Joseph as a Type of Christ in Genesis 40
Tuesday March 6, 2007
Genesis: Joseph as a Type of Christ in Genesis 40
Lesson # 291
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 5:1.
This evening we will temporarily suspend our studies of Genesis 45 in order to study the various ways that Joseph typifies the Lord Jesus Christ in Genesis 40-45.
Before we complete our study of Genesis 45, I thought it would be instructive to study the various ways in which Joseph is a type of Christ in Genesis 40-45.
In the past, we have noted the various ways that Joseph typifies our Lord in Genesis 37 and 39.
This evening we will look at the various ways that Joseph typifies our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in Genesis 40.
In our classes this week we will look at the ways that Joseph typifies our Lord in Genesis 41-45.
In this study, we will see that many of the events that took place in Joseph’s life that we studied in Genesis 40-45 “foreshadow” or “parallel” the events that took place in the life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
“Typology” is from the Greek word for form or pattern, which is tupos (tuvpo$) and in biblical times denoted both the original model or prototype and the copy that resulted.
Biblical typology involves an analogical correspondence in which earlier events, persons, and places in salvation history become patterns by which later events and the like are interpreted.
A type is a specific parallel between two historical entities.
An example of a type is found in Romans 5.
Romans 5:1-2, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”
Romans 5:3-5, “And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
Romans 5:6, “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”
Romans 5:7, “For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.”
Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:9, “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”
Romans 5:10, “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”
Romans 5:11, “And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.”
Romans 5:12-13, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.”
Romans 5:14, “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.”
The Lord Jesus Christ employed typology in His teaching about Himself.
For example, in John 6, the Lord compared His humanity to the manna that was given to Israel, which typified His human nature that would provide for spiritual nourishment.
John 6:31, “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘HE GAVE THEM BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN TO EAT.’”
John 6:32, “Jesus then said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.’”
John 6:48, “I am the bread of life.”
John 6:49, “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.”
John 6:50, “This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.”
John 6:51, “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”
A type is designed to teach us a lesson about the Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, we will see in this evening’s study that the historical personage of Joseph “parallels” the historical personage of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Also, many of the historical events in the life of Joseph that are recorded in Genesis 40-45 “parallel” many of the historical events in the life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The fact that the events in the life of Joseph that are recorded in Genesis 40-45 typify many of the events in the life of Christ and that Joseph himself is a type of Christ does “not” mean that Joseph is equal to the Lord but rather that Joseph and the events in his life foreshadow the Lord and the events in His life.
No other character in the Bible foreshadowed the Lord Jesus Christ more than Joseph.
In Joseph we see the Lord Jesus as the Preserver, Provider and Savior.
Of the seven great figures in the book of Genesis whose biographies we have studied, Adam, Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, Joseph’s story is the longest.
Genesis 40:1, “Then it came about after these things, the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt.”
Genesis 40:2, “Pharaoh was furious with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker.”
Genesis 40:3, “So he put them in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, in the jail, the same place where Joseph was imprisoned.”
The fact that Joseph was imprisoned with Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker who were guilty of not fulfilling their duties to Pharaoh typifies the Lord Jesus Christ who was numbered with the transgressors on the Cross.
Just as there were two criminals crucified with our Lord so two malefactors were imprisoned with Joseph.
Matthew 27:38, “At that time two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left.”
Genesis 40:4, “The captain of the bodyguard put Joseph in charge of them, and he took care of them; and they were in confinement for some time.”
Genesis 40:5, “Then the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, who were confined in jail, both had a dream the same night, each man with his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation.”
Genesis 40:6, “When Joseph came to them in the morning and observed them, behold, they were dejected.”
Genesis 40:7, “He asked Pharaoh's officials who were with him in confinement in his master's house, ‘Why are your faces so sad today?’”
Genesis 40:8, “Then they said to him, ‘We have had a dream and there is no one to interpret it.’ Then Joseph said to them, ‘Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell it to me, please.’”
Genesis 40:9-10, “So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, ‘In my dream, behold, there was a vine in front of me; and on the vine were three branches. And as it was budding, its blossoms came out, and its clusters produced ripe grapes.’”
Genesis 40:11, “Now Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; so I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh's hand.”
Genesis 40:12-13, “Then Joseph said to him, ‘This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days; within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you will put Pharaoh's cup into his hand according to your former custom when you were his cupbearer.’”
Genesis 40:14, “Only keep me in mind when it goes well with you, and please do me a kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh and get me out of this house.”
Genesis 40:15, “For I was in fact kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing that they should have put me into the dungeon.”
Genesis 40:16-17, “When the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, he said to Joseph, "I also saw in my dream, and behold, there were three baskets of white bread on my head; and in the top basket there were some of all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”
Genesis 40:18-19, “Then Joseph answered and said, ‘This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days; within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.’”
Joseph typifies the Lord Jesus Christ in that just as the Lord Jesus was the means of blessing to one criminal but pronounced judgment on the other so Joseph pronounced a blessing on the cupbearer and judgment on the baker.
Luke 23:39, “One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, ‘Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!’”
Luke 23:40, “But the other answered, and rebuking him said, ‘Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?’”
Luke 23:41, “And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”
Luke 23:42, “And he was saying, ‘Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!’”
Luke 23:43, “And He said to him, ‘Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.’”
Also in this encounter with Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker, Joseph typifies the Lord in that like the Lord, the Father gave him knowledge of the future.
John 12:49, “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.”
Genesis 40:20, “Thus it came about on the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants.”
Genesis 40:21-22, “He restored the chief cupbearer to his office, and he put the cup into Pharaoh's hand; but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted to them.”
Genesis 40:23, “Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.”
The fact that the cupbearer was restored by Pharaoh and the baker executed just as Joseph predicted typifies the Lord Jesus Christ whose every word will come to pass.
Mark 13:31, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”
Joseph’s desire to be remembered by the cupbearer typifies our Lord’s desire to be remembered through the ritual of the communion service.
Luke 22:19, “And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’”