Not Less Than a Carpenter

It seems that our culture has come to look over the wonderful vocation of carpenter. With the emphasis in recent decades of formal education and “getting a degree” there has been an ensuing snobbishness by many toward the trades. I spent most of my life working as a carpenter and farmer and rancher before joining the ranks of the office crowd. I once had a church confess they weren’t much interested in me as a pastor (shepherd) because most of my experience in life was as a carpenter, farmer, and rancher (shepherd). Many have forgotten that God actually enjoys using men from these vocations throughout the Bible. Whoever first said Jesus was “More Than a Carpenter” was right, but let us not forget neither was He less than a carpenter. There is everything right about being a carpenter. This is an ode to the bi-vocational pastor but it is more than that. This is a brief meditation on the vocation Jesus engaged for most of His life on earth and what we can learn from it.

1.     Jesus created with His hands. The One through whom, by whom, and for whom all things were created shared His craft in special ways. He provided microcosms for customers of what He had already put on display for them in the heavens. He utilized His back, hands, arms, legs, and His mind to provide a service to others that was practical in usage for their sake. He knew the pain of splinters and cuts and soreness. This was an ironic microcosm in His own life considering His painful death on a wooden cross. His body was nailed to wood.

2.     Jesus was a man. He was strong. He was no wimp. While He was a kind and compassionate friend He was no girly-man. The carpenters in the Old Testament worked to engrave stone and wood. They assembled massive items and detailed ones. Bezalel “worked in all manner of workmanship”. He and his artisans worked hard. I spent most of my life working with such men. This is no place for delicate folks. Joseph never knew the same prominence of these early craftsmen but he knew a hard day’s work. Jesus worked daily with His father. His heart was merciful but His hands were callous.

3.     Jesus interacted with people. Jesus was well known as the “carpenter’s son” (Matt. 13:55) and the “carpenter” (Mk. 6:3). There is a certain integrity that must accompany a man offering his services in a small-town economic market. You are known by your name. If a man is known for the slightest hints of a lack of integrity, then he won’t last long. A successful carpenter must treat people right and provide them with a good service in a preferable way. Jesus worked with Joseph for about twenty years in the same place and He worked for people.

4.     Jesus didn’t make much money. This didn’t bother Him. Compared to the glorious treasures He left in Heaven anything this world could offer would just be dung. When He transitioned from carpenter work to itinerant teaching ministry He evidently took a cut in pay. At least as a carpenter He had a home with His parents but as a preacher, “the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His own head.” (Mt. 8:20) His concerns were greater than money. He lived for the glory of His Father. He died to save souls.