The Lord Jesus, our Good Shepherd, has infinite power to create, uphold, and sustain the entire universe.
Yet He was meek and lowly, and only occasionally did He disclose his absolute power, when He healed the sick, raised the dead, and calmed the stormy sea.
He is the mighty Savior of all His poor people who trust in Him, and His power is deployed so that He will not lose a single one of us!
But Christ identifies with His people, and is not ashamed to call us His brethren!
This is in sharp contrast with other great and powerful persons. They are quick to display their power to the world, even when they prove ineffective to save their people.
Often, Joseph is compared to the Lord Jesus. Like Christ, he was beloved by his father, hated by His brethren, betrayed to the pagan hosts, cruelly degraded and mistreated. Like Christ, Joseph wrought a great rescue and saved many lives. In the end, Joseph was revealed to his brethren and they were reconciled.
The martyr Stephen cited Joseph as an example of how Israel repeatedly mistreated and rejected the men God sent to rescue His people.
But there are also profound differences between Christ and Joseph.
Joseph's saving work was only temporary, but Christ's is everlasting!
Joseph never died to save his people, but our Lord Jesus went to the cross and died to save us!
Many fail to notice the difference in the relationships of Joseph and his father Jacob, and of Christ and God His Father.
Jacob had no idea of Joseph's great saving work, and did not plan it, and never sent Joseph to perform it.
But God the Father planned Christ's saving work, and sent Him to this world to carry it out! |
