Heaven gives Jesus many accolades and titles but to the people among whom He lived in Nazareth He was the carpenter's son.

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1 THE CARPENTER S SON (Mt. 13:55) Mt. 13:55 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? 56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? 57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. 58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. There are many titles for Jesus, for example, the Son of God, Emmanuel, the Word, the Messiah, Christ, the Lord, the Son of David, the Lamb of God, the Light of the world, the Bread of Life, and many more. There is one title though which doesn t receive as much attention, the carpenter s son. It is very ordinary, but Jesus did have a childhood, and He was once a teenager and He did belong to a family. We read about him as a young boy, Lk. 2:41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. 43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. 44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. 45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. 46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. 47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. 48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. 49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? 50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. 51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. And the same Gospel writer gives us another reminder, Lk. 4:14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. 16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. Heaven gives Jesus many accolades and titles but to the people among whom He lived in Nazareth He was the carpenter's son. HIS COUNTRYSIDE. As a Boy growing up in Galilee, He would have played in the fields and in the hills. No doubt, even as a Boy, He would have spoken to His Heavenly Father in the quietness of this same countryside. The pace of life was relaxed. To the outsider, it would have been mundane, maybe

2 2 even monotonous, and in fact, the common saying was, Jn. 1:46 Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? There was a Roman town a few miles away from Nazareth called Sepphoris. It had streets that were paved. It had markets, beautiful residential homes, public buildings, many of the trappings of Roman society It was Rome away from Rome. The Jews and the Romans in the area lived alongside each other very well and the Jews were well accepted with their many synagogues. And, of course, all those fine Roman buildings had to be maintained, and so the local Jewish craftsmen would have had plenty of business. We know Joseph was a carpenter and there would have been a strong likelihood he would have been involved at some time or another working in Sepphoris. It also would have been the normal practice his young Son would have been brought up as his apprentice, - that s the way things were done in those days, - and it is very likely father and Son would have worked together in the family business. In His upbringing Jesus wasn t kept at a distance from society, - He was part of it. His countryside HIS COMMUNITY. Again, nothing is said in the Gospels about Jesus growing up in Nazareth nothing about His teenage years and early twenties. It is important to remember Jesus was a teenager, and a young Man. He was part of that community. He belonged to Nazareth for it was in fulfilment of the prophecy, Mt. 2:23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene. I suppose someone could rightly ask How do we know He lived in Nazareth all those days from He was a child until adulthood? How do we know He didn t move on to somewhere else? We know because of three simple reasons. Firstly, it was the normal practice to stay with your parents and work in the family business. Secondly, He was recognised by the townsfolk as Joseph and Mary s son, and thirdly, He was known as Jesus of Nazareth (Mt. 26:71; Mk. 1:24; 10:47; 14:67; 16:6 etc.), i.e. Jesus from Nazareth. You could imagine Him walking along the streets as a little Boy... with His mother and father, His brothers and sisters. As a young Boy, He would have learned to read and write. He would have attended the synagogue every Sabbath as Lk. 4:16 indicates. He would have sat with the rest of the boys and learned the history of His people from the rabbis. He would have learned the

3 3 customs. He would have dressed as a Jewish boy. He would have attended the family feasts and the celebrations. He would have been prepared and taken through the ceremony of Barmitzvah, and that was how He could go along with His parents to Jerusalem when He was twelve years of age. He would have learned how to sing the psalms. Each morning and evening, as a little boy, He would have recited the Shema, as would have been the responsibility of His parents, Dt. 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day 7 thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children. And He was an excellent student for He even confounded the rabbis and the doctors of the Law in the temple when He was only twelve years old! He was not a dreamer, or an idle waster. He did not wile away His days developing in His mind great thoughts of what He wanted to be when He grew up. He knew exactly what the life ahead of Him was to be, as He said to Mary and Joseph when they thought they had lost Him, Lk. 2:49 How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? And I m sure everyone who knew Him would have loved Him. They would not have had an unkind word to say about Him. He was the kind of Son, you would have wanted your son to become! Polite, honest, courteous, gracious, friendly And yes, it was the custom for the son, - especially the eldest son, - to take on the occupation of his father and that s how He became known as the carpenter s son. Imagine the attention to detail as He would have crafted a piece of wood. Imagine Him cutting and grooving it. Imagine Him smoothing it and creating a table or a chair. His creations would have been a work of art, - what a privilege to buy something crafted by the hands of Jesus! Yes, His childhood and youth developed within this small hill-top village of Nazareth. Then, one day, a fire that was burning in His heart became a mighty flame. It was the time eternity had declared He should begin His ministry among His people, Lk. 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. His countryside, His community At this juncture though, things began to change HIS PEOPLE S CONTEMPT It was the Sabbath, and He did what His parents had taught Him to do, - He went along to the local synagogue in Nazareth. On this particular day, rather than sitting with the rest of the men He

4 4 stood up and spoke. Here He was, among His own people He had no training. He wasn t a rabbi and yet He stood and taught them in their synagogue (Mt. 13:54). It wasn t that He had said anything wrong, it s just He was only the carpenter's son! He was neither a rabbi nor one of the elders You can feel the tension rising for as Matthew describes, it was their synagogue, not just the synagogue. Their father, and their father s father, and their father s father s father and his father and grandfather had all worshipped there and this was their synagogue! But look at what is happening Jesus had grown up before them as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground (Is. 53:2). They had known Him since childhood but, already He was starting to become a stumblingblock (I Cor. 1:23) the stone which the builders rejected (Mt. 21:42) for when Jesus stood and taught them, they didn t like it, they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Who does He think He is?! He s only the carpenter s son with the wood, the hammer and the chisel! He s Mary s Son I wonder if any of them remembered the dubious background of how she became pregnant, - little country areas have long memories and they are prone to drag up the past! And not even His brothers were sure, - James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas, - nor His sisters, Jn. 7:5 For neither did his brethren believe in him. His countryside, His community, His people s contempt They saw Him, but they did not know Him. Mt. 15:37 And they were offended in him. HIS PEOPLE S CONDEMNATION They were not prepared to listen to Him. Their minds and ears were closed to Him. He was causing a scandal, - that s the word behind offended (skandali,zw). In His hometown, He was surrounded by hostility! However, they were holding back the blessing experienced in other towns and villages for Jn. 13:58 he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. It must have hurt Him because He said, 57 A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. Imagine even the unbelief of His own brothers and sisters. Basically, if they did not accept He was speaking the truth, the consequence was that they were calling Him a liar and a deceiver! His people s condemnation. CONCLUSION His countryside, His community, His people s contempt, His people s condemnation

5 Can you visualise Him standing there in front of the Nazareth congregation? Can you see their faces and into their hearts? They could not listen to another word He had to say! He had to be put out, He had to go! The promise of the Messiah had been preached for centuries He was standing before them, but they would not recognise Him! Each time He came back to Nazareth, these people had the same thoughts about Him for He had come unto his own, and his own received him not (Jn. 1:11). This is our Saviour. If He came back the same way He came the first time, He still wouldn t be received any better! He would be given the same opposition probably even worse. Jesus is the everlasting God, and yet He was seen merely as the carpenter s Son. The world does not understand any better today, and yet we must continue to present Him as the only Saviour God sent into this world to save lost souls from an eternity in the everlasting fires of Hell. There s a day fast approaching when He is coming with the clouds, Rev. 1:7 and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him There will be unprecedented terror and many will try to hide from Him but there is only one way to escape the wrath of God when Jesus returns and that is to know Him as Saviour and Lord. It is when the Master Carpenter takes the piece of wood from the forest and makes out of it a beautiful creation to His glory. It s a simple study, yet another beautiful way of considering Jesus, the carpenter s son God s Son, Phil. 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. 5