Tehillah Generation Chapel
Daily Manna | Tuesday, September 4, 2018 | Topic: Conscience 115
Scripture: And when they saw Joseph afar off, even before he came near to them, they conspired against him to slay him. Genesis 37:18
Note: Back to the comparisons between the life of Joseph and that of Jesus, there are interesting correlations between the life of Joseph and that of Jesus at a time that death seemed to be staring at them, with Reuben and Pontius Pilate respectively making sincere efforts to prevent their deaths. Joseph and Jesus, who would both turn out to be two of the greatest rescuers of suffering mankind, were themselves placed on the precipice of death by their own brothers and kinsmen respectively.
When Joseph’s brothers saw him approaching them from afar, they conspired to kill him. Gen 37:21-22, “But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him.” That he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father.” Reuben was the single authority figure with the power to determine the final outcome concerning Joseph’s life. Reuben’s intentions were laudable but weaknesses in his leadership style let him down as Joseph’s brothers exploited a leadership gap to surreptitiously trade off their brother for money at the blind side of Reuben.
In the case of Jesus, it was his Jewish people who were calling for His blood. Having been extensively interrogated by Pontius Pilate, a Roman Governor with the power to sentence such political prisoners to death, Pilate found no fault in Jesus. In his attempt at a rescue operation for Jesus, Pilate had wanted to exploit the Governor’s prerogative to set one prisoner free at the feast, depending on whom the people opted for. To Pilate’s shock and disappointment, the people chose Barabbas, a hardcore criminal and a thief over Jesus. Pilate selected a thief and Jesus, knowing pretty well that it was going to be an easy pick for the people as Jesus was a good man. But Pilate was very wrong. The people chose the hardened thief to be set free in preference to Jesus.
Both Joseph and Jesus suffered gross injustice; suffering for offences that they didn’t deserve. Both of their rescuers displayed weaknesses in leadership that were exploited by their detractors. Reuben failed to hand over Joseph into the care of a responsible person among his brothers. In the case of Pilate and Jesus, Pilate had the power to have freed Jesus according to the rules of natural justice, his wife having earlier warned him of what she had suffered through the night from the injustice being meted out to Jesus. Pilate however, handed Jesus over to be crucified after washing his hands off, merely for his own political popularity with the Jews, which weakness the latter exploited to their parochial interest.
Food for thought: A momentary lapse in leadership may mean the difference between someone’s life and death.
Declaration: Then answered all the people, and said, “His blood be upon us, and on our children. Matt 27:25
©Author: Rev Fred Aboe
