12. What indicates that Joseph evidently died before Jesus, and what would this have meant for Jesus?

¹² As the oldest son, Jesus probably helped to care for the family, particularly since it appears that Joseph died before Jesus.b Zion’s Watch Tower of January 1, 1900, said: “Tradition declares that Joseph died while Jesus was yet young, and that the latter took up the carpenter’s trade and became the support of the family. This finds some support in the Scriptural testimony where Jesus himself is called a carpenter, and his mother and brethren are mentioned, but Joseph is ignored. (Mark 6:3) . . . It is quite probable, then, that the long period of eighteen years of our Lord’s life, from the time of the incident [recorded at Luke 2:41-49] to the time of his baptism, was spent in the performance of the ordinary duties of life.” Mary and her children, including Jesus, likely knew the pain that results when a beloved husband and father dies.