{"id":77,"date":"2014-05-08T12:00:52","date_gmt":"2014-05-08T12:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/?p=77"},"modified":"2014-04-29T20:57:18","modified_gmt":"2014-04-29T20:57:18","slug":"matthew-118-24-the-birth-of-jesus-christ-personality-and-character-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2014\/05\/matthew-118-24-the-birth-of-jesus-christ-personality-and-character-study.html","title":{"rendered":"Matthew 1:18-24; The Birth of Jesus Christ (Personality and Character Study)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bible actually says very little about Jesus\u2019 adoptive father, Joseph. Here\u2019s what we know:<\/p>\n

Joseph was a carpenter by trade (Matthew 13:55), which meant \u201cbuilding and repairing in wood, stone, or metal.\u201d He had a reputation as \u201ca just man\u201d (Matthew 1:19), likely referring to his devout, religious character. He was compassionate, as seen by his unwillingness to subject Mary to public shame when he found out she was pregnant (Matthew 1:19). He was able to recognize when God spoke to him in dreams (Matthew 1:20-23, 2:13, 19-20). He was immediately obedient to God\u2019s instructions (Matthew 1:24, 2:14, 21). He followed Jewish religious customs such as having his son circumcised on the eighth day, consecrating baby Jesus with a temple sacrifice, and traveling to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover each year (Luke 2:21-41). He had other children besides Jesus (Matthew 13:55-56).<\/p>\n

Beyond that, some have speculated that he may have been an older man and a widower when he married Mary, and that he died not long after Jesus visited the temple as a twelve-year-old. That theory could explain why he\u2019s never mentioned in the Bible after Jesus\u2019 twelfth year (even though Mary and his other children are) and why he wasn\u2019t present at Jesus\u2019 crucifixion. It could also account for why Jesus commanded his disciple, John, care for Mary. Still, this old-age\/early-death theory is rooted mostly in an apocryphal book with suspect origins, so it must be regarded as speculation at best.<\/p>\n

\"Matthew<\/a><\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/a>:<\/p>\n

[WWB, 244-246]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2126\u2126\u2126<\/p>\n

About: For Bible Study Nerds\u2122<\/a><\/p>\n

About: Mike Nappa<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2014 to present by\u00a0Nappaland Communications Inc<\/a>. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Bible actually says very little about Jesus\u2019 adoptive father, Joseph. Here\u2019s what we know: Joseph was a carpenter by trade (Matthew 13:55), which meant \u201cbuilding and repairing in wood, stone, or metal.\u201d He had a reputation as \u201ca just man\u201d (Matthew 1:19), likely referring to his devout, religious character. He was compassionate, as seen…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":571,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[31,29,25,302],"class_list":["post-77","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-matthew","category-personalityandcharacter-studies","tag-carpenter","tag-joseph","tag-mary","tag-matthew"],"yoast_head":"\nMatthew 1:18-24; The Birth of Jesus Christ (Personality and Character Study) - For Bible Study Nerds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2014\/05\/matthew-118-24-the-birth-of-jesus-christ-personality-and-character-study.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Matthew 1:18-24; The Birth of Jesus Christ (Personality and Character Study) - For Bible Study Nerds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Bible actually says very little about Jesus\u2019 adoptive father, Joseph. 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