Is Joseph really Jesus' father? Matthew 1:16 says he was the husband of Mary, who was the mother of Jesus. How should we understand this passage?
Your question is a good one. Joseph is not Jesus' father--at least biologically. Yet legally he was indeed Jesus' father, and in the ancient mentality, legal paternity was sufficient to confer hereditary rights. As Christians, we believe that through the Holy Spirit Mary came to be with child. She was fully Jesus' biological mother. And yet Jesus Christ, the "God-man," was also truly the Son of God.
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