Genesis 50, Luke 3, Job 16, 17, 1 Corinthians 4

Genesis 50,

Joseph threw himself upon his father and wept over him and kissed him.
Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him,
taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.
When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh's court, "If I have found favor in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him,
'My father made me swear an oath and said, "I am about to die; bury me in the tomb I dug for myself in the land of Canaan." Now let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.' "
  
  Pharaoh said, "Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do."
So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh's officials accompanied him--the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egypt-
besides all the members of Joseph's household and his brothers and those belonging to his father's household. Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen.
Chariots and horsemen also went up with him. It was a very large company.
When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly; and there Joseph observed a seven-day period of mourning for his father.
  
  When the Canaanites who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, "The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning." That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.
So Jacob's sons did as he had commanded them:
They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite, along with the field.
After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.
When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?"
  
  So they sent word to Joseph, saying, "Your father left these instructions before he died:
'This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.' Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father." When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. "We are your slaves," they said.
But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God?
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
  
  So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father's family. He lived a hundred and ten years
and saw the third generation of Ephraim's children. Also the children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth on Joseph's knees.
Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."
And Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath and said, "God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place."
  
  So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt. 

Luke 3,

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar--when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene--
during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.
He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.
Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.
  
  And all mankind will see God's salvation.' "
John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."
"What should we do then?" the crowd asked.
  
  John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."
Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?"
"Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told them.
Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely--be content with your pay."
The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ.
  
  John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them.
But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and all the other evil things he had done,
Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.
  
  When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened
and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli,
the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melki, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,
the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai,
  
  the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda,
the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,
the son of Melki, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,
the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,
the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,
  
  the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,
the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon,
the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,
the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,
the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah,
  
  the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,
the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Kenan,
the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. 

Job 16, 17,

Then Job replied:
"I have heard many things like these; miserable comforters are you all!
Will your long-winded speeches never end? What ails you that you keep on arguing?
I also could speak like you, if you were in my place; I could make fine speeches against you and shake my head at you.
But my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief.
  
  "Yet if I speak, my pain is not relieved; and if I refrain, it does not go away.
Surely, O God, you have worn me out; you have devastated my entire household.
You have bound me--and it has become a witness; my gauntness rises up and testifies against me.
God assails me and tears me in his anger and gnashes his teeth at me; my opponent fastens on me his piercing eyes.
Men open their mouths to jeer at me; they strike my cheek in scorn and unite together against me.
  
  God has turned me over to evil men and thrown me into the clutches of the wicked.
All was well with me, but he shattered me; he seized me by the neck and crushed me. He has made me his target;
his archers surround me. Without pity, he pierces my kidneys and spills my gall on the ground.
Again and again he bursts upon me; he rushes at me like a warrior.
"I have sewed sackcloth over my skin and buried my brow in the dust.
  
  My face is red with weeping, deep shadows ring my eyes;
yet my hands have been free of violence and my prayer is pure.
"O earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry never be laid to rest!
Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high.
My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God;
  
  on behalf of a man he pleads with God as a man pleads for his friend.
"Only a few years will pass before I go on the journey of no return.

My spirit is broken, my days are cut short, the grave awaits me.
Surely mockers surround me; my eyes must dwell on their hostility.
"Give me, O God, the pledge you demand. Who else will put up security for me?
You have closed their minds to understanding; therefore you will not let them triumph.
If a man denounces his friends for reward, the eyes of his children will fail.
  
  "God has made me a byword to everyone, a man in whose face people spit.
My eyes have grown dim with grief; my whole frame is but a shadow.
Upright men are appalled at this; the innocent are aroused against the ungodly.
Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways, and those with clean hands will grow stronger.
"But come on, all of you, try again! I will not find a wise man among you.
  
  My days have passed, my plans are shattered, and so are the desires of my heart.
These men turn night into day; in the face of darkness they say, 'Light is near.'
If the only home I hope for is the grave, if I spread out my bed in darkness,
if I say to corruption, 'You are my father,' and to the worm, 'My mother' or 'My sister,'
where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me?
  
  Will it go down to the gates of death ? Will we descend together into the dust?" 

1 Corinthians 4

So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God.
Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.
My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.
  
  Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over against another.
For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become kings--and that without us! How I wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings with you!
For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men.
We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored!
  
  To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.
We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it;
when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.
I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children.
Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.
  
  Therefore I urge you to imitate me.
For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.
Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you.
But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have.
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.
  
  What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a whip, or in love and with a gentle spirit?