More about our Great Carpenter....

Yesterday, we talked about how in Bible times, there were people extremely skilled in carpentry. I know that there are peeps who do awesome work nowadays, too, but just think about if you didn't have the advantages of modern-day tools! They were not blessed with huge expanses of forests, so they learned incredible techniques to help them conserve the wood, and not waste any little bit.

When Jesus was born of the virgin, Mary, He became part of a family that was very familiar with carpentry. His stepfather, Joseph, was a carpenter in the city of Nazareth, in the province of Galilee. It was pretty routine for the Jewish people to teach their sons the skills that their dad had, so probably around the age of fifteen, Jesus began to learn from His stepfather the skills involved in the trade of carpentry.  I read in a commentary that there was a saying among the men of Israel, "If you do not teach your son how to work, you teach him how to be a thief."
(I can picture Him with Joseph before that, can't you? I imagine that He would have been like other little boys, and climbed His daddy's legs or clambered up into his lap, to see what he was doing. Joseph could have let Jesus' little hands ride on top of his strong, calloused ones, as he smoothed wood, or shaped it into something useful.)

We see evidences in some of Jesus' sermons that prove his expertise for us. There are references to things a carpenter would think about. Jesus spoke of a "narrow gate," and we can imagine that he and his stepfather, Joseph, crafted many gates for the people in the town. Our Lord also talked about building a house "upon the rock" and not on sand -- that's a concept that carpenters would have known about. In a beautiful passage in Matthew, Jesus said that His "yoke" was easy:

 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

As a skilled carpenter, He could make a yoke that was comfortable for the animals as they labored. He talked about building a tower in a vineyard, and also told the parable of a king who wanted to build but didn't count the cost . . . you have to know the expenses before you begin a project. That's another thing a skilled carpenter would know. Then, in Matthew 13, He is referred to:

“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? (Matthew 13:55)

If we think about it, Jesus Christ actually served as a carpenter longer than He served as a preacher and leader.  And He wasn't ashamed of it. The people of the town may have looked down their noses, but He wasn't ashamed.  I believe that this emphasizes the fact that God respects all honorable work that we may do -- even manual labor -- even things that seem ordinary.

That was a tough lesson for the Jews to learn in the town of Nazareth! Jesus didn't meet with their criteria for the Messiah.... they expected the Messiah to be born in a palace; instead He was born in a humble stable. They expected their Messiah to be born into a royal family; instead He was born into a poor family in a tiny town. They expected their Messiah, that they'd been told would come, would be taught military skills. They thought He would raise an army and be the general of a military powerhouse. Then He would force the Romans out of Judea and establish the Jewish nation.....

But it didn't happen that way. He wasn't trained in military skills; He was trained to be a carpenter. I found myself pondering this as that verse and that mental image stayed with me. The image of bare skin on rough, splintery wood, and nails pounded right through gentle hands.
I believe that Jesus wanted to identify Himself with the common people. The everyday folks. He wanted to align Himself with the dignity of manual labor, of working hard and creating things with our hands.
I think He wanted all of us to understand that as long as it is honest work that we are engaged in, then any job is respectable in the eyes of God. That's not the way the people of Nazareth reacted to being a carpenter. They seemed to be prejudiced against those who worked with their hands. In the sixth chapter of Mark we see again that they rejected Jesus, and they insulted both His previous profession and His lineage. They are a good example for us of how NOT to look at others! Jesus wanted to demonstrate the dignity of any job done for God's glory.
As long as it's honest work, and as long as we remain faithful to God, it doesn't matter what we do for a living. Any profession can be carried out for the glory of God.
One of the commentaries that I consulted had a brief illustration for this point. Over in Great Britain, there is a tombstone for a man who had an ordinary life: "Here lies Thomas Cobb, who mended shoes to the glory of God..."  And did you know that Johann Sebastian Bach wrote his lovely music and wrote the letters "SDG" on each piece? That meant "Sola Deo Gloria," or "to God alone be the glory."

Whether we work each day at manual labor, or we work "pushing papers," or if we labor to keep our family's house clean and cozy.....no matter what it is that we do every day, it can be done to the glory of the One Who saved us! Work is not our enemy. The real enemy is our attitude. (Ouch!) It's our failure to see our daily tasks as a part of our service to Christ. In a world still struggling with the effects of sin, we have a responsibility to work to the glory of God.

And whatever you do,whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17)

I believe that is why Jesus began as a carpenter.

We'll continue this study tomorrow.