Start us by praying, and then we'll look at God's Word together.
Father, as we've already been reflecting on this morning, I pray that we would be captivated
by this picture of your mercy and kindness and compassion that we see in your Word this
morning.
Lord, let our hearts be filled with genuine wonder and thankfulness at what we see.
And let it lead us to be merciful as you are merciful.
It's in Christ's name we ask all this.
Amen.
Well, we have been following the story of Jacob's family over the past few months, and now the
family of the promise is hanging in the balance.
God had promised that all the nations will be blessed through them, and ultimately through
this promised seed, the one who would deal with sin and death once and for all.
But instead of being a blessing to the world, we find a family on the brink of extinction,
desperately in need of God's mercy, his gift of undeserved kindness and compassion.
Read from verse 1 with me again.
When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons,
Why do you just keep looking at each other?
He continued, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt.
Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.
So then, ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.
But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm
might come to him.
See, on the one hand, this family is about to die of starvation.
And on the other hand, they're about to fall apart from dysfunction.
Let's take Jacob first.
I mean, over the last 20 years of grief following Joseph's sudden disappearance,
he's had a lot of time to reflect on what happened.
And we know that he knows that the brothers' story isn't quite adding up.
And that there's something that they know about Joseph's disappearance that they just aren't saying.
I mean, why doesn't he send Benjamin with them?
He simply doesn't trust them, does he?
In fact, at the end of the chapter, as we read, he has this furious outburst in which he shouts at the brothers,
you have deprived me of my children.
The tension in this family is rising.
And this family is hanging in the balance.
And as for the brothers, well, what a bunch of scoundrels they are.
I mean, for 20 years now, they've maintained this grand lie about Joseph, covering their tracks completely.
Jacob's name means deceiver, but now he's the one who's being deceived by his sons.
To date, there's been no hint of remorse on their part.
They don't care that their father has been suffering these last 20 years, let alone Joseph.
And now these rogues are desperate.
Their family's about to fall apart.
They're all about to die if they don't get to food.
They are in desperate need of mercy.
But the problem is, they don't deserve one bit of it.
But mercy is what they get.
In spades.
Totally undeserved.
And totally free.
And as we walk with the brothers all the way down to Egypt and back again, we're going to learn three things about what mercy is and is not.
Now, you're not going to see them on the screen, I think.
You've got to remember them in your head.
Number one, mercy is for the undeserving, not the deserving.
Mercy is for those who know they need it, not for the self-righteous.
And mercy, thirdly, is for the humble, not the proud.
So first of all, mercy is for the undeserving, not the deserving.
Now, in verse 5, the brothers set off for Egypt.
And we watch on as in God's amazing providence, they walk straight into the court of Joseph, now governor of Egypt.
And even more incredible, Joseph is the man in charge of all the grain supplies.
The only person in the world with the power to help these brothers is the very person that they sold into slavery 20 years ago.
Isn't that incredible?
I mean, you couldn't even dream that up.
Although, funnily enough, Joseph did.
You remember those dreams he had 20 years ago about his brothers bowing down to him?
God gave him those dreams.
And now, it has just happened.
Because God's word never fails.
Even if you have to wait 20 years or more for it to come to pass, it will.
Because he cannot go against his word to us.
Now, let's not presume that this was all joy for Joseph to see his brothers bowing down in front of him in the court.
Let's keep in mind that when it came to naming his firstborn son, this was just at the end of the last chapter,
Joseph called him Forget, or Manasseh in Hebrew.
And he called him Forget because, he said, it's because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's households.
See, Joseph was moving on with his life.
He put all that in the past.
But in a split second, that all changed.
Everything that these wicked brothers did to him dragged right back up to the surface.
And what is he going to do now?
Joseph now has the power of life and death over his brothers.
The tables have turned completely.
Their lives are all in his hands.
They've come for food to save them from dying.
But all they deserve is punishment.
What will Joseph do?
Well, verse 7.
As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them.
But he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them.
Where do you come from?
He asked.
From the land of Canaan, they replied, to buy food.
Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.
Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them,
You are spies.
You have come to see where our land is unprotected.
Now, pause a second.
What is Joseph doing here?
Well, I don't know what you think, but it seems to me like he's given them a little taste of their own medicine, isn't he?
I mean, he knows that they aren't spies.
But he accuses them of it anyway.
And now they begin to feel the sting of injustice for themselves.
Carry on in verse 10.
No, my lord, the brothers answered.
Your servants have come to buy food.
We are all the sons of one man.
Your servants are honest men.
Not spies.
Honest men?
Well, that's pretty rich now, isn't it?
Coming from them.
And they can't fool Joseph either, can they?
I mean, Joseph knows their history.
Now, I grew up in a home with a brother who was nine years older, wiser, and smarter than I am.
And I just clearly remember many times he would sit back on the sofa, arms folded, and look at me and say,
I can read you like a book.
And that was to say that I know what you're saying, but I know what you're actually thinking.
I know what's really going on inside you.
That's because my brother knew me so well, and I still couldn't figure out, how did you know that?
I couldn't hide.
I couldn't pretend with him.
He knew me so well.
And nor could Joseph's brothers.
They couldn't hide or pretend in front of him.
Well, Joseph continues to make them sweat in the next few verses, insisting that they are spies,
and throwing them all into prison for three days.
And once the three days are up, only one of the brothers will be released to go back to the family.
For the only reason, to bring back Benjamin.
Everyone else will stay in prison.
No grain.
It's a harsh sentence.
And as the brothers sit on the cold floor of that prison, they have officially hit rock bottom.
All the while, the food is running out for their starving families at home.
If they were desperate before, they're hopeless now.
Their lives are completely at the mercy of this Egyptian governor,
who they don't even realize is the very brother they betrayed.
These brothers need mercy, but they only deserve punishment.
And Joseph has three days to dream up his payback.
And we're watching on, and we're thinking, here it is, Joseph.
You have them now.
Make them pay for every ounce of pain that they inflicted on you.
Who would blame him?
But Joseph's response is not as we expect, is it?
Because in verses 18 to 20, Joseph shows mercy to his undeserving brothers and their starving families.
In fact, instead of keeping nine in jail, like he said he was going to do,
he lets nine go free to take grain back home,
keeping only one back as a guarantee to see Benjamin again.
And then he stacks kindness on top of kindness as he sends them home with provisions for the journey.
Now, he didn't have to do that, did he?
And after they have paid for the grain,
he secretly takes the money and puts it back in their sacks,
refusing to take any payment.
This is staggering mercy,
shown to those who are utterly undeserving.
And I think that we can all see ourselves in the brother's portrait.
Because we have all grievously sinned against our father in heaven
and betrayed him in his love.
Despite knowing that God is our creator, sustainer, and joy giver,
day by day, by the way we live,
we say,
I am king.
I know what's best.
I don't need you.
And just like the brother's sins were laid bare before Joseph,
so the full extent of our rebellion is laid bare before God.
I mean, we can't hide or pretend.
We are guilty.
And friends,
that leaves us in grave danger.
Something ultimately worse than starvation or a prison sentence.
God's word tells us that we deserve judgment for our sin.
Separation from God for eternity.
And no amount of good that we could ever do would make up for it.
Or make it right.
See, the bottom line for us is that we don't deserve mercy from God.
But the astonishing reality of the gospel
is that God doesn't treat us as our sins deserve.
If Joseph showed undeserved kindness to his brothers,
how much more has God shown extravagant mercy to us,
undeserving sinners?
He sent Jesus to take the punishment we were due.
The punishment we deserved for our betrayal.
Defeating our death.
Giving us eternal life with him.
That is mercy.
And his mercy doesn't stop there.
He pours out his kindness on us every single day.
Giving us life and breath.
Food and shelter.
Love and laughter.
As Lamentations 3 says,
His mercies never come to an end.
They are new every morning.
Brothers and sisters,
remember,
God shows his mercy
to the undeserving,
not the deserving.
Are you thankful for this?
Or if you have yet to receive it,
why do you wait?
Receive his mercy offered in Christ.
Not because you deserve it,
but because God's mercy is for the undeserving.
As we continue in the story,
we're also going to learn that secondly,
mercy is for those who know they need it,
not for the self-righteous.
I mean,
you can't ultimately receive God's mercy
if you don't think you need it,
if you don't realize that you have a sin problem.
And in verse 21,
the brothers finally realize
that they have a sin problem.
And obviously,
they're still feeling the sting
of having to leave Simeon behind in jail.
And that is leading them to reflect
on their own past actions.
We're going to read from verse 21.
They said to one another,
surely we are being punished
because of our brother.
We saw how distressed he was
when he pleaded with us for his life,
but we wouldn't listen.
That's why this distress has come on us.
Reuben replied,
didn't I tell you not to sin against the boy?
But you wouldn't listen.
Now we must give an accounting for his blood.
They didn't realize
that Joseph could understand them
since he was using an interpreter.
So for the first time that we know of
in 20 years,
the brothers acknowledge their guilt and their sin.
Or they knew the right thing to do, all right,
but they did what was evil.
And they don't have any complaints, do they?
Now they face the judgment they are due.
They see this as being from God.
And in all our lives,
we must come to the very same point
as these brothers did
if we are ever to receive God's mercy
and Noah's forgiveness.
But you see,
our problem is that we often deny
that we have a real sin problem.
We say things like this,
oh, I make a few mistakes here and there.
But, I mean,
essentially I'm a good person.
You know,
I do good things.
And this is what the religious leaders
in Jesus' time thought.
And in Luke chapter 5,
they rebuked Jesus.
Because what was Jesus doing?
Well, he was eating with thieves
and prostitutes.
And they were like,
Jesus, hold on.
Why are you eating
with those bad people over there?
You should be eating with
good people like us.
And Jesus,
he knows that they've got it all wrong.
And this is what he says to them
in Luke chapter 5.
He says,
it's not the healthy who need a doctor,
but the sick.
I have not come to call those
who are right with God
in their own eyes,
but sinners to repentance.
Now,
think about it.
Would you ever go to the doctor
without first admitting
that you were sick?
No, you wouldn't,
would you?
In fact,
sometimes that's the hardest thing
to admit,
that we are sick.
Because we want,
actually,
to be self-sufficient.
I know I find that hard.
When I start to feel
a little bit off,
I'm like,
no,
I'm fine.
I'm perfectly fine.
I'm just going to power on
with my day,
and then 10 minutes later,
I'm, you know,
throwing up or something.
But my problem is,
actually,
I'm just denying it
until I can't deny it anymore.
And you know what?
Jesus says,
this is kind of a picture
of our hearts,
because in the same way,
we don't want to admit
our sickness of sin
in our hearts
and our need for mercy.
We'd much rather say,
thanks, Jesus,
for your offer of mercy,
but I'm pretty good by myself.
Thank you.
But these brothers,
their eyes were finally opened
to see the extent
of their sin.
And for us,
when we first understand
our sickness of sin,
we instantly realize
we only deserve judgment
from God.
Thanks, Ralph.
But then we see Jesus,
who steps in
to take that judgment
for us,
which leads us
to confess
our ultimate need
of him
and what he's done
for us.
And that is the moment
that we receive
God's mercy
and are forgiven,
welcomed as children
of God.
Remember,
God's mercy
is for those
who know
they need it,
not for those
who falsely think
that they don't,
those who are
righteous
in their own eyes.
So I have to ask you
the question,
which description
best fits you?
If you don't really
see your sickness
of sin
or think that you're
that bad,
I encourage you,
read God's word
and ask him
to open your eyes
to see it
and he will.
So as the chapter
comes to a close,
these brothers
are going to discover
that Joseph's kindness
was even greater
than they had realized
before.
And we will learn,
thirdly,
that this mercy
that God offers
can only be received
by the humble,
not the proud.
Look at verse 25.
Joseph gave orders
to fill their bags
with grain,
to put each man's
silver back in his sack
and to give them
provisions for their journey.
After this was done
for them,
they loaded their grain
on their donkeys
and left.
And at the place
where they stopped
for the night,
one of them opened
his sack
to get feed
for his donkey
and he saw his silver
in the mouth of his sack.
My silver has been returned,
he said to his brothers.
Here it is in my sack.
Their hearts sank.
And they turned
to each other,
trembling,
and said,
what is this
that God has done
to us?
So they arrived
back to their father,
they relayed the whole saga,
and then look down
at verse 35.
As they were emptying
their sacks,
there in each man's sack
was his pouch of silver.
When they and their father
saw the money pouches,
they were frightened.
Doesn't that strike you
as strange?
At the moment,
they realize the extent
of Joseph's mercy.
They tremble in fear.
That might be the thing
we'd least expect them to do.
And we don't know
exactly why,
but here are three
plausible reasons
why they may have
trembled before his mercy.
A,
judging on their
colorful past,
these rogues don't seem
to be the kind
and merciful type.
I think you'd agree.
And maybe Joseph's
mercy and kindness
frightened them so much
because mercy like that
demands a life change,
doesn't it?
You can't just continue
on as you were
after experiencing
mercy like that
and they weren't
prepared to change.
Or B,
maybe they were
frightened of his mercy
because they just
thought it was too good
to be true.
I mean,
surely the ruler
of all of Egypt
would not be as kind
and merciful as this.
There must have been
some mistake
and they would have
to pay him back.
In fact,
in the next chapter
we read,
they would go back
with double the amount.
And Jacob,
Jacob is fearful
of the governor's
kindness also
because in the last
few verses of the chapter
he refuses
to allow his sons
go back to Egypt
despite all the kindness
that they were shown there.
for Jacob,
it was also
too good
to be true.
Or maybe
they realized
this was a gift
of mercy
and kindness
but they were just
too proud
to receive it.
Maybe they just
wanted to earn
it themselves
though they could
never earn
Joseph's mercy
after all
they did to him
nor ever compensate
him
for all the suffering
they caused.
You see,
here we learn
that God's mercy
can only be
truly received
by the humble
not the proud.
God's mercy
is for those
who humbly say
thank you
for a gift
of forgiveness
they never deserved
nor could
ever
pay back.
in a few moments
we're going to sing
a song together
called
His Mercy
is More
and I think
these words
say it better
than I could.
They're on the screen
there.
What riches
of kindness
he lavished
on us.
His blood
was the payment
his life
was the cost.
We stood
neath a debt
we could never
afford
our sins
they are many
his mercy
is more.
Brothers and sisters
we could never
repay God
the debt
of sin
we owed.
We could never
repay Jesus
for the ultimate
price
he paid
with his life
to purchase
our forgiveness.
forgiveness.
So today
if you are
trying to
earn God's
mercy
you will
never
receive it.
It's not
possible.
Or if you're
trying to
repay God
for the mercy
he's shown you
you haven't
understood it.
Unlike the
brothers
in this instance
we must
receive God's
mercy
as a gift
in humility.
all we must
do
is say
thank you
and rest
in his
mercy.
Because God's
mercy is for
the undeserving
not the
deserving.
It's for the
one who knows
they need it
not the
self-righteous.
And it's for
the humble
not the one
who's proud
who says
I can earn
it myself.
Which
description
best fits
you?
And as we
finish
here's one
last implication
of all that
we've heard.
If we really
have received
so great a
mercy
that changes
how we
respond to
other people's
sin and
failure also
doesn't it?
I mean
our wider
community
looking in
on us
in Cargoline
Baptist Church
they should
see a
people
who show
mercy and
kindness
that doesn't
make sense.
A kind
of mercy
that's given
even when
it's not
reciprocated
or deserved.
A mercy
given with
no ulterior
motives
no self-interest
not looking
for anything
in return.
what about
when someone
in your
family
snaps
at you
or is
selfish
in their
attitude
towards you?
Maybe it's
a sibling
parent
a spouse
our natural
reaction
is to get
our own
back
right?
But what
would it
look like
to be
merciful
in that
situation
instead?
Speaking
a kind
and gentle
word in
response.
Does any
one of us
find that
easy?
Absolutely
not.
But
we do
have the
Holy Spirit's
power
to draw
upon to
live this
new life
in Christ.
Life
as a
family
is a
life of
giving
and
receiving
mercy
day by
day.
Or what
about when
someone from
the church
family hurts
you?
Maybe
they passed
a throwaway
comment
or voiced
their opinions
in a way
that lacked
sensitivity
and kindness.
Our
natural
reaction is
to withdraw,
to resent
that person
or even
to gossip
about it.
What would
it mean
to show
mercy
instead?
What would
it look like
to choose
to love
even if
that person
doesn't
deserve
it in
that
moment?
Or what
about when
someone in
work or
school
goes out
of their
way
to
purposefully
undermine
your name?
Not hard
to imagine
what our
natural reaction
would be
right there.
To get
our own
back,
whatever the
cost.
mercy means
that we
won't
spread
gospel
about
them
or
return
ill
for
ill.
And I
don't know
what situation
you're
thinking of
in which
someone
doesn't
deserve
your
kindness
for the
way that
they have
acted
towards
you.
But the
point is
this.
If we've
been forgiven
so great
a debt,
one we
could never
afford to
repay,
that
frees us
to forgive
the debts
people owe
to us.
With God's
help,
we can
be
merciful.
So remember,
we are
more sinful
and undeserving
than we
ever realized.
But God's
mercy is
greater than
we have
ever dreamed.
In repentance
and humility,
we receive
it from
him.
And we
pour it
out on
others.
Let's
pray.
thank you,
Lord.
Thank you
for your
extravagant
mercy
poured out
on us.
Help us
to receive
it in
humility
and in
thankfulness.
Lord,
we confess
how often
we respond
in anger
and revenge
to others'
sin.
help us
to be
merciful
as you
are
merciful.
For
Jesus'
sake,
we pray.
Amen.
Well,
we're going
to sing
that song
now,
His
mercy
is
more.
Let's
use this
as an
opportunity
to wonder
anew
at God's
mercy
on us
and also
to put it
into practice
in our
own lives.
Please stand
if you're
able.
Thank you.