Mary and Joseph

We don't know much about the background of Mary and Joseph. We do know that they both could trace their lineage back to the house of David (see Matthew 1 & Luke 2). Actually, Matthew tells us more about Joseph's ancestry, and Luke gives more of Mary's. Because Joseph was of the house of David is why he and Mary had to go back to Bethlehem to register for taxes as Herod had proclaimed. 

Although not many details are given about the couple, Bible scholars have pieced together some probabilities based on hints and what we know of the culture at that time. Mary was likely young, perhaps in her mid-teens. Joseph may have been quite a bit older than his wife. The fact that the Bible never mentions Joseph after their visit to the temple in Jerusalem when Jesus was twelve but mentions Mary several times after that adds credence to this theory. Most biblical scholars believed Joseph had probably died.

We also know that Joseph was a carpenter by trade. At this time, that would have meant a skilled craftsman in both wood and stone. Jesus learned the trade from Joseph and practiced it until he started his ministry around age thirty. Then He had a kingdom to build for His Heavenly Father.


We can tell a lot about Mary and Joseph from how they reacted to Mary becoming pregnant while betrothed but not married. Betrothal was a very binding agreement back then, and Joseph knew it wasn't his child, so he believed the logical thing - that she had been with another man. However he didn't want Mary disgraced, or worse, stoned to death, so he decided to put her away quietly. This could have even meant that he would see to her well-being.

But notice that when Gabriel appeared to them, both Mary and Joseph believed what the angel said, even though what he said was pretty incredulous. Without a doubt, both had strong faiths and wanted to submit to God's will no matter where that took them. They were willing to face false assumptions, unfair accusations, and public ridicule to follow the path God laid before them. Perhaps this made getting out of Nazareth and going to Bethlehem for a while even more attractive. And, of course, they ended up going to Egypt after Bethlehem to escape Herod's search for the Baby in order to kill Him.

Have you ever stopped to think about what a hard situation Joseph and Mary found themselves in. Expecting a child out of wedlock was much more condemned back then, and since he didn't accuse Mary of cheating on him, everyone would have assumed Joseph to be the father. However, pleasing God was much more important to them than pleasing man. May it be so for us too!

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