Joseph, the "Father" of Jesus.

Episode Outline:
0:00 What role does Joseph play in the story of Jesus’ birth and early Christianity?
0:51 Bart and Megan on Christmas, Boxing Day, and the emotional pressure of the holidays
4:26 Is Joseph mentioned in all four canonical Gospels?
5:41 Did the historical Joseph likely exist, and what can historians say about him?
7:01 Why Matthew and Luke give Joseph two different genealogies
10:00 What those genealogies are trying to prove about Jesus
12:36 Why give Joseph a genealogy at all if Jesus is supposedly not his biological son?
14:29 Do parts of the New Testament still suggest Joseph was Jesus’ real father?
16:50 Joseph in the non-canonical gospels and the Infancy Gospel of Thomas
20:36 Was Joseph really a carpenter, and what did that mean socially?
23:58 What Joseph’s occupation tells us about Jesus’ class and upbringing
25:52 Why Joseph disappears from Jesus’ adult life in the Gospels
28:20 Why Jesus entrusts Mary to another man at the cross
30:13 Why Joseph mattered in early Christianity, even if less than Mary
34:12 Course promo: Bart’s Genesis course
36:32 Weekly Update: Bart begins his research leave and works on Jesus’ ethics
39:24 Outsmart Bart: Polycarp, Ignatius, and Pontius Pilate
45:20 Final summary: what we can know about Joseph historically and in later Christian tradition

Episode Description
Mary is definitely the more famous of Jesus' mortal parents…but what about Joseph? Few people have asked about him but he is obviously a significant part of the Christmas story. What can we know about him? Why are the writers of the New Testament virtually silent about him? What we can infer about his life and the role he played in Jesus' life? In this episode we discuss what we can know historically about the "father" of Jesus and we explore some of the legends that sprung up about him as found in non-canonical Gospels of the early centuries.

Also watch these episodes:
Who Says Mary Was a Virgin?
Who Says Mary Was a Virgin?

The Intriguing Portrayal of Mary's Birth and Life in the Proto-Gospel of James
The Intriguing Portrayal of Mary's Birth and Life in the Proto-Gospel of James

Was Jesus Literate?
Was Jesus Literate?

-Do all the Gospels talk about Joseph, Mary’s husband?

-Do historians assume he existed, and if so, what can we say about him?

-Both Matthew and Luke give Joseph’s genealogy, but it’s a different genealogy. How do you explain that?

-Why would Matthew and Luke have chosen different lines of descent for Joseph?

-Why would they have included genealogies for Joseph if he wasn’t Jesus father in either of these gospels?

-Is there anything to suggest that Joseph was actually Jesus’ real father?

-How did stories about Joseph develop after the NT?

-Are there any other stories about Joseph that give us more information?

-Was Joseph a carpenter?

-Why doesn’t Joseph figure in the life of Jesus after the birth narratives?

-Would this be why Jesus entrusts Mary to John when he’s on the cross?

-Mary is definitely the more famous of Jesus’ mortal parents - did Joseph have any importance in early Christianity?