When we don’t understand the reason for the troubles we’re facing, there is great comfort in the story of Joseph. For many of us, his unwavering devotion to God through unjust persecution is a source of inspiration, and our trust in God is renewed by seeing the good He brought out of Joseph’s suffering. Even more, Joseph is ingrained in the history and identity of Israel for his role in saving his family so they could become the great nation God had promised they would be. But what if there is still more to glean from Joseph? As a savior of Israel, could he serve as a pattern and parallel of the Messiah Yeshua Himself? Let’s take a moment to recount Joseph’s story, and afterwards, we’ll compare it to Yeshua’s life. The patterns we discover will help us draw out a truth which both stories share: that God can work despite and even through Israel’s hatred of their God-given savior, and will eventually reconcile them to their deliverer.

From his youth, Joseph was Israel’s favorite son, loved more than all his brothers (Gen. 37:3). When they noticed Joseph’s favored position, his brothers hated him (Gen. 37:4), though he had done no wrong. Stirred by their jealous motives, the sons of Israel sold their own brother to Egypt (Acts 7:9), where he suffered first as a slave, then a prisoner. “But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor” (Gen. 39:21, esv), raising him up from the pit of prison to the right hand of the king, and putting him in a position of great power (Gen. 41:14&40). Through the suffering Joseph endured, God made him Egypt’s ruler (Gen. 45:8); and by that authority, Joseph would soon be Israel’s savior.

After being raised to power, Joseph was warned by God that a terrible famine was about to strike the land, and he prepared by storing up grain in advance—enough to sustain all Egypt (Gen. 41:28-36). Meanwhile, Joseph’s own family, desperately in need of food to live, had nowhere to turn… until they heard that there was grain in Egypt, and the whole world was going there to buy food to sustain themselves (Gen. 41:57). So the sons of Israel went down to Egypt for provision and found themselves standing before Joseph, who revealed himself as their brother. Israel’s sons were distressed to be in Joseph’s presence (Gen. 45:3), for they understood their guilt and regretted their sins against him (Gen. 42:21). But Joseph forgave and comforted them, knowing that what his brothers had done in hatred, “God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive” by Joseph’s life-sustaining nourishment (Gen. 50:20, esv).

In Joseph, we see a picture of an even greater savior—the Messiah of Israel. Like Joseph, Yeshua was the beloved Son of His Father (Mat. 3:17). Yet seeing Yeshua’s favored position and authority, His own kinsmen hated Him, though He had done no wrong (John 15:25). Motivated by jealousy, the leaders of Israel conspired together, stirred up the people against Yeshua, and handed their own brother over to the Gentiles to be killed (Mat. 27:18-22). But as God was with Joseph, He was also with Yeshua, even as He became “obedient to death—death even of an execution stake” (Phi. 2:8, mjlt). Not abandoning Yeshua to the pit of death, Adonai raised Him up to His own right hand (Acts 2:31-33 cf. Psalm 16:10). Through the suffering Yeshua endured, God made Him the conqueror of death and the ruler of all the earth; and by that authority, Yeshua will fulfill His purpose as the deliverer who saves Israel from their sins (Mat. 1:28).

Having now been raised to power, Yeshua too is prepared to deliver the world from a terrible calamity—the disaster of death itself. While Joseph stored up abundant grain to feed the world, Yeshua gives Himself as food to sustain us, and to be the sole source of abundant life and salvation for everyone who comes to him (John 6:35&51). Yet even as people all over the world receive Yeshua’s salvation, His own Jewish brothers are still in desperate need of His life-giving nourishment. Their souls will continue to starve, until Israel understands their need and is told where to find deliverance. But there is Good News, because when the Jewish people realize the depth of their sins, then, like the brothers of Joseph, they will not need to be afraid of approaching their brother and Master. Though they have rejected and despised Him, Yeshua will not hold their sins against them, but will refresh and restore them (Acts 3:17-21); like Joseph, He is ready to forgive his brothers, provide for their every need, and save their very lives.

Joseph’s story reveals the pattern of a God-given deliverer who seeks to save and forgive his brothers, no matter how much they reject or resist him—a foreshadowing which finds its fulfillment in Yeshua. Even as many Jews today continue to reject their savior, He stands ready with open arms, eager to forgive them and to preserve their lives. Let us be emboldened to tell our Jewish family and friends of their need to accept Yeshua’s life-giving sacrifice, exhorting them that they can turn to Him without shame. For when they understand their guilt and realize their need, then the despised deliverer of Israel will be revealed to His brothers at last, “to preserve a remnant [of His people], and to keep alive for [them] many survivors” (Gen. 45:7, esv).

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below!