Last time, we began to consider some of the parallels between the life of Joseph and the life of the Lord Jesus. Perhaps nowhere in the story of Joseph do we see those parallels so clearly as in the incident of his brothers' selling him into slavery. Let's take a closer look:
Delivered Up Out Of Envy
Both Jesus and Joseph were delivered up by their "brothers" out of envy. The man of the flesh cannot stand the mere sight of one who is pure and morally upright. One upon whom the favor and approval of God rests serves as a constant reminder to the lost and unrepentant of all that they are not. Men sought to kill both Joseph and Jesus because they envied the positions they had with God.
Placed Within The Earth
Stripped Of Their Clothing
Sold For Pieces Of Silver
Left An Empty "Tomb"
For all intents and purposes, the brothers of Joseph had sentenced him to die. " Let not our hand be upon him...", Judah remarks (Gen. 37:27). They were leaving the actual moment of his death in someone else's hands. Just as it was not the Jewish leaders themselves who carried out the execution of the Lord Jesus; they, too, put that into the hands of others. But there are some very crucial differences between this incident with Joseph and the crucifixion of Jesus. First of all, Joseph does not actually die. Although the brothers must have sincerely believed that his days were numbered and that the idea of their ever seeing him again was inconceivable, Joseph remained alive. Second, we notice that Joseph is sold for twenty pieces of silver, not thirty. I don't think this is accidental. Joseph's being sold by his brothers is a picture of the selling of Jesus, but obviously, it is not a duplicate event. The price of thirty pieces is unique to the Lord alone.
To Jesus Christ goes all glory. In service to Him,
Loren
loren@answersfromthebook.org
[ This post was originally published September 8, 2010]
All Scripture quotations in this post are taken from the King James Version (KJV) of the Holy Bible
[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?"]