What Happened To Joseph
James Hastings discusses why no mention of Joseph is made after that Passover feast in Jerusalem: “Joseph never appears in the Gospel story after the visit to Jerusalem when Jesus had attained the age of twelve years and become ‘a son of the Law’ and since Mary always appears alone in the narratives of the public ministry, it is a reasonable inference that he had died during the interval.”
This seems the most likely scenario. Although the Gospels do not give Joseph’s age, Joseph was probably older than Mary. Perhaps he died before Jesus began His ministry.
Although the Scriptures give us only a few glimpses of Joseph, they tell us he was a kind man and a loving father. Perhaps no greater compliment can be paid to him than that of Jesus Himself: When He tried to give mankind a better conception of the love and character of God, He used the term Father to express our Creator’s loving relationship toward us.
A Heartrending Challenge Reveals A Gentle Man
It was during this one-year period that the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, telling her that she was about to conceive by the power of God and that her child would be the Son of God and was to be named Jesus . As stressful as this would have been for Mary, it did fulfill the prophecy that the Messiah would be born to a virgin .
The Father made sure His Son was born into a house of faith.
But what would Joseph have thought? The answer teaches us something important about the man who was to help raise Jesus.
Joseph knew his bride-to-be was a woman of strong character and faith, and it is clear he loved her deeply. Whether Mary told him of the visit from Gabriel is not stated. But even if she had, it would still have been a great shock to learn she was indeed pregnant! All of their family, friends and acquaintances would assume the worst, and the only socially acceptable option was to divorce Mary.
The character of Joseph is revealed in the way he responded to what would have been a very emotional circumstance.
Matthew tells us Joseph was a just man . This is a description of his heart and character, meaning he was a kind and tenderhearted man, whose concern for others was exceeded only by his love and obedience to God. In fact, the word just is often used in connection with mildness and mercy to describe ones character.
He demonstrated a tender, caring love for Mary. This is the kind of man God the Father wanted to help raise the young Jesus.
They Were Only At The First Stage Of Being Engaged When Mary Got Pregnant
To understand Mary and Joseph’s relationship, you have to understand the stages of Jewish marriage. Jews who want to have a marriage recognized by rabbinic tradition , have to follow certain rules. Chabad describes Jewish marriage as being divided into two parts: kiddushin and nisu’in .
But this is a very simplistic way to think about the process. To go through kiddushin means that you’re essentially married in the eyes of God. You don’t live with your fiancé at this point, and you definitely don’t have sex. Nowadays, most people just combine kiddushin and nisu’in rituals into one wedding ceremony for the sake of efficiency and cost. But in Mary’s time, this would have lasted a whole year and Joseph would have spent it reading holy texts and getting ready to be a husband. Imagine her showing up pregnant with all of that going on.
Fun fact: Jewish Press reported that Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef sent a letter out saying that modern engagements where someone got down on one knee, asked for someone to marry them, and offered them a gift in front of witnesses basically counted as kiddushin. In essence, modern Jews were accidentally getting married in the eyes of Jewish law when they thought they were just proposing. Whoops.
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Little Mention Of Joseph
Joseph is mentioned only a few times in the four Gospels. Only one incident of Jesus’ childhood is preserved in Scripture. Luke 2:41-50Luke 2:41-50 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the middle of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said to him, Son, why have you thus dealt with us? behold, your father and I have sought you sorrowing. And he said to them, How is it that you sought me? knew you not that I must be about my Father’s business? And they understood not the saying which he spoke to them.American King James Version×). However, at the end of the Feast, as Joseph and Mary journeyed back to Nazareth, they realized Jesus wasn’t among their group.
They Almost Broke Up Because Mary Was Pregnant
In Mary and Joseph’s time, women’s purity was valued as a currency, something that would sweeten the deal between marriage negotiations in family. There were no paternity tests back thenif you wanted kids that you were sure were yours, the best insurance was marrying a virgin. So women’s bodies were highly regimented during this time. There are several rules in the Bible about approaching women when she has kids and/or has a period. They would be considered “unclean” at various points and would have to avoid contact with people.
So imagine your girlfriend shows up after visiting her cousin for three months with a big ol’ baby bump. Everyone, not just Joseph, was freaking out. Mary would have been considered damaged goods and not marriage material. It didn’t help that she was claiming it was God’s baby, not even that of a man other than Joseph. So he planned to end their engagement. According to National Geographic, Joseph was just trying to not make the situation worse.
But don’t think Joseph was insensitive for wanting to dump Mary because she was unexpectedly pregnant. Breaking up was actually the classiest move Joseph could have made at that time .
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After The Ascension Of Jesus
In Acts 1:26, especially verse 14, Mary is the only one other than the eleven apostles to be mentioned by name who abode in the upper room, when they returned from Mount Olivet. From this time, she disappears from the biblical accounts, although it is held by Catholics that she is again portrayed as the heavenly woman of Revelation.
Her death is not recorded in the scriptures, but Orthodox tradition, tolerated also by Catholics, has her first dying a natural death, known as the Dormition of Mary, and then, soon after, her body itself also being assumed into Heaven. Belief in the corporeal assumption of Mary is a dogma of the Catholic Church, in the Latin and Eastern Catholic Churches alike, and is believed as well by the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglican movement.
Don Stewart : : What Do We Know About Jesus’ Earthly Parents: Joseph And Mary
There are some facts that we know about Jesus’ earthly family. His parents were named Joseph and Mary.
Joseph
Joseph was the husband of Mary but not the biological father of Jesus. The New Testament makes this quite clear.
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit .
The Bible also says.
But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus .
There are not many fact recorded about Joseph in the four gospels. He is mentioned only with respect to the events surrounding Jesus’ birth, flight to Egypt, return to Galilee. We find Joseph obeyed the Lord without question during this time.
The Episode In The Temple
The only other reference to him is the episode regarding Jesus teaching at the temple at age twelve.
Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.””Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” .
Joseph Was Not Around For Jesus’ Public Ministry
Is His Death Indicated?
The Announcement To Mary
The Song Of Mary
There is the song of Mary recorded in Luke’s gospel in which Mary praises God for His faithfulness.
She was present at Jesus’ crucifixion.
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Joseph And Mary: A Blissful Couple
God selected a man named Joseph, a descendant of David, and a young woman named Mary . At this point they were betrothed, a custom rather foreign to the modern mind. To fully understand this, we need to take a brief look at this practice.
The betrothal period was similar to the current custom of being engaged, but it was a deeper and more serious commitment. William Barclay explains it this way: Once the betrothal was entered into, it was absolutely binding. It lasted for one year. During that year, the couple were known as husband and wife, although they had not the rights of husband and wife .
The year leading up to the wedding itself was one in which they were to be deeply committed to one another, yet were not allowed to enjoy the sexual relationship normal for a married couple. Barclay explains that if, for some reason, the couple decided not to proceed on to the wedding, the betrothal could not be terminated in any other way than by divorce .
Joseph Was A Good Citizen Of His Country
The first five verses of the second chapter of Luke explain an important aspect of Josephs life. Joseph was submissive to Caesar Augustus , who had decreed that a census should be taken. The word taxed refers really to a registrationa compiling of information which later could be used for the purposes of taxation. But Joseph was obedient to the law of the land. He returned to his native town, as he was expected to do, and did as the authorities said that he should.
Joseph was not one who took the attitude that if a certain law did not suit him, he was not going to obey it. Joseph was a law-abiding citizen of his country. When Caesar Augustus called for a census, Joseph dropped the work that he was doing and took his family to Bethlehem to be registered. But to take that step of obedience was not an easy task in Israel in New Testament times.
The Romans controlled the country of Israel, and many Jews all over the land resented the idea of Roman control. They despised the idea of more taxation. They planned to resist with violence. The Jewish historian Josephus tells how the Zealots made life hard for the people who did go to their home towns and register. The Zealots often plundered their property and drove away their cattle and set fire to their houses while they were gone. But Joseph was an obedient servant of God, and this involves being a good citizen of the land.
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The Hebrew verb aras, translated mnsteu in Greek, refers to Jewish marriage practice in which the groom contractually pays a bride-price to the brides father . According to Old Testament scholar Douglas Stuart, This was the final step in the courtship process, virtually equivalent in legal status to the wedding ceremony.2 According to the Mishnah Ketubbot 5.2, the betrothal would last a year, with the bride remaining in the home of her father. Recalling the legal texts in Deuteronomy mentioned earlier plus the equation of Davids betrothal to Michal as marriage , we see that under Jewish law, a betrothed woman was considered to be married.
is the director of the Asia Minor Research Center in Antalya, Turkey, and is a popular teacher on BAS Travel/Study tours. Mark received his doctorate in Biblical studies from the University of South Africa , where he serves as a research fellow in Biblical archaeology. He is currently Associate Professor Extraordinary of New Testament at Stellenbosch University. He leads field studies in Turkey and the eastern Mediterranean for university, seminary and church groups. He is the author of Biblical Turkey: A Guide to the Jewish and Christian Sites of Asia Minor and Victory through the Lamb: A Guide to Revelation in Plain Language. He is a frequent lecturer at BASs Bible Fests.
Joseph Accepts Jesus As His Son
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:23 The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel .
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
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Sorry Roy Moore Joseph Wasnt Twice Marys Age
Early church fathers only aged Josephâs image to protect Mary’s virginityâand definitely not to sanction some May-December biblical romance.
Tom Verde has written about religion for the New York Times and AramcoWorld magazine.
After allegations broke last week that Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore had pursued relationships with several teenage girls some 40 years ago, when Moore was in his early 30s, Alabama State Auditor Jim Ziegler reached for one of the most reliable weapons in the religious rightâs defensive arsenal: the Bible. âTake Mary and Joseph,â Ziegler told the Washington Examiner when he defended the morality of Mooreâs conduct on November 9, just hours after the Washington Post story broke. âMary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became parents of Jesus.â
The controversy over Josephâs age centers around the issue of Jesusâ siblings, who appear in Mark and Matthew . If the siblings were the product of unions between Mary and Joseph, then Mary could not have remained a virgin after Jesus had been born. But many in the church believed that Mary lived as a virgin throughout her life. Her perpetual virginity represented her full and everlasting commitment to being the mother of Christ.
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The AnnunciationHenry Ossawa Tanner
Angels are described as pure spirits. The lack of a defined form allows artists wide latitude in depicting them. Amelia R. Brown draws comparisons in Byzantine iconography between portrayals of angels and the conventions used to depict court eunuchs. Mainly from the Caucasus, they tended to have light eyes, hair, and skin and those “castrated in childhood developed a distinctive skeletal structure, lacked full masculine musculature, body hair and beards….” As officials, they would wear a white tunic decorated with gold. Brown suggests that “Byzantine artists drew, consciously or not, on this iconography of the court eunuch.” Some recent popular works on angels consider Gabriel to be female or androgynous.
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What Can We Know About The Man Who Was The Human Father To Jesus Christ The Bible Gives Us Surprisingly Few Details But It Demonstrates Josephs Faith
Joseph, the husband of Mary, is never mentioned by Paul or by the Gospel of Mark. In fact, there are few references to this important man, but from what we are given, we can create a picture of the character and heart of the man, even as we lack many details of his life.
When God the Father in all His wisdom planned out all the details of the Word coming to earth in human flesh, He no doubt would have taken great care in selecting the family into which His Son would be born.
It was known in advance that Jesus would be born into a family of the tribe of Judah and that He would be born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth . And God chose a family that was devout in their worship of Hima man and woman of high moral character.