Joel M Bradshaw

1Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, “Make everyone go out from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it.3And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.

4So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.–Genesis 45

“‘Ani Yoseph!”

With those two Hebrew words in verse 3, Joseph made his great reveal. And the brothers were dismayed. That Hebrew word also means “terrified, disturbed, troubled.” Having the boss be Joseph would have been the worst possible news. Their sins had been found out. They were at the mercy of the one they had horribly wronged.

For Joseph this was a highly emotional moment. If this were a movie or a comic book, we might expect his revenge to be put into place at that moment. But Joseph inquired about his father. Now that he knew that his younger brother was alive and well, the only piece of information lacking was about Dad.

Joseph was so quick to put their hearts at ease and calm their fears. His first move was grace. This tells us that all this time he had forgiven them and extinguished any embers of anger or resentment that might have kept burning. Blessing not bitterness was Joseph’s attitude. The path forward for closure for the victim starts with grace.

Grace never is earned or deserved. Joseph never punishes his brothers in any way. He saw his great opportunity as one to show grace to the undeserving. Mercy is not getting what they did deserve. Grace is getting what they did not deserve. And Paul in the New Testament is clear. It is because of God’s grace we are saved.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:1-9)

Just take in those words. They are some of the most powerful in all of the Bible. Judah’s moment was to show the path forward for the former villain. Joseph’s moment showed the next steps for the former victim. The once victim finds closure in giving grace, extending forgiveness, and in being a blessing even to the ones that wronged him. The villain doesn’t have to stay the villain. Judah became a repentant hero. The victim doesn’t have to stay the victim. He became a gracious forgiver. We are so grateful for Judah and Joseph’s stories!–JMB