By James L. Thornton

The Following Gives Us A Description Of The Life Of Jesus And His Occupation.

Luke 3:23. And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli, (KJV)

Matthew 4:13. And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: (KJV)

Mark 1:9. And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. (KJV)

The Next Scripture (Mark 6:1-6) Takes Place Some Months Later As Jesus Came Back To His Home Town Of Nazareth, And Their Reaction Towards Him.

Mark 6:1. And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him.
2. And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?
3. Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. {offended: scandalized in, or, by him}
4. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
5. And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.
6. And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching. (KJV)

It Is Amazing How Much Information We Can Glean From These Scriptures Concerning Our Lord.

The First Scripture (Luke 3:23) Tells Us Our Lord's Age (30 Years) When He Began His Ministry.

It Also Tells Us That The People Of Nazareth, Among Whom He Lived And Worked All His Life, Thought He Was The Son Of Joseph, Who Was A Carpenter In The City Of Nazareth.

They Knew Him Only As A Carpenter's Son, Who Also, Evidently, Followed His Supposed Father's Trade, As Most Jewish Boys Did In His Day.

The Second Scripture (Matthew 4:13) Tells Us That He Left Nazareth And Came And Dwelt In Capernaum, Which He Would Use As A Base Of Operations During The Next Three And One Half Years.

The Third Scripture (Mark 1:9) Tells Us That Jesus Came To Where John The Baptist Was Baptizing And Was Baptized By John In The Jordan River, The Spirit Of God Descended Upon Him And Those Who Were Present Heard God Acknowledging Him As His Son.

This Is The First Public Announcement Of Who He Was.

Before This The Saviour Of The World Was Hidden In A Carpenter Shop, And The People Of Nazareth Were Not Aware Who Was Among Them.

Our Thought For This Study Is Taken From The Scripture In Mark That Plainly Tells Us That He Was A Carpenter.

A Carpenter Becomes A Saviour

Let Us Think Back To His Last Day In The Carpenter Shop.

He Was Leaving, Not Because There Was Not Enough Work And Not Because He Did Not Enjoy The Work.

Life Was Peaceful There, Life Was So Safe.

Here He Had Spent Countless Hours Of Contentment.

He Had First Played On The Dirt Floor As His, Supposed, Father Joseph Worked (Matthew 13:55).

Here As He Grew Up, Joseph Had Taught Him How To Grip A Hammer, How To Push A Saw, How To Pull A Draw Knife.

Now He Was Thirty Years Of Age--He Took One Last Look Around Before He Walked Away And Closed The Door--Many Memories Flood His Mind.

To Be A Carpenter Was An Honorable Occupation And Much In Demand, And He Was Well Aquainted With Everyone In The Town Of Nazareth.

The Town Had A Synagogue Where He Had Attended And Been Allowed To Read The Scriptures Occasionally.

Now The Day Had Arrived, The Decision Was His To Make, To Stay, Or Leave, And Become, And Do, What He Had Been Born Into The World For, Become The Saviour Of The World (John 18:37).

I'm Sure By Him Knowing What Lay Ahead If He Chose To Leave, There Was A Lot Of Musing And Deliberation The Last Day In The Carpenter Shop.

We Do Not Know If Joseph Was Still Alive, And Who Will Take Care Of His Mother Mary?

"I Could Do A Good Job Here In Nazareth." "Settle Down." "Raise A Family."

He Had A Choice,
He Could Have Stayed,
He Could Have Kept His Mouth Shut,
Who Would Have Known?

He Knew What Lay Ahead,
Long Tiresome Journeys On Foot,
Long Days And Nights Without Much Food And Rest,
Rejection And Derision In The Many Cities,
The Awful Last Day At Jerusalem,
The Beating, With Many Stripes,
The Purple Robe, And Crown Of Thorns,
The Agony On The Cross,
The Terrible Thirst,
The Feeling Of Being Forsaken,
And Finally Death Comes.

He Could Have Come Back In Another Era Of Time,
When Things Were A Little More Peaceful,
And Crosses Were Out Of Style.

He Knew All Of This, But His Heart Wouldn't Let Him Stay.

He Heard The Voices Of Those In Despair,
He Heard The Cry Of The Hopeless,
He Cared About The Abandoned,
The Helpless Were Mourning Without Anyone To Care.

He Saw The Faces, Some Wrinkled, Some Weeping,
From Abraham To The Present.

He Saw The Same Face You Saw In The Mirror This Morning.

He Not Only Saw You,
He Heard You That Day In The Carpenter Shop.

He Left Because Of You.

It Wasn't Easy,
Leaving The Carpenter Shop Never Has Been Easy.

Abraham Left (Genesis 12:4),
Moses Left (Hebrews 11:27),
Paul Left (Philippians 3:8),
Since Then Thousands Have Left,
You Can Too.

Don't Worry He Will Walk Beside You.
There May Be Hesitation On Your Part At First,
But There Will Be Joy In The Long Run.

The Response To Jesus Upon Leaving The Carpenter Shop Was Great In The Beginning Of His Ministry.

Matthew 4:23. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
24. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
25. And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan. (KJV)

Yet The People Who Should Have Known Him Best, Knew Him Not At All.

A Few Months Later When He Came Back To His Home Town Of Nazareth, They Were Offended By His Preaching.

Mark 6:1. And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him.
2. And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?
3. Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. {offended: scandalized in, or, by him}

Jesus Suffered Many Things On His Last, Long, Lonely Journey To Jerusalem.

Long, Because It Was Committed To Him At Birth. (John 18:37)

Last, Because A Cross Awaited Him, The Shadow Was Even Now Falling Across Him.

He Began To Speak Of It Often, And His Words Were Beginning To Be More Plain Concerning His Death.

The Signs Of The Times Were Growing Ominous, Storm Clouds Were Gathering, And All Things Were Beginning To Point Towards Calvary.

Yet He Did Not Shirk From The Duty Set Before Him (Hebrews 12:2)

Luke 9:51. And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, (KJV)

In Luke Chapter Nine Jesus Begins His Final Journey To Jerusalem.

His Work In Galilee And The Provinces Was Nearly Done.

It Was Only 60 Days Till He Would Carry The Cross.

It Remained For Him To Bear Witness To The Truth In The Holy City.

The Mood Of The Ecclesiastical Authorities And The Religious Society Was Changing From Jealousy Into Murderous Hatred.

They Were Monitoring His Movements And Questioning Every Act And Saying.

He Alone Could Sense The Dangers Which Lay Just Ahead Of Him At Jerusalem.

Jesus Was Now Entering The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death.

Matthew 16:21. From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. (KJV)

Yes! There In Jerusalem, The Tragedy Must Be Enacted.

It Was The Fitting Scene For The Events That Were About To Take Place.

It Was Proper That The Son Of Man Should Die In That Holy City, Which Had Earned A Most Notoriety As The Murderess Of The Prophets--The Stoner Of Them Whom God Sent Unto Her. (Luke 13:34)

"It Cannot Be" (It Is Unthinkable) "That A Prophet Perish Out Of Jerusalem." (Luke 13:33)

It Was Due Also To The Dignity Of Jesus, And The Importance Of His Death, That He Should Suffer There.
Not In An Obscure Corner Or In An Obscure Way Must He Die.
But In The Most Public Place, And In A Formal Judicial Manner.

He Must Be Lifted Up In View Of The Whole Jewish Nation--So That All Might See Him Whom They Had Pierced, And By Whose Stripes They Might Be Healed.

The "Lamb Of God" Must Be Slain In The Place Where All Legal Sacrifices Were Offered, In Jerusalem.

He Must "Suffer Many Things, …" (Matthew 16:21)
Too Many To Enumerate,
Too Painful To Speak Of In Detail.

He Was Willing To Bear The Indignities, But Gave Few Details,

"Be Mocked, And Scourged, And Spit Upon, And Spitefully Entreated." (Luke 18:32-33)

"The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day." (Luke 9:22)

Not Them Alone But, The Gentiles Rulers And The People Of Israel Were To Have A Hand In Evil-Entreating The Son Of Man.

But The Elders And Chief Priests And Scribes Were The Prime Movers And The Most Guilty Parties In The Death Of Our Lord.

The Men Who Ought To Have Taught The People To Recognize In Jesus The Lord's Anointed.

Instead They Would Hound The People On To Cry "Crucify Him, Crucify Him." And By Threats Urge Heathen Authorities To Follow Through On The Crime. (John 19:12)

Grey-Haired Elders Sitting In Council Would Solemnly Decide That He Was Worthy Of Death.

High Priests Would Utter Oracles, That One Man Must Die For The People. That The Whole Nation Perish Not. (John 11:50-51)

Scribes Learned In Law Would Use Their Legal Knowledge To Invent Grounds For An Accusation Involving Death.

"And Be Killed, …" (Matthew 16:21)

What A Shock These Words Must Have Been For The Twelve Disciples, So Without Explanation He Adds,

"And Be Raised Again The Third Day." (Luke 9:22)

Jesus Knew That The Announcement Of His Death Was Hard To Take So He Followed Them Up Quickly With Good News Of His Resurrection.

The Journey Form The Carpenter Shop Had Been Long--It Was His Destiny At Birth (John 18:37),
33 Years Ago He Had Started Towards The Cross.

To Pilate, To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, .." (John 18:37)

The Journey Had Been Lonely--No Man Had Understood His Purpose.

Only John Stood With Him In Pilate's Judgment Hall,
Alone He Would Carry His Cross, (John 19:17)

He Was Mocked By The Multitude, (Matthew 27:39)

He Was Abandoned By God, (Matthew 27:46)

His Side Was Pierced By A Soldier To Allow The Blood To Come Forth, (John 19:34)

He Was Buried In A Borrowed Grave, (Matthew 27:57-60)

He Arose Again The Third Day, As He Had Said, (Matthew 28:5-6)

He Ascended Back Into Heaven. (Acts 1:9)

Someone Has Summed It Up In A Song,
"He Bought My Soul At Calvary."

A Carpenter Had Become My Saviour.

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