In Luke 24, two disciples walked away from Jerusalem discussing the death of Jesus when the risen Christ joined them. These were men who had lived with Him, eaten with Him, and followed Him for three years—yet they did not recognize Him. Their eyes were kept from seeing who He was, and even His voice did not awaken their awareness. They were speaking about Jesus while walking with Jesus, unaware that the very One they mourned was beside them. This moment strongly echoes Genesis 42–45, where Joseph’s brothers stood before him without recognizing him. They believed he was dead, not realizing he had intentionally concealed his identity.
Both Joseph and Jesus were rejected by their own, suffered unjustly, and were later exalted. Joseph revealed himself to his brothers in the context of bread and declared that what they meant for evil, God used for good. Jesus was recognized in the breaking of bread and explained from the Scriptures that His suffering “had to happen this way.” Joseph urged his brothers not to be afraid or angry with themselves and sent them to their father Israel declaring that he was alive. Jesus calmed doubt and sent His followers to proclaim His resurrection—first in Jerusalem and then to all nations. Joseph clothed his brothers with new garments; Jesus promised His disciples they would be clothed with power from on high.
In both stories, the one who suffered was the one who was hidden. The one who was rejected was the one who preserved the lives of others. The one who was sold was the one who wept the most. Both accounts reveal redemption, restoration, and reconciliation—undeserved forgiveness given freely. Joseph’s story is complete; we can read it from beginning to end. Christ’s story, however, continues to unfold.
Joseph’s life confirms and foreshadows the story of Jesus. Israel’s history prepared the nation to recognize their greater Brother—the One who would give His life for the life of the people. Joseph was sent ahead into Egypt, a pagan kingdom, to preserve his family. Jesus was sent from His heavenly home into a foreign, idol-worshiping world to preserve and redeem His people. Joseph’s story serves as a safe and tangible reflection—a living parable—of the greater redemption to come. Every Jewish reader, whether believing in Jesus or not, can see the pattern: suffering servant, hidden redeemer, exalted savior.
Joseph himself never entered the Promised Land, yet his bones led the way. His reunion with his brothers was joyful, and for a time Israel flourished in Goshen under his favor. But after Joseph and his generation died, a dark season fell—four hundred years of oppression in Egypt. That suffering awakened desperate cries for deliverance and set the stage for salvation. Joseph, by faith, instructed that his bones be carried out when God delivered them. The people knew a deliverer would come; they awaited a leader to bring them out of bondage. They did not yet understand it would be God Himself.
In a similar way, many did not recognize that Jesus Christ—the Son of God—would bear their sin, absorb the wrath of God, and deliver His people from bondage through His own blood and outstretched arm. He was concealed. And perhaps, in some measure, that concealment continues even now. Yet the promise remains: there will come a day when eyes are opened, when they look upon the One they pierced, and there will be repentance, awe, trembling, and overwhelming joy. The hidden Redeemer will be fully seen, and the road that seemed like loss will be revealed as the road He chose all along.
My Faith Place 