Posted on 12/11/2006 6:29:15 AM PST by xzins
What happened to Joseph the father of Jesus
We know very little about the years of Jesus prior to His public ministry. The gospels are without notation of any childhood events beyond Christ's birth except one reference that is found in Luke. It is the very last time that Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus, is ever mentioned.
Luke 2:41 reads: "Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 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. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."
It is supposed that Joseph, the father of Jesus, died during the quiet years of Jesus' life. We do know that he trained Jesus in his trade, as that of a carpenter. He do know that Joseph and Mary had children after Jesus was born: James, Joses, Simon, and others.
Perhaps the cause or timing of his death is not nearly as important as the strength of character he displayed. In first hearing about Mary's pregnancy, Joseph did not want to subject Mary to public scorn. After hearing from the angel who confirmed Mary's incredulous story, Joseph obediently accepted the role as surrogate father for the baby Jesus, the Christ child. Matthew 1:24-25 says, "When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus."
The last reference about Joseph in Luke confirms that Joseph was a devout follower of the customs of his religion with his observance of Passover. It implies that Joseph made certain of good spiritual training for the children in his family. Joseph proved his integrity and willingness to be obedient to God's direction and guidance.
Further, why would it not be okay for Mary to have children younger than Jesus?
did jesus have a sister?
was she there at his death?
and did she cry for marys comfort
as she watched him
on the cross?
and was mary too despairing
ask your brother
hes the boss
hes the chief
hes the man
hes the show
did he have a sister?
a little baby sister?
did jesus have a sister?
doesnt anyone know?
-- Dory Previn
Is this James not the half-brother of Christ? When Christ said to "behold his mother", was he not saying to be sure to take care of her? Also, how would telling a "stranger" to take on your mother make her other children orphans?
If my wife became unable to have relations with me, would I be justified in just walking away, in your view?
Joseph was a just and Godly man (Scripture says so), and I think he viewed his wife as someone greater than an instrument for his sexual satisfaction?
He also had a mission given him by God in a dream, and I don't think he was the sort to walk away from his divinely-given assignment.
I also wondered about that. After Mary gave birth to Jesus, was she and her husband celibate until his death? Aren't they supposed to "be fruitful and multiply"?
This is an elegant solution to the question of how Christ avoided original sin. If Mary contributed nothing to His composition, and was merely a vessel into which He was placed, he would inherit none of her traits, including sin.
Of course, this solution also sends us into murky Christoloigical waters where Docetic and Monophysite monters lurk. If Jesus recieved nothing from Mary, where did His humanity come from?
Why some "Christians" go to such great lengths to prove that Our Lord's mother was not a perpetual virgin baffles me. Having studied all your listed verses, and more, I can say with absolute certainty that there is no N/T verse whatsoever that establishes that Jesus Christ had blood brothers or sisters. The Old Testament is rife with examples of people calling their uncles, cousins and followers "brothers". And never once does the N/T say "these are Mary's sons/daughters". Other O/T examples have only-child sons being called "first born", (because "first born" was actually the title bestowed on the child who opened the womb of his mother, whether or not he had siblings afterwards.
I have been in this debate many times with Protestants, and have never lost, having been able to answer each and every heretical example more than adequately. But this time around I'm going to pass, letting you prots make your charges against the Mother of God as you may. Though how anyone can possibly think such allegations against Christ's mother are pleasing to Him escapes me. I will, however, part with an Old Testament verse which prefigures the Virgin Mary:
" Then the man brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, the one facing east, and it was shut. The LORD said to me, "This gate is to remain shut. It must not be opened; no one may enter through it. It is to remain shut because the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered through it."" (Ezekiel 44:1-2).
But I don't presume to question their brotherhood in Christ over such a trival thing.
He was speaking to John, the "beloved disciple," whom Scripture idenfies as one of the two "sons of Zebedee".
There are two apostles name James. One is John's brother ("James the Greater") and the other is the "brother of the Lord" and son of Alphaeus/Clopas ("James the Lesser").
Nothing Will Be Denied Him (St. Joseph)
The Heart of a Father [St. Joseph]
Quemadmodum Deus - Decree Under Blessed Pius IX, Making St. Joseph Patron of the Church
St. Joseph [Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary], Solemnity, March 19
MORE THAN PATRON OF HOMES, IT'S TIME FOR ST. JOSEPH TO GAIN HIGHEST OF RECOGNITION [Fatherhood]
(Saint) Joseph the Patriarch: A Reflection on the Solemnity of St. Joseph
How I Rediscovered a "Neglected" Saint: Work of Art Inspires Young Man to Rediscover St. Joseph
The Importance of Devotion to St. Joseph
St. Francis de Sales on St. Joseph (Some Excerpts for St. Joseph's Day 2004)
St. Joseph: REDEMPTORIS CUSTOS (Guardian Of The Redeemer)
St. Joseph's Humility (By St. Francis de Sales)
March 19 - Feast of St. Joseph - Husband of Mary - Intercessor of civil leaders
St. Joseph's Spirit of Silence
Father & Child (An Evangelical Minister preaches on St. Joseph)
That's a solution in search of a problem. Jesus Christ was God, and the concept of him having original sin is nonsensical.
In the Catholic view, original sin is principally the lack of the indwelling divine life of the Blessed Trinity, and it's clearly impossible for Jesus to be at once God and also supernaturally lifeless.
Interesting verse, can you be SURE that it means Mary's womb? Talks about entering, not exiting. Also, I love how loaded your statements are, shows you are quite humble yourself. /sarc
"heretical example... prots make our "charges against the Mother of God"... allegations"... yeesh man, thanks for the honest and intellectual debate. I'm sure Christ would be just as pleased with how you're talking with us, right?
You are misled. St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary lived very chaste lives. After all, he knew that the Holy Spirit (God) had been instrumental in the birth of Jesus Christ (also God.)
There were no brothers or sisters. That phrase is meant to include all brethren, cousins, other relatives, friends, etc.
If it's the same James.
You and your wife would still have the desire to be together, if you were injured or she.
Of course, that is exactly true. But, being born of a woman, how did He avoid having His human nature tarnished with original sin? The fact that we know Jesus could not have posessed original sin does not make the question go away.
The Protestant does not hazard an answer to this mystery but trusts in God. Others have been less judicious.
"Joseph was a just and Godly man (Scripture says so), and I think he viewed his wife as someone greater than an instrument for his sexual satisfaction?"
So it is sinful to gain sexual satisfaction out of your wife/husband? I know Augustine thought that even lustful sex even towards one's spouse was sinful, and I think Augustine was kind of a nut. Gotta love St Jerome with "I praise marriage, but it is because they give me virgins."
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