What happened to Joseph, the one thought to be
Jesus’s father?
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, November 21, 2024
After Jesus was
born, there wasn’t much said of Joseph but a few things can be ascertained from
the Scriptures.
We know Joseph was
a carpenter (Matthew 13:35) and surely taught Jesus a fair bit about carpentry
during His youth (Mark 6:3). These same two passages (Matthew 13:35 and Mark
6:3) reveal that Jesus had other brothers and sisters such as James, Joses,
Simon, and Judas. Therefore, Joseph and
Mary had other children after Jesus.[1]
With Jesus being
the oldest and having younger siblings, as well as other relatives and
acquaintances, it makes sense why Mary and Joseph failed to realize where
Jesus, their perfect child, was when He stayed behind at the Temple during His
first phase of adulthood (Luke 2:42-45).
Joseph was not
wealthy. He did honest work as a carpenter. When Mary and Joseph presented
sacrifices for Mary’s purification after she gave birth to Jesus, they offered
a sacrifice of turtledoves or pigeons (Luke 2:22-24).
It was common for
young men in Israel who had used their savings to prepare a place for their
bride (e.g., a bridal chamber) and to pay the bride price to the bride’s
family. The young groom would often use his remaining funds for basic living
expenses to take a year off, in keeping with Deuteronomy 24:5, which says:
When
a man has taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war or be charged with any
business; he shall be free at home one year, and bring happiness to his wife
whom he has taken. (NKJV)
According to the
Law of Moses if someone could afford it, they were to bring a lamb
for sacrifice but due to their lowly and modest status, they brought
turtledoves or pigeons (Leviticus 12:1-6) at least during the early and poorer
stages of their marriage. They were truly without riches.
However, one can’t
help but miss that Mary and Joseph did bring to the Temple the perfect and
infinite Lamb of God who would later be sacrificed. Any sacrifice, prior
to the actual sacrifice, must be examined to be sure it is without blemish. In
one sense, Jesus’ inspection by the Simeon at the Temple, being filled with the
Holy Spirit, affirmed His perfection when he said in Luke 2:29-32:
“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart
in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation Which
You have prepared before the face of all peoples, A light to [bring] revelation
to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.” (NKJV)
The sacrifice of the
perfect Christ was prepared by a perfect God in advance, and here He was. Of
course, the rich gifts given by the wise men surely helped fund the trip to
Egypt which soon followed. Returning to Joseph:
Now Jesus Himself began [His ministry at]
about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) [the] son of Joseph, [the
son] of Heli. (Luke 3:23, NKJV)
In Luke 3:23, Jesus
began his ministry when he was about 30 years old. In the latter portion of the verse, it
indicates that people thought He was
the son of Joseph. The verb used in the Greek is in the present indicative
implying that Joseph was still alive at this time.
So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at
the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this
not Joseph’s son?” (Luke 4:22, NKJV)
Later in Luke 4:22,
when Jesus was speaking with great wisdom, the people asked, “isn’t this
Joseph’s son?” The verb form translated here indicates that it was also a present event implying that Joseph was
still alive at this time and people knew who he was in that area.
And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son
of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I
have come down from heaven’?” (John 6:42, NKJV)
Also, in John 6:42,
it is translated as present tense when referring to Joseph. This was when Jesus
was revealing that he came down from heaven
after Jesus began his ministry, contradicting their belief that He was
Joseph's biological son.
After these events,
nothing else is directly revealed from the Bible. It is highly probable that Joseph
died during Jesus’s ministry for a couple of reasons.
The first is so
that the people wouldn’t be confused to whom Jesus was speaking on the cross, when
He said “Father forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). The
centurion and others recognized this was not His earthly father but referring
to God the Father and believed. Had Joseph been there, there may have been
confusion to whom Jesus was speaking.
Mary was present at
the Cross and there is no reason Joseph wouldn’t have been there for such an
ordeal, unless he had already passed on. Also, Mary is recorded immediately
after this in Acts 1:14 without reference to Joseph being present. Since Joseph
was not with her when she met with the apostles [and Jesus’s brothers] in Acts
1, it could be an indication that Joseph had indeed passed into glory.
Furthermore, the
apostle John (the disciple that Jesus loved) was tasked to take care of Mary (John 19:25-27), implying Joseph was no longer alive to have such duties. Those
duties would have passed to Jesus, the eldest, who was then in charge of assigning
her into John’s care.
Recall, Jesus was
about 30 when He went into ministry (Luke 3:23) and early in Jesus’s ministry,
Joseph is mentioned in the present tense (e.g., John 6:42). Many of his younger
siblings were surely old enough to be living on their own—perhaps involved in
carpentry themselves.
In light of this
information, consider another passage that has Joseph conspicuously missing. After
Jesus had been in ministry an interesting situation arose that we sometimes
don’t ask why it happened. It is
recorded in parallel in Matthew 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-34, and Luke 8:19-21. The
account in Luke is repeated below:
19 Then His mother and brothers
came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. 20 And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing
outside, desiring to see You.” 21
But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these
who hear the word of God and do it.” (NKJV)
Often commentators
speak about the spiritual significance of the passage and rightly so—that
should not be neglected. However, I have often pondered why they needed to see Jesus so bad as to interrupt His preaching
to a multitude of people in another town no less. What was so urgent
that Christ’s mother and some grown brothers are willing to interrupt Him?
Why was Jesus’
family assembled together and be so bold as to interrupt His preaching? Who was
absent? Joseph. Is it possible that Joseph had died and therefore Christ’s
family reunited together and came to inform Jesus? Was that the urgent desire?
It is indeed possible.
Not long after, was
when Mary was put into John’s care at the Cross by Jesus, which means Jesus,
the eldest son, was clearly responsible for Mary’s care at this point. This
means Joseph was no longer on the scene and likely had died and these passages
seem to give a possible reason why. Take note that Jesus’s brothers did not
believe in Him when He died on the Cross (John 7:5). Later at least two
brothers believed— the book of Jude and James are written by the half-brothers
of the Lord.
But I saw none of the other apostles except
James, the Lord’s brother. (Galatians 1:19, NKJV)
James, the brother
of Jesus, was later called an apostle by Paul in Galatians 1:19. There were
other apostles like Barnabas (Acts 14:14) and Paul but they are not to be
confused with the Twelve. At the Cross, Jesus’s brothers were not believers yet
so Jesus put Mary into the care of John and rightly so—it was His duty.
Consider the words revealed in the church for caring about widows.
“If any believing man or woman has widows,
let them relieve them, and do not let the church be burdened, that it may
relieve those who are really widows.” (1 Timothy 5:16 NKJV)
One needed to be a believing man or woman to be in their
care. Since Jesus brothers were not believing at the time and Mary needed care,
she was entrusted to a believing man—John the apostle.
There is a
debatable letter from Mary written in response to John’s disciple Ignatius
recorded in the writings of Ignatius (early church father writings). Both are
below:
THE
EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE VIRGIN MARY
Her
friend Ignatius to the Christ-bearing Mary.
THOU
oughtest to have comforted and consoled me who am a neophyte,
and
a disciple of thy [beloved] John. For I have heard things wonderful to
tell
respecting thy [son] Jesus, and I am astonished by such a report. But I
desire
with my whole heart to obtain information concerning the things
which
I have heard from thee, who wast always intimate and allied with
Him,
and who wast acquainted with [all] His secrets. I have also written to
thee
at another time, and have asked thee concerning the same things. Fare
thou
well; and let the neophytes who are with me be comforted of thee,
and
by thee, and in thee. Amen.
REPLY
OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN TO THIS LETTER.
The
lowly handmaid of Christ Jesus to Ignatius, her beloved fellow disciple.
THE
things which thou hast heard and learned from John concerning Jesus
are
true. Believe them, cling to them, and hold fast the profession of that
Christianity
which thou hast embraced, and conform thy habits and life to
thy
profession. Now I will come in company with John to visit thee, and
those
that are with thee. Stand fast in the faith, and show thyself a man;
nor
let the fierceness of persecution move thee, but let thy spirit be strong
and
rejoice in God thy Savior. Amen.
If this is
accurate, this is significant. This show that Mary was still in the care of
John and apparently even accompanied him on some trips after Jesus’ ascension.
Though I’m not
adamant that Matthew 12:46-50, Mark 3:31-34, and Luke 8:19-21 were directly
related to Joseph’s death, it is highly possible and makes a lot of sense of
Joseph’s absence. I would like to see theologians and historians hash this out
more.
