Today I want to talk about a story… a man from the Old Testament… Joseph. But first I want to ask you a question:
Have you ever been done wrong or hurt or taken advantage of by others? Of course you have.
Some of you may have been abused by a family member or maybe you were used or stolen from by a so called friend. Maybe you were lied to by someone you love. Everyone has been done wrong by someone; and everyone has done someone else wrong.
Today I want us to look at Joseph… Remember Joseph in the Old Testament? Who can tell me how many brothers Joseph had? Who was his mother and father? Right. He had 11 brothers and Jacob or Israel was his father and Rachael was his mother.
When Joseph was young his father made something for him… Do you remember?
Genesis 37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.
Then Joseph had a dream which seemed to indicate that he would reign and rule over his brothers. He shared it with them and they hated him even more.
Then he dreamed another dream where the sun, moon and 11 stars would bow down to Joseph which they took to mean Josephs mother, father and all his brothers.
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So today we’re talking about how we should respond when people do us wrong. How were Joseph’s brothers about to do him wrong?
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31 Then they took Joseph’s robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.
Josephs brothers presented the bloody robe to Jacob and let him believe a wild animal devoured him.
As a slave in Potiphar’s house… someone did more wrong to Joseph. Does anyone recall what happened? Potiphar’s wife wanted Joseph to lay with him… when he would not she falsely accused him of attempted rape and Joseph was put in prison.
After a bit Joseph interprets two dreams of other prisoners that came true. One was reinstated to serve to Pharaoh and the other was killed. After two more years in prison Joseph interpreted a dream for Pharaoh and was released from prison.
To make a long story short Joseph took them in and moved his father Jacob and all his brothers to Egypt and took care of them all their days.
Genesis 50:19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
How do you act towards those who have done you wrong? Do you dwell on how bad you have it? Does it fill you will bitterness and anger?
Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Matthew 26:67 Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him,
Matthew 27:27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. 28 And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.
But it was not only those at the Cross who did Jesus wrong. You and I… we have chosen our own way over and over.
Jesus was done wrong by those he created… and yet he offers forgiveness… Jesus paid the wages of our sin with his death so we could have new life. And he defeated death so we could be raised with him in justification.
