“Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come closer to me.” And they came closer. And he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.” (Genesis 45:4)
“I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.” (Zechariah 12:10)
The foreshadowing in Joseph’s reconciliation with his brothers of Christ’s reconciliation with His brothers is astounding. We have been looking at Joseph’s interactions with the other sons of Jacob from the perspective of the Christian interacting with Christ. But we are also reminded herein of the Lord Jesus’ own relation to the nation of Israel. After all, at this particular time Joseph (who is foreshadowing Christ) is interacting with the whole of the nation of Israel, for the entirety of all the tribes is represented in this room. The ancestors of each and every tribe is present with each brother being the namesake of the tribe that will descend from him.
It is telling that none of the brothers recognized Joseph. The nation of Israel failed to recognize their promised Messiah during His first coming, as well. It is only when Joseph chooses to reveal himself to the brothers that they can know who he is. The Lord Jesus stated plainly to the nation of Israel Who He was, but they did not believe Him (Matt. 23:37). At the first meeting of Joseph and the brothers, they do not realize who he is. It is during their second journey into Egypt that Joseph reveals himself to them. So it shall be during our Lord’s second coming that He will reveal Himself to a repentant and believing remnant from among Israel. Joseph said unto his brothers, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.” Jesus will say, “I am Jesus, your Brother, Whom ye crucified.”
To Jesus Christ goes all glory. In service to Him,
Loren
[This post was originally published November 10, 2010]
[If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ or you are not certain where you are headed when this life ends, I invite you to read the article “Am I Going To Heaven?“]
**Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) © The Lockman Foundation and are used by permission.
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