Who was Joseph, the father of Jesus?
"He was sent to a virgin. The girl was engaged to a man named Joseph. He came from the family line of David. The virgin’s name was Mary" (Luke 1:27).
"Her husband Joseph was faithful to the law. But he did not want to put her to shame in public. So he planned to divorce her quietly" (Matthew 1:19).
"Everyone said good things about him. They were amazed at the gracious words they heard from his lips. 'Isn’t this Joseph’s son?' they asked" (Luke 4:22).
Joseph was the earthly father of Jesus. He was also a descendant of King David. We first see Joseph in the gospels. He was pledged to be married to Mary, Jesus’ mother (Luke 1:27). When Joseph finds out that Mary is pregnant, he plans to divorce her quietly. An angel appears to Joseph and tells him that Mary is pregnant by divine means. The angel also tells Joseph to stay with Mary and that what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
Joseph married Mary and raised the Messiah (Jesus) as his own son. Joseph was a humble man and desired to serve God faithfully. As Jesus got older, Joseph taught him his trade, carpentry. We are never told that Joseph had a negative attitude or doubted God.
Joseph died before Jesus' earthly ministry began. We know this because the Bible doesn't mention him anymore. Mary, Jesus' mother, is mentioned, but Joseph isn't. This would tell us that Joseph died sometime in Jesus' teenage years or early adult years. Joseph didn't stay alive long enough to see Jesus' ministry, but he had faith in God and desired to fulfill his responsibility to serve his Savior.
