How Is Joseph a Type of Christ? (Genesis 50:20)

How is Joseph a type of Christ? Read or listen to this chapter from Enduring Trials God’s Way to see a list of ways Joseph is a type of Jesus. Table of ContentsJoseph’s Trials Were Supremely About ChristJoseph and Jesus Were Sent by Their FathersJoseph and Jesus Sought Their BrethrenJoseph and Jesus' Brothers Rejected Them and Plotted Their DeathsReuben Tried to Deliver Joseph, Like Pilate Tried to Deliver JesusJoseph and Jesus Were Stripped of Their TunicsJoseph and Jesus Found Themselves in the PitJoseph and Jesus' Brethren Were Indifferent Toward Their SufferingJoseph and Jesus Were "Resurrected" Out of the PitJoseph and Jesus Were Sold for the Price of SlavesJoseph and Jesus Were Taken to EgyptJoseph and Jesus Were Separated from Their BrethrenJoseph and Jesus Were Filled with the SpiritJoseph and Christ Were Exalted RulersJoseph and Christ Have Every Knee Bowed to ThemPeople Look to Joseph and Christ to Be SavedJoseph and Christ Offer the "Bread of Life"The Greatest Act of Evil God Meant for GoodWalking by FaithDiscussion Questions When Abraham “sacrificed” Isaac, it was secondarily about an earthly father sacrificing his earthly son. Primarily, it foreshadowed God the Father sacrificing His Son. When Job “saved” his friends, it was secondarily about Job and his friends. Primarily, it foreshadowed Jesus saving His friends. Abraham and Job’s trials were supremely about Jesus. Similarly, our trials are secondarily about us. Supremely, they are about Jesus—His glorification is the primary end intended by the Lord. John 11:3–4 records: Therefore [Lazarus’s] sisters sent to [Jesus], saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Joseph’s Trials Were Supremely About Christ Genesis 37 records Joseph being rejected by his brothers, thrown into a pit, and then captured by the Midianites, but Genesis 37:2 says, “This is the history of Jacob.” Why would a chapter about Joseph say it is Jacob's history? Jesus came from Jacob, not Joseph, which places the focus on Jacob, even though Joseph is also discussed. The bigger picture in Genesis 37 is that Joseph ends up in Egypt. Twenty years later, his family moved to Egypt. Joseph’s brothers have enough descendants to become the twelve tribes of Israel. Fast-forward fifteen hundred years, and that nation produces a Savior. Joseph serves as a type and shadow of our Savior. Whether Joseph understood it, everything that happened to him was only secondarily about him. Supremely, Joseph's life was about Jesus. Joseph and Jesus Were Sent by Their Fathers Then [Joseph’s] brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. And [Jacob] said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them."So he said to him, "Here I am."Then he said to him, ‘Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.’ So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.” Genesis 37:12–14 Jacob sent Joseph to his brethren, like Jesus’ Father sent Him to His brethren, the Jews. In Matthew 15:24, Jesus said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Joseph and Jesus Sought Their Brethren Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, "What are you seeking?"So he said, "I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks."And the man said, "They have departed from here, for I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. Genesis 37:15–18 Notice the repetition of “seeking.” Joseph was seeking his lost brethren, revealing the heart of Christ in seeking His lost brethren: Luke 15:4—“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?” Luke 19:10—“The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Joseph and Jesus' Brothers Rejected Them and Plotted Their Deaths Then they said to one another, "Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.' We shall see what will become of his dreams!" Genesis 37:19–20 When Joseph came to his brothers, they would not accept him, and when Jesus came to His brethren, they would not accept Him. John 1:11 says, “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.” It is hard to put into words the wickedness of Joseph’s brothers plotting his death, but even these dark verses beautifully reveal Jesus. John 11:53 says, “Then, from that day on, they plotted to put [Jesus] to death.” Reuben Tried to Deliver Joseph, Like Pilate Tried to Deliver Jesus But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, "Let us not kill him."And Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him"—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father. Genesis 37:21–22 Reuben was the oldest, which made him the de facto leader. He knew Joseph was innocent and should not be murdered, so he tried to deliver him from his brothers’ hands. Pilate was the leader of the Jews. He knew Jesus was innocent and should not be murdered, so he tried to deliver Him from the Jews’ hands. The Jews said, “Let Him be crucified!” and Pilate said, “Why, what evil has He done?” (Matthew 27:22–23). Joseph and Jesus Were Stripped of Their Tunics So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. Genesis 37:23 Joseph was stripped of his tunic, like Jesus was stripped of His: “Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments…and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece” (John 19:23). Joseph and Jesus Found Themselves in the Pit Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it. Genesis 37:24 They threw Joseph into the pit to die. In the Old Testament, “the pit” is another name for the grave, so this pictures Christ’s death and burial. Joseph and Jesus' Brethren Were Indifferent Toward Their Suffering And they sat down to eat a meal. Genesis 37:25a They threw Joseph into a pit to die while they sat down to eat. It is hard to believe they could treat anyone like this, much less their brother, but again, Christ is revealed. Their indifference toward Joseph resembles the indifference shown to Jesus when He was on the cross: “The chief priests [were] mocking with the scribes and elders were mocking Him” (Matthew 27:41). Joseph and Jesus Were "Resurrected" Out of the Pit Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. So Judah said to his brothers, ‘What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.’ And his brothers listened. Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit.” Genesis 37:25b–28a They did not want to murder Joseph because it would not make them money, so they lifted him out. Since he was in the pit to die, this figuratively pictures his resurrection from the dead. Jesus said, “For You will not leave My soul in the pit, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption” (Psalm 16:10 cf. Acts 2:31 and 13:35). Joseph and Jesus Were Sold for the Price of Slaves ...and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. Genesis 37:28b Joseph was sold for the price of a slave, and so was Jesus. Exodus 21:32 identifies thirty pieces of silver as the value of a slave, and Matthew 26:15 says, “[Judas] said, ‘What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?’ And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. Joseph and Jesus Were Taken to Egypt And they took Joseph to Egypt. Genesis 37:28c Jesus was also taken to Egypt. Matthew 2:14 says, “[Joseph] took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt.” The account appears tragic, but with the words of Genesis 37:28 we see “the end intended by the Lord.” Joseph is in Egypt, which will serve as the womb for Israel to grow into a nation. Joseph and Jesus Were Separated from Their Brethren Joseph—like Asa, Abraham, and Job—is another example of God blessing after the individual persevered through the trial. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery when he was seventeen295, and they did not see him again until he was thirty-nine. Joseph and his brothers were apart for twenty-two years. For Jesus and His brethren, the Jews, it has been over two thousand years.     Joseph and Jesus Were Filled with the Spirit Pharaoh said to his servants, ‘Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?” Genesis 41:38 The way Pharaoh spoke of Joseph looks forward to, “Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 4:1). Joseph and Christ Were Exalted Rulers Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "There is no one as discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” Genesis 41:39–40 While Joseph and his brothers were apart, several things took place. Joseph went from being the lowly,