Where's Jesus? Jacob's Death (Genesis 49:29-50:14)

The death of Jacob and the subsequent funeral procession recorded in Genesis 49:29-50:14 make for an interesting story.  There are three phases to the pericope.  First Jacob gives some final instructions before leaving this world (Genesis 49:29-33), second Joseph begins the mourning process which takes 40 and 70 days respectively, and third, Jacob's sons obey their father's final instructions.

We don't often look for Jesus in the midst of burials and funerals as protestants, but he is there.  Here are my thoughts:

1. Just as Jacob gave final instructions before leaving this world, so Jesus gave his church final words before leaving.  Matthew 28:18-20 records these as,  “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Similar words are recorded in Mark 16:15-18 and Acts 1:8-10.  Jesus death, resurrection and ascension were not the end, but the beginning of a journey that would take his family, the church, to the Promised Land, just as jacob's death reunited the family in Canaan for a brief period.
2. The mourning process for loosing loved ones is complex and it takes time.  Jacob's embalmment took 40 days, so also, jesus instructed his followers to wait in Jerusalem, which consequently was 40 days from his ascension to the day we call Pentecost (Acts 1:4-5, 2:1ff).  This time of preparation, is a time of adjusting to the new realities, the apparent loss of one, but the waiting for another.  In the case of Joseph it signaled the regaining of his brothers (which we will explore next week), while in the case of New Testament Christians, it signals the gaining of the Holy Spirit.  In each case, the third part of obedience to the parting instruction would have been impossible had the waiting not taken place.
3. Finally, obedience occurs.  Joseph and his brothers carry Jacob back to Canaan.  Likewise the disciples wait, receive and then the book of Acts is full of stories of making disciples: the crowds (Acts 2:14, 41), Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8:26-39), Cornelius (Acts 10), and the missionary journeys of Acts 13-28.