In the Place of God?

"Joseph Dwelleth in Egypt" by James Tissot

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When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died, ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 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. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them (Genesis 50:15–21).

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

A guilty conscience is a terrible thing to live with. The brothers couldn’t erase the haunting memories of what they had done on that day nearly forty years earlier. They had sold their little brother into slavery! And the justification that it was better than their original plan to kill him didn’t soothe the soul much. Now that their father had died, they realized they were totally at the mercy of the second most powerful man in Egypt (perhaps even the world!) and there was no buffer between them. Would Joseph finally settle accounts with the brothers who had treated him so shamefully?

So, they sent a message to Joseph: “Your father gave this command before he died, ‘Say to Joseph, Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father” (Genesis 50:16-17). Shortly after, the brothers came in person, bowed down before Joseph, and offered to be his slaves.

Joseph wept when he received this message. He wept tears of sadness—sadness over the angst his brothers had been going through unnecessarily for many years. Tears of heartache that they had not believed Joseph when he had reassured them of his forgiveness. Tears of frustration because they mistakenly believed they must purchase his forgiveness, that they failed to accept that forgiveness and mercy are not earned but received graciously. Somehow, after these last seventeen years living as free men in the best land in Egypt, they still didn’t know Joseph well enough to trust his word of forgiveness and love but expected retribution. They thought since they had sold Joseph into slavery, they must now atone for their sinful actions by becoming his slaves.

How could Joseph assure his brothers that they were truly forgiven? How could he help them be free of their guilt? How could he remove the foreboding cloud of fear from their lives?

“Am I in the place of God?” Joseph asked his brothers. The person who takes vengeance tries to play God, and Joseph had no stomach for that. God had highjacked their evil deed and used it to save many people from starvation, including the patriarchal family through whom the promised Messiah would come. Twice Joseph assures his brothers not to be afraid. He had no intention of taking revenge but promised to care for them and their children.

Joseph invited his brothers to see the bigger picture. Even though they had sinned, God was at work here keeping the covenant promises He had made to Abraham and Isaac. He was building a nation. He was preparing a people for the Promised Land. He was preparing a blessing for the peoples of the world. Like his great-grandfather Abraham, Joseph believed these promises an in faith, he was content to wait on God. Because of the joy set before him in these promises, he was willing to suffer harm from his brothers without revenge. Because of the joy set before him, he was willing to forgive and let the promises unfold.

Joseph lived his life fully, joyfully, free from the poison of revenge, trusting God’s promises. His brothers lived little lives, lives filled with jealousy, revenge, guilt, and dread. They constantly worried about how they might pry loose a little happiness for themselves. Joseph invited them to share his joy, to accept forgiveness, to lift their eyes from themselves to their gracious and merciful God.

Joseph's question to his brothers is well worth pondering: “Am I in the place of God?” The answer expected was “Of course not!” Joseph’s meaning was clear. “It is not for me to lord it over you; only God is your master. It is not for me to punish your wrongdoing; vengeance is God’s prerogative—and He forgoes the exercise of His right!” Joseph’s response was indicative of his humility. In no way was he going to usurp the place of God. That would be unthinkable. But viewed ironically, Joseph’s remark gets us right to the heart of the Gospel. In a sense Joseph never intended, he was on this occasion in the place of God.

It is not unusual for Bible interpreters to recognize in Joseph a type of the Messiah who was to come centuries later, to see in Joseph a thrilling (although imperfect) foreshadowing of the Lord Jesus. Some examples?

Joseph was the beloved of his father (Genesis 37:3); Jesus is the Beloved of the Father (Matthew 3:17).

Joseph was hated by his brothers (Genesis 37:4, 5,8); Jesus was hated by His brothers (John 15:25; Luke 19:14).

Joseph’s brothers plotted to kill Joseph (Genesis 37:18-20); Jesus’ own people plotted to kill Him (Matthew 12:14; 26:4).

Joseph was stripped of his coat (Genesis 37:23); Jesus was stripped of His coat and covered with a scarlet robe (Matthew 27:28).

Joseph was sold for the price of redemption of a slave (twenty shekels of silver) (Genesis 37:28); Jesus was sold for thirty pieces of silver (the price of a slave) (Matthew 26:15).

Joseph became a servant (Genesis 39:1); Jesus became a servant (Philippians 2:6-7; Luke 22:27; John 13:1-17).

Joseph was numbered with the transgressors (cupbearer and baker) (Genesis 40:1-3); Jesus was numbered with the transgressors (Isaiah 53:12) as He was crucified with two thieves (Mark 15:28).

Joseph became a savior to all people (Genesis 42:6, 8); Jesus is the Savior of all (John 3:16; Revelation 5:9).

Joseph forgave and became a savior to his brothers (Genesis 45:4-5); Jesus forgave and saved all sinners (Luke 22:34; Matthew 1:21; Acts 5:31).

Joseph comforted those who sinned against him (Genesis 50:21); Jesus comforted the disciples and all who abandoned Him at the cross (John 20:19).

The forgiveness Joseph extends his brothers foreshadows the forgiveness Christ some centuries later was to offer all people—including the very scoundrels who crucified Him. Remember what He said? “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” There too, at the cross, a Father—God the Father, no less (just like father Jacob in our text)--made arrangements beforehand (way back to eternity, in fact) for such forgiveness to take place. There, too, men thought evil against their Brother, the incarnate Jesus. But there, too, God, in the language of our text, “meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive” (Genesis 50:20), to save them not from mere famine but from eternal damnation in hell. Although it was farthest from his mind at the time, Joseph was in the place of God at that—in a good sense of the term.

In the place of God. There is a sense in which this is also true of pastors. God calls pastors to be His spokesmen and ordains them to be His representatives. He wants them to stand in for Him. That’s what the ministry is all about. God carries out His saving work on people through people. Pastors are in the place of God when they preach His Word and pronounce absolution to repentant sinners.

How does Luther’s Small Catechism say it? “I believe that when the called ministers of Christ deal with us by His divine command, in particular when they exclude openly unrepentant sinners from the Christian congregation and absolve those who repent of their sins and want to do better, this is just as valid and certain, even in heaven, as if Christ our dear Lord dealt with us Himself.” Indeed, pastors as they minister to God’s people by Christ’s command are in the place of God.

What comfort this is when Satan, the world, or our own sinful flesh cause us to doubt our identity as God’s children or the forgiveness received in the means of grace administered in the stead and by Christ’s command!

There is still one more sense in which all Christians are in the place of God. Each of us is a “little Christ.” In that respect, too, we stand in the place of God. At least that’s the way God sees it.

When Christ finished His saving work on earth, what did He do? He declared each of us righteous, holy, one hundred percent as righteous as His Son is righteous. And God meant it. He wasn’t fooling. It was not poetic license. It was not hyperbole. He meant it so much, in fact, that you and I are to get into heaven based on God’s declaration that we are little Christs. His saying it’s so made it so. Even though we know better—what with all our sins before us—God chooses not to know better. He lets the dazzling righteousness of His Son so blind Him to our gross imperfections that He looks at us, not as poor, miserable sinners at all but rather as Christ. He calls us too His sons, sons of God. We are indeed little Christs. That’s what grace is all about. And that’s how we stand in the place of God.

But it’s not only God who sees it that way. The curious thing is that He intends people to see it that way, too. So, what does God do? The righteousness God says we have in grace He begins to give us in fact. That is the special work of God the Holy Spirit. He takes the good news about Jesus, the whole saving story, and through it begins to rebuild us, recreate us, refashion us, remake us. Day by day, gradually but persistently, the Holy Spirit restores to us the image of God. Increasingly (despite all too frequent setbacks) we resemble Christ in His goodness. Moment by moment we mirror—only to a degree to be sure, but in ever increasing degree—we mirror the character of Christ. We grow in compassion, in courage, in courtesy, in good humor, in humility, in integrity, in optimism, in service. In short, we begin to become little Christs. Our light, God’s gift to us, shines before men, people see our good works, and glorify our Father in heaven. People look at us—and what do they see? Little Christs! Once again—this time in our everyday relations with other people—we find ourselves in the place of God.

In the exciting awareness of these two good possibilities, as a minister of God and as a new creation of God, you and I can ask with Joseph today, “Am I in the place of God?” and come up with an unexpected positive answer, “Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!

You are baptized into the family of God. Christ’s righteousness is credited to you. He has prepared a place for you in His Kingdom for eternity. Go in the peace of the Lord and serve your neighbor with joy. You are forgiven for all your sins.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.