Joseph Got the Job
In the story of Jesus’ birth, Joseph almost seems like a minor character, but he’s not. Because 
the Trinity hand-picked Joseph to be Jesus’ earthly dad. This man’s prompt obedience to God’s divine warning dream saved his whole family. But he could only protect his family for so long.
By the time our Savior began His public ministry 30 years later, Joseph had died. But during his lifetime, Jesus’ earthly father was faithful to his God-given task.
Biography of a Husband
When Mary conceived, she was probably a young teenager, between 13 -15 years old. We don’t know how old Joseph was, but here’s a guess.
Jesus’ father worked as a carpenter. Joseph probably became apprenticed to a experienced carpenter at age 13 or 14. For the next 4 to 6 years, Joseph would be a low paid employee, learning his craft. Around the age of 18, he’d start working as a skilled carpenter. Only then would Joseph be able to support a wife and family.
Some scholars estimate his age between 18 and 23 when Mary gave birth.
Jesus’ Brothers and Sisters
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. (Matthew 1:24-25 NIV)
Did Mary and Joseph have more children? Our only clue is in Matthew 13.
55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?56 Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” (Matthew 13:55-56 NIV)
First, look at the context.
The hometown crowd calls Jesus “the carpenter’s son” and also refers to Mary as his mother.
Obviously in this passage, they were talking about Jesus’ biological family. That’s my first clue. Then they mention his brothers and sisters. These people watched Jesus grow up, so they are astonished at his wise teaching and the miracles.
A Greek Word Study
In Greek, Adelphos means “brother” with Adelphoi translated as “brothers.” Pretty clear, right? Well no, not really. Unfortunately these words can also refer to close relatives, like cousins.Here’s a second fact which makes things even more confusing. When Paul addresses local Christians as “brothers and sisters?” He uses the masculine plural Adelphoi. At that point, this Greek word encompasses both sexes.
But here’s the interesting thing.
Adelphe, the singular feminine and the plural feminine Aldelphai only refers to sister or sisters. These Greek words don’t appear to be used in any other way.
Interestingly, the root of all four words means “same womb.”
I’ve never studied Greek or Hebrew, so this is just my opinion. Biblical scholars have been debating this topic for centuries.
But based on Matthew 13:55, I believe Jesus grew up with four brothers and at least two sisters.
A Second Dreamer Named Joseph
The book of Matthew records four divinely inspired dreams which Joseph had in a short amount of time.
First Dream: God told Joseph to take Mary as his wife because her baby had been divinely conceived (Isaiah 7:14.) Joseph obeyed. Toward the end of her pregnancy, necessity caused the couple to travel to Bethlehem, to be counted in the Roman census.
Second Dream: This one came a few years later, when Jesus was a toddler. The Holy Spirit warned Joseph to flee to Egypt with Mary and her son, because of King Herod’s murderous intent. Hearing from the Magi that the Messiah had been born, he sent them to Bethlehem to find the child, so he could kill him.
But of course, God warned the Magi to travel home by a different route and not visit King Herod a second time.
16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. (Matthew 2:16 NIV)
Because Bethlehem in Jesus’ time had a population between 300 -1000, the number of male infants and toddlers slaughtered would have been small. As low as 6 or as many as 40. But the shock, horror and grief? Unimaginable.
Third Dream: Joseph was told to return to Israel, because King Herod had died.
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”
(Matthew 2:19-20 NIV)
Fourth Dream: After Joseph’s family returns to Israel from Egypt, another warns him not to live in Judea. Instead, Joseph settles up north, in Galilee, in a town called Nazareth (Matthew 2:10-23 NIV).
How Far Away Was Egypt?
How long did the journey to Egypt take? The short answer is we don’t know.
It’s 150 miles between Bethlehem and Alexandria. The largest Jewish community in Egypt lived in that city. If they traveled roughly 10 miles a day, the walk would take about two weeks.
I imagine the gifts of the Magi, especially the gold, came in handy.
My Spiritual Point
The Trinity chose Joseph to be Jesus’ earthly father not because of his carpentry skill or knowledge, or intelligence or physical strength. The Almighty chose Joseph because in his heart; he loved and obeyed God.
Without knowing about his earlier life, I’m certain Joseph was faithful and frequently obedient in the little things. So when it really mattered, he shook his his wife awake one dark night and started fleeing to Egypt before daybreak.
These images came from Pixabay.com.
Resources:
King Herod the Great’s cause of death.
