He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? 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. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching. (Mark 6:1-6 ESV).
I have often been surprised by the reaction of people who don’t know me very well and they find out that I am a carpenter as much as a minister. It is as if the two abilities are somehow exclusive of one another. I have found them both to bring great satisfaction into my life. Both involve the activity of seeing the creation of something of beauty and usefulness from raw “materials.”
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John focus on Jesus’ public ministry. For a period of three years, he taught about the kingdom of God, healed the sick, fed the hungry, and even raised the dead. But before any of that, for about thirty years, Jesus lived in the family home. And for most of those years, he worked alongside his father Joseph in the family trade. We think of Joseph as a carpenter, someone who worked with wood. But he may have been a stoneworker. The original language is not clear. What is clear is that Joseph was a builder of some sort. So, he worked with his hands and with tools: perhaps making farm implements and furniture, or laying foundations. And Jesus did the same thing for probably about twenty years. The gospel books barely mention it. But they do give us that much.
Now, when Jesus began his teaching ministry, people for miles and miles around came to know him as a teacher and wonder-worker. They were in awe of him. But to the people in his hometown, he was just a guy who worked with tools in his hands. They couldn’t get beyond that. We have the opposite problem. We know Jesus as the Son of God. And we can lose sight of his genuine humanity. But for most of his years, Jesus lived a life as ordinary as anyone’s, like yours or mine. Because of that, He knows exactly what we are going through and how to get us through it safely. That brings me hope in the direst of circumstance!