Christ the Carpenter

 "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?' And they took offense at Him." Mark 6:3

Have you thought lately about Jesus the carpenter?  Have you pondered what this means for you today?  Have you considered what it means that Jesus was a tekton, the Greek word translated carpenter?  Does Jesus the craftsman and builder ever cross your mind?

Some may think and wonder if Jesus used His divine powers to miraculously make whatever His task was to be.  I see no reason to believe that Jesus, though God, used anything other than sweat and skill gained from His earthly father to do His job.  Though he crafted the universe by the Word of His mouth, He built and mended structures by the sweat of His brow.

"Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men." Philippians 2:5b-7

Not only that, but most Bible scholars believe Joseph must have died between when Jesus was 12 and 30.  This is because Jesus' earthly father has no mention after He was 12.  If that is the case, and I believe it likely to be so, then the oldest son must have worked hard to provide for His family.  Jesus probably worked to provide food and shelter via his craft for Mary, James, Joses, Judas, Simon and multiple sisters.  

Before Jesus' hands had holes in them they had callouses.

Jesus knows what it is to work hard.  Christ knows what it is to work under a supervisor.  The Savior knows what it is to have a blue collar job.  The Son knows what it's like to provide for a family.  Henry Gariepy said, "As the Carpenter, Christ forever sanctified human toil." (100 Portraits of Christ p. 78)

I want you to ponder what it is for Jesus to have been a carpenter.  I want you to brainstorm some questions that will help you as you work this week.  Below are some examples:

How did Jesus work?

What did Jesus charge for His work?

How did Jesus rest from His job?

How did Jesus deal with difficult coworkers or customers?

What was the quality of Jesus' work?

And as you ask these questions I invite you to let them come back to you.  Ask, "How do I work?"  "Should I seek a raise?"  "How do I rest?" "How do I deal with coworkers?" "What is the quality of my work?"

Jesus knows what it is to work. He has forever sanctified work.  When you pray about work, He totally gets it.

Ponder Christ the Carpenter today.