Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 2470
“And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive: I will go and see him before I die.” Genesis 45:28.
I THINK that the Patriarch Jacob may well serve as the type and emblem of a doubting soul, one who has been told the good news of salvation, the Gospel of God’s Grace, but who cannot bring his mind to believe it.
Let us think for a few minutes of old Jacob. First of all, he was a man who was very ready to believe evil tidings. When his sons held up before him a coat dipped in the blood of a kid and asked him if it was not the coat he had given to Joseph, the Patriarch answered, “It is my son’s coat; an evil beast has devoured him. Joseph is, without doubt, torn in pieces.” He had no doubt about it, yet it was not true. And we have many hearers who will believe anything that is terrible, even though it may not be true. If there is something in the sermon which seems to condemn them, even though it may not be meant to condemn them, they are sure to take home that part of the discourse. If they see any passage of Scripture that appears to frown upon them, they retain that in their memory and they keep on stinging themselves with it, often making themselves unhappy with that which was never intended to apply to them! I wish that readiness to believe the dark sayings could be turned to an equal readiness to receive the consolations of the Word of God. Surely, we ought not to be so prejudiced against ourselves as to accept every evil thing and to reject every good thing. No, let us weigh fairly the evidence for either form of teaching and believe, or reject either according as the evidence, for it may be strong or weak.
Jacob would, all the while, have willingly believed that which was good, if he could have believed it. If you could have asked him if he had any objection to believe that Joseph was alive, the old man would have answered, “Oh, no! It would be the joy of my heart if I could but think it to be true.” There are some whom I am now addressing who are in a similar case. Ask them whether they have any objection to believe that Jesus Christ is their Savior, that He loved them and gave Himself for them, and they would, each one, reply, “Object to believe this? Why, I would give my eyes—I would give my life—if I could but think it to be true!” Such an unbeliever as that is a very hopeful one because it is evident that he is not a willful unbeliever—he does not desire to be so. His heart longs to grasp the Truth of God which, for the moment, his mind dares not accept! Jacob, in this respect, is the type of very many who hear the Gospel, but dare not receive it and yet oh, how they wish they could! Their very soul hungers and thirsts after it, but they are afraid to take it lest they should be taking that which is not truly theirs.
So far, the parallel between Jacob and the doubting soul runs very properly. Next notice that to the Patriarch, the truth about his son Joseph seemed altogether incredible. Joseph was alive and governor over all the land of Egypt—but the old man had so long believed the contrary that he could not readily get out of the rut! He had sorrowfully said, “Joseph is, without doubt, torn in pieces,” and this idea, though it was most painful to him, had, nevertheless, eaten its way into his belief and he could not get it out of him. So do I know some who have written bitter things against themselves— “I shall be lost, I know I shall. It is not possible that Christ will save me. He will certainly reject me.” And, although that is quite untrue—as untrue as Jacob’s belief that Joseph was dead—yet they have hugged their despair so long that they cannot give it up! They are like the man who refused to be comforted, or those afflicted ones of whom we read, “Their soul abhors all manner of meat and they draw near to the gates of death.” Oh, that the Holy Spirit would come upon these poor unwilling doubters and help them to know that a lie, however long it is believed, is not the truth! Though we may be in despondency of spirit for years, yet, if there is no real cause for that despondency, it is a pity that we should continue in it. Oh, that the Holy Spirit would enable us to break those bands asunder and joyfully to believe what is true—that there is a Savior, an all-sufficient Savior, that all power is committed into His hands—and that He will rejoice this very hour to save and bless our souls!
The news appeared incredible to Jacob because it seemed “too good to be true.” His eyes flashed for the moment with a joyful light. “Joseph alive? Joseph—my Joseph—ruler over all the land of Egypt?” And then the very brightness of the thought seemed to blind the eyes of his faith. “It cannot be true,” he said—“it is too good to be true.” Suppose that one of you had lost a son many years ago and that a person met you outside the Tabernacle and said to you, “That boy of yours who was reported dead 20 years ago, is not dead! He is in Australia, alive and well”? You would be staggered, would you not? And I have no doubt you would say to yourself, “It must be somebody like him, or somebody else of the same name—it cannot be my son—it is impossible! I know that he is dead.” You would hardly believe it! Therefore, do not blame poor old Jacob for his doubts!