thought i'm working on-

"come close to me."


that’s what joseph says to his brothers in genesis 45.
what a surprise, considering all that they did to him.


the story goes that joseph’s father had12 sons, but joseph was his favorite. the other eleven were jealous, so they attacked him and sold him into slavery, and initiated a series of painful events for joseph. as a slave, he was falsely accused, and put into prison for years.


by the time we get to genesis 45, the tables have turned. at this point joseph is the second most powerful man in the world, and his brothers are in need of food from him. when they were reunited, he recognized them, but they didn’t recognize him. he probably looked more like king tut than their long lost brother.


as the second most powerful man in the world, joseph had the power and the right to let his brothers starve. he could have rejected them, or had them killed on the spot-
if he didn’t love them so much.
when he was reunited with them, he could have looked on them with hate, but instead, his eyes were filled with tears. he could have had them sent away, but instead, he invited them to come near.
he welcomed them saying, “come close to me…I am your brother joseph, the one you sold into egypt!”


there has been a lot of talk over the years suggesting that joseph is some sort of prequel to jesus.
after all, both guys were betrayed and punished for crimes they did not commit. both jesus and joseph emerged from those betrayals in positions of authority; and both chose to forgive.


if joseph is the preview to jesus, then the brothers in the story,
are you and i.
we have betrayed jesus with our crimes against Him-
and now He is in a position where He has all the power and all the authority.
there are times when we are estranged from jesus and then are reunited.
just like joseph, He has the right and power to reject us or ruin us.
just like joseph, he could have us killed, and probably would-
if He didn’t love us so much.
jesus has every right to look at us with hate, but instead, His eyes are filled with tears.


how does jesus react to our betrayals and failures?
what does jesus say to us when are approach Him
after being estranged from Him for so long?


“come close to me…”


don’t run away, draw near.