We don’t know a lot about Joseph. It is surmised that he died not too long after Jesus turned 12 because we don’t read any more about him in the Bible after Jesus was this age. However, he was an integral part of Jesus’ birth and life. We read how Mary, pondered many things in her heart concerning her son Jesus, but we don’t have any references as to how Joseph felt.
Please play the video by Jason Gray concerning Joseph, and be sure to pay attention to the lyrics. I think he has captured well how Joseph felt during Mary’s pregnancy and his feelings concerning the Christ child.
In the Background
Joseph was an important figure in Christ’s childhood, but he was always in the background. Believers who do God’s will faithfully, often don’t stand out. They do what God asks and go along their way, being living examples of Christ, Himself. They are the silent heroes of the faith. Joseph was one of these.
A Godly Man
We know Joseph loved Mary very much, but felt betrayed when she told him she was pregnant. In Jewish culture at that time, when a couple was engaged, it took a divorce to be separated, which was extremely detrimental to the woman. Joseph’s decision to “send her away quietly” was one of mercy, trying to help Mary safe face. However, God sent an angel to Joseph and explained the situation to him. Can you imagine having your fiancé’s incredible story of why she was pregnant backed up by an angel? Joseph, being a Godly man, listened to the angel and was obedient, taking Mary as his wife and her child, the son of God as his future son. No pressure being asked to be the earthly father of the son of God!
This was not the only time an angel appeared to Joseph. After the three wise men visited Herod, telling him a king had been born, an angel appeared to Joseph. The angel told him to get up in the middle of the night and take Mary and Jesus to Egypt because Herod was going to execute all baby boys two years old and younger. In other words, King Herod didn’t want any competition as king and ordered all baby boys killed in order to eliminate a future king. Well, Joseph didn’t dawdle, but got up immediately and took Mary and Jesus to Egypt and lived there until the death of Herod. Joseph not only received messages from God, but acted right a way to what God told him, without question.
Left a Legacy
You may ask, how did Joseph leave his legacy to Jesus? After all, isn’t Jesus being the Son of God the real legacy? This is true, but Joseph was a good and dutiful Jewish father. “Fathers are obligated to circumcise, redeem, teach Torah to, acquire a wife for, and teach a craft to sons (MJL, 2002-2019).” I try not to assume, but I think here we can assume that Joseph took care of Jesus, being the best Jewish father he could be. We can infer this because in Luke chapter 2, Mary and Joseph had Jesus circumcised on the eighth day and then brought Him to the temple to be redeemed.
I’m sure Joseph took charge of Jesus’ education as well, which was centered around teaching the Torah. Can you imagine trying to teach the Son of God Torah? You gotta admit, it’s ironically funny.
Joseph was not able to find Jesus a wife, as we see He was never married. But we do see that Joseph taught Jesus his trade of carpentry. In Matthew and Luke when Jesus returned to Nazareth during His ministry, it’s recorded that the people didn’t respond well to Him as they knew Him as “the carpenter” or the “carpenter’s son”. They were too familiar with Him and couldn’t wrap their brains around the fact that He was indeed, the son of God.
I really do have many questions about Jesus’ childhood that I will be asking Joseph and Mary when I get to Heaven. But for now, I’m thankful to Joseph for sticking in there during a difficult situation, trusting God and raising the Son of God as his own.
MJL, 2001-2019. Jewish Child/Parent Relationships. My Jewish Learning. Retrieved on Dec. 10, 2019 from https://www.myjewishlearning.com/
article/jewish-parentchild-relationships/.
