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Watch how W. A. Criswell, Sally Lloyd-Jones and The Gospel Project connect the story of Joseph to the gospel of Jesus…

W. A. Criswell:

This is a story of Christ and Calvary and Easter in miniature.  And I am frank to confess to you that when I read it and prepare the message, I have the same feeling in my heart, the same response in my soul, as when I read about the suffering and the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

To my amazement, there is twice as much about Joseph as there is about Abraham.  Why is this?  Is Joseph greater than Abraham?  No, not that.  But there is twice as much about Joseph as about Abraham because the story of Joseph is the story of our holy Messiah Redeemer in miniature.

When we read of the sufferings of Joseph and of his glorious exaltation, we are reading exactly what happened to our Lord Jesus Christ.

When we speak of Joseph, we speak of a blameless life. We speak of his father’s love. We speak of one sent for his lost brethren. We speak of one placed in the pit, stripped of his robe, and sold for silver, and delivered to the Gentiles. Then we speak of his life in the dark land of Egypt. Then we speak of his Gentile bride, his elevation to the kingship of the land. And finally, of the revelation of who he is to his brethren who have been saved from death through him.

I repeat, when I read the story, I have that same spirit of deepening love for God for what He has done for me, as I do as when I read the story of the Lord.

The conclusion to the story of Joseph, as told by Sally Lloyd Jones in The Jesus Storybook Bible:

One day God would send another Prince, a young Prince whose heart would break. Like Joseph, he would leave his home and his Father. His brothers would hate him and want him dead. He would be sold for pieces of silver. He would be punished even though he had done nothing wrong.

But God would use everything that happened to this young Prince – even the bad things – to do something good: to forgive the sins of the whole world.

The “Christ connections” from The Gospel Project for Kids:

God sent Joseph to Egypt and blessed him, so that he rose to a position of great power. In that position, he was God’s instrument for saving his family and many others in the world from death by starvation. Jesus gave up his position of great power to be God’s instrument for saving people. Christ’s life and death made a way to save people from spiritual death, which is the penalty of sin.

Joseph recognized that though his brothers intended evil, God planned his circumstances for good – to establish a remnant of God’s people (Genesis 45:7). Likewise, though those who crucified Jesus intended it for evil, God’s plan for the sacrifice of His Son was for the good of all people. Through Jesus’ death on the cross, God again saved a remnant of people.

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