Jesus and Joseph

When I was teaching through the end of Genesis for Sunday school, I came across a parallel that I’d never noticed before. I don’t own a lot of commentaries (yet) so much of my research for teaching is done on the internet using my current theological structure to filter what’s “out there” accordingly. In case you’re like me and haven’t come across this parallel yet, well now you can see when Jesus taught His disciples that all of the Scriptures speak of Him, He wasn’t exaggerating. I’ll list here a few of the more striking parallels; you can find a longer list here or by doing a search for “Joseph Jesus parallel” on Google.

1. Joseph was thirty when Pharaoh made him second in command and Jesus was thirty when He began His ministry – Genesis 41:46; Luke 3:23

2. Joseph was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and Jesus was falsely accused by the chief priests (among others) – Genesis 39:13-18; Mark 14:55-64

3. Joseph was in prison with two criminals, one was saved the other was not. Jesus was crucified with two criminals, one was saved the other was not – Genesis 40:2-3, 20-22; Luke 23:33, 39-43 – what makes this particular parallel even more interesting is that the criminals with Joseph were a cupbearer and a baker, wine and bread correlating with the Lord’s Supper.

4. Joseph was “raised” three times: once out of the pit (Genesis 37:28) once to be the ruler of Egypt (Genesis 41:41) and once again when Jacob is told he is still alive (Genesis 45:26:28). Jesus was raised three times as well, once on the cross (John 19:17-18), once from the grave (Matthew 18:5-6) and once more into heaven itself (Acts 1:9).

5. Joseph saved his people from certain death (Genesis 41:55-42:1-2). Jesus saves His people from certain death (John 10:27-29).

If you check out the link above you’ll see many more parallels. The site I linked isn’t the best one, it was just the first one I clicked after I ran the Google search. It’s truly incredible that Moses, having no knowledge of Jesus whatsoever and writing well over a thousand years before Him, could construct such a close parallel. Divine inspiration? You bet.