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Intro: This passage tells us of Joseph and his coat of many colors. This coat is a fine representation of Joseph’s
life, and Joseph is the most perfect illustration of the life of Christ in the Scriptures. So, in this coat, I want to show
you some things about Joseph and ultimately about our Lord. This Coat was a VERY SPECIAL COAT BECAUSE: I.
IT WAS HIS FATHER’S GIFT TO HIM: v. 3, The father made him this coat. The coat is an illustration of the bodily
incarnation of Christ. Deity was robed in a coat of flesh. Our Lord was made flesh for us. It was the Father’s gift.
Heb 10:5 “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body
hast thou prepared me.” Christ is more than just our Savior… he is the bodily representation of the Godhead
(Col 2:9 “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”) This is why we believe and preach
that Christ is not just the Son of God but also God The Son. Jesus became on earth the bodily manifestation of the God of
Glory. This was not the beginning of Christ; He has always existed, but the body was his father’s gift, which made him
manifest to all. John 1:1-2, 14. II. IT WAS FLASHY: v. 3, It was a coat of many colors. It was
indicative of the life that Joseph would lead… His life did not appear to be on a single course. He played many roles…
Son, Servant, Prisoner, the Prime Minister. He was always a Hebrew, but he succeeded well in an Egyptian world. He knew what
it was to be loved, and he knew what it was to be hated. He knew what it was to be a farmer, a financial advisor, a felon,
and a favorite of the king. It is much the way it was with our Lord. He was God’s perfect man and man’s perfect
God. He was God’s Christ become man’s Jesus. Anyone could look at his coat and see he was different, multi-colored,
multi-faceted. - Simeon saw his coat, and knew he was special: Luke 2:30 “Mine eyes have seen
thy salvation.”
- John the Baptist saw his coat, and knew he was special: John
1:29 (Lamb of God), Matt 3:17 (My Beloved Son)
- Peter saw his coat, and knew he was special: Matthew
16:16
- Pilate saw his coat, and knew he was special: John 18:30, 19:4, & 6, “I find
no fault in him.”
- The Prisoner on the cross saw his coat and knew it was special: Luke
23:41-42, “This man hath done nothing amiss… Lord, remember me…”
- Mary saw
his coat, and knew he was special: Luke 2:19 “pondered these things in her heart.” It was a
wonder of wonders! Her little boy was the God of All! Mary, What are you thinking about? Been thinking about my boy.
- About
a visit from Gabriel, when he told me that the child conceived in me was of the Holy Ghost. Watching my boy play ball in the
yard and thinking of how he rolled the whole earth into a ball and hung it on nothing in space! Been looking my baby in my
arms thinking how the same baby I hold in my arms holds me in his hand! I’m giving my life to bring him up, and one
day he will give his life to take me up. Been thinking how the angel said, “Call him Jesus, for he will save his people
from their sin.” I looked in my baby boy’s eyes and thinking, he is making my heart beat! Been thinking of how
there was not even room for us in the inn. We are in a stable, but this baby owns every mansion in town! She held a helpless
baby in a quiet night of solitude, but she knew all heaven was watching as she looked in her baby’s eyes, and there
she held in her hands, as she sat in a calf stall, the gem of all the glory world! He wrapped his little hand around her finger,
yet she rested in the same little hand. When he cried for food, did she think, he made every stalk of corn, blade of grass,
herb of the field, and beast of the forest? Oh! How she must have wondered! Our parental experience was emotional, invigorating,
miraculous, but with Mary her parental experience was supernatural! What are you thinking about? This new little person I
hold in my hands is the ageless, eternal, everlasting God of Heaven! Oh, how she pondered these things in her heart! It was
the Wonder of Wonders!
III. IT WAS A SIGN OF FAVORITISM: v. 3, Israel loved Joseph more than any other.
He was the apple of his father’s eye. He pleased the father more than any other. His father trusted him to carry out
his assignment of service to his brethren (v. 13-14). There was only one the Father counted worthy to carry out the assignment
to the people of the world, and that was his favored Son. He did not send an angel, a prophet, or one risen from the dead,
but he sent us his own Son. IV. IT FORCED HIM TO SUFFER: A. Rejected By His Brethren:
v. 4, 11(Dreams), 18-20 (conspired), John 1:11, Mark 14:1 (by craft), Matt 26:4 (by subtility). His purpose was to provide
for his brothers, but they hated him for it. He said he was the Son of God. They hated him simply because he wore his coat. B.
Retained As A Slave: this slavery sent him into a foreign country, so it was with our Lord who made himself our servant in
this land foreign to heaven’s world. He was sold cheap (20 pieces). Jesus was sold for 30. The brothers meant it to
him for evil, but God brought from it good. C. Restrained As A Felon: Joseph was falsely accused and
imprisoned (Genesis 39:7-20). So our Lord was carried from prison and from judgment. Mary saw his coat, and knew he was special:
Luke 2:19 "pondered these things in her heart." It was a wonder of wonders! Her little boy was the God of All! Isa
53:8-9 “He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out
of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and
with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.” He was falsely
accused. He was condemned to a cross for a crime he did not commit. Because he wore the Father’s coat, he had to suffer! V.
IT HAD TO BE FORFEITED TO FULFILL HIS PURPOSE: In order to fulfill his purpose, he had to lose the coat. They
stripped it from him (v. 23) (Matt 27:28). They covered it with the blood of an innocent animal (v. 31) (Is 53:7, “Lamb
to the slaughter“). They brought it to the Father and asked the Father to see if he recognized it, and the Father said
he would have known that coat anywhere! (v. 32). Rev 19:13, “Vesture dipped in blood.” Is 53:10 “Yet
it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see
his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.”
Conclusion:
Joseph’s purpose ultimately was to provide posterity for his family during a coming famine in the land. He did so when
he was promoted to the Prime Minister in Egypt. Think about this… the last time the brethren saw him, he had been stripped
of that very special coat. He had been wounded in the house of his friends. But the next time that they saw him, he was wearing
another very special coat! Gen 41:41-43 “And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee
over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed
him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; And he made him to ride in the second chariot
which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.” He no
longer wore the Son’s coat, the Servant’s coat, or the Suffering Coat, but he was wearing the Sovereign’s
Coat! And because he was wearing this very special coat, his family was able to enjoy all the benefits of royalty. You
may look at me today and say that things don’t always seem to work out. But it’s like the boy who was decked out
in the jersey of his favorite team at the ball park. The score was 21-0, and his team was losing. The usher said, “Son,
it does not look real good for your team today.” The boy responded, “Oh, we’ll be alright. We have not come
up to bat yet!” BROTHER, JUST WAIT TILL YOU SEE MY BRAND NEW HOME! WE ARE GOING TO WIN IN THE END! We will all wear
a very special coat in heaven. Furthermore, I have a new coat now! It was my father’s gift- a new nature. Some
say it’s flashy, easily identifiable, multi-faceted, multi-colored. It makes me like unto him. Though at times it forces
me to suffer, I still see the purpose of God in my life and he is working all things for my good. I will one day forfeit this
coat in this life, but when I do, I will wear an even better coat! Like the little coat I wore as a kindergartener…
the other kids made fun of it. But my parents gave it to me, and I liked it. My grandmother told me, “who cares what
they think? It’s not their coat; it’s your coat. They don’t wear it. You let them wear their coat, and you
wear your coat.” This life, this calling, this purpose God has put on my life, it’s my coat, and I’m gonna
wear it and not be ashamed!
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