Joseph, Jesus, And Bring Your Brother

Below are notes to a sermon preached Sunday evening, January 04, 2004, at Gospel Light Baptist Church, Albany, Georgia. 

JOSEPH, JESUS, AND BRING YOUR BROTHER

Scripture Reading: Genesis 42:1-25

Text: Genesis 42:20

Genesis 42:20 But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.

Introduction: I believe that if you look closely enough you can not only find prophecies but also pictures and shadows of our Lord on every page of the Bible. One of the greatest, if not THE greatest, of all pictures of our Lord in the Old Testament is the man named Joseph. We say that Joseph is a “type,” or prophetic picture, of Christ because so many characteristics of his life matched those of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I was recently amazed in reading our scripture for tonight as the Holy Ghost seemed to point out to me another likeness in this chapter between Joseph and Jesus. You remember last week that I showed you that Joseph prophetically portrayed our Lord in that his brethren could not understand him, but he 
spoke to them through an interpreter. 

Tonight I want you to do again in this chapter what Jesus commanded:

John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. 

In that very chapter He told us that He was referring to the writings of Moses!

John 5:46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. 

There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus could have shown from Genesis how the life of Joseph mirrored His own, when He met with two of His disciples after the resurrection, 

Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

Tonight I hope you will notice some similarities and see Jesus in the story of Joseph’s requirement his brethren, saying that they could not return for corn unless they brought their brother.

JOSEPH, JESUS AND BRING YOUR BROTHER

Before I point out a few things in this chapter, I want you to go to the New Testament and read a passage with me about an encounter the Lord Jesus Christ had with a woman:

(READ JOHN 4:9-19; especially v. 16 – Go call thy husband) 

I. THERE WAS A CRY

Genesis 42:3 And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.

John 4:15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. 

A. Because of a drought

B. Because of desperation

C. Because of divine intervention

II. THERE WAS A CONFRONTATION

Genesis 42:9 And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.

John 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 

We are reminded of how Jesus confronts the sinner through Holy Ghost conviction, even as Joseph confronted his brothers about

A. The past
1. He remembered the dreams and how they rejected their truth
2. He no doubt also remembered their deeds

B. The present
1. “ye are spies”
2. A convicted sinner is made aware of his present condition: he is a sinner, alienated from God

C. The prospect
1. “to see the nakedness of the land”
2. The prospect of a lost man is disaster in this life, and destruction in eternity

III. THERE WAS A COVERING

Genesis 42:11 We are all one man’s sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.

Genesis 42:13 And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.

John 4:17a The woman answered and said, I have no husband …

A. A covering up of their character
1. “we are true men”
2. The woman at the well just gave the impression that she was unmarried, probably a virgin, which was FAR from the truth!

B. A covering up of their conduct

C. A covering up of their condition
1. Man is completely unable to save himself
2. Man is completely ungodly

IV. THERE WAS A CONVICTION

Genesis 42:19-20 If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses: 20 But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.

John 4:17-18 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: 18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. 

Reminding us of

A. Holy Ghost remembrance of sin

B. Holy Ghost rebuke

C. Holy Ghost revelation
1. God stripped away their lies, even as Jesus did of the woman at the well.