How Is Joseph a Type of Christ? (Genesis 50:20)

Joseph is a type of Christ because key events in his life foreshadow Jesus: he was sent by his father, rejected by his brothers, humiliated, exalted, and then used by God to save many lives. Genesis 50:20 especially points to the pattern of evil intended by men being sovereignly used by God for salvation. Read or listen to this chapter from Enduring Trials God’s Way to see a list of ways Joseph is a type of Jesus.

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When Abraham “sacrificed” Isaac, it was secondarily about an earthly father sacrificing his earthly son. Primarily, it foreshadowed God the Father sacrificing His Son. When Job “saved” his friends, it was secondarily about Job and his friends. Primarily, it foreshadowed Jesus saving His friends. Abraham and Job’s trials were supremely about Jesus. Similarly, our trials are secondarily about us. Supremely, they are about Jesus—His glorification is the primary end intended by the Lord. John 11:3–4 records:

Therefore [Lazarus’s] sisters sent to [Jesus], saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

Joseph’s Trials Were Supremely About Christ

Genesis 37 records Joseph being rejected by his brothers, thrown into a pit, and sold into slavery. Yet verse 2 introduces this family history with the words, “These are the generations of Jacob.”

Why would a chapter about Joseph introduce Jacob’s family history? Joseph’s story belongs to the larger account of Jacob’s family and God’s covenant promises. About twenty-two years after Joseph was sold, Jacob’s household moved to Egypt. God preserved the family from which the tribes of Israel would grow and through which, in Judah’s line, the Savior would come.

Joseph serves as a type and shadow of our Savior. The comparisons below trace a pattern of rejection, suffering, exaltation, and the preservation of life. Some are closer parallels than others. They do not mean Joseph was sinless or that every detail of his life was a separate prediction about Jesus. The central point is that God used Joseph’s suffering for a saving purpose that points us to Christ.

Joseph and Jesus Were Sent by Their Fathers

Then [Joseph’s] brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. And [Jacob] said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.”
So he said to him, “Here I am.”
Then he said to him, ‘Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.’ So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.”

Genesis 37:12–14

Jacob sent Joseph to his brethren, like Jesus’ Father sent Him to His brethren, the Jews. In Matthew 15:24, Jesus said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Joseph and Jesus Sought Their Brethren

Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?”
So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.”
And the man said, “They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.'” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.
Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him.

Genesis 37:15–18

Notice the repetition of “seeking.” Joseph was seeking his lost brethren, revealing the heart of Christ in seeking His lost brethren:

• Luke 15:4—“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?”
• Luke 19:10—“The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Joseph and Jesus’ Brothers Rejected Them and Plotted Their Deaths

Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”

Genesis 37:19–20

When Joseph came to his brothers, they would not accept him, and when Jesus came to His brethren, they would not accept Him. John 1:11 says, “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.”

It is hard to put into words the wickedness of Joseph’s brothers plotting his death, but even these dark verses beautifully reveal Jesus. John 11:53 says, “Then, from that day on, they plotted to put [Jesus] to death.”

Reuben Tried to Deliver Joseph, Like Pilate Tried to Deliver Jesus

But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.”
And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father.

Genesis 37:21–22

Reuben, Jacob’s oldest son, tried to rescue Joseph and return him to his father (Genesis 37:21–22). Pilate was the Roman governor, not a Jewish religious leader. He questioned the demand for Jesus’s execution: “Why? What evil has he done?” (Matthew 27:23, ESV). The comparison has a limit: Pilate ultimately authorized Jesus’s crucifixion.

Joseph and Jesus Were Stripped of Their Tunics

So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him.

Genesis 37:23

Joseph was stripped of his tunic, like Jesus was stripped of His: “Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments…and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece” (John 19:23).

Joseph and Jesus Found Themselves in the Pit

Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.

Genesis 37:24

Joseph’s brothers cast him into an empty pit. Reuben intended to return and rescue him (Genesis 37:22–24). Because biblical poetry can use the pit as an image of death, I see this scene as a picture of Christ’s death and burial. Joseph, however, did not actually die in the pit.

Joseph and Jesus’ Brethren Were Indifferent Toward Their Suffering

And they sat down to eat a meal.

Genesis 37:25a

Joseph’s brothers sat down to eat while he was in the pit. Their callousness resembles the contempt shown toward Jesus on the cross. Matthew 27:41 describes the chief priests, scribes, and elders mocking Him.

Joseph’s Rescue Pictures Jesus’s Resurrection

Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. So Judah said to his brothers, ‘What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.’ And his brothers listened. Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit.”

Genesis 37:25b–28a

Judah proposed selling Joseph rather than killing him, and Joseph was lifted out of the pit. I use “resurrection” here figuratively: Joseph escaped death, while Jesus truly died and rose. The resurrection promise in Psalm 16:10 was spoken by David and applied to Christ by Peter and Paul (Acts 2:25–32; Acts 13:35–37). It is not a recorded saying of Jesus using the words “My soul in the pit.”

Joseph Was Sold and Jesus Was Betrayed for Silver

…and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver.

Genesis 37:28b

Joseph was sold for twenty shekels of silver (Genesis 37:28), while Judas agreed to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:15). The amounts are different. Exodus 21:32 specifies thirty shekels as compensation when an ox kills a slave; it does not establish one purchase price for every slave. The comparison emphasizes betrayal for money and the humiliation of the one rejected.

Joseph and Jesus Were Taken to Egypt

And they took Joseph to Egypt.

Genesis 37:28c

Jesus was also taken to Egypt, but under different circumstances: Joseph, His earthly guardian, took Him and Mary there to escape Herod (Matthew 2:13–14). The Genesis Joseph went as a slave; Jesus went as a child seeking refuge with His family. God nevertheless used both journeys in preserving the line and life through which His saving purposes would unfold.

Joseph and Jesus Were Separated from Their Brethren

Joseph is another example of God blessing after perseverance through trial. He was seventeen when the Genesis 37 account began and about thirty-nine when he revealed himself to his brothers—roughly twenty-two years later.¹ I see his later reconciliation with his brothers as a picture of Israel’s future recognition of Christ. This does not mean no Jewish people have believed in Jesus during the intervening centuries; the apostles and many early believers were Jewish.

Joseph and Jesus Were Filled with the Spirit

Pharaoh said to his servants, ‘Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?”

Genesis 41:38

The way Pharaoh spoke of Joseph looks forward to, “Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 4:1).

Joseph and Christ Were Exalted Rulers

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “There is no one as discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”

Genesis 41:39–40

While Joseph and his brothers were apart, several things took place. Joseph went from being the lowly, rejected brother to the revered ruler.

Joseph was over everyone and everything except Pharaoh, like Jesus is over everyone and everything except God the Father. First Corinthians 15:27 says, “‘[the Father] has put all things under [Jesus’] feet.’ But when [the Father] says ‘all things are put under Him,’ it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted.”

Joseph’s Honor Points to Christ’s Greater Exaltation

Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him, ‘Bow the knee!’ So he set him over all the land of Egypt.

Genesis 41:42–43

Pharaoh publicly honored Joseph and placed him over Egypt. Christ’s exaltation is greater: Philippians 2:9–11 looks ahead to every knee bowing and every tongue confessing Jesus as Lord. Joseph’s brothers could not have imagined the authority he would later receive. Their rejected brother became their ruler and provider, a pattern that directs our attention to the rejected and exalted Christ.

People Look to Joseph and Christ to Be Saved

So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, ‘Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, do.”

Genesis 41:55

The Egyptians were hungry, and Pharaoh directed them to Joseph for grain. God used Joseph to preserve physical life. By contrast, the invitation to turn to God for salvation in Isaiah 45:22 belongs to the Lord; Joseph is never recorded as saying it. The greater salvation to which this comparison points is the eternal life Jesus gives.

Joseph and Christ Offer the “Bread of Life”

There was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe…Joseph gathered up all the money…in Egypt and Canaan, for the grain.
All the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, ‘Give us bread, for why should we die?’
Joseph said, ‘Give your livestock, and I will give you bread for your livestock if the money is gone.’ They brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread…Thus he fed them with bread.
They came to him the next year and said…‘There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands. Why should we die before your eyes? Buy us and our land… for bread…that we may live and not die.’”

Genesis 47:13–19

The repeated requests for bread in Genesis 47:13–19 show the urgency of the famine. Joseph’s provision genuinely preserved lives, and that mattered to God. Yet physical food could not overcome death forever. This is where the comparison points beyond Joseph: Jesus gives the eternal life that no earthly food can provide.

Jesus says, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35, ESV). In verse 51, He connects the living bread with the life He gives for the world. Joseph sustained people during a famine; Jesus gives those who come to Him eternal life:

“Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”
Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”
Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

John 6:27-29

Joseph gave the Egyptians bread in exchange for money, livestock, and even their bodies. They sacrificed everything (they did “labor”) for bread that perished. Jesus freely offers eternal life. He said the “work of God” is believing in the Son.

The Greatest Act of Evil God Meant for Good

Genesis 41:56–57 describes the famine’s wide reach and people coming to Egypt to buy grain. God used Joseph to preserve many lives. Joseph could later recognize God’s good purpose in suffering that had seemed devastating. After Jacob’s death, he reassured his fearful brothers:

“you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good”

Genesis 50:20, ESV

Joseph explained that God used his brothers’ evil actions to keep many people alive. The pattern points us to a greater good accomplished through Christ’s suffering. Jesus’s crucifixion was evil on the part of those who carried it out, yet God used it in His saving purpose (Acts 2:23–24). Joseph preserved people through a famine; Jesus provides salvation from sin and death. The good accomplished through Joseph is real, but the salvation accomplished by Christ is greater.

Whether Joseph understood it, everything that happened to him was only secondarily about him. Supremely, it was about Jesus. In the same way, whether we understand it, everything that happens to us is only secondarily about us. Supremely, it is about Jesus. Perhaps we will be able to look back as Joseph did and see the good God brought from our trials—if not on this side of heaven, then in the next life.

Walking by Faith

Hebrews 11:1 describes faith in relation to what we hope for and cannot yet see. Joseph lived before Moses and did not have the completed Scriptures we have today, but he belonged to the family that had received God’s promises. Hebrews 11:22 commends his faith: near the end of his life, he looked ahead to Israel’s departure from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones. He trusted God beyond what he could see in his own lifetime.

We, on the other hand, have the entirety of God’s Word available to us. Even if we do not understand what God is doing, we can walk by faith as we lean on these truths:

• A spiritual, eternal perspective allows trials to be viewed with joy (James 1:2, 1 Peter 1:6).
• Trials test our faith and prove the genuineness of it (1 Peter 1:7).
• Trials produce patience which produces maturity (James 1:3–4).
• There is blessing for enduring trials, whether in this life or the next (James 1:12, 5:11).
• There is an end intended by the Lord—He works all things together for good (James 5:11, Romans 8:28).
• During trials God is still being very compassionate and merciful (James 5:11).
• Jesus, the bread from heaven, gives us eternal life (John 6:32, 47).

Our suffering is not meaningless. God loves us. He is for us. He works in our best interests. When we become discouraged during trials, these are the truths we need to remember.

Discussion Questions

1. How is Joseph a type of Christ in any other ways?
2. How does Joseph’s life exalt Christ?
3. What other examples in Scripture can you think of individuals suffering which brought forth good?
4. In what ways is Jesus the Bread of Life? Why did He use this title for Himself?

Footnotes

1. Joseph was seventeen in Genesis 37:2 and thirty when he entered Pharaoh’s service (Genesis 41:46). Seven years of plenty followed. When he revealed himself to his brothers, two years of famine had passed and five remained (Genesis 45:6, 11): 30 + 7 + 2 = about 39.