2019-04-14T11:00:00-05:00
50:1 Then Joseph fell on his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him. 2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. 3 Forty days were required for it, for that is how many are required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days.
4 And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 5 ‘My father made me swear, saying, “I am about to die: in my tomb that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me.” Now therefore, let me please go up and bury my father. Then I will return.’” 6 And Pharaoh answered, “Go up, and bury your father, as he made you swear.” 7 So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in the land of Goshen. 9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen. It was a very great company.
14 After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” 16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: 17 ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
22 So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father’s house. Joseph lived 110 years. 23 And Joseph saw Ephraim’s children of the third generation. The children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were counted as Joseph’s own. 24 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” 26 So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright (c)2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. http://www.esv.org
1 in 128 billion. Every year the probability of creating a perfect bracket for the NCAA basketball championship tournament are at least 1 in 128 billion. We all know (painfully so) that no one has overcome those odds. We would love to predict the future. There are massive amounts of resources that corporations and individuals expend in an attempt to forecast the future. Sabermetrics, game theory, probability theory or other fields in mathematics are vexing to predict the outcomes of uncertain events. Humans have advanced significantly over the centuries but no has come close to a perfect bracket.
What are the odds that a person could fulfill the entire Mosaic Law? The answer is easy, zero. It is impossible. But you already knew the answer. Likewise, you know that Jesus flawlessly satisfy the Law and lived the perfect life. He is The One! What is impossible for man is possible with God.
The Lord God almighty did not simply predict the future, He ordained it. One example of how our sovereign Lord governs over all is the way He revealed Jesus in the Old Testament. The Messianic prophecies that prepared His people for the coming of The Christ are astounding. These are not predictions but pre-written history.
During Holy Week, our church featured sermons from a few Psalms that clearly revealed Christ. It is amazing how Jesus fulfilled every Messianic prophecy. Just consider a few.
• He would be born in Bethlehem of Judah (Micah 5:2).
• He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14).
• He would be called “Wonderful Counselor,” “Mighty God,” “Everlasting Father,” “Prince of Peace,” and would possess an everlasting kingdom (Isaiah 9:6-7).
• He would enter Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).
• He would cleanse the temple (Psalms 69:9).
• He would be the Stone builders rejected (Psalms 118:22-23).
• He would be betrayed by a friend (Psalm 41:9) for 30 pieces of silver and the money would be used to purchase the potter’s field (Zechariah 11:12-13).
• Many profound specifics of Christ’s life and crucifixion are revealed in Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 and 88.
• God would resurrect His son and not allow Him to suffer decay (Psalm 16:8-11).
There are well over a 100 Messianic prophecies that Christ fulfilled in His mere 33 years on this earth. All of these prophecies were written centuries before He was born in a stable. Scholars and scientist say it is a mathematical impossibility for anyone to personally fulfill even half of these prophecies. As you might expect there are many that scoff at all of these Messianic prophecies. Ironically, even the scoffer’s actions are foretold in Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53:3.
The time has come to let go of your dreams of a perfect bracket and fall on your knees and worship your perfect Savior. This Easter celebrate that He is Risen just like He promised. Celebrate the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” If you do this, the odds are great that you will never be disappointed!