As stated in the previous post, it was the responsibility of the Jewish father to begin teaching his son a trade by age 12, and to find him a wife by age 20. As we know, Jesus was not promised a wife in the flesh. Why did Joseph fall short in this responsibility? These are valid questions that require valid answers, or the very heritage of a Jewish Jesus is in question!
In Luke 2:41-48, we see that Jesus and Joseph are together. Jesus is about to enter 'middle' school, and is probably learning a trade at this point from Joseph. After this, Joseph disappears and is not seen again in the text. Why? All indications are that Joseph died at a young age. When the family of Jesus comes to retrieve Him in Matthew 12:46-49 ("Who is my mother and who are my brothers?") Joseph is not present. In John 19:26-27 as Jesus is dying, He gives His mother to John, also indicating that Joseph is no longer in the picture. This narrows down the time of death for Joseph to be while Jesus is between the age of 12 and 33.
Since Jesus was not promised a bride (excluding the possibility of further angelic visitation to Joseph on this subject) we can assume that Joseph passed away during the teen years of Jesus. The most gifted of students started middle school around the age of 12 while they worked their trade. Jesus was as gifted as they came, and He would have done likewise until the age of 15. At 15 the truly gifted would abandon their trade and seek to follow a rabbi with authority, one of the great Rabbis. Why did Jesus not do this?
If the father of the family died, the eldest son would take the responsibility for providing for the family. We know that Jesus did not follow a great rabbi of the day, lending more credence to the presumption that Joseph died while Jesus was 12-15 years old, and Jesus worked to provide for His family as the eldest should. He was a Teckton. So how did Jesus learn, and from whom?
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