180 – Jesus the Artisan

Jesus was not only sinless, not only a prayer warrior, teacher, and miracle worker; Jesus was a master craftsman.

With humanity’s nature of continuous learning, Jesus would not have been the perfect sacrifice as the Lamb of God who took sin from the whole world unless he had also mastered a skill of some kind. The religious leaders of his day did not merely sacrifice some common man, and not only the Son of God; they sacrificed an accomplished artisan.

Jesus was a master, not only of life and people, but also of trade.

David and Joseph both ascended to their place of rule at about the age of thirty. Likewise, Jesus began his public ministry at the age of thirty.

There is nothing magical about this age thirty, but it often makes sense on many levels. Tech leaders, such as Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, had great trouble in their mid and late twenties because they had not been through enough practice and natural life difficulties to prepare them for the wolf pit of piloting a large company. Joseph, David, and Jesus did not have this problem.

There is some value in pondering the implications of Jesus being a carpenter. God the Creator grows the trees as part of “creation”; man cuts the wood as part of “procreation”. Jesus worked with his hands closely to nature. One legend tells that Jesus made yokes for oxen and would feel the animals with his hand so he could cut them to fit. This has some plausibility from Scripture since Jesus used the yoke as an illustration, “Take my yoke upon you,” and Paul later talked about being “equally yoked”. Either way, yokes would not have been the only wood Jesus ever crafted.

Yokes, as well as other “building” terminology, in the New Testament occur in the context of Jesus the carpenter.

Beyond carpentry illustrations, Jesus had a trade; he himself had a skill. He is “preparing a place” for us in Eternity as a carpenter.

Jesus the master carpenter is also the perfect administrator, setting yet another example for us to work and learn and improve skills that make effective and qualified leaders, servants, and friends.

Matthew 11:29-30; 13:55, Mark 6:3; 14:58, John 2:18-22; 14:1-4, 2 Corinthians 6:14