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Joseph
Genesis 37
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Jesus
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Comparison
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Genesis 37:1 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.
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John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
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Christ is our shepherd, as was Joseph, both tended their father's sheep.
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2 This is the account of Jacob. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.
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John 3:20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
Luke 23:34 Jesus said, "Father , forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
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Christ exposed evil. Joseph and Jesus' brothers' deeds were evil.
Both Joseph and Jesus gave a bad report on their brothers.
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3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him.
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Matthew 3:17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
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Christ is greatly loved by God, his father. Joseph was loved by his father, Jacob (Israel).
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4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
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John 15:25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: `They hated me without reason.'
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Both were hated by their brothers for no good reason.
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5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more.
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John 7:5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him.
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Both were rejected by their brothers.
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6 He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had:
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John 8:28 So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am [the one I claim to be] and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.
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The brothers didn't believe their claims that were true.
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7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it."
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Colossians 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
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Both rose to become above the brothers (and 2nd only to the King)
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8 His brothers said to him, "Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?" And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. 9 Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me."
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Matthew 26:64 "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." 65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.
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Both of their brothers hated each for their high position in the future and for their father's love for them.
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10 When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, "What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?"
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Luke 2:48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you." 49 "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them..
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Christ was rebuked by his earthly parents because they didn't understand what was happening, similar to Joseph's family
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11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
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Luke 2:51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
Matthew 27:18 For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.
Acts 7:9 "Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him
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Both were hated because of their brothers' envy.
These events were remembered and were made evident at the time God willed to show the truth.
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12 Now his brothers had gone to graze their father's flocks near Shechem,
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2Peter 2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves.
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The Pharisees (Christ's brothers) should have been feeding the people the good teaching to do what the LORD (the Father) commanded. Instead they failed to feed them what the Father had commanded and had substituted their own plan for their Father's, as did Joseph's brothers.
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13 and Israel said to Joseph, "As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them." "Very well," he replied.
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John 6:57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me .
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Both were sent to their brothers by their fathers. Both left the comfort of their father's house to go to their brothers.
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14 So he said to him, "Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me." Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. When Joseph arrived at Shechem,
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John 7:32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him. 33 Jesus said, "I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me .
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Christ came to his brothers from Heaven and went back to his Father. He came to help the brothers, as did Joseph. Joseph came from the Valley of Hebron (fellowship) with his father.
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15 a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, "What are you looking for?"
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Luke 7:18 John's disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 19 he sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" 20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, " John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, `Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?'"
Matthew 13:38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,
Luke 9:58 Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
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Both Joseph and Jesus were asked questions as they were doing the job their fathers sent them to do. "A man" in Genesis is a type of John the Baptist, a voice crying out in the wilderness.
Joseph wandered in the fields, Christ's field is the world.
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16 He replied, "I'm looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?"
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Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
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Both sought to help their brothers.
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17 "They have moved on from here," the man answered. "I heard them say, `Let's go to Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan.
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Luke 15:4 "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?
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The brothers were not where they were supposed to be. The Pharisees were far from God spiritually (where they were supposed to be) as were Joseph's brothers. Dothan stands for "2 cisterns". Brothers were trying to give the sheep water. In Christ's time, the brothers (patriarchal leaders) were the overseers of the sheep (people). They had led the sheep away from where they should have been, watering them where they shouldn’t.
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18 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.
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John 11:53 So from that day on they (Pharisees) plotted to take his (Christ's) life.
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Both premeditated killing the innocent one.
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19 "Here comes that dreamer!" they said to each other.
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Matthew 27:29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said.
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Both were mocked by the brothers.
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20 "Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams."
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Mark 15:32 Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
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That we may see if their claims are true, in a mocking sense.
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21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. "Let's not take his life," he said.
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Sadly, the parallel breaks down here, as God planned. If someone were to rescue Christ from his death, we would not have a savior. The only reason Christ became man was so he could die for our sins.
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22 "Don't shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don't lay a hand on him." Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.
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The cistern was dry in the desert. The Israelite leaders were not watering the sheep, leading them away from living water, a dry barren message of legalism.
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23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe--the richly ornamented robe he was wearing--
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Matthew 27:28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him,
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Both were stripped. Christ gave up His glorious robe from His place in Heaven, was effectively stripped off to take on a human body on earth.
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24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it.
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Zechariah 9:11 As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit .
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Zechariah prophesied what Christ's blood does to free us from our sin.
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25 As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.
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Matthew 2:11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Matthew 27:35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 36 And sitting down, they kept watch over him there.
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This is fantastic! Both were rescued by people (probably Ishmaelites or Midianites, magi) who had myrrh and other goods. The wise men did not tell Herod about Christ, saving him. The Ishmaelites saved Joseph. Joseph became a slave to them and Christ was a servant for us.
The brothers of both Joseph and Jesus sat down as they did their evil.
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26 Judah said to his brothers, "What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?
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Psalms 30:3 O LORD, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit .
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Again, it was Christ's purpose to die for our salvation, therefore the leaders did not relent of their decision to kill Him. God rescued both Joseph and Jesus from death. The Jewish leaders pinned much of the blame onto the Romans with their pseudomorality.
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27 Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood." His brothers agreed.
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Mark 15:1 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.
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The priests tried to push the responsibility onto the Romans and Herod since Christ was their brother. The brothers were hypocritically 'moral' as they were too good to do the dirty work and would blame the Romans. They were still displaying their own, incorrect view of morality.
Both Joseph and Jesus were handed over to the Gentiles by their brothers.
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28 So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
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Matthew 26:15 and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty silver coins.
Zechariah 11:12 I told them, "If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it." So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.
(more prophesy regarding Christ's life to occur hundreds of years later)
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Here is the hand of Almighty God working! Both were sold by their brothers for the price of a slave. Joseph was not killed and the Mosaic law names a price of 20 pieces of silver. Christ was killed so the price increases to 30 pieces, the price determined if a slave is killed.
Leviticus 27:5 If it is a person between the ages of five and twenty , set the value of a male at twenty shekels and of a female at ten shekels.
Exodus 21:32 If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull must be stoned.
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29 When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes.
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Mark 14:63 The high priest tore his clothes. "Why do we need any more witnesses?" he asked.
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Brothers tore clothes over Joseph and Jesus.
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30 He went back to his brothers and said, "The boy isn't there! Where can I turn now?"
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Matthew 27:11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.
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Reuben, (as a type of the chief priest) surprisingly discovered that Joseph (Christ) was not in the pit (tomb) and was risen again. The Roman guards were then paid off, as were the Midianite traders.
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31 Then they got Joseph's robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.
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Mark 15:24 And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
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Christ, as the King of the Jews, was dressed in a Purple coat and taunted by his captors. He had been flogged and blood dripped from the crown of thorns, undoubtedly onto the robe. His death occurred at the exact time of the Passover sacrifice of goats and sheep. A male goat is the sin offering at Passover as an atonement for their sins (Numbers 28:22, Romans 8:3)
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32 They took the ornamented robe back to their father and said, "We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son's robe."
33 He recognized it and said, "It is my son's robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces."
34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. "No," he said, "in mourning will I go down to the grave to my son." So his father wept for him.
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Matthew 27:54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God !"
Matthew 27:51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.
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God knew Christ was the Son of God. His death was examined by Himself shown by darkening of the sky, earthquake and tearing of the curtain to the Holy of Holies of the temple (similar to Jacob tearing his robe). Christ's examination by His father was recognized and passed the test, as the Centurion and others noted in Matthew. The ferocious animal may represent the Romans, Christ was broken for our iniquities. God mourned as noted above.
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36 Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard.
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Matthew 2:14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my
son ."
Isaiah 49:7 This is what the LORD says-- the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel-- to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers : "Kings will see you and rise up, princes will see and bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."
Philippians 2:7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant , being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!
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Both found refuge in Egypt from being killed. Both were called at the right time from Egypt. Both were to be a servant of rulers.
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