In rabbinic literature, the suffering Messiah that the prophets foretold is referred to as “the son of Joseph” because of the rejection that Joseph faced at the hands of his brothers. When studying the story of Joseph and his brothers, we can see that Joseph was a “type” of Christ, a picture of what the Savior would be.

Joseph appears in the last 20 chapters of Genesis. We won't look at his entire life in detail, but will summarize and look at a few points closely. He was clearly the favorite of his father, and his brothers despised him for this, as well as for the dreams he had where all his brothers, and his father would bow down to him.

The oldest, Reuben didn't want his brother to die. Instead he intended to rescue him later from the pit they would throw him. They stripped him of his colorful coat (which would have been very valuable during that time), and threw him in a pit.

What would seem like the end of the story for us is only the beginning. God was with Joseph the entire time, and blesses Joseph greatly in slavery under Potiphar.

Potiphar's wife took a liking to Joseph and tried to seduce him, but Joseph remained pure! She lied to her husband, and Joseph was thrown in prison again. Where most would give up, Joseph remains faithful to God, and God blesses him even in prison! The warden places Joseph in charge of the prison! There he meets two prisoners, the royal baker and the royal cup bearer, and would interpret dreams for both of them. The baker dies, but the cup bearer goes back to Pharaoh. Years later, the cup bearer would remember Joseph. Joseph would interpret a dream for Pharaoh that had to do with a coming famine. Joseph laid out a plan for how to survive the famine, and God would once again bless Joseph!

God blesses Joseph again, but the story doesn't end there! The famine hits and Joseph's brothers, the same ones that sold him into slavery, come to Egypt for food. They don't recognize Joseph, and through some trickery and truly through love and forgiveness for his brothers, Joseph forgives his brothers and is reunited with his family in Egypt.

The story of Joseph is very long and detailed, but in it you can find many parallels to the life of Jesus who lived some 2000 years later! In rabbinic literature, the coming Messiah was referred to as a "son of Joseph." God not only has Jesus have an earthly father named Joseph, but also a grandfather named Jacob, and is known by his followers as a son of Joseph!

It would take us a very long time to look in detail at each, so I'll simply list them here. The first scripture listed is in the life of Joseph, the second in the life of Jesus, and the third is a Messianic prophecy that relates to the situation. (Not all Messianic prophecies are listed)
•Firstborns of their mother
•Went to Egypt to escape death - (Gen. 37:28; Matt. 2:15; Hos. 11:1)
•Both came back to Canaan. - (Jesus as a child, Joseph after death)
•Rejected and condemned. - (Gen. 37:18; Luke 23:21; Isa. 53:3)
•Resisted temptation. - (Gen. 39:7-12; Heb. 4:15)
•Both stripped of garments and mocked. - (Gen. 37:23; Matt. 27:39-40; Ps. 22:7-8)
•Both given authority around age 30 - (Gen. 41:46; Luke 3:23)
•Both sold for silver coins - (Gen. 37:28; Matt. 26:15; Zech. 11:12)
•Prisoners saved - (Gen. 40:21-22; Luke 23:43)

Joseph was as good as dead to his family. Jacob believed him to be dead, and Joseph's relationship with his brothers certainly was dead. But the family relationship was restored to life later. Jesus actually was restored to life!

Paul's invitation to his readers was to fact check him concerning the resurrection and life of Jesus. No doubt his readers did...and people have continued to do so for two thousand years. AND THE FACTS HOLD UP!

Jesus was actually brought back to life. The Old Testament foretold his coming, and the details match up perfectly.

God began his rescue of his people long ago. He rescued Joseph from death, from his brothers, from slave traders, from Potiphar, from prison...he rescued Isaac from sacrifice...He sent Jesus to die on a cross for our sin, then rescued Him from death.

God began the rescue long ago...have you let Him begin the rescue in you?