Mark 6:3 “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.”
We know that Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father, was a carpenter by trade (Matthew 13:54-55). The above scripture, however, seems to indicate that Jesus also learned the trade of carpentry. We know that Jesus was subject to His parents as a child (uke 2:51). It would make sense for Joseph to have taught Jesus how to be a carpenter as Jesus spent a lot of time with him.
When Jesus began to show more of His deity, some were “offended” or thought He was not who He portrayed Himself to be, as they knew Him as a carpenter and felt He was just like the rest of His family. Mark 6:4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” Due to their unbelief, Jesus could not perform many miracles there (Mark 6:5).
We know that Jesus, being God in the flesh could walk in the miraculous at any given time. Yet, He also lived His life outside of the miraculous, so He might be an example to us of how we should live. Sometimes we may encounter some of the challenges that Jesus faced. People who know us well, especially those who knew us before we became born-again, may not be willing to listen to us. In these instances, we can pray for them. It may take someone else to lead them to Christ.
The other example Jesus shows us is the value of having a trade. This is something I have taught my children. When we look at the wages for unskilled labor compared to the wages for skilled labor, there is a great disparity. While we are young, strong, and are mentally sharp, it is a good idea to learn a skill or trade that will provide us with a livable wage. Sometimes it may mean working while going to school. This is never easy to do, but the benefits for the time spent, can be substantial.
My son, for instance, works in IT 40 hours per week. In addition to his demanding IT job, he is also going to school to become certified in cyber security. Cyber security is in high demand today and pays substantially more than his present IT job. I see the grueling schedule he has. However, he knows it is just for a short while and the benefits will far outweigh the cost.
If Jesus thought it was a good idea to have a trade, shouldn’t we? Pray and ask the Lord for direction in this matter. He has given each of us certain talents and abilities. These talents and abilities can be fine-tuned through training to be a source of income. It will also be a benefit to the world.
Check out Joy’s Newsletter | Author: Joy Foster
