Transcription
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The Word of God, Genesis Chapter 42, Verses 20 to 24. "Bring your youngest brother to me. Then your words will be proven true, and you will not die," he said. And they did so. They said to each other, "We are guilty because of our brother. We saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, but we did not listen. That is why this anguish has come upon us." Reuben replied to them, "Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. Now we must pay for his blood." They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, for he had an interpreter. Joseph turned away from them and wept. He returned to them and spoke with them. Then he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. Now, after three days, Joseph finally speaks to the brothers who were imprisoned. "One of you will remain here in prison, but the rest of you can take the grain and go to feed your families and preserve your lives," he says.
And so, it is now 20 years. For 20 years, the sin that had been buried in the hearts of these brothers, their sin, erupts. Through this event, the brothers' realization of their own sin now appears, and they confess it. Look at verse 20. "Bring your youngest brother to me." Now one is imprisoned, and you are to go and bring your youngest brother. "Then your words will be proven true, and you will not die." So they do as he says. As they do, they say to each other, "Through this event, we have sinned because of our brother. When he pleaded with us, we saw the anguish of his soul but did not listen. That is why this anguish has come upon us." This happened 20 years ago. Now, one person is in prison, and you are to go back with this grain to preserve your lives, and bring your youngest brother. Since one person is imprisoned, seeing this event, they reflect on what their sin was and see that anguish.
Look at verse 22. Then Reuben, the firstborn, replied to them, "What did I tell you? Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen to me. Therefore, now we must pay for his blood," Reuben says, referring to Joseph. "Therefore, we must pay for his blood." Now that one person is in prison, and we must go and bring our youngest brother, Benjamin, this is like receiving a bill for blood. It is a bill for killing Joseph. That is what Reuben is saying.
In Hebrews chapter 9, verse 22, it says, "According to the law, almost everything is cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness." You see, this is what Reuben confessed, but for the brothers in this situation, and for us, it is an inescapable spiritual reality and a fear. The law being cleansed by blood means that the law accuses us of this: you must pay the price of blood. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. Shedding blood means dying. Your sins will only end when you die. Until you die, the law will keep presenting that bill. The law's bill is blood. It is life. It demands death. This is the spiritual reality and our existence, and the true fear we face, as expressed in Reuben's words, for the brothers and for you and me who are encountering this word today. The law will certainly present us with a bill of death, a bill of blood. Why do we die? Is it because we get old and sick? No, we die because of sin.
So, when did we receive this terrible bill of blood? When did we receive this bill of blood? In Genesis chapter 3, verse 6, it says, "When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." Many people misunderstand Adam as a thoughtless man. They think that when his wife Eve, deceived by the serpent, ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and gave it to her husband Adam, Adam, without thinking, reluctantly ate it because he didn't want to disobey his wife, so he took it and ate it. That is not it. This is a very important point for understanding today's sermon. He ate it intentionally.
In Genesis chapter 3, verse 6, it says, "She took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." So, when Adam ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, deceived by the serpent, he was not elsewhere; he was actually with Eve, who was eating it. The Bible says in 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 14, "And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner." So, Adam did not eat it because he was deceived by the serpent's words. It was the woman who was deceived. Then, did Adam eat it thoughtlessly, just because it was given to him and he had no choice? No. Then what? Adam clearly heard and knew the word that "you will surely die if you eat of it." Then why did he eat it? He intentionally disobeyed his sinful wife, with whom he was one flesh. That is the truth. I will provide evidence.
In Augustine's "City of God," Book 14, Chapter 11, he says, "Adam was not deceived by the serpent's lie but intentionally participated in sin out of a desire to remain united with his wife, not wanting to be separated from her." And among the Puritan theologians, there is a Puritan theologian named Thomas Goodwin. He is a covenant theologian. Many Reformed theologians, especially Thomas Goodwin, view this part as an intentional act of covenantal representation. He sees Adam eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as an intentional act of covenantal representation. Thomas Goodwin says, "Adam's fall was not ignorance or a mistake, but a deliberate and intentional rebellion." Some early church fathers interpreted it as Adam wanting to die with Eve out of love for her. However, no matter how romantic Adam's motive, it is sin. He received the law's bill of blood.
So, when did we receive this terrible bill of blood? It is precisely this. Adam, out of romantic love, wanting to be with his wife, Eve, ate the fruit, knowing he would surely die. But that word is God's word, the law. Because of his disobedience and rebellion against that word, all of us who come from Adam's loins received that bill of blood. However, there is a marvelous mystery of the gospel here. Let's look at Romans chapter 5, verse 14: "Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as Adam did, who was a pattern of the one to come." When it says Adam is a "pattern of the one to come," the Greek word for "pattern" is "typos." In the old Korean translation, it was translated as "representation" or "symbol." This means "prefigure" or "representative shadow." So, Adam is not being explained as an individual; Adam is a representative shadow, a pattern, a prefigure of the one to come. This means Adam is a covenantal head who foreshadows Christ who is to come.
What kind of representative covenantal head? It explains the intentional sacrifice of one man. So, Adam and Christ who is to come must have the same shadow, the same form. And what is that? It shows the intentionality, the intentional sacrifice of one man. Therefore, it is not explaining Adam's romanticism of wanting to die with his wife out of love. The Bible explains why Adam, knowing he would surely die, received the bill of blood by eating the fruit given by his wife. When explaining this part, it is not explaining a shared death out of love, but the intentional, representative act of the covenant: the intentional sacrifice of one man. So, the first Adam chose death for himself to be with his bride, Eve, who was destined to die. It was an intentional sacrifice of one man, an intentional choice of the curse of death. The last Adam, the bride, the church, who died because of sin, that is you and me. To save this bride, the church, he intentionally bore the cross.
Let's also look at Romans chapter 5, verses 18 and 19: "Therefore, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all men, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous." So, see what the Bible is trying to say. The focus is on one man. It is not trying to explain Adam's romanticism, being caught up in romantic emotions, and thoughtlessly eating what Eve gave him out of obligation, and then explaining a shared death. It is not trying to explain such a fallen and sick love, but the covenantal, intentional act: the intentional disobedience of the first man, the first Adam. This brought us the bill of blood, the law's bill of blood. All of us received this bill of blood from the law. And the intentional obedience of the last Adam, one man, has completely paid the debt that we, the church, received. This is the content of the intentional sacrifice of one man within the intentional act of covenantal representation. The Bible tells us this, explaining it to us as the gospel.
In John chapter 10, verse 18, Jesus says, "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." Jesus explains his death as paying the law's bill of blood. It is not a tragedy where Jesus' life was helplessly taken away. It is the bill of blood that we received, the bill of blood that Reuben spoke of when he said, "Now we must pay for his blood." Why does Jesus lay down his life? Why do I lay down my life? It is an explanation of an intentional atoning death and sacrifice received from my Father.
Let's return to the text and look at verse 21 again. Here they say to each other, "We are guilty because of our brother. We saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, but we did not listen. That is why this anguish has come upon us." This event, seeing Joseph pleading for his life, and their callous disregard for his anguish, is not merely an ethical issue. When it says "we have sinned" (חָטָאנוּ, *chata'nu*), it refers to guilt. This guilt includes not only a single act but also describes a fundamental, existential state. The same word is used in Isaiah chapter 53.
Look at Isaiah chapter 53, verse 10: "Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin (אָשָׁם, *asham*), he will see his offspring and prolong his own days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand." This passage in Isaiah 53 foreshadows the suffering of Christ who is to come. The Lord willed to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring. This means the guilt of all humanity, the state of death in which we are trapped, and the sin that leads to receiving the law's bill of blood and dying. It is an offering for this sin. It is a payment for our fundamental existence. When his offspring comes, through his hand, that offspring will save us. This is the Lord's will. It is salvation from our existential state of death and sin, trapped by the intentional plan of God through the sacrifice of Christ.
Salvation begins at this point. I am in a state of death, existential death, and have received the law's bill of blood. I have received it. I die, but why do I die? I die because I am death before God. Because I am a mortal being. When you recognize and realize this, and understand why Jesus Christ came, Jesus Christ's death as an offering for sin was to solve this problem. This is the starting point of salvation. Without knowing this, without knowing that you are a mortal being, you think, "I'm not a bad person. I've been going to church for a while. I'm nicer than that person. I don't miss worship. I live a good material life." You don't know what kind of existential death and state you are in within sin and death. You have already become dead through the intentional rebellion and disobedience of God's word in the first Adam. You are trapped in that death. It is intentional. You and I have committed a very unfair and intentional rebellion. Through the death of one person who intentionally took on flesh and came to this earth, and intentionally died on the cross, I receive salvation before God. You should not think of this as salvation if it has not entered you.
The Passover lamb that dies is Christ, who intentionally chose death on the cross. This is God's intentional plan. In Acts chapter 2, it says, "He was delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, and you crucified and killed him by the hands of lawless men." He was delivered up according to God's definite plan and foreknowledge. And Jesus, having the authority to lay down his life, intentionally accepted this sacrifice of one man. The death of Jesus Christ on the cross is by no means accidental, nor is it a failure, as Schweitzer claims, crushed by the wheels of history. It is the resolution and complete payment of the price of our death through a death that simply happened. This is God's intentional plan, and it is God's redemptive covenant to save the church from before the foundation of the world. It is a covenant from before the foundation of the world. Within this covenant from before the foundation of the world, God established and fulfills it. It is God's work. God placed his intentional plan here, that is, by crucifying Jesus Christ, God resolved the bill of death that we received as mortal beings, the bill of death.
So, returning to Genesis chapter 42, verse 23, it says, "Then he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes." After saying, "Therefore, we must pay for his blood," verse 23 says, "They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, for he had an interpreter. Joseph turned away from them and wept. He returned to them and spoke with them. Then he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes." We see Joseph's tears. Why did Joseph weep? And why did he bind Simeon, just one person? The brothers are despairing, thinking they must pay the price of blood. "We must pay this price. All of this is our problem, stemming from our guilt, the anguish we are experiencing."
In Isaiah chapter 53, it says that when Jesus entered into suffering, he was disregarded. Seeing Jesus' anguish, they mocked him because of sin. They mock the suffering we endure because of our sins. In the Gospels, this is exactly what is happening at the cross: the Roman soldiers mocking and disregarding him, the disciples who betrayed him, and all those who washed their hands, claiming they were not involved. They mock, seeing his anguish. When he cried out, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" they said, "He is calling for Elijah." "Come down from the cross if you are the Son of God, and we will believe you." They mock. Just as the brothers mocked Joseph's anguish and disregarded his pleas, the same thing is happening.
The brothers are in despair before this realization that they must pay the price of blood. Joseph heard these words. Why? Joseph didn't need an interpreter; it was his own language, and he heard everything. As Joseph heard these words, he wept. Why did he weep? Through these events, Joseph realized why God had sent him ahead, and how God's great plan of salvation was unfolding through these events. He was seeing it. The brothers killed him. And because of that anguish, these events are happening. But who is the one they thought they killed or sold? It is me. They are all listening now. It is me. But I came here and didn't know. At that time, Joseph himself didn't know. At first, Joseph was also in anguish. Why was he in prison? And after interpreting the dreams, he thought the chief cupbearer would restore him to his position, but he remained in prison. Joseph had forgotten all about his dreams. He had forgotten all the painful and difficult experiences. But now, seeing that through his situation, his brothers are paying the price of blood, he realizes, "Ah, there is God's plan of salvation here." To save me, Israel, and my entire family from the famine, and to fundamentally resolve the issue of our sin through this price of blood, to show one person who would pay this price, God prepared me and used me. I am now witnessing what one person will do.
"I came to Egypt ahead of time for this matter of the price of blood. And I am witnessing the work of one person who pays this price." This is the realization. Joseph weeping and binding Simeon, one person, is doing the same thing. This intentional act of Joseph towards Simeon, one person, also shows the gospel of the cross, where he will be bound alone on the cross and imprisoned in death to save us. The gospel of the cross is not something else. You must read the tears of Jesus Christ who is to come in Joseph's tears. Joseph is weeping now, looking at his brothers, but he does not reveal his identity to them. He weeps later when Benjamin returns, and then he reveals his identity. Why? Because the Bible deals with the brothers' sin through Joseph. And it drives them to the point of facing the cross, of coming to Christ who is to come, in the matter of paying the price of blood. So, Joseph is being used in this way. Joseph's tears are actually the tears of Jesus Christ who is to come, the tears shed on the cross. While they are paying the price of blood, they are still trapped in their existential, mortal state, and they mock, not knowing it, still trapped in their limitations. He weeps for them.
We, like Reuben, and like the brothers in the same situation as Reuben described, can receive the bill of blood and tremble with guilt and shame. We tremble like this. "You are suffering this pain because of the sins you have committed. You must pay the price of your blood. This difficulty and suffering you are experiencing is the price for the sins you have committed." This is what Reuben says, and it is what the devil says, presenting the law's demands and bills to us. "Pay your price of blood." But look, Joseph, while weeping, intentionally binds Simeon. What connection is the Bible trying to make? The tears of the cross, the tears of Christ who is to come, are trying to say this: "No." What is not true? The terrifying, dreadful price of blood that you must pay does not exist. I laid down my life to save you. Your debt of sin has been fully paid forever by my intentional sacrifice. God planned this and carried it out through me.
This gospel is the blessed heavenly news that God gives to you and me this morning. Our salvation through the intentional obedience of Jesus Christ on the cross is not something we can earn. The grace we receive for this intentional obedience is for those who recognize and realize that they were in a mortal state due to the intentional disobedience of the first Adam. Only those who truly know this can properly receive the cross of Jesus Christ. May this blessed grace overflow to you and me. We have been delivered from death. Whatever anguish and suffering this reality brings us is not given to us as a bill of blood for our sins. Since Jesus Christ has come into us, we are no longer subject to the devil's demands for our blood price, nor God's demands. We may stumble in our weakness before God, but in Jesus Christ, our debt of blood and sin has been fully resolved. We are now living by faith and grace before God, and we are blessed children of heaven, being built up into holiness. I pray that you will live this glorious status and heavenly level of life in the name of the Lord. Let us sing together.
(Singing)
With the precious blood, the power of my life
I believe in the power of the blood.
Even when condemned, I can stand in heaven.
No more condemnation.
I am under the blood.
I am under the precious blood.
It has atoned for my sins.
God's grace has made me holy.
I am under the blood.
No matter what attack from the enemy, I will not fall anymore.
I am under the blood.
I am under the precious blood.
It has atoned for my sins.
God's grace has made me holy.
I am under the blood.
No matter what attack from the enemy, I will not fall anymore.
I am under the blood.
I am under the precious blood.
With that blood, my sins have been atoned for.
God's grace has made me holy.
I am under the blood.
No matter what attack from the enemy, I will not fall anymore.
I am under the blood.
What are the things that trouble you? Is it yourselves? Is it the economic, familial, or situational realities you have faced? You see, what Jesus Christ, who is God, accomplished by coming to this earth and dying is that within the tears of Jesus Christ, for us whom God has decided to save as His children, nothing can condemn us. This is because God has resolved condemnation. Through Jesus Christ, we are now heavenly beings with a heavenly status as holy sons and daughters of God, living for heaven. I pray that you will proclaim the gospel and be free from any accusation or lawsuit you face, and reveal the victory of the cross in God's glory.
As we pray together at this time, let us repent. God, I truly repent that I do not believe the gospel that God has shown through the first man Adam and the last Adam, Jesus Christ. Repent for constantly measuring God's gospel with your rational thoughts. The Bible clearly showed our existence through the first man Adam and the last Adam, and explained that we have been saved from this existence. I pray that this precious word will be received by faith, and that this will be a precious time to repent for living without this word before and to resolve to live by faith. Let us pray together.
I am death. Eternal death and destruction. Thank you for showing us this existential death, this state of being under condemnation, so that we, who live by our own pride without acknowledging it, can be shown it. Now, before the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, my existence has become an existence of life, an eternal heavenly existence. I encounter this gospel of the cross and the Lord's tears flowing on the cross. God, now no accusation, no condemnation, no accusation from the devil demanding the price of my life can defeat us anymore. Thank you. God, we have received this freedom, this life, this precious and valuable word of truth obtained in Jesus Christ. With this life, we will live by faith for the time that God has given us to live on this earth. God, push us from behind and pull us from heaven, so that through us, who live as heavenly beings, you may receive joy and glory. In the precious name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.