What Happened to Joseph?

I can't help but wonder about the fate of Joseph, the man who raised Jesus. Although he was from a poor, obscure community, and worked at a humble trade, Joseph must also have been an extraordinary man in that God chose him to be the one who would raise His Son -- certainly no small honor. The scriptures don't provide many details about him, but they do give us a glimpse of Joseph's character when they tell us how he refused to make a public spectacle of Mary, once it was discovered that she was pregnant while not yet married (Matthew 1:19). On account of this display of mercy, Joseph is called "a just man." It's also clear that he was obedient to God in that he took Mary as his wife in spite of what people might have thought at the time, and, later, fled with her to Egypt when commanded to do so.

The Bible strongly implies that Joseph was dead by the time that Jesus began His ministry. The last time he is mentioned in any active role is when Jesus was twelve-years-old and became separated from His family after celebrating Passover (see Luke 2:42-51). Furthermore, the fact that Jesus later entrusted the care of His mother to the Apostle John (see John 19) shows that Joseph was no longer on the scene by at least the time of the crucifixion, otherwise Jesus would not have had the right to assign the care of His mother to anyone. As to how Joseph died, sadly, the scriptures are silent; but I do think that we might be able to make an educated guess as to when he died, based on what we do know.

The title "King of the Jews" that is often ascribed to Jesus is quite literally the truth. Jesus was the heir of King David on both sides of his family, as Matthew 1 and Luke 3 illustrate in their respective genealogies; and God had promised David that one of his line would always sit on the throne (see II Samuel 7). As the heir of both Joseph and David, Jesus had a rightful claim to the throne, but this right could only pass to him after Joseph's death. Given this, I believe that Joseph probably died in the same year that Jesus began His public ministry, when, as Luke tells us, He was "about thirty years old". With his "father" dead, and as the oldest of Mary and Joseph's children, He would have become the head of His household. The inheritance would then have been His and He would have been free to present Himself to Israel.

This would also seem to fit with what else we know of Jesus' family. The scriptures tell us that Joseph and Mary had four other sons and at least two (probably more) daughters (Matthew 13:55-56, Mark 6:3), making for a total of at least seven children. If they had one child every two years, Joseph must have lived for around fourteen years following the birth of Jesus, and we know for certain that he was still alive when Jesus was twelve. Also, the way that some people reacted to Jesus when He began His ministry, noting Him as "the carpenter's son", indicates that many were still familiar with Joseph by the time that Jesus was thirty years of age. Had Joseph died during Jesus' ministry, it would probably have been noted in the gospels, especially since Jesus raised several people from the dead. I can't see Him being known for this and no one entreating Him to raise His own adoptive father.

For these reasons, it seems to me that Joseph likely died before Jesus' began His ministry, and probably not very long before; possibly within weeks of it. I'm speculating, of course; scripture doesn't give us much to go on here, but it's always interesting to look into the Word and see what we can discover. Whenever he died, clearly this obscure carpenter from Nazareth must have been a remarkable man.