“You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive…”
—Genesis 50:20

This verse is immensely important: Long before Jesus bore the cross, Joseph bore betrayal, injustice, and suffering. He was cast down, counted among the condemned, and yet raised up—not to condemn, but to save.  His life foreshadows the One to come: Jesus, who was beloved and betrayed, stripped and sold, buried and raised, exalted to bring life, not vengeance.

See, if Jesus is only our example, we marvel at His path but remain unchanged by it. But Jesus is our Redeemer—He took our suffering, transformed it, and turned it into salvation. Just as Joseph descended into Egypt’s darkness and was raised to power, so Christ descended into our sin and rose again to bring us home.

Joseph’s story stretches across thirteen chapters—from Genesis 37 to 50—and is one of the most detailed biographies in all of Scripture. It begins with a beloved son, marked by prophetic dreams, who is betrayed by his brothers, stripped of his robe, and sold into slavery. Taken to Egypt, Joseph endures false accusations, imprisonment, and years of silence. And yet, through every low point, the Lord is with him, working behind the scenes to position him for a purpose far greater than personal comfort.

Zooming In:
We’re turning now to Genesis 40—one of the quieter moments in Joseph’s journey. It’s the prison scene, tucked between his unjust fall and miraculous rise, where Joseph encounters two fellow inmates: Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker. Their dreams, and Joseph’s God-given interpretation of them, become a turning point not just in the narrative, but in the gospel story Scripture is telling. 

As you read Genesis 40, do you see how even this quiet prison scene anticipates the mission of Jesus? To see it rightly, you must recognize your place in the story—not as Joseph, the interpreter, but as one of the prisoners: uncertain, forgotten, and awaiting judgment. Like the baker and the cupbearer, we stand in need of a verdict, unable to determine our fate on our own. And yet, Christ does not leave us there. He enters our prison, bears our judgment, and offers us the cup of redemption.

Genesis 40:12–13, 18–19
“‘In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office’…”‘In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you!—and hang you on a tree.’”

Two prisoners. Two dreams. Two destinies. One lifted up to life. One lifted up to death. Does that sound familiar? This is a snapshot of the gospel: one cross of mercy, one of judgment. A cup of wine poured out in grace, A basket of bread devoured in wrath. Joseph interprets both dreams perfectly. The cupbearer is restored; the baker is condemned.

The baker’s dream reveals a picture of judgment. Bread meant for Pharaoh never makes it; instead, birds devour it from the basket. Joseph declares the man will be hanged on a tree in three days. It’s a haunting image. But Jesus is the better Bread—the one not devoured, but broken for us. He bears not a woven basket on his head, but a crown of thorns.  He is lifted onto a tree, not in judgment for His own sin, but in place of ours. “The bread that I will give is my flesh,” Jesus said, “which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:51).

The cupbearer, on the other hand, receives restoration. His dream—grapes pressed into Pharaoh’s cup—foreshadows another cup: the one Jesus lifts at the Last Supper. “This cup is the new covenant in my blood,” He says (Luke 22:20). Jesus becomes our true Cupbearer, pressing out His own blood to restore us to the King. Three days later, He rises, sealing our redemption.

 

A STORY THAT SPEAKS TODAY
Genesis 40 is more than a quiet moment in Joseph’s life—it’s a mirror of Jesus’ mission. In the shadows of a prison cell, Joseph listens, speaks truth, and reveals the fate of those beside him. He does not seek escape but serves faithfully in the waiting. In the same way, Jesus enters our lowliest places—not to elevate Himself, but to bring clarity, truth, and ultimately, redemption. Where Joseph interprets the dreams of the condemned, Jesus declares the fate of sinners and offers Himself as the way to life.

You are not the hero of the story—you are the one needing rescue. In Genesis 40, you are the cupbearer, unsure of your future, or the baker, awaiting judgment. You are the prisoner in need of mercy. And Jesus, like Joseph, enters the pit. He bears the silence, the shame, and the sentence we deserved. But unlike Joseph, He doesn’t just interpret our condition—He becomes our solution. The shadows of Genesis point forward, and now, the true Redeemer has come—not only to save, but to be our sustenance, our salvation, and our everlasting peace.

Every broken character, every near-death moment, every twist of injustice in the Scriptures—they all bend toward one name. Jesus is the redemption in every story, the mercy for every failure, the crown after every cross. Praise God!

Jesus is our redemption in all of the Scriptures. If and as we see this, our life and Scripture reading will flourish.