Joseph was treated by his brothers is identical to how Jesus was treated by the religious leaders. But in this short vignette regarding their executions, remarkably there are even more details that coincide.
Joseph’s brothers decided not to actually kill Joseph themselves. They did not want his innocent blood to be on their hands. So, they turned him over to some traders and then concocted a story about his death. As far as they were concerned, he was dead. They thought their problem had been solved without feeling ultimately responsible. This is wildly similar to the dynamic involving Jesus’ Crucifixion. The Jewish religious leaders did not have the authority to execute Jesus themselves, so they turned him over to the Roman authorities to have him crucified. Their problem had been solved, or so they thought. Additionally, Joseph’s brothers were paid pieces of silver for their betrayal of their brother. (Twenty pieces. [Genesis 37:28]) Likewise, Jesus’ betrayer was paid pieces of silver for his betrayal of Jesus. (Thirty pieces. [Matthew26:15]) Further, Scripture records the fact that there was no water in the pit into which they had thrown Joseph. One can imagine that Joseph was thirsty, which is similar to Jesus’ declaration as he hung on the cross. After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.(John 19:28)
Additionally, there is the detail regarding the coat of colors that Joseph wore. This coat somehow conferred special status on him. (Genesis 37:31) Likewise, when the Roman soldiers were beating Jesus immediately prior to his crucifixion, they draped a scarlet-colored robe over him which denoted some kind of royal or elevated status, and they mocked him for it. (Matthew 27:28-31) In the end, both Joseph and Jesus were stripped of their status-conferring robes, and they were led away by their captors.
While in Egypt, Joseph was falsely accused of a crime he did not commit. Likewise, the religious leaders conspired to have people falsely accuse Jesus of crimes he did not commit. Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death.(Matthew 26:59) Also, while Joseph was in prison the jailer recognized that something was different about Joseph due to the fact that he had a special connection with God. The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper. (Genesis 39:23) Likewise, as Jesus hung on the cross, a Roman Centurion who was overseeing the condemned prisoners, recognized that there was something special about Jesus and that He was connected to God. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God (Matthew 27:54) The person who condemned Joseph to prison even though he was innocent was the captain of the Egyptian guard, Potiphar. (Genesis 39:1) The person who condemned Jesus to die even though Jesus was innocent was the Captain of the Roman legion, Pontius Pilate. Pilate capitulated to the demands of the religious leaders, and Potiphar relented to the false accusations of his wife. There are so many intricate details and emotional sub-plots transpiring during the crucifixion of Jesus, and yet the story of Joseph written over a millennium and a half prior to that event foreshadowed each of those exacting details. And remarkably, the connections continue.
While in prison, the Bible tells an interesting story about two people who had dreams, and Joseph interpreted the dreams. (Genesis 40:1-23) Joseph discerned that the first dream foretold that one prisoner would be restored to his position after three days while another prisoner’s dream indicated that he would be executed within the same three days. Apart from the fact that this story alludes to a restoration (or resurrection) after a conspicuous three-day time period connecting to Jesus being resurrected after being in the tomb for three days, there is also the dynamic of one prisoner going free while the other prisoner was condemned to death. This second detail in the prisoner-dream anecdote alludes to the fact that while Jesus was held captive by the Roman guard, Pilate offered to set one of two prisoners free. The people demanded that a criminal be set free to live while they cried-out for Jesus to be crucified.(Matthew 27:21-23) So one of the condemned was restored to his former life and the other, Jesus, was executed just like in the story involving Joseph.
So, the story of Joseph connects with the crucifixion of Jesus in exacting detail, but remarkably, the complex details in the story of Joseph also connect with the intricate elements related to the resurrection of Jesus. The crucifixion and subsequent resurrection of Jesus is a unique and detail laden set of events, and yet the story of Joseph prefigured this complex narrative. Let’s start with the fact that Joseph was plucked from being confined in prison and was elevated to second in command of all Egypt in an instant. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt. (Genesis 45:8-9) Likewise, Jesus went from being enslaved in hell to sitting at the right hand of God in an instant. Recall the words of Jesus to his interrogators. 64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. (Matthew 26:64) Joseph’s ascent to the right hand of Pharaoh was the turning point of his life-story just as Jesus’ resurrection and installment at the right hand of God was the turning point in His life-story. As a matter of fact, the resurrection of Jesus is the focus of all four Gospel accounts.
The reaction to the “resurrection” of Joseph and the resurrection of Jesus is similar as well. From Joseph’s brothers’ perspective, Joseph was dead. He was completely out of their lives forever, or so they thought. And recall that they had told their father that Joseph was dead. Never could they have imagined that he would return. And yet he did return. He “came back to life” and was second in command of Egypt, and arguably he was the second most powerful person in the entire known world. His brothers were shocked by this even though Joseph had told them this would one day happen when he had shared his dreams with them. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. (Genesis 45:3-4) The Bible indicates that the brothers could not answer him for they were “troubled at his presence”. Joseph had to tell them to come near him, and then he had to repeat the fact that he was Joseph. “I am Joseph”, he said. This is a simple declarative statement, and yet he had to repeat it because they couldn’t understand it. The image that this narrative conveys is one of a group of brothers who were stunned into bewildered silence. I’m imagining some of them just standing there like statues with their mouths dropped open trying to mentally process the simple words that were coming out of the mouth of this “Egyptian”.
Now listen to how Mark, the Gospel writer, described the reaction of Jesus’ disciples when they heard that Jesus was alive. And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her,[Mary] believed not.(Mark 16:11) That’s direct and unequivocal. They simply did not have a way to fit that information into their mental construct. Mary Magdalene had come running back to tell those closest to Jesus that He was alive, and they simply could not process that simple information. It was a simple declarative statement (“He is alive”), and yet they could not comprehend it. I like the way Luke described it in his Gospel account. They considered what she said an “idle tale”. (Luke 24:11) Their reaction was a repeat of Joseph’s brother’s reaction. Joseph’s brothers could not process the information that Joseph was alive just like Jesus’ disciples couldn’t. And just like Joseph had told his brothers that this would happen when he shared his dreams with them, Jesus had repeatedly told his disciples that his execution and resurrection would happen. From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. (Matthew 16:21) The Bible could not be any more direct. Jesus taught his disciples, presumably over a period of time, that he would be resurrected, and yet when it occurred, remarkably they were still incredulous.
Another aspect connecting these two narratives had to do with what Joseph and Jesus offered everyone in order to save them. When Joseph was the ruler in Egypt, the world was experiencing drought and starvation. The drought was world-wide, and as a result there was no grain anywhere with which to make bread. Joseph had anticipated the drought, and in preparation he stored grain with which everyone could make bread. Joseph was offering bread to keep everyone alive…to save the world. The brothers came to Egypt to purchase some of the grain that Joseph was offering. And the famine was sore in the land…. we will go down [to Egypt] and buy thee food. (Genesis 43:1,4) Now let’s listen to the words of Jesus regarding himself.And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger (John 6:35) Further in Jesus’ discussion regarding this metaphor about himself, He connected the bread to being able to stay alive.I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever. (John 6:51) The idea that the brothers would come to Joseph to buy grain in order to make bread and consequently stay alive prefigured Jesus’ comment regarding himself and our ability to live forever.
Finally, there is the nuanced dynamic surrounding the details of who was in control. This is a unique part of both resurrection stories. The uniqueness of this part of the narrative cannot be overstated, and yet, the stories of Joseph and Jesus mirror each other in this regard. In the case of Joseph, it would seem to be obvious that Joseph’s brothers controlled the situation. Clearly, they out-numbered Joseph ten to one, and they simply must have over-powered him. They stripped him of his robe, threw him into a pit, deliberated over his future, and eventually they sold him to some passing slave-traders. Again, it seems obvious that they were in total control. But Joseph saw the situation differently. Joseph recognized that God was actually the one who was in control. Joseph realized that God had orchestrated the entire series of events to save his family as well as the entire world. Joseph was sold into slavery, then he was thrown into prison, but it was there that he came to the attention of Pharaoh. As we discussed, from there he was elevated to ruler of Egypt, and from that vantage point, he was able to save the world. Listen to Joseph’s own words as he described his perspective. And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not. (Genesis 45:7-9) Joseph’s brothers had acted malevolently, and his owner in Egypt had capitulated to his wife’s false allegation. However, Joseph recognized that God used those evil human motivations to affect God’s good purposes regarding the salvation of the world. And it was because of this perspective, that Joseph was able to forgive his brothers.
And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.(Genesis 50:16-21) Joseph’s attitude as described in this story is both unique and nuanced. It would have been understandable for Joseph to nurse a desire to exact retribution on his brothers for what they had done to him, and yet remarkably he did not possess a yearning for revenge. (Quite the opposite.) Joseph was able to gain God’s perspective, and because of that he was able to forgive his brothers. Again, Joseph’s attitude is both unique and nuanced, and yet the story of Jesus and His perspective mirrors that dynamic identically.
Listen to the words of Jesus when the Roman governor was questioning him. Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above.(John 19:10-11a) It seemed as though the Roman Governor was in charge of Jesus’ destiny. Pilate implored Jesus to respond to him. Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent, and he was desperately looking for some piece of information to be revealed that would somehow turn the situation around. Pilate assumed that he had the power over Jesus especially since his legion of soldiers followed his orders, and yet, Jesus calmly recognized that it was God who was really in control of His destiny. God was orchestrating the events that eventually transpired even though it appeared that Pilate was the determinant actor. God was using the malevolent forces acting upon Jesus to eventually save the world. God used the spineless equivocation of Pilate (similar to Potiphar) and the murderous envy of the religious leaders (similar to Joseph’s brothers) in order to accomplish His purposes. Ultimately, God was in control, and Jesus acknowledged that dynamic. Again, this attitude was foreshadowed by Joseph’s perspective over fifteen hundred years previously.
Further, as Jesus hung on the cross and his life was ebbing from him, it would have been understandable if he had felt discouragement and anger. He had been unfairly accused, convicted, tortured and finally nailed to cross. A normal reaction would have involved an intense desire for revenge because of the cruel and unfair treatment. It would have been understandable if Jesus had prayed and asked God to pay everyone back for their part in this evil perpetrated on Him. And yet we know that was not Jesus’ response. During the very process of His excruciatingly painful crucifixion, Jesus forgave His enemies. And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:33-34a) This is a remarkable response, and yet not surprising because God had foreshadowed this response in the story of Joseph over fifteen hundred years previously.
To say that the story of Joseph prefigures the story of Jesus is true but it doesn’t quite convey the deep and intricate connection. Simply put, the story of Joseph is the story of Jesus. The story of the crucifixion and subsequent resurrection of Jesus with all of its complex nuanced details is unique and remarkable, but the detailed story of Joseph foreshadowed the complexity of that story comprehensively. In a very real sense, it takes less faith to believe in an all-powerful God who wrote the Bible and used foreshadowing in these two stories rather than to assume that these two stories written by many different men separated by more than a millennium of time could have matched each other in such an intricately detailed way simply by coincidence. I often quote the words of Jesus regarding predictive prophecy. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. (John 14:29) A similar thought is recorded in the Book of Isaiah. Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. (Isaiah 46:9-10) The God of the Bible is a God who tells the reader what will happen before it happens so that we will have a logical foundation for our faith. The stories of Joseph and Jesus do just that.
There is a curious detail embedded in the story of Joseph that confirms for us that the story is meant to be understood in a predictive manner relating to the coming Messiah. This time the connection is not made by Jesus looking back as in the case of Jonah. This time a clue is inserted in this story in the Hebrew Bible which causes us to look forward to the Gospels and to the Messiah. That mechanism is a curious little quirk in the telling of the story. We know that the story of Joseph is important because it covers an entire twenty-five percent of the first book of the Bible. Genesis chapter 37 set the stage for the major story of Joseph. That chapter describes the entire first part of the drama. It references the father’s preferential treatment of Joseph, the envy and murderous anger of his brothers and finally the selling of Joseph to traders on their way to Egypt. It is an intriguing opening scene begging us to continue reading to find out what happens next. Then the next chapter, chapter 38, abruptly shifts to a totally different story and tells that entire drama from start to finish. The new story seemingly has no connection to Joseph whatsoever. And then curiously, chapter 39 turns our attention back to the story of Joseph for another twelve uninterrupted chapters until the story of Joseph is concluded at the end of Genesis in chapter 50.
Additionally, the story in chapter 38 is so jarringly conspicuous. It is a wild story that spans two generations, and it appears squarely in the middle of this drama about Joseph with no obvious connection to Joseph and no explanation of why it was put there. Why didn’t Moses, the author of Genesis, place that completely different story either before the story of Joseph or after it concluded so as not to interrupt the flow of the events in the story of Joseph? Was Moses indicating something important with the unusual placement of that curious interluding story? Was Moses directing our focus to a key element within the story of Joseph? Was the story in chapter 38 the key that we need in order to unlock the mystery embedded within the story of Joseph forcing us to take the story of Joseph and move forward in time? Let’s analyze the short interluding story.
The story in chapter 38 centers around one of Joseph’s brothers, Judah. It’s a quick read and really quite interesting but also rather sordid. It involves sex outside of marriage, prostitution, evil men, death, confrontation and repentance. It’s a roller-coaster of a vignette covering events spanning two generations in just one chapter. It covers so much ground in a remarkably few number of words. The conclusion of this wild story converges on a birth. And in keeping with the fantastical nature of the story itself, the conclusion was no less remarkable. In the final scene of chapter 38, a mother was birthing twins. A hand from one of the babies was the first body part to emerge from the birthing canal, and that hand was marked with a scarlet thread. Yet that baby with the scarlet thread emerged second. Somehow the other baby would manage to surpass his brother in the womb and arrive first. Again, this is a fitting end to a wild-ride of a story.
As I meditated on this story, I am convinced that it was not placed there randomly or by mistake. It’s placement and import potentially has a distinct two-fold purpose. First, it telegraphs that the story of Joseph is a story about the Messiah. In this incongruous short story sandwiched within the larger narrative of Joseph, God is declaring that Joseph is a type…a foreshadowing for the future Messiah. The reason for that connection is revealed at the end of the story of Joseph. At the end of his life, Jacob (Joseph’s father), was prophesying over his sons. And when he got to Judah, the main character in the interluding story, Jacob predicted that the Messiah would come from that man. Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.(Genesis 49:8,10) So the story of Joseph began and when the first act ended, the author told a story about Judah, one of Joseph’s brothers. And we learn later that it is from this brother that the Messiah would come. We learn that particular detail at the end of the story of Joseph. So, God started the story of Joseph and interrupted it to highlight a conspicuous vignette involved in the Messianic lineage, and then without explanation, God returned to the story of Joseph. But we can understand a connection to the interluding story only when we get to the end of the main story. God had spliced into the story of Joseph, a memorable story involving the Messianic lineage. God is revealing a clue directing the reader to carry the story of Joseph forward to help us identify the Messiah and the Messiah’s mission. It is astonishing. But we can comprehend the message only when we step back from both stories and contemplate their inter-play.
The Gospel of Matthew pulls the stories of Judah and Jesus (and by extension the story of Joseph) together in a remarkable way. The first Gospel opened with the lineage of the Messiah beginning with Abraham, and then verse three connects with our story about Judah. Matthew specifically named Judah, the pregnant mother and those two twin boys from the short interluding story. Typically, only one son should have been named in an ancestral lineage, but Matthew identified both boys drawing our attention to that story causing the reader to wonder why both boys are referenced instead of just the one who was part of the lineage. And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram.(Matthew 1:3) Judah was the father, and he was the brother of Joseph. Thamar was the mother, and Phares and Zara were the twins. Matthew is documenting the lineage of Jesus, and Judah is in that line just as Jacob had prophesied. And then the twin boys from the interluding story are named. So Matthew made two connections. One connection is to the end of the story of Joseph where Jacob prophesied over his sons. Jacob proclaimed that the Messiah would come from the lineage of Judah. Matthew confirmed that Jesus fulfilled that prediction by Jacob. And then Matthew made the second connection. Matthew named the names of the two boys from the short interluding story that Moses had spliced into the story of Joseph. So, in that single verse, Matthew connected to both the story of Joseph and to the interluding story involving the sons of Judah. Moses embedded that story related to the lineage of the Messiah and intertwined it with the story of Joseph to draw our attention to the future Messiah as we read the story of Joseph. It’s really quite remarkable how the two stories in Genesis work together, and it’s fascinating how the account in the Gospel of Matthew pulled all three together.
There is another reason for splicing in that short story within the larger story. I believe there is one more prediction embedded within the story of Joseph and the interluding short story provides a key to help us unlock the meaning. I think it has to do with Jesus and the Jews. Let’s return to the story of Joseph. As we discussed, Joseph had a couple of dreams. His dreams indicated that his brethren would one day worship him. Expressing these dreams had the opposite effect. Telling his brothers about his dreams actually made them resent him. In fact, they rejected him because of those dreams, and they tried to get rid of him. Joseph’s brothers exiled him to Egypt, but Joseph took with him his knowledge of the Hebrew God. And it was his special connection to the God of his brethren that ended up saving the world because the God of his family gave Joseph the interpretation of the dreams whereas the Egyptian gods could not interpret Pharaoh’s dreams.
That’s the meta-narrative of the story of Joseph. There is an obvious take-away from this story which is often overlooked. That take-away is the fact that the God of Joseph’s family wanted to save the world and not just that one family from the devastating effects famine. Yes, this is a story about Joseph and his brothers, but this story also reveals God’s desire to save the world from starvation. But the world was clueless in how to save themselves. The reason that they had no idea about their own salvation is because they did not know the God of Abraham, the God who could reveal the meaning of dreams. Not only were they clueless about the God of Abraham, they had no idea how to discover Him. So, the God of Abraham had to send Joseph to them, and God revealed the meaning of Pharaoh’s dreams through Joseph. And the revelation of those dreams affected the salvation of the Egyptian people. God first revealed Himself to Joseph’s forefathers, and that family taught Joseph about God. But then God sent Joseph to the Egyptians which revealed God’s love for them and His desire to save them from starvation. So, in a very real sense, sending Joseph to the Egyptians was an expression of God’s love for the Egyptians (i.e., Gentiles).
And in that meta-narrative there are two very key points. First, God chose to reveal Himself to a man and a family first. The man that God revealed Himself to was Abraham and the family was Abraham’s family. Joseph was part of that family. They are the Israelites. Abraham was Joseph’s great grand-father. The God of the Bible is a God who works within families. God revealed Himself to Abraham, and in turn Abraham taught his children about his God. The family structure was the mechanism from which people were able to learn about God. In that family Joseph learned about the God of his great-grandfather, Abraham. The other key that is often overlooked is that in order to save the world, Joseph’s brothers had to reject him and exile Joseph to a Gentile land. Joseph brought to the Egyptians the knowledge of the God of his family. If Joseph had remained in Israel, then no one in Egypt would have been available to interpret Pharoah’s dream. It was the interpretation of those dreams that was the catalyst to save the world. So, in order to save the world, it was necessary for Joseph’s brothers to reject him. Once exiled to Egypt, Joseph shared the knowledge of the God of his family with the Gentiles, and as a result, the Gentiles embraced Joseph and they were spared from the impending disaster caused by the coming drought. When Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, they meant to get rid of him, but from God’s perspective it was necessary. God had ordained that malevolent act as a means to save the world. Listen again to the words of Joseph. “So now it was not you who sent me hither, but God: and He hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.” (Genesis 45:8) “But as for you, ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” (Genesis 50:20)
The rejection of Joseph’s brothers foreshadowed the rejection of Jesus by His people, the Jews. It should be stated that all of the first believers in Jesus were Jews. That makes sense because Jesus is purportedly the fulfillment of the Jewish Scriptures. Having said that, by-and-large the Jewish religious leaders at that time rejected Jesus as the Messiah. So much so, that at one point God commissioned Paul to be an Apostle to the Gentiles simply because the Jewish leaders in large part had stopped listening to the Gospel. At a certain point, preaching to people who refused to listen was a fruitless endeavor. Obviously, some individual Jews believed in Jesus, and they became the foundation of the church. However, the religious leaders at the time of Jesus had made up their minds. They had committed themselves to the rejection of Jesus and most Jews were simply following the lead of their leaders. The Jewish religious leaders denied that Jesus was someone worthy of worship just like Joseph’s brothers rejected Joseph. But the fascinating point is that the rejection of Jesus by the Jewish religious leaders was necessary to save the Gentile world. This is the point that God alluded to in the story of Joseph. Joseph was expelled from his family, and as a result he became the savior of the world. Likewise, when the Jews of Jesus day in large part rejected the Messianic claims of Jesus, God directed Paul to take the Good News of Jesus to the Gentile world. The good news of a Jewish Jesus saved a Gentile world.
The names of Joseph’s sons allude to this dynamic. And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house.52 And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.(Genesis 41:51-52) Belief in Jesus is primarily a Gentile phenomenon today. Joseph named his first son something that had to do with forgetting his brethren. His second son was a reference to fruitfulness in a Gentile land. Jesus has been largely ignored by His Jewish brethren, but belief in Jesus has certainly been a fruitful endeavor in the Gentile world.
The fact that Jesus came as the fulfillment of the Jewish Scripture and yet was largely rejected by the Jewish people of his day is an interesting dynamic. Just as Joseph had been kicked-out of his father’s family, Jesus was kicked-out of the Israelite family as well. The Apostle Paul talked about this dynamic extensively in his letter to the Romans. Paul says that the Israelite nation had the special knowledge of God because God chose to reveal Himself to their father Abraham. Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh [the Messiah] came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. (Romans 9:4-5) Paul is saying that the Jews had the knowledge of God, but Paul goes on to say that the Jews general rejection of Jesus meant that God would send him, Paul, to preach the good news of Jesus to the Gentiles. And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. (Acts 26:15b-18) So because of the Jewish rejection of Jesus as the Messiah, God sent Paul to preach the good news of Jesus to the Gentiles. Paul yearned for his Jewish brethren to accept the claims of Jesus, but he said that the Jewish rejection of Jesus was actually good news for the Gentiles. I say then, Have they [the Jews]stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall, salvation is come unto the Gentiles….(Romans 11:11) In other words, God ordained the Jewish religious leaders’ rejection of Jesus as part of his plan to save the Gentiles and the world just like Joseph was rejected by his brothers and that ended up saving the Gentile world from starvation.
There is a secondary aspect to the rejection of Jesus by the Jewish religious leaders and it is quite practical. In Acts chapter 8, Luke described “a great persecution” that arose against the church in Jerusalem. (Acts 8:1) Ironically, it was Paul himself as part of that Jewish leadership who spearheaded an invasive house-to-house persecution. Obviously, this was Paul before his conversion. The Bible said that Paul entered every house and committed believers in Jesus to prison. It sounded absolutely horrific. But that persecution was the catalyst that forced believers in Jesus to flee Jerusalem. The end result was that when the believers in Jesus fled to places around the world, the Gospel which started in Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified and resurrected was, therefore, preached around the world too. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles….3 As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. 4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.(Acts 8:1b-2,4) The rejection of Jesus by his “brothers” was invaluable with regard to spreading the Gospel. So the rejection of Jesus by his “brothers” help to spread the Gospel and therefore helped to save the world. Again, this dynamic was forshadowed precisely by the life of Joseph. God had ordained this rejection. As a side note, it is one of the great ironies of history that Paul as the preeminent Apostle to the Gentiles may have done as much to spread the Gospel around the world before his dramatic conversion as he did afterward.
God chose Abraham and the Jews to provide a service to the world. That service was to provide the Savior of the world and to confirm his identity through fulfilled prophecy. The Jewish nation was the family into which Jesus was born. But both Joseph and Jesus were pushed out from their families and accepted in the Gentile world. When Joseph revealed his identity to his brother’s he told them not to feel bad about what they did to him because God allowed it to save them. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. (Genesis 45:5) Jesus could have said the exact same thing to the Jewish religious leaders of His day.
The fact that the Jewish religious leaders renounced Jesus directly parallels the story about Joseph’s brothers rejecting Joseph. The brothers rejected Joseph which pushed Joseph out to become the savior of the world. The same can be said for the rejection of Jesus. It was necessary that Jesus was born into Abraham’s lineage and fulfilled all the predictions that the Hebrew Scriptures recorded. However, it was equally necessary that His “brothers” rejected him, so that the end result was that he became the savior of the world. At the end of the story, Joseph articulated that famous line about how the brothers meant to do Joseph harm, but God had allowed it to accomplish a good result. But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. (Genesis 50:20) The Apostle Paul could have declared the same sentiment to his Jewish brethren. When the Jewish religious leaders offered Jesus to the Roman authorities for crucifixion, they meant it for a harmful reason. But God allowed it (even ordained it) to accomplish His good purpose. The religious leaders were blinded because God had a greater purpose He needed to accomplish.
When we return our attention to the twins in the story that was spliced into the story of Joseph, one has to wonder who technically was the first-born. Was the baby who first breached the birthing canal with his hand the oldest or was the boy who emerge and breathed the first breath of life the oldest? Scripture indicates that officially the first born was the baby who thrust his hand out and was marked with a scarlet thread. But in thinking about this story, it is clear that he wasn’t the one who breathed life first. It was the second born who took the first breath of life. The Gospels frequently connect belief in Jesus to life.For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.(John 3:16) Scripture also identifies the nation of Israel as the firstborn of God. And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:23 And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn ( Exodus 4:22-23 )So the culmination of the short interluding story also has a message to the Jews. Yes, they are the oldest, the firstborn, but their younger brother, the Gentiles, breathed the first breath of life. It was the Gentiles who breathed the first breath of faith in Jesus as the Messiah. Jews are technically the first born in the faith family, but the gentiles breathed the first breath of faith. The good news is that regardless of who was born first and who took the first breath, both brothers did eventually breathe the breath of life.
So, in the end, I believe that the story of Joseph is a prediction about Jesus but also about the Jewish people. I believe that one day Joseph’s brothers will metaphorically travel to Egypt to buy bread and they will acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah just as the rest of the world already has. I believe that Joseph’s brethren will one day bow down to the spiritual Joseph just as God predicted over 1500 years ago because in those dreams from God, Joseph’s brothers did worship him in the end. I believe that the older son, Israel, will follow his younger brother and breathe the breath of life which is faith in the Messiah. The entire Joseph narrative intertwined with the interluding story is remarkable.
Again, the Hebrew scholar, Paul, in his discussion regarding the Jews and Gentiles asked a rhetorical question that has implications for us. Paul asked that if the Jewish rejection of Jesus meant that salvation came to the Gentile world, then what will it mean when one day the Jewish people join their Gentile brothers and acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah? Let’s conclude our study by quoting the words of Paul to the Gentile believers in Jesus in his letter to the Romans.
I say then, Have [the Jews] stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall, salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
12 Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?
13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles
For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.(Romans 11:11-13, 25-27)