Bible Passage: Genesis 50:15-21
Pastor: Joel Jenswold
Sermon Date: September 17, 2023

Bulletin September 17, 2023

In the name of, and to the eternal glory of, Jesus,

The third patriarch was gathered to his people.  Jacob was dead.  He had lived long enough to see his beloved Joseph in Egypt.  We remember the story.  Joseph’s brothers hated him.  We remember the day Joseph’s brother’s had thrown Joseph into a water cistern.  They cooly ate their lunch while Joseph cried and begged for help.  They did finally pull Joseph out, so they could sell their brother to a traveling band of Midianites who took Joseph to Egypt.  They then had concocted that cruel lie to tell their father about how they had found Joseph’s coat, torn and covered in blood.  “The best guess is that an animal got him.”

But you know how the story goes.  The Lord blessed Joseph in Egypt.  In fact, Joseph was promoted so that he was second in command in all of Egypt.  We remember how Joseph’s brothers traveled to Egypt to buy food during a terrible famine.  They stood before the brother they had sold asking to buy food.  Joseph finally made himself known to them.  He insisted they all move their families to Egypt.  Including dad!  And dad got to see the son he thought was dead!  And then…dad died.  And now the brothers are nervous!  They are sure it is payback time!

Have you ever found yourself in a situation like Joseph?  Someone who has wronged you, someone who has REALLY hurt you, now stands in front of you.  And you have all the leverage on your side.  It’s almost too delicious!  Hollywood couldn’t have scripted it any better!  It’s Payback Time!  With God’s blessing, our text today will help us rethink what payback time looks like.

It is clear the brothers were worried about payback time.  They say, It may be that Joseph will hate us and will pay us back in full for all the evil we did to him. (v. 15)  Their words show they know Joseph has them dead-to-rights.  There is admission of guilt:  …the evil we did to him.

They have a plan, the brothers always had a plan.  They send a message to Joseph.  Before he died your father commanded us, You are to tell Joseph, Please forgive the offense of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.  Now please forgive the offense of the servants of your father. (v. 16-17)  Did such a conversation ever take place?  Had Jacob really given these instructions?  Were the brothers lying AGAIN?  We don’t know.

Here’s what we know.  It’s payback time.  And Joseph can now make them suffer for making him suffer.  And that feels good to our nature!  There’s something satisfying about that.  It even feels “right” on a certain level.  Or, he can give them the hardest thing of all – his forgiveness.  The next verse in our text clues us in which way Joseph’s heart was leaning:  Joseph wept when they spoke to him. (v. 17)  Joseph cried.  This all made him sad.  The fear of his brothers.  The desperation of his brothers.  The agony of his brothers.  They’re so afraid of what he will do to them, and all he wants to do is forgive them!

Friends, there are so many lessons for us in this story!  The first lesson is this:  the hurt sin does to people is real.  People sin against other people in their lives, and it hurts!  And sometimes, sadly, that hurt happens in families.  And that hurt can run long and it can run deep.  The hurt of words spoken long ago prevents family members from talking to this day.  Not even Christmas and Easter are powerful enough to get these wounded people into the same dining room.  The wound of something done years ago is still raw and red and nervy.  The thought of forgiving someone who has wounded me deeply feels almost, dare we say it, wrong.

Couple things about forgiveness.  First of all, we don’t forgive people because they deserve forgiveness.  The hurt their sin has inflicted is REAL.  It is not phantom pain.  I really hurt when you sin against me.  You really hurt when I sin against you.  What the brothers had done to Joseph when they sold him…that was really wrong and really sinful!  It really hurt their brother Joseph.  It hurt him physically and emotionally and psychologically.  Even their message to Joseph about the conversation they had with dad is clunky and contrived and it might even be a lie!  They most certainly didn’t deserve forgiveness!  Forgiveness is always an act of grace!

There’s something worth noting in the brothers’ message to Joseph.  They ask for forgiveness.  But not for their sake.  But for dad’s sake.  It’s as if they say, “Joseph, we know we have no right to ask for your forgiveness.  You probably want us dead.  And we don’t blame you!  Don’t do it for us.  We know you love Dad.  Do it for Dad.”

We forgive those who hurt us not because they deserve forgiveness, but for the sake of someone else.  That someone is Jesus.  We remember what Jesus has done for us.  That is why we forgive.  You and I are the servant we heard about in the Gospel lesson today!  We are the ones who had our enormous debt canceled by our Master.  Not because we deserved it.  But because our Master is gracious and merciful.  Ours is the Master who prayed for those who were nailing him to the cross, Father, forgive them.  This is the Master who has taught us to pray, Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

Joseph does something remarkable at the end of our text.  He comforted them and spoke to them in a kind way. (v. 21)  Tell people you forgive them!  Reassure them of your forgiveness and love.  The feelings of guilt for having hurt someone are lingering, and hard to recover from.  Comfort them.  Is that not what our Jesus does for us with each and every absolution we hear?

Don’t know if you are nursing wounds caused by the sin of another.  But if you are, maybe it’s payback time.  Maybe it’s time to pay them back…with the love, the mercy, the forgiveness you yourself have received from Jesus.  The love, mercy, and forgiveness empowered only by Jesus.

Amen.