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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.

-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?