The last time Joseph is mentioned in the Bible is when Jesus was twelve years old. The family was returning from a trip to Jerusalem. Jesus, somehow, got Himself separated the rest of the family, and they eventually found Jesus in the temple conversing with the teachers. That was when Jesus announced that He needed to be about His heavenly Father’s business and all mention of his earthly father ceases from that point onward (Luke 2:41-50).
Verse 49 says this: “And He said unto them, How is it that ye sought Me? Wist ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?”
Because Joseph is never mentioned again, many Biblical scholars just assume that he died sometime before Jesus began His public ministry. By the time we get to the wedding at Cana (John 2), Joseph is conspicuously absent. We see Mary attending, but no mention is made of Joseph. It’s quite possible that Joseph’s absence was the reason that Jesus lived at home until He was 30 — probably being a responsible Son helping His family make ends meet.
The theory that Joseph had died by the time Jesus was an adult is given further credibility by the fact that Jesus, when He was dying on the cross, made arrangements for His moth ...
