8 The Carpenter

When our Lord was ministering here on earth, he talked about many different vocations. He said, “Behold, a sower went out to sow” (Matt. 13:3); but Jesus was not a farmer. He said, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:14); but when our Lord was here on earth, he didn’t care for literal sheep. Before he was baptized by John the Baptist and began his public ministry, do you know what our Lord’s vocation was? He was a carpenter.

Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” And they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands upon a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching. (Mark 6:1–6)

When Jesus came to earth, why did he choose the vocation of a carpenter? Certainly he was a teacher and a healer, but he taught and healed after he had first worked for many years as a carpenter. During the years that he lived in Nazareth, he learned the trade from Joseph and day after day worked with his tools at the bench.

Let me suggest some reasons why Jesus was a carpenter.

He Was Born into a Carpenter’s Home

Jesus was born into a carpenter’s home, for Joseph, his foster father, was a carpenter. In Matthew 13:55 we read, “Is this not the carpenter’s son?” Contrary to what most of the Jewish people expected, their Messiah was born into a carpenter’s home. They thought that their Messiah would come as a great king, born in a splendid palace. But he was born into the humble home of a carpenter. The people wanted their Messiah to be a great soldier, a conqueror who would deliver them from the power of Rome. But Jesus came as a laborer, a servant, a carpenter.

The Old Testament Scriptures predicted that he would come as a servant. In Isaiah 52 and 53, the prophet describes the suffering servant of the Lord, a picture of Jesus Christ. In Philippians 2:5–8, Paul describes Jesus Christ the servant. When our Lord Jesus Christ came into this world, according to Hebrews 10:7, he said, “Behold, I have come. . .to do Your will, O God.” Jesus came as a humble servant; he came as a carpenter.

Christ identified himself with the common people, and “the common people heard Him gladly” (Mark 12:37). Years of labor as a carpenter helped him understand their burdens and their needs. He knew the dignity of honest labor. He knew what it was like to work and to be weary. “If you do not teach your son how to work,” said the rabbis, “you teach him how to steal.” The Jewish people taught their children to work, and even the rabbis had their own vocations. Paul, you will recall, was a tentmaker.

Jesus was a laborer who identified with the working people. In the household of Mary and Joseph, he helped to carry the burdens and meet the needs. The Greeks despised manual labor, and the Romans relegated it to their slaves; but among the Jews, “Six days you shall labor and do all your work” was as important as “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exod. 20:8). They saw work as a sacred responsibility before the Lord who gives men and women the power to get wealth (Deut. 8:18).

Were all of Joseph’s customers easy to get along with? Perhaps not, but Jesus was patient with them and served them in love. Did anybody who hired Jesus notice that there was something special about his work? Probably not, but he did his best just the same. After all, he wasn’t just serving customers; he was serving his Father in heaven.

He Came to Do Carpenter’s Work

Not only was Jesus born into a carpenter’s home, but he came to do a carpenter’s work. What does a carpenter do? He builds and repairs. I must admit that I don’t have that kind of skill. I wish I could pick up the toolbox and go around the house fixing things, but I don’t have those skills. Other members of my family do, but not I. Jesus came to do a carpenter’s work. He was skilled at building and repairing.

I can imagine people coming to the carpenter shop in Nazareth and bringing Jesus broken tables and chairs, or giving him requests for new pieces of furniture or plows. Perhaps the children came with their broken toys, and Jesus gladly fixed them. He spent those “hidden years” in Nazareth building and repairing.

But building was nothing new to the Lord Jesus, for before he came to earth he had built the universe, and it’s still functioning right on schedule. “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:3). “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist [hold together]” (Col. 1:16–17).

But Jesus hasn’t abandoned his vocation as the builder, for today he is building his church (Matt. 16:18). If I understand the New Testament correctly, the church is made up of all those who have trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior and belong to him. God’s children are living stones in the temple that Christ is building (1 Peter 2:5), “being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:22). Every time a sinner trusts the Savior, a new living stone is added to the temple. Jesus Christ built the universe, and he is building his church. Are you a part of this marvelous temple that he is building?

Jesus Christ is the builder, but Satan is the destroyer. Jesus said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10). Satan is that thief. Satan is called “Abaddon” and “Apollyon” (Rev. 9:11), both of which mean “destruction.” Sin is a great destroyer, and Satan tempts people into sin. Sin destroys bodies, homes, churches, and nations; but Jesus Christ came to build, not to destroy. He offers eternal life and abundant life to all who will trust him.

Jesus the Carpenter is building his people a home in heaven. “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself. . . .” (John 14:2–3). The wonderful thing about knowing Jesus as your Savior is that you know where you’re going. You may not know how long it will take you to get there, but that doesn’t matter. We don’t know if Jesus will return and take us to glory or if we’ll go to sleep in Jesus and wake up in heaven. This the Lord hasn’t told us. But he has assured us that he’s building a home for us in heaven, and that promise, to me, is a great encouragement. The Carpenter who built the universe, the Carpenter who is building his church, is also building for his people a home in heaven.

But he’s also building our lives, if we yield to him. Right now your life is either being built up by the Lord Jesus or being torn down by the devil. There is no middle ground. We never stand still in the Christian life; we’re either being built up or being torn down. The greatest destroyer in all the universe is sin, but Jesus Christ came to put away sin and to begin the wonderful process of building our lives.

The people saw Jesus perform miracles and said, “Such mighty works are performed by His hands!” (Mark 6:2). But Mark 6:5 says, “Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.” Why was Jesus unable to do anything special for the people in Nazareth? “And He marveled because of their unbelief” (Mark 6:6). The Lord Jesus Christ wants to build your life, and he will if you will trust him.

One of the key word’s in Paul’s vocabulary was “edify,” which means “to build up.” As God’s people, we’re either working with Jesus to build ourselves, others, and his church, or we’re working with the devil to tear things down. It takes patience and skill to build, but anybody, even a child, can destroy. A group of common laborers can destroy in a few days what it took an architect and contractor years to erect.

“Let all things be done for edification” (1 Cor. 14:26). But the motive for edification is love. “Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies” (1 Cor. 8:1). God bestows gifts on his people so that they will exercise those gifts in the church “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12). When “every part does its share,” this “causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love” (Eph. 4:16).

What a privilege we have to work with the Carpenter and assist in the building of his church!

He Uses a Carpenter’s Methods

There is a third reason why the Lord Jesus was a carpenter. Not only was he born in a carpenter’s home and came to do a carpenter’s work, but he also uses a carpenter’s methods. A carpenter looks at a piece of wood and sees the potential in it. Then he forms a plan and patiently goes to work to transform that wood into something useful and beautiful.

You and I might not see the potential in a piece of wood, but the carpenter can see it. No doubt in his youth our Lord went out with Joseph and chose a tree because he saw real potential in it.

God looks at you and says, “I see potential in you.” You may look at yourself in the mirror and say, “I can never become anything. I can never do anything.” Yes, you can! Jesus looked at Simon one day and said, “I know who you are. You are Simon, but I’m going to call you Peter, a rock” (see John 1:42). Peter’s friends may have laughed at this because they didn’t see much in Peter that was rocklike. But Jesus saw the potential in Peter, and that potential was realized.

Our Lord saw the potential in the fishermen he called to follow him, in Levi the tax collector, and in the publicans and sinners who gathered to hear him. When Saul of Tarsus was ravaging the church, Jesus saw his potential and called him to become Paul the apostle. Paul gave up on John Mark (Acts 15:36–41), but Jesus saw the potential in him and eventually made him an effective servant (2 Tim. 4:11).

Jesus sees the potential in you and me and can make us what he wants us to be, if we will let him. Like Moses (Exod. 3–4) and Jeremiah (Jer. 1), we may argue with him about our competence, but he knows what he’s doing. “And who is sufficient for these things?” asked Paul (2 Cor. 2:16); then he answered his own question by writing, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves. . .but our sufficiency is from God who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant. . . .” (2 Cor. 3:5–6).

The Lord follows a carpenter’s methods: he sees the potential that is in the material; he has a plan; and he sees the work through to the end. He knows what he wants you to do and he is able to accomplish his purposes if we will yield to him and let him have his way. He knows what he wants you to become. You don’t have to drift through life, wondering what to do next. Just turn yourself over to the Carpenter and let him fulfill his plan for you. “For we are His workmanship [manufactured product], created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).

Jesus the Carpenter is so patient! He takes such great pains with what he does! He knows what tools to use and how to use them. He knows when I have to be planed and sanded, and he knows when I’m ready to be polished. Sometimes he uses the Word of God to correct what’s wrong in our lives; other times he uses fellow Christians to rebuke us, encourage us, and polish us. The Lord Jesus follows a carpenter’s methods, and he always finishes what he starts. He never leaves a job half done. Our responsibility is to surrender to him and let him follow his plan.

He Died a Carpenter’s Death

Jesus was born into a carpenter’s home. He came to do a carpenter’s work—building and repairing. He follows a carpenter’s methods. But he also died a carpenter’s death. He wasn’t stoned to death; he was nailed to a tree. I wonder how many times our Lord Jesus had carried trees back to the carpenter’s shop and trimmed them, cured the wood, cut the boards and planed them, and then made from that wood some useful implement.

One day they took the Lord Jesus, and with hammers and nails—the kind of tools that he had used in the carpenter’s shop—the Roman soldiers nailed him to a tree. Peter wrote: “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24). Of course, it was not the nails that held him to that cross; it was his love for lost sinners and his obedience to the Father’s will. He died a carpenter’s death and was nailed to a tree.

Do you know why he died that kind of a death? The Old Testament law declared, “For he who is hanged [on a tree] is accursed” (Deut. 21:23). When Jesus died on that tree, he bore the awful curse of the law for us so that we might be saved. “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’)” (Gal. 3:13).

Whenever you think of Jesus Christ the Carpenter, just remember the price that he paid to save us from hell and to make something out of our lives. Every saved person is a “brand plucked from the fire” (Zech. 3:2). Just as a carpenter has to cleanse each piece of wood and cut away all that’s ugly and not needed, so Jesus Christ, in dying for us, cleansed us from our sins. When you trust him, he saves you; then he begins to work in your life to make you what you ought to be.

Whose hands are forming your life? Is Satan destroying you or is Jesus shaping you? Perhaps you’re saying, “I’m a self-made man” or “I’m a self-made woman!” But nobody can amount to much whose life is “self-made.” Of ourselves and in ourselves, we don’t have what it takes to make a success out of life in the eyes of God. But when you put your life into the hands of the Lord Jesus, the wonderful Carpenter, he will save you and make something out of you.

Yes, Jesus Christ is the Carpenter. He was born into a carpenter’s home, so he identifies with us. He came to do a carpenter’s work—to build and repair our lives so that we become things of beauty for his glory. He follows a carpenter’s methods, patiently fulfilling the plan that he has for us. And in order to make all of this possible, he died a carpenter’s death on a cruel cross.

The hands that shape our lives are wounded hands, loving hands, skilled hands, powerful hands; so we don’t have to be afraid. His hands can do anything, but what he does for us is limited by our faith. “According to your faith let it be to you” (Matt. 9:29).

He is able. Are we willing?

↑ Back to top