I am very thankful that I had the privilege of attending Bible college. I know it’s not an opportunity that many Christians have, and I’m glad that I was able to spend five years of my life studying theology and the Bible on a more academic level. Those five years made me into the theology nerd, Bible student, and writer I am today. During my bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, I learned about a lot of fun topics, like exegesis and hermeneutics, aseity and theophanies, cessationism and special revelation, double imputation and substitutionary atonement.

One of my favorite theological topics I learned about was typology. Theopedia defines typology as “a method of biblical interpretation whereby an element found in the Old Testament is seen to prefigure one found in the New Testament.”^[1] Essentially, a type is someone or something in the Old Testament that foreshadows a greater someone or something in the New Testament, and many of the types found in the Old Testament point forward to Jesus and the salvation He provided for us. One such type was a man named Joseph.

Joseph was a righteous young man who was filled with the Holy Spirit (Genesis 41:38) and favored by his father, Jacob. He was the firstborn son of Jacob’s favorite wife, so Jacob loved him far more than his other eleven sons and gave him special gifts that none of his other children received (Genesis 37:3). This caused Joseph’s older brothers to resent and hate him, and they devised a plan to get rid of him (Genesis 37:4, 26-27). They sold him to a group of Midianites for the price of a slave and told their father he had been devoured by a fierce animal (Genesis 37:28, 31-33).

Meanwhile, Joseph was brought to Egypt and sold to Potiphar, the captain of the guard (Genesis 39:1). Things were going rather well for Joseph until Potiphar’s wife tried to sleep with him (Genesis 39:2-7). He adamantly refused her advances, and she ended up accusing him of attempting to rape her (Genesis 39:8-15). After being falsely accused of a crime he didn’t commit, he was sent to prison, where he was surrounded by criminals (Genesis 39:20).

But this wasn’t the end of Joseph’s story. After correctly interpreting the dreams of the chief cupbearer, the chief baker, and Pharaoh himself, he rose to power in Egypt (Genesis 41:10-14, 37-40). He forgave his brothers of their sin against him (Genesis 50:15-21), and he saved the world by storing and selling grain during a seven-year famine (Genesis 41:57). Joseph suffered great mistreatment in his life, but in the end, he was exalted by all.

“And Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt…’ And he made him ride in his second chariot. And they called out before him, ‘Bow the knee!’” Genesis 41:41, 43a, ESV

Joseph’s story foreshadowed the life of another righteous Man who was filled with the Holy Spirit and favored by His Father (Matthew 3:16-17). He also was hated by his own brothers (Mark 3:21, John 7:5), falsely accused of a crime He did not commit (Matthew 26:65), and sold out for the price of a slave (Matthew 26:14-15). Unlike Joseph, this Man was sentenced to death (Matthew 27:22, 26), and He died surrounded by criminals (Matthew 27:38).

But death wasn’t the end of His story, for He rose from the grave (Matthew 28:6). Through His death and resurrection, He forgave all sinners (Ephesians 1:7), including the ones who sinned against Him (Luke 23:34), and He saved the world by offering the bread of life—Himself (John 3:16-17, 6:35). He suffered great mistreatment during His time on this earth, but in the end, He will be exalted by all.

“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,” Philippians 2:9-10

This Man is Jesus! Joseph’s story is a good one, but Jesus’ story is a better one. While Joseph saved the world by providing for their physical hunger, Jesus saved the world by providing for our spiritual hunger. He gave Himself as the Bread of Life so that we may find full and complete satisfaction in Him.

Does it ever feel like your life is just one bad thing after another? Are you starving for peace, for security, for hope? Turn to Jesus, the Savior of the world. He will rescue you, and satisfy you, and make you whole, if only you will come to Him.

“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.’” John 6:35-36

^[1] “Biblical typology,” Theopedia, accessed December 7, 2021, https://www.theopedia.com/biblical-typology.