The Bible is about Jesus Christ and He is the key to understanding it. The scriptures testify about Jesus Christ. Joseph is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 – Jesus the beloved Son (Genesis 1-3)

There are three things.

• His Father’s devotion (vs. 3) – He was specially loved by his father. See Matthew 3:17 & 17:5. God has a son – his name is Jesus.
  
• A faultless distinction (vs. 2) Joseph is distinct from his other brethren. There is not one sin mentioned about Joseph because he is a picture of Jesus Christ. See Heb 7:26. Joseph told of his brother’s evil. Joseph spoke the truth. Jesus tells the truth. The mark of his distinction is a coat of many colours. Jesus is the happy Saviour. Children love to come to Jesus.
  
• His future dominion – The idea of bowing down to Joseph was too much for his brothers. The world is coming to Jesus. The world does not want to bow down to the king. Soon that is going to change.
  

2 – Jesus the suffering servant

Notice three things.

• The sent one – Jesus is the sent one. Joseph is sent to minister to the other sons.
  
• The scorned one (37:4) – The hated Joseph. Jesus came to his own brethren but they hated him. To hate Jesus is to hate the father. They hated Joseph for his dreams and his words. This world will not have Jesus to rule over it. They would not have Jesus to reign over them.
  
• The suffering one (37:18) – They conspired to slay him. See Matt 26:3-4. The same happened to Jesus. He suffered abuse. Joseph was stripped out of his coat and thrown into an empty pit. Matt 27:26. Jesus was stripped and beaten and goes into hell itself. He was betrayed. Joseph was sold for 20 pieces of silver. It was Judah’s idea. It is Judas who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Joseph is “slain” (37:31) by his brothers pretending that he is dead to Jacob. Jacob believes that he is dead. His brothers believe that he will die in slavery. Jesus is crucified and comes alive again.
  

3 – Jesus the exalted sovereign

Joseph is exalted from slavery into the second most powerful man in the Egypt. See Joseph 41:38. Joseph was the ruler over all of Egypt. Jesus has been exalted to the right hand of God. He has been exalted and given a name above all other names. All had to bow the knee to Joseph and all must bow the knee to Jesus. Don’t wait to bow the knee to Jesus.

• He is given a new name. The name means “Saviour of the world”. Jesus is also given a new name.
  
• He is given a gentile bride after his exultation. The church is the gentile bride of Christ.
  
• Jesus is the only way of salvation – The people had to come to Joseph for salvation from the famine. Pharaoh says go to Joseph! The only hope in this day is Jesus. There is no limit to the resources of Jesus.
  

4 – Jesus the seeking saviour (Genesis 45)

Joseph revealed himself to his brothers. These are the ones who tried to kill him. These are the ones who had scorned him. The brothers would never have known it was Joseph until he revealed himself. He loved and restored his brothers. Jesus reveals himself to us. Joseph says come to me and they responded. When Jesus says come then we should respond also.

He commissioned his brothers to go back to tell Jacob (45:26). We are called to go to all the world. The ones who had put Joseph to death are preaching that Joseph is alive and well. We are to tell others that Jesus is not dead but alive.

Categories: Genesis