Most of us are likely familiar with what we refer to as the Nativity Story in the Bible. An angel appears to Mary, who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, telling her she will be with child from the Holy Spirit, and this child will be the Messiah.
Later in the story, Scripture tells us that “Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly” (Matt. 1:19).
Joseph next appears in the Nativity Story as he and Mary travel to Bethlehem, where Jesus will be born, for the Roman tax.
Joseph is a central figure in the story of Jesus’ birth, but he quickly takes a backseat as the Gospels continue, which may lead us to wonder what happened to him after Jesus was born, grew up, and began his earthly ministry.
Let’s explore what we know about Joseph below.
What Does the Bible Tell Us about Joseph?
The Bible tells us that Jesus’ legal father was a carpenter by trade. In Matthew 13:55 some of the people Jesus was teaching question his authority, saying: “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary, and are not his brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?”
These people, of course, were looking only at Jesus’ earthly identity and did not understand that he was the Son of God.
However, Jesus being the son of Joseph, a carpenter, does give us insight into his socio-economic background. The Greek word for carpenter in the Bible is tekton which denotes someone who works with wood, but potentially also someone who handles masonry and is a builder and craftsman more broadly.
Carpenters were skilled, but still part of the working class in Jesus’ day. As a carpenter, Joseph was likely able to provide for his family but was by no means wealthy.
In biblical times, it was common for sons to continue in the trade of their father. As the God-man, this was also true of Jesus. The Bible does not reveal how long Jesus worked alongside his father as a carpenter, but in Mark 6:3 (another version of the earlier quoted Matthew passage), Scripture does say that people recognized Jesus as a carpenter.
The Bible doesn’t provide a lot of information about Joseph, but between his upstanding decision to protect Mary and his role as someone who worked with his hands in a working-class job, we can begin to form a picture of Joseph’s character.
What Do We Know About Joseph’s Role in Jesus’ Early Life?
An angel appears to Joseph to affirm that Mary is pregnant by the Holy Spirit and that he should not be afraid to take her as his wife (Matt. 1:20). Then an angel appears to him again after Jesus has been born, instructing him how to protect the baby Jesus:
“[A]n angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. ‘Get up,’ he said, ‘take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.’”
Again Joseph obeys this instruction from the Lord and ensures that Mary and Jesus are safe. So we see that Joseph took his role as protector seriously—a quality that God surely was aware of when he chose Joseph to be Jesus’ earthly father.
It’s also important to note that, though Jesus was not blood-related to Joseph, he could claim the Messiah's lineage both through Mary’s genealogy and through Joseph’s. It was prophesied that the Messiah would come from the line of David, and it is believed that the Gospel of Matthew gives the lineage of Joseph, tracing back to David, while the Gospel of Luke gives the lineage of Mary, tracing back to David. So we see whether by blood or legal status, Jesus had the pedigree of the Messiah.
When Does Joseph Disappear from the Biblical Narrative?
The last mention we see of Joseph in Scripture is when Jesus is twelve years old and his parents lose him while in Jerusalem for the Passover festival.
Mary and Joseph are unaware that Jesus remains behind in Jerusalem when they begin their journey home:
“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” (Luke 2:46-49).
Those three days must have felt like an eternity to the worried Mary and Joseph. Interestingly, Mary is the one who confronts Jesus, further painting the picture that Joseph is a man of quiet strength and conviction.
What Are the Theories about Joseph’s Death?
Once Jesus begins his ministry at age 30, Joseph has disappeared from the biblical narrative, leading to speculation on what happened to him in the interim between the time Jesus was 12 and 30.
Some church traditions and scholars believe that Joseph died before Jesus began his public ministry, perhaps when Jesus was around 20 years old. According to Catholic tradition, Joseph passed away peacefully in the presence of his family.
Regardless, we can conclude that by the time of Jesus’ crucifixion, Joseph has died. Scripture records some of Jesus’ last words on the cross, showing his care for his mother in her husband's absence.
“When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, ‘Woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home” (John 19: 26-27).
In the ancient Near East, a woman needed a man for protection, legal status, and financial support. Because Jesus committed his mother to the care of the Apostle John, we can conclude that Joseph is no longer in the picture.
What Can Christians Learn from Joseph’s Life and Legacy?
Scripture doesn’t reveal a lot about Joseph, but what it does say is significant. We are not given insight into Joseph’s thoughts and feelings, but his actions reveal much about his character and commitment to God and his family.
He is unexpectedly thrust into a situation that likely brought shame and hardship upon him, but instead of making excuses or choosing the path of least resistance, he believes and trusts God. He acts honorably, caring for Mary and the baby Jesus.
Did he have moments when he questioned God’s plan and wondered about the angel’s words? Almost assuredly, he did. Yet, from what Scripture tells us, he remained faithful to the role he was called to, even though he likely never witnessed Jesus’ ministry, crucifixion, or Resurrection.
Much like Joseph, we live in the middle of the story God is writing, and we often cannot see the whole picture of how God is working, but we can be encouraged that God is working and our role—whatever it may be—is important and that God has chosen us and loves us.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Evgeniy Shkolenko
Veronica Olson Neffinger is a Content Editor for Salem Web Network. When she is not writing or editing articles, you can find her listening to baseball games, enjoying the outdoors, reading, or engaged in some form of home or garden care. She lives in Richmond, VA with her husband and two young sons.
