Jesus in the Old Testament (Part 1): Genesis 50:15-21

Jesus in Old Testament
When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” -Genesis 50:15

In last Saturday’s post, Looking for the Living Among the Dead, we saw how Jesus talked to the two men on the road to Emmaus who thought He was dead. “…beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27-34)

Here in Genesis we see what I believe is just one example of how Jesus is found in the writings of Moses and all the prophets. Perhaps Christ even shared something similar with the two on the road to Emmaus.

Joseph’s Response to the Sins of His Brothers

Jacob, the father of Joseph and his brothers, has just passed away. The funeral is over, and the family is back at home in Egypt, trying to return to their normal routine. It’s at this time, all the wrongs Joseph’s brothers committed against Joseph, come flooding into their minds: they hated him because he was their father’s favorite, they plotted to kill him, they tossed him into a cistern, they sold him into slavery, then they lied to their father and told him Joseph was dead.

And now Jacob is gone. And they think Joseph has just been waiting for the right time to settle the score. They think he’s angry. They think he’s ready for revenge. So they throw themselves down before Joseph, the powerful Prime Minister, and beg for his forgiveness.

But Joseph’s response… it wasn’t anything like what they expected. Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid.” And he said, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” And he said, “I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. The pay back they feared never came. (Genesis 50:15-21)

Jesus’ Response to Your Sins

We sometimes think of God the way Joseph’s brothers thought of Joseph: an angry old man keeping track of our mistakes and just waiting for the right time to pounce. But that’s not who he is at all. Some parts of the bible, if taken without regard for the whole, and if taken without regard for the gospels, might lend that impression. But when Philip said to Jesus, “…show us the Father…” Jesus said, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:8-9) I’ve noticed, the people who genuinely want to know the true nature of God, find their answers by studying the life of Jesus Christ. My friends who don’t want to let go of their lives, the ones who want to do things–even small things–that aren’t in line with God’s words, they tend to be the ones who look in the scriptures for that angry old man, or for anything else that might give them a reason to reject His ways.

I know for me, when all my sins flood into my mind, I sometimes think Jesus has been keeping a record of them, and is going to settle the score. But when I go to him in the scriptures, I see I’ve been forgiven. I see how Jesus says to us all, Don’t be afraid. And he says, You harmed me–even killed me–but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. And he says, I will provide for you and your children, a way of salvation. And he reassures me, and speaks kindly to me.

That is the mercy of Jesus, the greater than Joseph.

The Truth About God’s Nature

The truth about the nature of God is found in Jesus. If you want to know the Father, study His Son. Study the gospels. Study the Old Testament looking for Jesus Christ at every turn.

You’ll find him there.

Joseph’s Life, a Prophetic Picture of Jesus

The parallels between Joseph and Jesus are astounding. Below you’ll find a list of ways Joseph’s life paints a prophetic picture of Jesus Christ–this is just one example of finding Jesus in the scriptures.

Jesus said to them on the road to Emmaus:

“O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Luke 24:25-27

[Image via mindgraph – Creative Commons]

[Related articles and resources: Jon Courson, Application Commentary, Old Testament, Vol. 1Thomas Nelson, 2005]

6 Comments on “Jesus in the Old Testament (Part 1): Genesis 50:15-21

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