Bible Study Online: Joseph - Husband of Mary, mother of Jesus Bible Study Online Joseph - Husband of Mary, mother of Jesus Matthew 1:18-25; 2:13-15, 19-23 There is a Hebrew word which means: "to scratch, engrave. This term was often connected with the word for wood. When it was, it meant carpenter. The same word when used with words for various metals is translated "SMITH." Isaiah 44:13 lists some of the carpenter's tools: compass, pencil, plane, saw, hammer, axe, adz, chisel, plumb line, drill, file, square, etc. Many of these were made of stone and in the latter periods bronze and iron. Both dowels and nails, as well as mortised, dovetail, and mitered joints, were used to join wood together. The early Israelites were probably backward in the skill of carpentry because of their nomadic origin. David and Solomon both imported Tyrian carpenters to work on the palace and the temple. Later, native carpenters were skilled enough to repair the temple.

In the latest OT times there were guilds of carpenters. Less skilled workers in wood were the timber cutters. The most skilled craftsmen were engaged in carving and practiced inlay. At the time of the birth of Jesus, a betrothal was as binding as marriage. The one difference was the residence of the woman. The time of the betrothal was in the case of a maiden, one year and a day. For a widow, it was a month. During that time Mary lived with her parents. Apparently it was not uncommon that a child might be conceived during the engagement. While it may not have been the most acceptable occurrence, it was also not a disgrace. If a woman's fiancé died during the period of the betrothal, she was considered a widow. The betrothal could only be broken by a writ of divorce issued by the man. Because of the binding nature of the betrothal, it is not unusual to see a woman referred to at one moment as betrothed and the next as wife. Fatherhood could be a stern role in the days of Jesus. A father could beat a disobedient child. A father could sell his child into slavery.

Death could be the penalty for cursing a father or striking him. If a father decided members of his family were enticing him away from his faith, he could destroy them. These were not the kind of fathers that Jesus talked about. He surely knew them. But the fathers he spoke of were daddies who could be trusted to love their children beyond reason or expectation. It’s not difficult to believe, then, that Jesus had known a wonderful earthly father. We don't know very much about Joseph the Carpenter and a lot of what we do know, or think we know, is inference and speculation. For example: He is not mentioned in the stories of Mary and the brothers and sisters of Jesus. And, it is unlikely Jesus on the cross would have entrusted his mother into the care of a fellow disciple if her husband was still alive. It is therefore assumed that Joseph died some time before Jesus began his public ministry. Joseph had a name long honored in Israelite history. The first known Joseph was the favorite son of Jacob, the Patriarch. His brothers disliked him and in jealousy sold him as a slave. He ended up in Egypt where he eventually rose to a rank second only to the Pharaoh. In that position he eventually forgave his brothers.

During a famine he enabled his family to survive and become residents of Egypt. Many generations later, after a period of slavery, the Israelites were set free. They carried with them the bones of Joseph so that they might bury him in Israel. Names were important in the ancient world. Joseph the Carpenter would have been very aware of the character and history of his own name. No doubt it influenced his identity in some way. Joseph was a carpenter. Recent studies show that carpenters probably did not have a high rank or an honored place in society. A carpenter was a craftsman who built yokes, plows, threshing boards, benches, beds, boxes, coffins, boats, and houses, and worked on the temple and the synagogues. Joseph practiced his trade and was known by it. Joseph also taught Jesus carpentry. An early Christian, Justin Martyr, believed that Jesus may have built yokes and plows. The Good News Bible says that Joseph was a man who always did what was right. The Revised Standard says that he was a righteous man. Another translation says that he was a man of character. When Joseph heard that Mary was expecting a child that wasn’t his, he chose not to hurt her.

(He could have had her stoned to death.) He resolved to divorce her quietly. Yet, even as he was thinking of divorce, an angel of the Lord came to him in a dream and told him the child was of the Holy Spirit. Joseph believed and chose to keep Mary as his wife. Joseph believed without proof, without seeing, without touching. Joseph paid attention to the voice of God. Later we hear that the child is in danger because of the anger of King Herod. Joseph is again warned in a dream. He rises up in the middle of the night and carries the mother and child to safety in Egypt. Later, when they return, Joseph is concerned over the danger in Judea and chose to settle in Nazareth. Both Matthew and Luke give the genealogy of Joseph. They trace the ancestry of Jesus through Joseph. Of course, the two genealogies don't agree with each other and, of course, Joseph is not presented as the biological father of Jesus. But his ancestry is given anyway. Perhaps it is because Joseph becomes the legal father of Jesus. Jesus himself seemed satisfied to be known as his son. The glimpses we are given indicate that Joseph was a good father. He named the child.

He kept the baby safe in time of danger. He maintained the family home and livelihood. He taught Jesus his profession. When Jesus was thought to be lost, he shared Mary's frantic worry and desperate searching. Joseph was also an attentive father regarding the religious upbringing of his children. Despite their poverty, the family Jesus made the yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Passover. It was the hope of most families to go there at least once in their entire lives. But Joseph and Mary went every year. Joseph was the one who would have made that decision. He must have felt that this sacred observance was of more value to his family than the money saved. We may also infer from the gospel stories that Joseph made the Sabbath observance and attendance at the synagogue a faithful habit. Jesus had clearly been taught well the law, the customs, and traditions of his people. Joseph was part of this. If we take seriously the incarnation, the fact that Christ assumed human nature and its limitations; if we do this, the importance of the influence, teaching, and example of Joseph is vitally important. It is also true that the other sons of Joseph were good and faithful men.

Though Mary and the brothers and sisters of Jesus did not at first seem to understand his ministry, the ones we know about were active in Christian ministry. Paul referred to the "Lord's brothers," who traveled in Christian ministry. What qualities of fatherhood do you think that Jesus experienced from Joseph? Posted by biblical basis - What evidence is there that Jesus was a carpenter? - Christianity Stack Exchange What evidence is there that Jesus was a carpenter? up vote 35 down vote favorite 1 I was about to say this in another discussion somewhere else, and wondered: do we know that? As in "it's mentioned or at least hinted at in $book $chapter:$verse"? Or is it just a very likely conjecture? up vote 16 down vote accepted A discussion here talks about the various possibilities. To quote a small part that summarizes well: Jesus' adopted father Joseph was a carpenter (Matthew 13:55 & Mark 6:3). The Greek word is Teckton which means builder. Now, some say he worked with wood; building tools, doors, shelves, tables etc. = carpenter.

Others say because of the region and the resources were rock, and most everything was built from rock, then he built millstones, winepresses, houses, etc. = stonemason. There is no real evidence to clarify exactly what Joseph was a builder of, but we know that he was a Teckton = Builder. Now, in the Jewish culture of that time (1st century) it was required of the father to teach the son their trade at age 12, and find a wife for them around the age of 20. Joseph being very Jewish would have adhered to this practice and began teaching Jesus at 12 his trade of being a builder (Teckton). This page from the same site offers additional explanation for the stonemason theory: Given that Israel's buildings were constructed of stones and rocks, Jesus likely worked as a stonemason rather than a carpenter. He probably spent hours helping his father shape and cut stones. The above quoted site is provided by That the World May Know Ministries, and offers a DVD series entitled Faith Lessons, featuring the founder Ray Vander Laan which offers documentary-style on-location Bible studies suitable for small groups.

I believe the one that addresses this issue is Life and Ministry of the Messiah , or possibly Walk as Jesus Walked . It has been several years since I've watched these, and I don't have access to them now to confirm. 8 +1 I think the idea of Him being a stonemason makes a whole lot more sense in the light of scriptures like Mark 12:10 (Christ is the stone the builders rejected), 1 Cor 10:4 (the Rock was Christ), Matt 7:24 (wise man building his house upon a rock), Rom 9:33 (a rock of offense to those who don't want to believe), etc. – Dave DeLong Dec 12 '11 at 19:40 1 I'm not saying Jesus wasn't taught the trade of Joseph. But I just thought it was funny you should use the example "It was required of the father to teach the son their trade at age 12, and find a wife for them around the age of 20" as a reason. Obviously he didn't find a wife for Jesus at 20.

:) – 2tim424 May 4 '13 at 3:26 @Flimzy A "discussion here" link is broken. – Steve Sep 29 '13 at 13:06 5 @2tim424 Most scholars believe the Joseph died at some point during Jesus's life (hence his absence during Jesus's ministry). We don't know for sure when Jospeh died, but we have at least one textual reference to Joseph being alive when Jesus was 12. – called2voyage Oct 2 '13 at 18:01 up vote 22 down vote We know that Joseph was a τέκτων (tekton)- traditionally a carpenter but literally, any craftsman who worked with his hands, from Matthew 13:55 (Is this not the carpenter's son?). Traditionally, boys would follow in their father's occupation, hence the tradition that Jesus was a carpenter. Additionally in Mark 6:3, we get the same word describing Jesus himself. (Is this not the carpenter?). Mark is probably the older source ( the Farrer hypothesis ) from which Matthew is drawing.

With Matthew's desire to portray Jesus as king, it makes sense that he would prefer to move such a menial task to the dad and let people just assume that Jesus would have been trained up in the family trade. up vote 16 down vote Yes, Jesus is called a carpenter in Mark 6:3 NIV1984 : Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph,Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Update: based on comments below, some explanation of the word carpenter. First, that is the word used in various translations, e.g. Amplified , Good News , New American Standard Bible and King James . Secondly, it is true that the meaning has been questioned in some commentaries, where it has been suggested that the word could also mean, craftsman. So, we cannot be 100% sure, but since the church has historically considered Jesus to have been a carpenter, and most or all translations use that, it seems probable. The issue is that the word translated as "carpenter" isn't actually that specific in the original language.

– Flimzy Dec 9 '11 at 21:10 @Flimzy: that is certainly an issue, but I'm answering the question as posed, particularly the second sentence. Since this answer quotes the one verse that mentions Jesus' profession, I hardly think it is worth a downvote. – Wikis Dec 9 '11 at 21:59 2 A fair point... it does at least hint at it, doesn't it? – Flimzy Dec 9 '11 at 22:08 @Flimzy: FWIW, I checked various other translations before posting this answer, because of the point you raised. Though some commentators use the word craftmen, none of the translations (that I saw) do; they all say, carpenter. – Wikis Dec 9 '11 at 22:36 1 The word is tekton . It looks like it mostly likely means carpenter but not always. – styfle Jan 4 '12 at 7:59 up vote 0 down vote The evidence is mixed.

Mark's Gospel clearly states that Jesus was a carpenter (Mark 6:3: Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.). However, Mark is the only gospel that tells us that Jesus was a carpenter. Matthew's Gospel, in the corresponding passage, only says that Jesus was the son of a carpenter (Matthew 13:55: Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?). In copying from Mark, it should have been easier to retain Mark's words, unless the author of Matthew's Gospel had a reason not to say that Jesus had been a carpenter. The later gospels, Luke and John, make no mention of Jesus being a carpenter or even the son of a carpenter. One theory was put forward by Dennis R. MacDonald in his book, The Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark.

MacDonald compares Mark's story about Jesus with the Greek epics of Homer, finding many parallels between the portrayal of Jesus and that of Odysseus. Both Odysseus and Jesus were known as carpenters. MacDonald notes that Homer sometimes calls Odysseus 'divine' and 'son of Zeus', labels comparable to those given to Jesus. If MacDonald is correct, Mark's description of Jesus as a carpenter was a literary creation that the later evangelists refused to accept. Perhaps when the first gospel was being written, the author had so little information about Jesus as a person that he felt obliged to fill in some of the gaps. Because of Mark it is more than just a very likely conjecture that Jesus was a carpenter, but because of Matthew, Luke and John it is no more than a conjecture. Then, because of MacDonald's research, it could even be that this was simply a literary mechanism employed in just one of the gospels. Joseph - The Earthly Father of Jesus Christ Updated December 08, 2015. Profile of Joseph the Father of Jesus Christ: God chose Joseph to be the earthly father of Jesus.

The Bible tells us in the Gospel of Matthew , that Joseph was a righteous man. His actions toward Mary , his fiance, revealed he was a kind and sensitive man. When Mary told Joseph she was pregnant, he had every right to feel disgraced. He knew the child was not his own, and Mary's apparent unfaithfulness carried a grave social stigma. Joseph not only had the right to divorce Mary, under Jewish law she could be put to death by stoning. Although Joseph's initial reaction was to break the engagement, the appropriate thing for a righteous man to do, he treated Mary with extreme kindness. He did not want to cause her further shame, so he decided to act quietly. But God sent an angel to Joseph to verify Mary's story and reassure him that his marriage to her was God's will. Joseph willingly obeyed God, in spite of the public humiliation he would face. Perhaps this noble quality made him God's choice for the Messiah's earthly father. The Bible does not reveal much detail about Joseph's role as father to Jesus Christ , but we know from Matthew, chapter one, that he was an excellent earthly example of integrity and righteousness. Joseph is last mentioned in Scripture when Jesus was 12 years old.

We know that he passed on the carpentry trade to his son and raised him in the Jewish traditions and spiritual observances. Joseph's Accomplishments: Joseph was the earthly father of Jesus, the man entrusted to raise the Son of God . Joseph was also a carpenter, or skilled craftsman. He obeyed God in the face of severe humiliation. He did the right thing before God, in the right manner. Joseph's Strengths: Joseph was a man of strong conviction who lived out his beliefs in his actions. He was described in the Bible as a righteous man . Even when personally wronged, he had the quality of being sensitive to someone else's shame. He responded to God in obedience and he practiced self-control. Joseph is a wonderful biblical examples of integrity and godly character . Life Lessons: God honored Joseph's integrity by entrusting him with a great responsibility. It is not easy to entrust your children to someone else. Imagine God looking down to choose a man to raise his own son? Joseph had God's trust. Mercy always triumphs. Joseph could have acted severely toward Mary's apparent indiscretion, but he chose to offer love and mercy, even when he thought he had been wronged.

Walking in obedience to God may result in humiliation and disgrace before men. When we obey God, even in the face of adversity and public shame, he leads and guides us. Hometown: Children - Jesus , James, Joses, Judas, Simon and daughters The ancestors of Joseph are listed in Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-37. Key Verses: Matthew 1:19-20 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 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 . (NIV) Luke 2:39-40 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

(NIV) The Fatherhood of God The Fatherhood of God Shedding new light on a familiar theme Though it is not, strictly speaking a religious holiday, Father's Day gives us the opportunity to reflect upon a familiar theme in our tradition. In fact, Jesus never spoke about the fatherhood of God. He addressed God personally as Abba, father; he chose the Aramaic word which implies something deeper, more direct than is implied in our abstraction, "fatherhood." In calling God his father, Jesus signified that we are created individually in God's image. Our relationship with God is as close and as direct as that between any parent and child. Just as I know my own children personally, just as I feel they are bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh, so Jesus gave new meaning to the idea that God is our Father. In this regard I believe that Jesus was speaking from the depths of his personal experience. He was speaking as the first born son of a carpenter from Nazareth , and from the depth of that relationship. In order to see the true meaning of what Jesus was saying, we need to explore his relationship to Joseph, for it lies at the root and source of all that we believe.

In fact, we know very little about Joseph. The early church took pains to suppress the memory of Christ's biological father. We must read between the lines of the gospel and reconstruct one of history's most important and interesting relationships. Though he is depicted in early Christian art simply as the carpenter, we remember that Scriptures identify Joseph as a descendant of the great kings David and Solomon. With this tradition of royalty in his blood, Joseph may have responded with real hope to Mary's dream that their first born son would one day be the king of kings. And he may have had reason to fear Herod's reaction to the news of the baby born in Bethlehem. In any case, a few days after Jesus was born, Joseph fled with his family hundreds of miles over the mountains and deserts; he sought refuge from Herod's power, just as hundreds and thousands of people are fleeing the terror in places like the Middle East at this very hour. Because it was not safe to return to their own land, Joseph may have kept his family in Egypt for several years, raising the young boy in what amounted to a refugee camp in a foreign land.

According to custom, it was Joseph's role to teach Jesus the mysteries of the scripture, and tell him the legends of Israel's past. And this he accomplished during their long sojourn in Egypt. Most importantly Joseph spoke to his son about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. As a child, Jesus would have learned about God from his parents and he would have worked out his own understanding of God in the context of their family relationships. Once they returned to Nazareth, Joseph taught his son the profession of a carpenter. In those days a carpenter was a professional of high standing in the community. He was the chief supplier of fuel for cooking and heating; he supplied parts for farm equipment, hardwood for chests, softwood for baskets. The carpenter was a planter of trees, responsible for maintaining the forests so that people would have all the wood and lumber they needed in future generations. And in that era, the carpenter was a builder and an architect. Joseph knew how to lay a foundation, design and erect walls and ceilings for a one family house, or a larger public building.

The popular paintings of Joseph working with Jesus in the solitude of the carpenter's shop are somewhat misleading, for as we have seen, carpentry involved a great deal more: cutting and trimming of trees in the forests, building measuring or making the calculations as a modern engineer would do, managing the forests. And Joseph introduced Jesus to this active and demanding profession at an early age. Without doubt the lessons which Jesus learned as his father's right hand influenced the young man's thinking. With all this in view, it is remarkable that Joseph's name is not even mentioned in the main narratives of the New Testament. In the tradition of Christian piety we hear a great deal about Mary, but Joseph remains a shadowy figure, at one remove from the real drama. In essence, the memory of Joseph was sacrificed by the early church as a consequence of its belief in the virgin birth. Over a period of several hundred years, the church fathers became committed to the view that Mary was not only a virgin at the time of Christ's birth, but that she remained a virgin throughout her life. Her marriage with Joseph was never consummated. This notion was officially recognized as the doctrine of the perpetual virginity.

Unfortunately, having adopted this view, the church found itself with the embarrassing problem of Joseph's other children, named in the gospels as the brothers and sisters of Jesus. In order to resolve this dilemma, the church taught that Joseph was an old man at the time of his betrothal to Mary. They said that his children were the offspring of a previous marriage. One authority puts his age at 93 on his wedding day. When you imagine a bridegroom 93 years of age, the doctrine of the virgin birth, and the further doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity, become more plausible, to say the least. So the doctrine of the perpetual virginity is defended, but as a result Joseph is effectively ushered off stage. Legend holds that he died at the age of 111 when Jesus was only 18 years of age. Meanwhile, as Joseph's role was diminished, Mary was elevated to a place of honor and venerated as the Mother of God. I find that much of this fanciful footwork on the part of the early church fathers is unfortunate and regrettable, precisely because it obscures one important source of Christ's own faith.

Joseph's influence can be read between the lines of almost everything that Jesus said or did. For example, we are all familiar with the warning of the Sermon on the Mount: "Why do you see the speck that is in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the beam that is in your own eye?" The first part of the image is clear. We can easily imagine the speck of sawdust in the eye. Everyone of us has had the experience. But what does Jesus mean when he refers to the log in your own eye? Let's imagine the actual craft of the carpenter. When they were engaged to build a house, Joseph and his son would go out into the forest and cut down the largest tree they could find. They would shape the log into a beam, and then they carried the beam on their shoulders through the narrow streets of Nazareth. Then along comes that curious busy body who walks the streets, peering into his neighbor's windows. As he walks forward, looking over his shoulder, he does not see the carpenters coming down the streets toward him with their giant beam carried with such great momentum at eye level... Suddenly, they collide! And curious George is thrown flat on the ground.

"Why do you see the speck that is in your neighbor's eye, but do not see the log that is in your own eye?" There is an element of slapstick comedy and satire in these words of Jesus. As a young man Jesus was continually up and about, constantly observing the real world of everyday life, alert to all the shades and shadows of human experience. And later he would spin these observations into stories and parables. "Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like the wise man who built his house upon the rock, and the rain fell, and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded upon the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like the foolish man who built his house upon the sand, and the rain fell, and the flood came and the wind blew, and beat against that house, and great was the fall of it." This parable conveys the power of an observation made at first hand by one who was himself a builder of houses. As a carpenter and architect, Jesus knew that the consequences of his mistakes could be devastating.

Later, as a teacher and storyteller, he applied these same lessons to the realm of the spirit. Whenever Jesus wanted to express himself, he drew from his experience at the right hand of Joseph. Jesus knew how to use his observations of the world to interpret the mysteries of God. And it is at this theological level that the father-son relationship made its deepest impression. As we have seen, Joseph probably died sometime between Christ's twelfth birthday, when he was presented at the temple in Jerusalem , and the beginning of his public ministry following the baptism in the Jordan River . Although we have no way of knowing the effect of Joseph's death, it is plausible to assume that the young man was deeply moved. Perhaps the loss of his own father contributed to his emphasis upon the fatherhood of God. Remember how tenderly he spoke of God's love: "What man of you, if his son asks him for a loaf will give him a stone, or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?" If Joseph had not provided such a strong example, it is doubtful that Jesus could have imagined God as "Abba," father. If Joseph had not loved him so well, it is unlikely that Jesus could have preached so powerfully about the love of God. Yet there is another, darker side of the story as well. In a very real sense, Jesus moved beyond the faith of his father. His own perceptions were somewhat different. In fact, they differed on such crucial points that had Joseph lived, there may have developed a deep division between them. Jesus was in some ways a dissenter from the religion of his family. After he spoke as a prophet for the first time in the temple of Nazareth, the people took offence at him. They did not believe him. As a way of putting him down, they said: "Where did this man get his wisdom and his mighty words? Is this not the carpenter's son?" The implication being that Jesus could not have anything new or unique to say to them because he had learned everything from Joseph.

He was a home town boy and his wisdom must be a home spun wisdom. To this Jesus replied: "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country and in his own home." Here Jesus hints darkly at the division that had opened up between himself and the members of his own family. Ironically, when Jesus insisted that God loves all people as deeply and as personally as a father loves a son, he moved beyond the religion of his father. His most profound contribution to our understanding was precisely that God is not just the God of the Jew, or the Christian, or any other people, chosen by reason of race or creed. God loves all creatures with a love which is both deeply personal and individual. God is the father of all, and in God's love all people are made equal. This fundamental perception of Jesus, which owes so much to his own father, is also the feature of his faith which would have been unacceptable to his own family. This is an irony which is part of the relationship between every parent and child. Though we are all powerfully influenced by our own parents, and share their views and values, we are also unique and must therefore find our own way.

While knowledge of God is literally impossible without the love and nurture which our parents have provided, nevertheless, we cannot develop spiritually unless we understand God on our own terms and in our own way. So we are continually torn between the commandment to love honor and obey our parents, and the equally valid requirement that we find God for ourselves. This is the meaning of Christ's most difficult saying: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." For the Christian pilgrimage is one which takes us into deep and uncharted waters. Though we are supplied with the best equipment and training which our parents can provide, nevertheless, as we go into the future, we must chart our own course. The final irony in the relationship between Joseph and his son is that his early death may account in part for the freedom which Jesus exhibited. Though he was rooted in the traditions of his father, still he was able to range far beyond those traditions. And that is the example we should follow as we chart our course into the 21st century.

Today as we explore once again our understanding of God, it would be completely inappropriate to apply woodenly to each new situation the words and stories of Jesus. When he spoke of God as father he was opening up a newer, deeper, more personal understanding of God. So it does not serve us well to repeat routinely, "the fatherhood of God, the fatherhood of God, the fatherhood of God." Rather we must use our own perceptions of the world, we must speak from our own faith, guided but not enslaved by tradition. In this period of ferment and creativity, we too must go beyond the religion of our fathers, even beyond the God of our fathers. We must follow Jesus to a deeper, more personal, more intimate knowledge. And as we seek deeper understanding, the God we find may shatter every slogan and break every preconception, and we may find a faith which is deeper, truer and richer still. Also, consider: Joseph the Father of Jesus Joseph the Father of Jesus QUESTION: What happened to Joseph the father of Jesus ANSWER: We know very little about the years of Jesus prior to His public ministry. The gospels are without notation of any childhood events beyond Christ's birth except one reference that is found in Luke.

It is the very last time that Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus, is ever mentioned. Luke 2:41 reads: "Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 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?' But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." It is supposed that Joseph, the father of Jesus, died during the quiet years of Jesus' life. We do know that he trained Jesus in his trade, as that of a carpenter. He do know that Joseph and Mary had children after Jesus was born: James, Joses, Simon, and others. Perhaps the cause or timing of his death is not nearly as important as the strength of character he displayed. In first hearing about Mary's pregnancy, Joseph did not want to subject Mary to public scorn. After hearing from the angel who confirmed Mary's incredulous story, Joseph obediently accepted the role as surrogate father for the baby Jesus, the Christ child. Matthew 1:24-25 says, "When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son.

And he gave him the name Jesus." The last reference about Joseph in Luke confirms that Joseph was a devout follower of the customs of his religion with his observance of Passover. It implies that Joseph made certain of good spiritual training for the children in his family. Joseph proved his integrity and willingness to be obedient to God's direction and guidance. What was the profession of Saint Joseph, father of Jesus? What was the profession of Saint Joseph, father of Jesus? What was the profession of Saint Joseph, father of Jesus? Answer for question: Your name: Answers Saint Joseph with the Infant Jesus, ... Saint Joseph is the patron saint of a number of ... every day she prayed to "Saint Joseph, Father and Protector ... Read more Positive: 64 % Saint Joseph with the Infant Jesus, ... Saint Joseph is the patron saint of a number of ... every day she prayed to "Saint Joseph, Father and Protector ... Positive: 61 % More resources ... Did You Know? Saint Joseph ... father of Jesus. Not much is known of Joseph ... Joseph's profession is ... Read more Positive: 64 % ... also referred to as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Christ, was a ... Mary and Joseph that Jesus "shall stand ...

consider Joseph to be Jesus' father. Read more Positive: 59 % Joseph the Carpenter of Nazareth. ... The actual Greek word used for Joseph's profession occurs nowhere else in the ... Joseph, Father and Protector of Jesus; Read more Positive: 45 % ... should be born of Joseph's spouse into the ... 440 Jesus accepted Peter's profession of ... but only to God the Father and the Lord Jesus ... Read more Positive: 64 % ... St. Joseph was the earthly father of Jesus Christ ... Venerated as a saint in many Christian sects, St. Joseph is a ... St. Joseph Biography ... Read more Positive: 63 % Divine Favors Granted to St. Joseph by ... perhaps, who made profession and vow ... First measure of the graces of St. Joseph: the title of "Father of Jesus." Read more Positive: 58 % Who was st. Joseph? The life of St Joseph is not very clear. Saint Joseph was the foster father to Jesus. ... of Saint Joseph once Jesus ... Read more Positive: 51 % QUESTION: What happened to Joseph the father of Jesus ANSWER: ... It is the very last time that Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus, is ever mentioned.

Read more Positive: 41 % ... Joseph, Father of Jesus ... ABOUT THE AUTHOR The writing task fell to the author, a psychologist by profession and cultural anthropologist by interest. Read more Positive: 28 % Joseph the Father of Jesus ... It is clear that others recognized Joseph as the legal father of Jesus in verses such as John 1:45. Read more Positive: 12 % Remember Joseph – Rethinking ... About Frank Viola. ... His mission is to help serious followers of Jesus know their Lord more deeply so they can ... Read more Positive: 10 % When did Joseph, Jesus's father, die? up vote 10 down vote favorite. ... "They were saying, 'Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother ... Read more Positive: 10 % Saint Joseph. Sur les pas de Saint ... bonjour quel était le nom de joseph.Pére qui a élevé jesus ... Zacharia is the father. ... Joseph the Father of Jesus Joseph the Father of Jesus QUESTION: What do we know about Joseph the Father of Jesus? ANSWER: What we know about Joseph, the earthly and legal Father of Jesus, is found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

Josephï¿½s complete genealogy is given in Matthew 1:1-18. Though it is curious to new readers why this long genealogy is given, we quickly learn its importance. Genealogies were very important to the Jews but these verses demonstrate the lineage of Jesus Christ back to Abraham for all mankind to recognize another fulfillment of the many prophecies given about the Messiah. Joseph was a direct descendant from David. He was a gracious man who kept the laws of Judaism and was well respected. He was a man of meager means but none the less, an honorable and faithful man. Skilled as a carpenter in the small town of Nazareth, Joseph spent time teaching his son the trade as well as providing spiritual training. Jesus is very often described as working and being taught by Joseph in his carpenterï¿½s shop. This was an inherited occupation Jesus performed before going into His ministry. Joseph observed the Holy Days and Hebrew Feast with his family as shown in Luke 2:41-42. ï¿½Every year Jesusï¿½ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival.

When Jesus was twelve years old, they attended the festival as usual.ï¿½ We also know that through Josephï¿½s sensitivity and obedience to God, he fulfilled the role of protector and guardian of Jesus. He enacted the role of ï¿½fatherï¿½ admirably in every way. Little detail of Joseph is given in the Gospels so because Jesus entrusted Mary to the care of John, it is speculated that Joseph may have died a natural death between their visit to the temple when Jesus was twelve (Luke 2:41-51) but before the Baptism of Jesus when He was thirty (Mark 1:9-11). It is clear that others recognized Joseph as the legal father of Jesus in verses such as John 1:45. Joseph's influence during those early years must have been incredible. When Jesus spoke of God as being like a loving Father, he could draw from his youth the kind of love he had from Joseph. Joseph stands as a testimony to the value of integrity, obedience, faithfulness, and especially to honoring the entrusted role of "fatherhood.ï¿½ Joseph the Carpenter of Nazareth - Oblates of St. Joseph Oblates of St.

Joseph News Joseph the Carpenter of Nazareth Having explained Jesus' origins in the infancy narrative, the Gospel of Matthew next jumps immediately to Jesus' baptism by John and the beginning of his ministry as an adult. The reader is told nothing about his childhood or his life at Nazareth, and consequently nothing about Joseph, who simply vanishes from the scene never to be mentioned again, except for one brief reference: "Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son?" (Mt 13:54-55). The question asked has a type of parallel in each of the other Gospels (Mk 6:3; Lk 4:22; Jn 6:42), but none says "carpenter's son." Only Mark 6:3 uses the word "carpenter," but applied to Jesus, without mention of Joseph. It was the natural responsibility of a father to teach his trade to the son he was raising. Besides the title "Son of David," Jesus also receives from Joseph the title "son of the carpenter," adding a concrete human dimension that is part of the mystery of the Incarnation.

The son of the carpenter who grew up working at his father's side would necessarily also be known to the people of his hometown as "the carpenter." The actual Greek word used for Joseph's profession occurs nowhere else in the New Testament apart from these two cases of Matthew and Mark. The word is broader than simply "carpenter," and may be applied to a builder or a worker of any hard material such as stone or metal, thus opening a wide range of possibilities for the type of work that Joseph did. The passage containing this reference (Mt 13:53-58) indirectly may shed some light on Joseph's disappearance from the scene. It is the only time that this Gospel actually names Jesus as Joseph's "son," and it is the people of Nazareth, "his own country," who refer to him in this way. They are the first to take offense at his teaching, because they are all too aware of his ordinary human upbringing. This would furnish one explanation for Joseph's absence in Jesus' ministry, which begins immediately with a voice from Heaven declaring "This is my beloved Son" (Mt 3:17).

It could only cause confusion in people's minds to have Jesus' human father present while he was being revealed as the unique Son of God. The presence of a human father was necessary for Davidic descent, for protection, affection, and instruction. The years of Jesus' life with Joseph and Mary at Nazareth are not recorded in history. It is reasonable to conclude that, in his human nature, Jesus learned from his parents, as every child must, and that what he learned was evidenced in the human manner in which he expressed his teaching and in the concrete images he used in the parables. Perhaps the very ordinariness of these years, in which nothing special stands out to record, is part of the principal information one needs to know about Jesus' human origins: he became like every other human being. Once Jesus' identity has been firmly established, one is prepared to receive the divine Good News he brings. From the absence of Joseph even when Mary is mentioned in the rest of Gospel, it may be concluded that he had died by the time of the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. No further data is available. The carpenter of Nazareth faithfully and unquestioningly fulfills all that God asks of him, and then just as quietly disappears.

Question: What was the profession of Joseph, Jesus's father?
Answer: Carpenter