Chapter XII.
Joseph, revealing himself to his brothers, invites them to come forward and even makes excuses, thereby expressing the manner in which Christ was going to act against the Jews. There, an elegant comparison between the words of both is presented; and after that, Joseph's embrace of Benjamin is briefly explained by Paul.
67. And he commanded all to depart, so that it could be known by the brothers. For he had not come, as he himself said, except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And speaking with weeping, he said, 'I am Joseph; is my father still alive?' (Gen. XLV, 2 and 3). That is, he extended his hands to a people who did not believe and contradicted: not seeking an ambassador or messenger, but desiring to save his own people, the Lord himself: 'I, who spoke, behold I am here,' he said (Isaiah LII, 6). And so, openly, I appear to those who do not seek me, and I am visible to those who do not ask me (Isaiah 65:1). What else did he then shout, if not: I am Jesus (John 18:5), when the leaders of the Jews asked: Are you the son of God? he responded: You say that I am; when Pilate said: Are you saying that I am a king? I was born for this, to bear witness to the truth (Ibid., 37); when the high priest said: I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the son of God, he replied: You have said it. Truly I say to you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power of God and coming with the clouds of heaven (Matthew 26:63-64). So this is what he says: I am Joseph, I am of divine power. Is my father still alive? That is, I do not deny my father, I recognize my brothers, if either you recognize your brother or your father recognizes his son. Therefore, my people are still alive, from which people's family have I chosen my brother?
Draw near to me (Gen. XLV, 4); for I have approached you, and I have approached to the extent of assuming flesh in order to become a partaker of your nature. Do not, therefore, flee from or reject your communion, if you do not recognize the author of salvation.
69. And they came to him, and he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years has the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to make sure of the preservation of your race in the land, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. What else does our Lord Jesus Christ, who surpassed all his brothers in piety, have: intercession for the people, saying on the cross, 'Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing' (Luke 23:34)? What else does that expression of holiness in the midst of the disciples, saying, 'Peace be with you; I am he, do not be afraid' (Luke 24:36)? And when they were troubled and frightened, thinking they saw a spirit, he said to them again, 'Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your hearts?' See, behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have (Ibid., 38 and 39). Therefore, these mysteries that will happen in future times were already revealed then.
70. Finally, these things are expressed in their own words, so that we understand it to be Joseph himself, both before and after speaking in his own body, since he did not change his words. For he said at that time: Do not be sad. And later: Go up to my father, and say to him: Thus says your son Joseph: God has made me lord of all the land of Egypt. And in the Gospel he says: Do not be afraid. Go, tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me (Matthew 28:10). And below he says: All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me (Ibid., 18), that is to say: this was of divine arrangement that I received power, not of human bitterness. He does not accuse a crime, who enumerates the reward.
But what is said in Genesis: 'For God sent me ahead of you to preserve life' (Gen 45:5), is repeated in the Gospel, saying: 'Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit' (Matt 28:19). For this is the reward and life of the saints, which has also redeemed others.
Moreover, pay attention to this, not written in Genesis in vain: 'And you shall be near me, you and your sons, and the sons of your sons' (Gen. XLV, 10). For this is what he said in the Gospel: 'Behold, I am with you all days until the end of the world' (Matthew XXVIII, 20).
73. How evident also is that mystery, which, as if having completed every commandment, Joseph embraces his brother Benjamin, and falls upon his neck (Gen. XLV, 14), just as Christ embraces Paul, having completed the Gospel, with the arms of his mercy (Act. IX, 4 et seq.), so that, being bent in internal opinion, he may raise him from the neck to heaven. Therefore, being raised by Christ, he says: But our conversation is in heaven (Philip. III, 20).