The way they treated him was wrong. It looked like they weren’t too bothered by it, but deep down they knew it was wrong. For about 20 years they had been living with a troubled conscience about what they had done. To others, it looked like they were doing well, but their past troubled them. In Genesis 42 we see how the guilt of the brothers had been weighing on them for so long. They remember the cries of their younger brother as he pleaded for his life, but they just ignored him (42v21). For years those cries had troubled them.
A guilty conscience can be a good thing, especially when the Lord mercifully helps us to come to him and he gives us the grace to change. Over the coming chapters we will see a great change in the brothers. But for now, it’s worth see the tragic effects of sin and allow it to help us hate sin and repent quickly. God tells us that as far as it depends on us we should live at peace with everyone (Romans 12:18).
In our gospel reading, we see that just as Joseph was raised from the pit and in time brought reconciliation to his brothers, Jesus was raised and offered reconciliation to his disciples. I love the way that the angel tells the women at the empty tomb to “Go tell his disciples…and Peter.” The angel is a messenger of Jesus, and here Jesus is offering reconciliation to the one who denied him three times. What an encouragement to us when we mess up to return to Jesus quickly and know He is ready and willing to forgive.
So, rather than living with a guilty conscience, it’s always best to come quickly to Jesus, find forgiveness and where possible be reconciled to others.
And wonderfully even through the mess, God is working his purposes out, at the end of Genesis 41:57 we read “Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.” The brothers meant it for evil, but God intended it for good, to save many lives.
Light and Momentary Troubles 
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