As we head toward Easter, we are surveying the Scripture to see what it can teach us about that empty tomb of Jesus. When we get there, we want to see how and why it matters. We want to be able to peer into the tomb, like Mary and Peter and the others did on that first Easter morning, and have a greater understanding than they did at that time of just exactly what we are seeing.

So everything that we’re thinking about through this series is designed to point us toward the resurrection of Christ. Today we are going to consider the life and times o a man named Joseph. But what can a story from thousands of years ago have to do with the risen Christ?

Well, we know from Scripture that God had His plan for the salvation of His people in place “before the foundations of the world” [Eph 1:4], and we know that God is all-knowing (or omniscient). Because of these things, God already knew what was going to happen in and through Christ. From His divine perspective, the work of Christ was already a certainty before Adam took his first breath. So God is able to use the Old Testament to foreshadow what is one day going to be accomplished by Christ.

This is called ‘typology,’ meaning that these Old Testament stories (like Joseph’s) serve as a type, or model, that illustrates an important part of God’s overall plan for the salvation of His people.

And keep in mind that Joseph has more of Genesis dedicated to his life than any other person. More than Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob. So when the Holy Spirit inspired Moses to write the book of Genesis, He told him to make certain to detail the life of Joseph closely. I believe God preserved this story not only for our encouragement in difficult times, but also to demonstrate the kind of permanent deliverance He was going to provide in Jesus Christ thousands of years later.

Since Joseph’s story covers most of Genesis 39-50 (roughly 11 chapters), there’s no way to tell the whole story this morning. So we will summarize the main points of the story, looking for opportunities to interact with where Joseph is and what he is experiencing. We will draw some parallels between Joseph and Jesus, and at the end, we’ll briefly look at three major themes we can take from the text.

The life of Joseph teaches us some important truths about God and the means by which He brings His plans to fulfillment. Joseph endures betrayal by his own brothers, enslavement in Egypt, false accusations and imprisonment, and eventually a rise to power. Through this 20 year journey, Joseph maintains integrity and continues to trust in the LORD, as we will learn today.

BACKGROUND: JOSEPH’S STORY

Part 1: Prophecy

Joseph was a young man chosen by God to deliver His people. When he told those whom he would save about his role, he was rejected. It doesn’t take much stretching to see how Joseph is prefiguring Christ, even from his introduction. We first meet Joseph as a 17-year old who has his father’s love and some powerful dreams. Although he is the youngest (at this time) his dreams tell him he will be the greatest.

His brothers rejected him outright, but we are told that his father, Jacob (also called Israel)—who initially criticized Joseph for his boasting—nevertheless kept these words in mind. Perhaps Jacob thought that Joseph was talking out of empty bravado, wishing to be greater than he was. But more likely, Jacob gave the appropriate gravity to his son’s words.

After all, Jacob understood that God often worked in ways that confounded human wisdom and understanding. Hadn’t his grandfather Abraham been chosen and called out among all other people? Hadn’t God made him promises of a great nation and Promised Land? Hadn’t God promised Abraham and Sarah a son in their old age? That son was Isaac, Jacob’s own father.

And hadn’t Esau been born first, only to be pulled back into the womb by Jacob? Hadn’t Jacob taken advantage of his brother’s birthright? Hadn’t Jacob tricked his father into the blessing? And yet it was Jacob whom God had chosen, Jacob whom was visited by the angel of the Lord, Jacob who fathered 12 sons who would become the tribes of Israel.

Jacob was no stranger to the mysterious actions of God among His people. So it is likely that he held Joseph’s words with a certain regard. However, we don’t know if he did because Joseph’s brothers soon found the opening they were looking for—a chance to be rid of the dreamer once and for all.

Joseph went out to where his brothers were shepherding, no doubt wearing the robe that his father had so carefully and colorfully prepared for him. The robe, by the way, was Jacob’s way of signaling out Joseph as the favored son, meaning that he—although he was the youngest—was going to take the place of eldest son and receive his father’s inheritance.

Seizing Joseph, they beat him, stripped him of his robe, and threw him into a dry well. They planned to kill him but the oldest brother, Rueben, talked his brothers into merely beating him. Then Judah, another brother, saw some travelers passing by and had an idea. He didn’t want to be burdened by the guilt of Joseph’s blood, so they sold him to the Midianite merchants.

We know from later in the story that Joseph cried and begged and pleaded with his brothers for his life. We don’t know what exactly he said, but we do know that it had no effect on the cold resolve of his jealous brothers. Their lives, they reasoned, would be better if Joseph were gone, and their betrayal would not be dissuaded by Joseph’s pleas. They handed him over for 20 shekels of silver.

Centuries later, Christ would be betrayed by his close friend Judas for 30 pieces of silver. Christ would be rejected and betrayed by those He was meant to deliver, and God is showing us a picture of that in Joseph. We’re used to the copy coming after the original, but God is not bound by space and time. At the time of these events, He already knows what Christ will suffer and endure, and He is foreshadowing the deliverance that will one day come to those who are His. Could Jacob and Joseph and his brothers have had any idea about that? Not likely. But that doesn’t make it less true. We have the advantage of reading the Old Testament with its fulfillment in Christ already completed. But we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.

As we turn back to the story, we see that Rueben, who had apparently been off with his flocks, returned to the well to pull Joseph out, but found that the boy was gone. Unsure of what to tell their father (though they ruled out the truth for obvious reasons), they took Joseph’s robe, smeared goat’s blood on it, and took it back to Jacob. Jacob filled in the blanks on his own, believing the lie his sons had hoped he would, that Joseph was dead as the result of an animal attack.

Part 2: Potiphar

So this is where we begin to see the providential hand of God at work. Jacob believes that his son is dead, Joseph’s brothers go about their lives as if Joseph truly is dead, and Joseph—who is far from dead—is taken to Egypt and sold into slavery. He becomes the property of an Egyptian man named Potiphar.

Now ask yourself a question this morning: what would you do in Joseph’s place? Some options would be closed to you: as a slave, you had no rights. There were no lawyers or advocates to plead your case. As a Hebrew, you weren’t even a citizen of the country where you lived. You knew little, in any, of the language so you could barely communicate with anyone—and they most likely communicated with you through whips and rods.

Likewise, there was no thought of escape—the attempt meant certain death, either at the hands of your captors when you were caught or alone in the desert with no transportation, water, or supplies. And even if you somehow managed to make it out of Egypt, where would you go? Your own family is the reason you are here in the first place.

So what would you do? How would you serve Potiphar and his household? Would you whine and complain about the circumstances of your life? Would you marinate in the bitterness toward your brothers and let it consume you? Would you act out with anger or give in to despair? Would you rail against God and blame Him for allowing such unjust tragedy into your life?

Joseph did none of these things. This 17-year old boy did not allow his surroundings to determine his actions. Would he have chosen this? Never. Did he understand it? Impossible. Were his heart and mind full of questions? Undoubtedly. But none of these things prevented him from remaining faithful to God.

Joseph knew, as Scripture tells us, that the LORD was with him [Gen 39:1, 21] so he served in a way that honored God. Joseph didn’t want to be betrayed by his brothers, he didn’t want to be a slave, and he didn’t want to be in Egypt—but none of that ultimately mattered. He chose to remain faithful where he was, confident that God was with him.

So Joseph worked hard. He did his job well, and because the LORD was with him, he was successful. Joseph became the head of Potiphar’s household. He was in charge of all other servants, and answered to no one but Potiphar. In fact, he was so successful that he was even noticed by Potiphar’s wife. She tried to seduce Joseph, but he spurned her advances. Not just because it would get him in trouble with Potiphar (and most likely killed on the spot if he was caught) but because it would be a “sin against God.” [Gen 39:9]

But Potiphar’s wife didn’t give up easily. She kept coming after him. In other circumstances, we would tell Joseph to get away from her, or to find a new job. But he couldn’t exactly put out a resume, could he? He was trapped in this situation, but he refused to give into temptation. Potiphar’s wife kept looking for her chance, and one day she found Joseph alone in the house. She came at him again, and he once again rejected her. She grabbed his cloak and literally tried to pull him into bed with her! Joseph fled, leaving his cloak in the woman’s clenched hands—and giving her calloused heart an idea. She would accuse Joseph of coming after her! Calling for help, servants came rushing in and found Potiphar’s wife holding Joseph’s cloak. She claimed he attacked her and only fled when she called for help. And once again, Joseph’s garment was used to spread a false report about this man of integrity.

When Potiphar heard of this, his anger burned. Now, it’s interesting that the text doesn’t tell us whether his anger burned against Joseph or against his wife! It’s possible that Potiphar did not believe his wife’s claims, after all, from what we know of her character this might not have been the first incident of impropriety. Potiphar could have been mad because he knew that her promiscuity would cost him his greatest servant, a man he implicitly trusted to manage the affairs of his entire house.

Of course, Potiphar could have been mad at Joseph, believing his wife’s accusations. If he thought Joseph to be guilty, he could have had him killed on the spot. In either case, Potiphar could not allow even the appearance of this kind of attack upon his wife. He had no choice but to throw Joseph into the king’s prison.

Part 3: Prison

So once again Joseph finds himself on the receiving end of rejection and betrayal—facing false accusations and having no way to defend himself. He was the highest of all the slaves in Potiphar’s house and now he is back to square one. He is once again the lowest rung on the ladder.

But although everything else had changed, one thing hadn’t: the LORD was with him. The writer of Genesis, Moses, goes to great lengths to make sure we know that Joseph is not as helpless as his situation seems. God’s presence with Joseph enables Joseph to excel at what he does, not only as a hard worker but as a man of godly integrity.

God granted Joseph favor in the eyes of the prison warden, and soon Joseph was in charge of all those held in the king’s prison. The text tells us that “the warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.” [Gen 39:23]

It is while Joseph is in prison that, some time later, he meets two of pharaoh’s servants who had been thrown in jail: the cupbearer and the baker. The cupbearer was the one who would drink from Pharaoh’s cup first, to make sure it wasn’t poisoned. The baker was the one who, well, baked.

These men were in prison because they had somehow angered Pharaoh, and it just so happened that they were put under Joseph’s care. Now don’t for one minute believe that this was some coincidental chance of fate. This was God providentially working for the glory of His name, and for the sake of His people.

One night in prison, the cupbearer and the baker each had a dream. Neither understood what it meant, and both were distraught about their situation. Can you imagine how Joseph had to bite his tongue on that one? They were upset because they couldn’t interpret a dream. Joseph had a dream of his own, remember? He knew what it meant—and so did his brothers—which is part of the reason he ended up in this Egyptian prison. 

But Joseph doesn’t whine or complain about his position, nor does he feel the need to tell his story to trump what these other two men are feeling. Instead, when Joseph saw their confusion, he saw an opportunity—not to improve his position but to glorify God. Joseph reminded these men that all things, including dreams and their interpretations, belong to God. When the men told him their dreams, Joseph explained the meaning to each of them: the cupbearer would be returned to service in three days, but the baker would be executed in three days.

Three days later, which happened to be Pharaoh’s birthday, things happened just as God (through Joseph) had said they would. Joseph asked the cupbearer to remember him and speak to Pharaoh about releasing him since he was enslaved and imprisoned falsely.

Joseph finally gets a glimmer of hope, thinking that perhaps with a man so close to Pharaoh on his side, his petition will be heard and he will be released. But day after day passes and no word comes. Moses tells us that when the cupbearer returned to service, he forgot Joseph. For two whole years.

Part 4: Pharaoh

Even the most patient of us would be near our wit’s end by this point. Betrayed, enslaved, falsely accused, imprisoned, and now forgotten. Days turned into weeks and months and years, and there was no sign of any change. For us, it’s three little words, for Joseph “after two years” means 700 more days of false imprisonment. No rights, no advocate, no lawyer, no jury, no appeals, no avenues to explore. Only day after day in an Egyptian prison.

But his days in jail were about to come to an end. Unbeknownst to him, Pharaoh was about to have a dream. In fact, Pharaoh had two dreams in the same night, and when he sought their meaning the next day, he found that none of his advisors, magicians, or servants could tell him what they meant. Of course, this all seemed very familiar to the cupbearer, so he told Pharaoh of a Hebrew slave who had correctly interpreted his dream in prison.

Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and told him the dreams: seven healthy cows were eaten by seven skinny cows, and seven grains of wheat were devoured by seven scorched grains. The ugly and gaunt consumed the full and healthy. Joseph explained that God had revealed to Pharaoh what He was about to do: seven years of plenty and bounty, followed by seven years of severe famine. Joseph’s suggestion was simple: store up as much food as possible during the seven good years in order to be prepared for the seven lean years.

Pharaoh understood that Joseph had a wisdom that far exceeded his own court. He did not become a believer in the one true LORD, but he did recognize something unique about Joseph. What was it? The same thing we’ve seen all along: the LORD was with him. So Pharaoh immediately put Joseph in charge of this project, and made him second-in-command over all of Egypt. His slavery was over. His imprisonment was done. Joseph woke up that morning in a prison cell and went to sleep in a palace. Can you imagine such a thing?

Joseph was 30 when he entered the king’s service. That means he has been in Egypt for 13 years. He suffered more than a decade of unjust slavery and imprisonment. Friends, it is one thing to say that God is not slow in keeping His promises, and it is another thing to believe it when you’re sitting in the dungeon of an Egyptian prison alone and forgotten for year after year after year.

But that’s just the point, isn’t it? Joseph was neither alone nor forgotten. If he had looked around at his surroundings, he might have been tempted to believe that God was a liar, that his dreams hadn’t been true, and that faith was a false hope. But Joseph didn’t let his path dictate his perspective. He trusted God, believed in the face of despair, and hoped against hope in the salvation that Yahweh would one day bring. Even when his life suggested God can not or should not be trusted, Joseph trusted his LORD.

And now, Joseph is elevated from dungeon dweller to prince of Egypt in one day. From the lowest of the scum—a foreign, imprisoned slave—to the second-in-command of an entire nation. And why? Because God was with him. No man could have planned such a rapid ascension; no human could have interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams—several tried and failed. Only God could bring about this deliverance to Jospeh.

Immediately, Joseph began to work. During the seven years of plenty, food was collected and stored. There was so much of it, that they eventually stopped trying to keep track of it all. They just kept stockpiling it, knowing what was to come. Then the famine hit, just as God had told Joseph it would, and because of Joseph’s actions, Egypt was prepared. The food that had been stored was sold and the people of Egypt were able to avoid starvation.

Part 5: Pronouncement

But Egypt wasn’t the only area affected by famine: the whole world was short on food, and when word spread that Egypt had grain, you can be sure that everyone packed up and headed that way. And when Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent his sons for some food. All of his sons, except Benjamin, who was his youngest.

When Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt, they saw Joseph. Immediately, he recognized them. As they bowed down to him, as everyone who wanted to buy food was required to do, Joseph remembered his dream. If there was any piece of the puzzle missing for Joseph, this filled it in. God’s plan was clear to him: all that had happened was ordained by God. His brothers, on the other hand, had no idea who Joseph was. It had been 20+ years since they’d seen this boy who was now a man, Egyptian in appearance and speech.

Through some careful questioning, Joseph found out that Jacob was still alive and that he had a younger brother. Accusing his brothers of being spies, he held Simeon captive and sent the others home, telling them to bring Benjamin back or forfeit their ability to buy food in Egypt and thus starve during the famine.

After some protesting, Jacob agreed to let his sons take Benjamin back to Egypt in order to save Simeon’s life and continue buying food. They are greeted warmly by Joseph, but he wants to learn if the brothers have changed their ways. He has a servant plant his silver cup in Benjamin’s bag. As the brothers are returning home, the servant stops them, searches their bags, finds the cup, and declares that Benjamin must return to Egypt as a slave. The brothers go with him, and Judah pleads with Joseph for the freedom of Benjamin, saying that if Benjamin is not allowed to return to his father, then he will stay in his place as a slave. A far cry from the man who sold Joseph into slavery.

Joseph could no longer contain himself, so he sent all his servants out of the room and revealed his true identity to his brothers. They were amazed and terrified, but Joseph calmed them. He told them that they were not at fault for sending him to Egypt, for God had wanted Joseph to be there in order to save His people.

Joseph sent the brothers home with food and clothes and carts and instructed them to bring the entire family down to Egypt. They would be given the finest land and provided with plenty of food during the five years left of the famine. When the brothers made it home, Jacob could not believe that Joseph was alive. But when he saw the Egyptian carts, he realized the truth of their words.

Jacob and Joseph were reunited in the land of Goshen, and they embraced and “wept for a long time.” [Gen 46:29] Jacob got to meet Joseph’s sons, and lived in Egypt for 17l years before dying at the age of 147. Of course, with Jacob gone, the brothers were afraid that Joseph’s compassion would fade into revenge. So all of that brings us to our text for this morning: Genesis 50:15-24. 

So what can we learn from Joseph’s ordeal?

1. God’s position is shared with no one.

When questioned by his brothers, Joseph rightly asks “Am I God?” He knows that he cannot judge his brothers, for this is something only God can do. This is in keeping with the character that Joseph has displayed all throughout his time in Egypt. When Joseph had the chance to interpret dreams, he was careful to give God the credit for the power to do so. He never sought his own glory, but sought to glorify God. Joseph understood, like Paul would centuries later, that God uses us as vessels, jars of clay, to show that the all-encompassing power comes not from us, but from Him [see 2 Cor 4:7].

Do you ever wonder what you would have done in Joseph’s position? Maybe you find out where Potiphar’s wife is and get a little revenge, huh? But Joseph doesn’t. Just like he refused to dishonor God as a slave, he refuses to dishonor God as a prince. That’s integrity. He refuses to take the place of God in either poverty or power.

Very few of us would ever claim to be God. Even fewer of us would suggest that we are worthy of worship or that we deserve to sit on the throne in God’s place. In fact, most of us would be embarrassed or offended at such blasphemous statements. But that’s where we run into trouble. None of us would say such things, but many of us live in such ways.

I doubt any of us have made statues of ourselves that we bow down to each morning. We don’t believe that we are God…but we often believe that we know better than God. We question His motives and His character haphazardly, implying that He either cannot be trusted or that He should not be trusted. We look at the circumstances of our lives and we decide that God has forgotten us, or forsaken us, or is unable to do anything to help us. We put ourselves over and above God time and time again.

Thankfully, God has given us Joseph as an example to encourage us in these moments of self-reliance. Joseph didn’t passively accept his situation in life with a sigh and slumped shoulders. He worked, worked hard, and prospered in adversity because the Lord was with him. And when he was elevated to place of prominence, his character does not change. Joseph knows that he is not God; there is only one God, and He can be trusted. He will not leave us or forsake us.

This is also what the empty tomb teaches us, by the way. Only God has the power to bring the dead back to life. Only God can accept Jesus’ perfect sacrifice as payment for sin, and then resurrect Jesus to show that His work of salvation is finished and complete.

There will never be a need for a greater prophet or priest than Christ, because there is none greater than Christ! He is the full revelation of God to His people, the fulfillment of the promises made in the Old Covenant. Just as Joseph ascended to a rank higher than all of his brothers, and even his father, Christ stands above all creation, seated at the right hand of God, given the name of Lord [see Mt 28:18-20, Phil 2:5-11].

Who can take the place of Christ? Who else is Lord? There is none like Him. There are none equal to Him. He is preeminent in all creation. His position is shared with no one.

2. God’s purpose is the salvation of His people.

Through Joseph, God’s purpose was the deliverance of His people from famine. But in a much more significant way, God is using Joseph to teach us something about His purpose for the ultimate deliverance of His people—not from famine, but from eternal death. This deliverance would come about through His only Son, Jesus Christ.

It’s interesting to notice that in both Joseph and Jesus, evil was used to accomplish these purposes. Now please don’t misunderstand. God does not condone evil. God can and does use evil, but the fact that God uses evil does not mean He is okay with it or that we are not responsible for our actions.  

Take Judas, for example: Jesus said it would have been better for Judas to never have been born. He said that for Judas’ sake, because Christ knew that Judas would reject Him and eventually take his own life, leaving us with the tragic conclusion that he entered eternity without salvation. But God was not stifled by Judas’ sin or surprised by his betrayal. The all-knowing God did not have to react to this evil—it was part of His plan from the beginning.

The bottom line is this: we are accountable for our sin, but our sin does not suppress God’s plan or purposes. That why we have to be careful of wishing to be used in a great way by God. Judas was used by God, but I doubt that many of us would want to emulate him. Instead, we must submit to God and then let His use us as He sees fit. This is what Joseph did. He would not have chosen the circumstances of his life, but he didn’t fight against them, either. He believed that the Lord was with him, and He lived accordingly.

Joseph didn’t understand why he was betrayed and enslaved and imprisoned when those things were happening. But he came to at least a partial understanding later. We don’t know this from the text, so it’s a bit of speculation, but it’s entirely possible that some of the skills Joseph used in collecting and storing food and in managing Pharaoh’s palace were the very skills he learned while working as a servant in Potiphar’s house and while assisting the warden in jail. Perhaps one of the reasons he spent time in those places was in order to be prepared for what was to come.

Now, if you had told him that in the beginning, it wouldn’t have made any sense to him. “Joseph, you need to work hard at this, and learn managerial skills, because in another 10 years or so you are going to be in charge of this entire country and people’s lives will depend on you.” He might have believed you, or he might have laughed in your face. Or he might not have cared too much for what was going to happen 10 years down the line.  

Isn’t that how we are? God seeks to do things in our lives this very day that will prepare us for things yet to come, and we busy and distract ourselves to the point where we simply refuse to learn what He seeks to teach us. Which means we will be unprepared for what’s to come, meaning we will either fail to recognize it or simply fait at it when it arrives.

Don’t you think that Joseph spent a lot of time—I mean a LOT of time—wondering why these things were happening to him? What else was he going to do on that caravan ride to Egypt or in Potiphar’s house as he laid in bed each night or in that prison cell or even in Pharaoh’s palace? Do you think he wondered about the weather or local sports teams? Of course not.

Joseph wondered about his life, his family, his circumstances, and over time he was able to trace the sovereign hand of God at work throughout his entire life. Even in those periods when he felt most alone and forsaken, the LORD was with him. He trusted that God was preparing him for something. He didn’t know what, and he didn’t know why and he didn’t know when—but he knew Who. He knew Who was with him, and that meant the other things didn’t matter as much.

Joseph, by the way, is mentioned again twice in the New Testament. The first time is when Stephen is addressing the Sanhedrin in Acts 7. Stephen is giving a brief history of the Israelite people. As he comes to Joseph, this is what he says: “the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt.” [Acts 7:9-10]

God’s purpose is the salvation of His people. Through Joseph, it was deliverance from famine. Through Jesus, it is deliverance from death. Joseph stands between Egypt and Israel and provides escape from destruction. Jesus stands between God and His people as the perfect sacrifice for sin, providing our only means of escape from God’s righteous wrath against sin.

So as we stand at the empty tomb, we see that God always—always—accomplishes His purposes. Even if He often does so in ways that are not easy to explain and almost always require hindsight to even begin to understand. Joseph saved Israel, only to have them enslaved by Egypt for 430 years. They escape slavery only to wander in the wilderness for another 40 years. And from a human perspective, it might seem like God isn’t exactly sure what’s going on, or that He needs some more time to get things in order. But every single thing is happening to bring about His purposes.

Don’t miss what Joseph tells his brothers: you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. As John Piper points out in his book, Spectacular Sins, “Notice it does not say that God used their evil for good after they meant it for evil. It says that in the very act of evil, there were two different designs: In the sinful act, they were designing evil, and in the same sinful act, God was designing good.”

As the act of evil was happening, God was not forced to recalibrate His plan or to adapt His design based on the actions of Joseph’s brothers. No, the Bible tells us that God ordained the very act of evil to serve His purposes. It’s the same thing that He did at the cross of Christ. As Piper goes on to say, “the worst sin ever committed served to show the greatest glory of Christ and obtain the sin-conquering gift of God’s grace. God did not just overcome evil at the cross. He made evil serve the overcoming of evil. He made evil commit suicide in doing its worst evil.”

That’s what we mean when we say “sin can’t win.” The worst sin in the history of the universe, the cruel murder of the innocent Christ, was used by God to bring about the salvation of His people and will one day bring about the end of evil and sin forever.

When the Psalmist recounts Joseph’s story in Psalm 105, he says this of Joseph: “he [God] sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, sold as a slave.” [Psalm 105:17] Do you understand? From our point of view, it was Joseph’s brothers who sent him to Egypt. It was their evil and wickedness that sold Joseph into slavery. But that’s not how the Bible speaks of these events. It was not the evil of men that sent Joseph to Egypt, God sent Joseph to Egypt.

In the same way, it was not the evil of men that sent Jesus to the cross. It was God who sent Jesus to the cross, as a propitiation for sin. It is what Isaiah prophesied: “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” [Isaiah 53:4, emphasis added] Even Jesus said as much when discussing his death on the cross: “I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.” [John 10:17-18]

God’s position is shared with no one. And God’s purpose is the salvation of His people. It is a purpose for which God alone can act, and one that God alone can fulfill. Just as He did in the days of Joseph, He has done so in the days of Jesus Christ. His purpose is accomplished and His people are saved. Because of that, this morning, we also see that:

3. God’s people can rest in His promises.

As he nears the end of his life, Joseph makes two powerful statements: 1) I will provide for you and your little one, and 2) God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

The provision of Joseph is astounding when we consider the trajectory of his life. Here are the very men who beat him, sold him to strangers for virtually nothing, and let his own father believe him to be dead. Could any of us blamed Joseph if he had taken revenge? Maybe make his brothers work for him for a while to pay back the debt. Instead, he offers forgiveness. He tells his brothers that although they acted in wickedness and were responsible for their actions, they truly didn’t know what they were doing. They were fulfilling God’s plan for provision.

It’s the same thing that we hear echoed at the cross as Jesus says, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” [Luke 23:34] What they intended for evil as they nailed Christ to the cross, God intended for good.

But the second thing that Joseph says is that God will one day visit His people and lead them out of Egypt. This is amazing when we consider that the exodus was another 400 years away. Remember how earlier we said that Joseph was mentioned twice more in the New Testament? The other instance is in Hebrews 11, the so-called “faith” chapter of the Bible. Joseph gets just one verse in this passage, but it’s an important one. It says “By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.” [Hebrews 11:22]

You see, Joseph believed that God would keep the promises made to his great-grandfather Abraham, and that the people of God would be delivered from Egypt and led to the Promised Land. He was so certain of it that he made his brothers promise to take his bones from Egypt when they left, that he might be buried among his people. And, by the way, Moses takes the bones of Joseph with him when they leave and Joshua buries them alongside his father Jacob (see Exodus 13:19, Joshua 24:32).

Joseph believed that God would keep His promises. Why? Not because it was some abstract idea or theological concept floating around in his mind. This was not a sentimental idea or fond notion for Joseph, it was the very truth that sustained him for 13 years of slavery and imprisonment. Each and every day, Joseph had to ask himself: do I believe that God will keep His promises? Do I believe that God’s promises are stronger than my surroundings? Stronger than my feelings? Stronger than temptation?

God answered that question with an emphatic “yes” in the life of Joseph. And He would answer with an even more resounding “yes” in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Friends, the message of the empty tomb is that God keeps His promises. Even when all hope seems lost, even when death seems to have won, the victory belongs to the LORD. Sin can’t win.

CLOSING

Do you believe that this morning? Do you trust God in the same way that Joseph did? The story of Joseph has been written in God’s Word so that we may be encouraged in our present struggles, but also that we might be encouraged in our future hope. Is your hope in Christ? Is your hope in the God who has authority over all things, even evil?

As we look forward to the empty tomb on Easter morning, let the truth of Joseph’s story resonate within our hearts as we give all glory to our God and Father: sin can’t win.