“The patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him, and rescued him from all his afflictions, and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made him governor over Egypt and all his household.

—Acts 7:9-10

Last week, we got acquainted with what it meant for Jesus to be Messiah Son of David. This week, we’re going to continue looking at Jesus through the lens of the men who served as a prophetic model for who the Messiah would be. This time, instead of focusing on Jesus as Messiah Son of David, we’ll look at Him as Messiah Son of Joseph.

In my last post, I mentioned that Messiah Son of Joseph was thought of as a suffering servant, but even the quick overview we get in Acts 7 reminds us there’s more than that going on in Joseph’s story.

Joseph’s story began with him being the favored son, destined to rule. Because his brothers could tell that Joseph was favored, they became jealous and sold him for silver. Even though he was sent far away from home to be a servant, the people around him still recognized his ability to lead.

After being put in charge of his master’s entire estate, he ends up paying the penalty for someone else’s sin when he’s thrown in prison because he wouldn’t betray his master by sleeping with his wife.

Later he finds favor with Pharaoh himself and is put in charge of all of Egypt so he could save the people from a seven-year famine that was foretold through one of Pharaoh’s dreams. It’s when the famine begins that Joseph is reunited with his family, and in his joy, he tells his brothers, “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.” (Genesis 45:7)

There are so many things about Joseph’s journey that foreshadow Jesus and His life, but here’s what stands out to me. At this point in time, Jesus has already ascended to sit at the right hand of the Father. He came as a servant and now rules victoriously in Heaven just like Joseph rose to power after being a slave and paying the price for someone else’s sin.

What’s amazing, is that in both stories, the ruler finds himself face to face with his enemies—Joseph finds himself face to face with the brothers who sold him into slavery and Jesus encounters every rebellious sinner to ever live—and the response is forgiveness, reconciliation, and life. 

The paradox is astoundingly beautiful. Two things rulers aren’t often associated with are serving and forgiveness of enemies. They have the power to demand service rather than serve, and they have the power to punish their enemies, but when it comes to Jesus and Joseph we get the opposite.

Now that’s nice to say, but knowing that both Jesus and Joseph forgave their enemies doesn’t really help us behold how good our Prince of Peace is. That’s why I’m so thankful for the part of the story where Joseph forgave his brothers. 

The Bible says that Joseph wept so loudly as he revealed who he was to his brothers that the Egyptians heard him even though they’d been sent out of the room and went to tell Pharaoh. Then Joseph tells them to come closer, and finally embraces his brothers, kissing them and crying on their shoulders.

Joseph’s joy is so great he can’t keep it in. That’s what our Messiah’s joy is like when we reconcile with Him, except, I’d be willing to bet, so much deeper. Do you see Him yet, rejoicing over each person who turns to Him?

This is our Jesus. This is our Messiah. Come and behold Him!