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?
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