Saint Joseph the Carpenter, Matthew 1:20 Wall Art

In Joseph's workshop

Joseph leans over a sturdy wooden workbench, pushing a hand plane along a board with both hands. He wears a rust-colored leather apron over a gray-blue tunic, sleeves rolled up, his brown hair and beard curling. Pale wood shavings spiral off the plane and scatter across the floor.

Across the bench stands the young Jesus, perhaps six or seven, in a simple white robe with a green sash, holding a small block of wood and watching closely. Planks lean in the corner and a wooden toolbox waits by the bench legs. At the top, in sepia script: “Joseph, thou son of David, fear not,” with Matthew 1:20.

What happened in Matthew 1:20?

Joseph was betrothed to Mary when he learned she was expecting a child that was not his. Matthew calls him “a just man,” and says he planned to end the betrothal quietly rather than expose her. Then an angel appears to him in a dream. The complete verse reads: “But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.”

Calling him “son of David” matters. Through Joseph, as legal father, Jesus is counted in the royal line of David, which is why Matthew opens his Gospel with a genealogy. And Joseph acts at once, without a recorded word. In fact, not a single sentence spoken by Joseph appears anywhere in the Gospels: he is known entirely by what he does, and he is guided by dreams several more times, including the flight into Egypt.

Years later, in Nazareth, neighbors would ask of Jesus, “Is not this the carpenter's son?” (Matthew 13:55). The Greek word, tekton, covers a craftsman working with wood or stone, a builder as much as a joiner, which is exactly what the workbench in this painting suggests.

For fathers, and for Catholic homes

Catholics honor Saint Joseph on March 19, and again on May 1 as Saint Joseph the Worker. He is patron of fathers, workers and the universal Church, and many families keep his image near the front door. This print is a warm gift for a new dad, a godfather or a grandfather, for Father's Day, or for someone who works with their hands. It suits a workshop, a home office or a boy's bedroom.