Have you ever been punished for something you didn't do?
Have you ever been punished for something you didn’t do? Has your character ever been dragged through the mud while you were in fact trying to do the right thing? It has happened to me, and I can tell you it’s incredibly painful.
Joseph knew that feeling all too well. In Genesis 39 we read how he ends up in prison for something he did not do.
While in prison, Joseph meets two other prisoners, the Pharaoh’s baker and his cupbearer. Both have offended Pharaoh and were in prison to pay for their crimes (Genesis 40:1-2).
Both of Joseph’s fellow prisoners have dreams that Joseph can explain. The cupbearer’s dream means that he will be reinstated in three days, whereas the baker’s dream warns that Pharaoh will impale him in three days. Both dreams come to pass exactly as Joseph predicted (Genesis 40).
This entire course of events points to Jesus, who, like Joseph, was innocently punished and encountered two criminals while being sentenced.
Jesus was crucified between two criminals on either side of Him on the cross. One insulted Jesus, whereas the other one asked for His mercy. Just as Joseph with the baker and the cupbearer, Jesus announced that one criminal would be saved, but the other condemned (Luke 23:39-43).
Many years after his encounter with the baker and cupbearer, Joseph was given the chance to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, which ultimately led to his release from prison. His explanation was so accurate that Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah, which means ‘God Speaks’ (Genesis 41). Loosely translated, that means ‘the Word of God’, you know who else was called the Word? That’s right: Jesus (John 1:1)!
All these parallels remind us that Jesus’ death was not random. His entire life was foretold through stories, passed down from generation to generation.
If that’s not a chamatkar, I don’t know what is!
