Appeal to the Love of the Father's Son

When the brothers of Joseph saw that their father was dead, they said, What if Joseph hates us and certainly returns to us all the evil we dealt to him (v 15).

Why do we do this to ourselves?

For decades, the sons of Israel had lived with a terrible secret, harboring unforgiveness and unrepentance. They had betrayed their brother Joseph. ... They had plotted his murder. ... They had stripped him of his robe of righteousness. ... They had cast him into a waterless pit. ... Then, after discovering that Joseph had been enslaved, they covered up all their transgression, iniquity, and sin by leading their father to believe that Joseph had been killed by wild animals. They had become liars, betrayers, slanderers, gossipers, and as Saint John tells us, murderers, because he who hates his brother is a murderer (1 Jn 3:15).

And they tried to convince themselves that living in sin was a good thing. They told themselves that Joseph was arrogant: He’s a little dreamer, they said (Gen 37:19). They told themselves he was a daddy’s boy, and they were jealous about it (37:3, 11). They thought Joseph was cocky (37:5, 8). His brothers came to hate him so much, they were ready ... not only to let Joseph die ... but actually to kill him (37:18).

Only Reuben and Judah had second thoughts, not that second thoughts were signs of repentance. Reuben did at least talk the brothers out of actually killing Joseph. Judah convinced them it might be better to sell Joseph into slavery for 20 pieces of silver instead.

Yes, they thought, their brother had finally gotten his comeuppance ... even as they enjoyed a feast (37:25).

5. What they hadn’t counted on was the depth of their father’s anguish over the loss of his beloved son, the son of his old age (37:34).

Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and refused to be comforted. His love for all his sons was too great. It was one thing to hurt their father’s favorite son. It was quite another to see their father lost in sorrow. Now their hearts were torn, too. But still no one dared breathe a word of the rest of the story ... how they plotted his demise ... how they tried to cover it all up by dipping his robe in blood.

Ya gotta think they thought that perhaps time would heal the sorrow and give them relief.

But, of course, time didn’t.

Time never really does, does it?

4. Still, Joseph’s brothers appealed to time and their own self importance.

This would be why they hid their sin and refused to confess their sin. Although Joseph would show them forgiveness on multiple occasions before our reading even begins ... even welcoming them to a feast of forgiveness ... literally setting them up with choice land during a great famine ... Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulan; Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher never forgot what they did. And they kept their sin silent.

Then the great famine happened, forcing the brothers to go to Egypt to buy food for their starving families ... and ultimately to confront the truth that Joseph was not only alive, but Joseph had the authority of Pharaoh himself.

Joseph didn’t reveal himself to his brothers right away. He looked like an Egyptian. He walked like an Egyptian. He talked like an Egyptian. But he remembered them.

He remembered what they did. And despite what they had done, Joseph loved his brothers.

So he tested them. First, Joseph had Simeon thrown in jail. Then he loaded the pack animals of his brothers with treasure to see what they would do with it. Finally, he forced the rest of the brothers to bring the youngest brother Benjamin to Egypt. But he also fed them, and nourished them, protecting them ... as always in remembrance.

When he did finally get to see Benjamin, the flood of emotion was too much. Through his tears he proclaimed, I am your brother Joseph!

Stunned, his brothers were not able to answer him because they were dismayed in his presence (Gen 45:3). The years of silent collusion, the years of gossip and deceit, the years of ignoring their own sin, rebellion, perversity, and lack of justice ... the years of living without repentance, living with no forgiveness ... it was all undone.

Before they could even confess one word, Joseph said to them, Now do not be grieved or incensed with yourselves because you sold me here. God sent me to preserve your life before you. ... It was not you who sent me here, but God (45:5, 8).

3. [What is Confession?]

Please now turn to page 326 in your service book and join me in confessing our faithful doctrine on confession and absolution. ... What is confession? ... What sins should we confess? ... Which are these? ...

2. Now ask yourselves: How long have you appealed to your own goodness?

How long have you kept sin to yourself? You don’t really think it will go away, do you?

How many more times must you be reminded of a sin before you confess it? Your jealousy? Your pride? Your deceit? Your hate? Your gossip? Your lust for something that isn’t yours?

The devil has a way of using our sin to keep us in fear and guilt. The devil does not want us to receive the full and free forgiveness that Christ offers us. He doesn’t want us to believe that the Word of the called ministers of Christ is just as valid and certain as if it were from our dear Lord himself.

He certainly did this to the brothers of Joseph. As our reading today begins, When the brothers of Joseph saw that their father was dead, they said, What if Joseph hates us and certainly returns to us all the evil we did to him (v 15).

The devil works diligently to make us doubt that our appeal will be heard ... that the forgiveness announced on account of the blood of Christ is real. The devil creates the same fear within us that Joseph’s brothers had. Satan wants us to believe that God is out to get us, to kill us, and to make us pay for what we have done. The devil wants us right where Joseph’s brothers are in our text: filled with fear, not knowing where to turn, and scrambling to protect ourselves.

For the love of God in Christ, repent every one of you.

In our confessions, Luther urges us to treasure this office of the Law and the Gospel. We need to hear something like this: That you are of no account, whether you are obvious sinners or saints (in your own opinion). But you have to become different from what you are now.

And you can because of baptism, the baptism God pours out upon you, the baptism that makes you holy just as he is holy ... so that you can join the feast of forgiveness, just like the sons of Israel, who because of Joseph, were given rich land in Goshen, where they were nurtured daily until ultimately they were delivered from bondage and given life in the Promised Land.

1. We should highly prize this absolution as being God’s voice, remembering that he hears our appeal for forgiveness that came with a price and will sustain you by his means.

Like Joseph in our Old Testament reading ... God does NOT deal with us according to our sins, but according to HIS GRACE (Ps 103:10). He gave his beloved son to shed his blood and die for you. Our Lord Jesus, the beloved son of the Father, has taken all of your evil upon himself ... all of your sins, transgressions, and iniquities ... all of your hate for your brother ... not because of your love for God, but because of God’s love for you. He gives even when you don’t want it. He was pierced for your [rebellion] and crushed for our [immorality]. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace ... which is the forgiveness of sins ... and with his wounds we are healed and given eternal life. Through his death and resurrection, God has redeemed you in Christ ... just like he did for Joseph, raising him from death in the pit. ... And just like he did for the sons of Israel through Joseph ... he will raise you into the promised land.

So, as Joseph told his brothers ... Do not fear ... [Though[ you devised evil against me, God devised [it] for good for the purpose of making this day [one] for sustaining the life of many people. Do not fear. I will sustain you and your children. [In this way] he comforted them and spoke to their hearts (vv 19-21).

Brothers and sisters in Christ, God is still sustaining you. He does this through His Word and Sacraments. He is always calling, always gathering, always enlightening us through his means of grace. Even when you fear, he forgives. He always remembers us. He continues to comfort us through his incredible Good News. He continues to remind us that we have been united with Christ in his crucifixion and resurrection.

On account of this Word of God and his means of grace, we can now ...