“And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.” Genesis 42:8

“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” 2 Corinthians 4:4

One of my favorite men from the Bible is Joseph. His years with his brothers, their rejection of him, his ascent to the throne, and his eventual forgiveness of his brothers is a wonderful story that closely parallels Christ’s time on the earth. When Joseph became ruler over Egypt, his name was changed, and his identity and appearance was so altered that when his ten brothers arrived in Egypt they had no idea that the prime minister sitting before them was the same brother that they had abandoned in the desert years earlier.

Joseph’s rejection and forgiving heart to those who hurt him would be revisited again centuries later in the person of Christ. Like Joseph the rejection of Jesus resulted in His becoming a savior to a world in need. Joseph met the physical needs of a dying world and Christ met the spiritual needs of a dying world. Christ was so different from the king that the people expected that he became virtually unrecognizable to His own people. Just like Joseph’s brothers who stood before Joseph without recognizing him, Christ stood before his “family” and they knew him not.

In 2007 journalist Gene Weingarten wrote a story that won him a Pulitzer Prize.  On January 12 of that year he went to the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station and chronicled what he saw there.  A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin and played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Few slowed as they passed by and fewer tossed in a tip as they walked by.  In fact, children were the only ones who tried to stop and listen, but they were all summarily dragged away by their parents who were hurrying off to their destinations.  In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell had played to a sold out crowd in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each. Weingarten reported that the violinist himself, usually accustomed to the highest of praise and applause for his efforts, admitted that this little social experiment, to which he readily agreed, was not all together comfortable for him.

This is an example of how easy it is to overlook greatness when it appears in an unexpected place. Jesus was born in an indescript village, in an inglorious way, to seemingly unqualified parents. Who would look for greatness in such a situation. Joseph, the outcast brother, was sitting on a throne, overseeing a kingdom, saving a nation.  These stories were not too dissimilar to the story of Joshua Bell that was not recognized as a maestro because his setting was unusual. Hundreds were blind to his greatness because their daily activities overshadowed what he had to offer.

Many pass by Jesus without recognizing what he has to offer because they are hurrying through their lives, caught up in the hecticness of it all.  It is not much different that the prophecies that spoke of his coming reception by the prophet Isaiah.  “Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isaiah 53:1-3).

Today we are surrounded by those who do not recognize Jesus. Jesus, like Joseph, has the keys to the future. Joseph would provide bread to his brothers during a famine and Christ can be the bread of life to those who are in spiritual famine. Jesus, like Joseph, sits ready to forgive, to extend mercy and accept those who have previously rejected Him. Jesus and Joseph both desired mercy over justice, both were willing to give the good things that are not deserved to those who do not deserve them. Both Jesus and Joseph found themselves in a position to turn their backs on those who had hurt them, but instead both reached out to meet the needs of their “enemies.”

On November 30, 1991 fierce winds from a freakish dust storm triggered a massive freeway pileup along Interstate 5 near Coalinga, California. At least 14 people died and dozens more were injured as topsoil whipped by 50 mile-per-hour winds reduced visibility to zero. The afternoon disaster left a three-mile trail of twisted and burning vehicles, some stacked on top of one another 100 yards off the side of the freeway. Unable to see their way, dozens of motorists drove blindly ahead into disaster.  Like these drivers we have people around us who do not know where to turn.  They cannot slow, speed-up or turn without meeting disaster.  But there is one refuge, and that is in Christ.  He is the safe place if we can just look to Him.

We are surrounded by so many who need to know the Christ who sits on the right hand of God mediating for those who love Him. Let us point a blind world to the Light of the world.  Let us live lives as people of sight, so that we can lead others to Him. Let us do all we can to reveal Jesus to the entire world. Let us stop to hear the music of the maestro who orchestrates life, so others will stop as well.  Every time Jesus is truly revealed, another one of “Joseph’s brothers” can weep with joy, gratitude and amazement, that the humble Suffering Servant who they rejected has forgiven them and is now their great and glorious King!