Genesis 45:3-11, Genesis 45:15, Psalm 37:1-11, Psalm 37:39-40, 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 1 Corinthians 15:42-50, Luke 6:27-38.
A). GOD SENT ME HERE.
Genesis 45:3-11, Genesis 45:15.
The Old Testament Joseph is very much a Type of Christ. Favoured by his father (cf. Genesis 37:3), Joseph was sold by his brethren for twenty pieces of silver (Genesis 37:28). Favoured by His Father (Luke 3:22), Jesus ‘came unto His own, and His own (people) received Him not’ (John 1:11), and He was betrayed for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:15).
Joseph went from his father’s favour, to the pit, and into slavery. In Potiphar’s house, he went from his master’s favour to false accusation to prison. In prison, Joseph went from the warder’s favour, to the forgetfulness of his surviving former cell-mate: but at last the LORD intervened, and Joseph was raised from prison to the position of Prime Minister of the land!
In the passage before us, we see Joseph’s brethren on their second visit to Egypt. They were totally unaware that the powerful man who had been toying with them, seemingly seeking occasion against them, was their despised brother of so long ago. Neither were they aware that he understood every word they were saying.
For Joseph, it finally became too much. “I am Joseph!” he declared. And, following that revelation, the first item on the agenda: “Does my father still live?” (Genesis 45:3). To which the reply was gobsmacked silence!
The powerful man in Egyptian regalia again spoke to his brothers: “Please come near to me” (which they did). “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt” (Genesis 45:4).
Is Joseph now beginning to accuse them, after all these years? No, he encourages them not to be angry with themselves, and three times informs them that “God sent me” here “to preserve life” (Genesis 45:5); “to preserve a posterity for you… and to save your lives by a great deliverance” (Genesis 45:7); “not you sent me here, but God” (Genesis 45:8).
Jesus said, ‘I go to prepare a place for you… that where I am there you may be also’ (John 14:2-3). In like manner, Joseph had sent word to his father, speaking of all his glory in Egypt, and providing for all his father’s posterity in the best part of the land (Genesis 45:9-11).
The likeness to Jesus continues. Given up for dead, Joseph proved to be yet alive (Genesis 45:12). And the grave could not hold Jesus!
Jesus said, in effect: ‘Love your haters, do good to those hostile to you’ (Luke 6:27). It is the kind of Love which God demonstrated when He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16), loving US even while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8). It is the kind of Love which Jesus demonstrated when He forgave Peter (Mark 16:7).
Jesus also said, ‘Be merciful, as your Father also is merciful’ (Luke 6:36). This seems to be what Joseph accomplished here. Joseph “kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him” (Genesis 45:15).
The whole Joseph cycle shows us the outworking of God’s providence in the life of His servant. Years later, Joseph would reiterate: ‘you meant evil against me: but God meant it for good’ - not only for His own family, but also in sparing ‘much people alive’ Genesis 50:20). All things DO work together for good for those who love the Lord (Romans 8:28).
B). FROM FRETTING TO TRUST.
Psalm 37:1-11, Psalm 37:39-40.
PSALM 37:1. Somebody is in trouble, fretting because of the unfairness of life: but the pastor’s responsibility is not to burden the poor soul with a ‘snap out of it’ sort of approach, which often only leads to further despair; but rather to present positive encouragements to counter the negative mindset. Despite David’s use of imperatives, this passage is not so much crisp commands (‘Do this, that and the other’) as a gentle pastoral exhortation; not so much a thrice repeated ‘law’ against fretting (Psalm 37:1; Psalm 37:7; Psalm 37:8) as a call to “rest in the LORD,” patiently waiting for Him (Psalm 37:7).
PSALM 37:2. Why trouble ourselves about people who are described in the Bible as ‘like the chaff, which the wind drives away’ (Psalm 1:4), whose ‘way shall perish’ (Psalm 1:6); who shall be “cut off,” here today, and tomorrow gone (Psalm 37:9-10); whose supposed good fortunes are but ‘slippery places’ which end in ‘destruction’ and ‘desolation,’ and the ultimate ‘terror’ of being ‘despised’ by God (Psalm 73:17-20)? The positive counterpunch to such desperate despair is: ‘Let not your heart envy sinners; but be thou in the fear of the LORD all day long’ (Proverbs 23:17).
PSALM 37:3. “Trust in the LORD.” Why? Because faith cures fretting. Worried thoughts in the night are soon dispelled if we turn to unselfish prayer. “Do good,” because ‘faith without works is dead’ (James 2:26). In the Lord, our labour shall not be in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). “So shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.” We who have believed have entered into the land of rest (Hebrews 4:3), and are shepherded by the Good Shepherd. Our temporal needs are met (Matthew 6:31-33), but also, we are fed on the Word of God.
PSALM 37:4. Fretting fades into oblivion when we delight ourselves in the LORD. An example of delighting in the LORD is illustrated in Song of Solomon 2:3 - ‘I sat down under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste.’ When our wills are submitted to His will, we can ask what we will, and we will receive it (John 15:7; John 15:16; 1 John 5:14-15).
PSALM 37:5. This is what it means to be ‘casting all your care upon Him; for He cares for you’ (1 Peter 5:7). Commitment casts away fretting, submits our wills to His will, and trusts His judgment. There is a gentle serenity in trusting Him, waiting patiently for the outcome.
PSALM 37:6. ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’ (Romans 4:3). ‘Our’ “righteousness” is the righteousness of Christ imputed to us (Romans 4:23-24). There is an eschatological hope here, expressed by Jesus: ‘Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father’ (Matthew 13:43). And then shall every man have his commendation from God (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:5).
PSALM 37:7. We are encouraged to “Rest in the LORD,” rather than “fretting” about those who seem to prosper by “wicked devices.” Asaph momentarily found himself fretting when he ‘saw the prosperity of the wicked’ (Psalm 73:2-3). “Rest” is the posture of the Christian. This calls for patience: “wait patiently for Him.” James points us to ‘the patience of Job’ (James 5:11).
PSALM 37:8. “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath.” Whoever is slow to anger is of great understanding (cf. Proverbs 14:29). For the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God (James 1:20). “Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.” Inward bitterness can be just as evil as outward sin.
PSALM 37:9. The dichotomy between the ‘ungodly’ and the ‘righteous’ is a theme in the book of Psalms. ‘The ungodly shall not stand’ (Psalm 1:5) and ‘the way of the ungodly shall perish’ (Psalm 1:6) appears here as “evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.” Patient faith reaps an eternal reward.
PSALM 37:10. The wicked are here today, but tomorrow gone (cf. Psalm 37:35-36; Psalm 73:18-20).
PSALM 37:11. “The meek shall inherit the earth.” Jesus reiterates: ‘Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth’ (Matthew 5:5). A present enjoyment of covenant blessings anticipates the inheritance which lies ahead for the people of God. The lovers of peace “shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace” which is to come (cf. Psalm 72:7). Those whose mind is ‘stayed on Jesus,’ who trust in God, shall be ‘kept in perfect peace’ by God (Isaiah 26:3). This is the ‘peace of God which passes understanding’ (Philippians 4:7; cf. John 14:27).
PSALM 37:39-40. “The salvation of the righteous is of the LORD.” It is He who has washed us of our sins, and made us ‘righteous’ in Christ Jesus. He who has begun a good work in us will complete it (Philippians 1:6). He will finally ‘deliver us from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God’ (Romans 8:21). He helps us, and delivers us; and saves us, “because we trust in Him.” ‘Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him’ (Psalm 2:12).
C). THE NATURE OF THE RESURRECTION BODY.
1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 1 Corinthians 15:42-50.
We can imagine one of Paul’s hecklers in Corinth posing the question, “How are the dead raised? And with what body do they come?” (1 Corinthians 15:35). This does not sound like an enquiry of faith, but rather one of derision.
Paul’s response cuts right to the mocking source of the doubt: “Fool!” (1 Corinthians 15:36). Jesus’ response to ‘the Sadducees, ‘who say there is no resurrection’ (Matthew 22:23) was just as sharp: ‘Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God!’ (Matthew 22:29).
Paul draws an analogy from nature: “That which you sow is not made alive unless it dies” (1 Corinthians 15:36). Jesus used the same illustration: ‘Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone: but if it dies it brings forth much fruit” (John 12:24). In the context there, this refers to both the necessity of His death upon the Cross in order to bear fruit for our salvation; and our own need to die to self and live for Him (John 12:23-25).
Paul continues his analogy: “And that which you sow is not the body which shall be, but a bare grain…, and God gives it a body according as He willed, and to each of the seeds its own body” (1 Corinthians 15:37-38). There is continuity in nature, but also discontinuity. The seed is not the plant, and the plant is not the seed; but the seed comes from the plant, and the plant also comes from the seed (Genesis 1:11-12).
“So also is the resurrection of the dead,” Paul explains. “It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruptibility (1 Corinthians 15:42). The whole creation is awaiting deliverance ‘from the bondage of corruption’ (Romans 8:21). And we also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan within ourselves, waiting for ‘the redemption of the body’ (Romans 8:23). The words “corruptible” and “incorruptibility” also occur several times towards the end of today’s chapter (1 Corinthians 15:50; 1 Corinthians 15:52-54).
The Apostle continues, “It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:43-44).
Paul then returns to the analogy of Adam and Christ, already mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 (cf. Romans 5:12-21). The Apostle notices, as he develops his argument, that “the spiritual did not come first, but the natural, then the spiritual” (1 Corinthians 15:46).
“The first man Adam became a living soul” (1 Corinthians 15:45a). “The first man was made out of the dust of the earth” (1 Corinthians 15:47a). There is a reference to Genesis 2:7 here: ‘And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.’ This very earthiness is shared by all of Adam’s race (1 Corinthians 15:48a; 1 Corinthians 15:49a).
“The last Adam” (Jesus) is referred to as “a life-giving spirit” (1 Corinthians 15:45b). Jesus said, 'It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing' (John 6:63). That is why ‘you must be born again’ (John 3:7).
Jesus is described as “the Lord from heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:47b). John the Baptist observed, ‘He that comes from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthy, and speaks of the earth: He that comes from heaven is above all’ (John 3:31).
Paul says, “And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly” (1 Corinthians 15:49). After all, as Paul says elsewhere, ‘Our citizenship is of heaven’ (Philippians 3:20).
“For flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither can corruption inherit incorruptibility” (1 Corinthians 15:50). Yet those who are truly born again shall most definitely ‘see’ the kingdom of God (John 3:3; cf. Job 19:25-27).
The model for our own resurrection is the resurrection of Jesus (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:14). Taking the example of Jesus’ resurrection, it has both continuity and discontinuity. The marks of the crucifixion were still upon Him, and also, He ate; but He was able to appear in locked rooms, and just as easily to vanish from the sight of His fellow travellers.
We await the Lord Jesus Christ, ‘who will transform our body of humiliation for it to become conformed to the body of His glory, according to the working of His power even to subdue all things to Himself’ (Philippians 3:21). Amen.
D). THE GOD KIND OF LOVE.
Luke 6:27-38.
The Sermon on the Plain is directed towards those who ‘came to hear’ Jesus (Luke 6:17). It was ‘toward His disciples’ that Jesus first lifted up His eyes (Luke 6:20). That emphasis is repeated at the beginning of the present passage (Luke 6:27). These are words for those already committed to building upon the rock (Luke 6:47-48).
“Love those hostile to you,” says Jesus (Luke 6:27). The word is “AGAPE”. It is the kind of Love which God demonstrated when He gave His only-begotten Son (John 3:16).
It is the kind of Love which Jesus modelled when He went about doing good (Acts 10:38). When He forgave Paul the blasphemer (1 Timothy 1:13). When He prayed for his tormentors: ‘Father forgive them, for they know not what they do’ (Luke 23:34). When He gave His face to those who smote Him (cf. Isaiah 50:6). When the soldiers ‘parted His vesture among them and cast lots for His clothes’ (John 19:23). When He gave His all for us, even WITHOUT our asking: for it was ‘while we were yet sinners’ that Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).
Jesus has already indicated that He is fully aware that His followers will face persecution (Luke 6:22). “DO GOOD to those who hate you,” He says. “BLESS those who curse you. PRAY for those who despitefully use you” (Luke 6:27-28). Throughout these two verses the word “you” is in the plural: in other words “‘ye all’ who hear” (Luke 6:27), collectively.
Then He turns to the singular, personalising the situation. If anyone strikes “you” on the cheek; takes away “your” cloak; to everyone who asks “you”, give; takes away what is “yours” &c. (Luke 6:29-30).
Reverting to the plural of “you”, Jesus presents His version of the ‘Golden Rule’. This is not ‘tit for tat’, but preemptive. “According as you desire men do to you, you also do to them in like manner” (Luke 6:31).
Jesus explains this attitude by looking at the alternative. There is literally no “grace” in loving those who love us: even sinners do this. There is literally no “grace” in doing good to those who do good to us: even sinners do this. There is literally no “grace” in lending to those from whom we hope to receive: even sinners do this (Luke 6:32-34).
Jesus repeats the call to the God kind of love: “But ‘ye all’ love those hostile to you, and do good, and lend, nothing hoping for again” (Luke 6:35). “Great reward” is mentioned here, not as a motive, but as an expected fruit in the lives of those who are “sons of the Highest.” Be who you are!
Bishop Ryle suggests that Christian people should care for their neighbours in a better way than worldly people do. But, ultimately, it is about basing our behaviour towards others in the way God has dealt with us. He was good to each believer even when we were “ungrateful” and “wicked” (Luke 6:35).
“‘Ye all’ therefore be merciful, as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36; cf. Romans 9:15). We are being called to be compassionate, to exercise grace towards those who are hostile to us. It was ‘when we were enemies’ that ‘we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son’ (Romans 5:10). It was while we were yet unlovely, and unlovable, that His Love was thus poured out for us!
Having said that reward is not the motive, we do find that, incidentally, love does bring its own recompense (Luke 6:37). Sometimes in this life (Luke 6:38), always in the hereafter. Measure out what you would hope to get, for God desires mercy, not sacrifice (Matthew 9:13).
We may think this teaching impossible, and with good reason: but it is modelled on Jesus' own example. Furthermore, God has given us His grace to aspire towards this high standard of AGAPE Love. Born of the Spirit, we are His sons!
