We Have the Good News of a Savior Who Brings Good From Evil based on Genesis 50:15-21

Let us pray: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.

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

Sadly, there is injustice in our world. Some people are taken advantage of by others. Some evil people thrive in the world, but some Christians are abused by those who hate them. We would like to have everything fair in life, but things in life are not fair all of the time.

The life of Joseph in the Book of Genesis is a good example. When Joseph was young, he was a favorite son of his father, Jacob. Jacob even gave him a special coat. The brothers of Joseph did not like seeing their father give Joseph favoritism. They hated their brother so much that they threw him in a pit and were thinking of leaving him there to die at the age of 17. Then some Ishmaelites came by and they decided to sell Joseph to them. The Ishmaelites took Joseph to Egypt. His brothers then made things look like he had been killed by some wild beast. They gave their father the special coat he had given to Joseph, but now that coat was covered in blood. Joseph knew about injustice.

Today we also think about Jesus and the special way He arrived in Jerusalem. The day referred to as Palm Sunday was a special day for Jesus. John 12:13–15 records, “So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, ' ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!’ And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, ‘Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!’” Many people in the large crowd had seen the miraculous way that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead not long before this. How quickly things changed a few days later for Jesus.

Joseph spent time in prison in Egypt for something he did not do wrong. Potiphar’s wife falsely accused Joseph of wrong and he was sent to prison. While in prison he was well liked by others. He interpreted some dreams for a fellow prisoner who promised to remember Joseph after that prisoner was freed. That freed prisoner forgot about Joseph. Only after the Pharaoh of Egypt had some dreams that no one could interpret did that freed prisoner remember Joseph. The Pharaoh freed Joseph after his dreams were interpreted correctly. Joseph then became the second highest official in all of Egypt. He helped store food for the people for seven years of plenty, so that the people survived the seven years of famine in Egypt. Joseph was reunited with his brothers and their father after the he revealed himself to his brothers who came to Egypt seeking food during the famine.

Joseph had some tough times in life. God was watching over him and blessing him. Joseph was treated unjustly by others. Later in life he rose to be one of the most powerful men in all of Egypt. God blessed him in many ways.

Jesus also had some tough times in life. God the Father was watching over Him. He was treated unjustly by being beaten and made fun of and nailed to a cross. He did not deserve any of that punishment. One of the twelve closest student disciples of Jesus by the name of Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus with a kiss. Jesus knew injustice. Less than a week after Jesus entered Jerusalem on the donkey He had crowds of people in Jerusalem yelling out, “Crucify Him.” We confess about Jesus in the Apostles’ Creed regularly, “(He) suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.” The worst injustice ever was when Jesus was given the death sentence.

Joseph ended up being a blessing to many people. After his father died, Joseph showed kindness to his brothers who were afraid he might get revenge against them. Genesis 50:19–21 tells us, “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.”

As a Lutheran pastor writes, “Jesus brought an even greater blessing to people. Jesus is not looking to get revenge against us for the sins and wrongs we have done that led to His agony on the cross of Calvary. He was completely innocent of any wrongdoing. Jesus is our Savior who brought good from evil. By His innocent suffering and death Jesus brought about our forgiveness and the sure hope of eternal life in heaven.

“From the darkness of Calvary, he brings the light of our salvation. From his death, he brings us life.

“And because that is what our gracious God is like, we know that neither our sins nor the injustices of this world, neither life nor death nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

“Yes, there is good news in this last story of the book of Genesis. From the very beginning—all the way back to the first sin (of Adam and Eve)—God has been dealing with that sin, always through the great event of all history that we’ll hear again this coming week: the death and resurrection of Jesus. That Good News, that Gospel, is really the message of every page of Holy Scripture. In all things, God is working for our good—and with him, there is always more good to come.” Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.