"When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished....Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us?" (From Matthew 13:54-56)
So here we have Him, the oldest child of a family of at least 9 people, and:
"The carpenter's son," the One called, "King of kings, and Lord of lords."
"The carpenter's son," the One Who claimed, "Before Abraham was, I Am", and of Whom it is written, "all things were created by Him and for Him."
"The carpenter's son," the One Who Is right now, "....upholding all things by the Word of His power," the One called, "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
"The carpenter's son," who is also, "Even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God."
But He appeared among men as, "the carpenter's son." How can this be? How can the Eternal God, Ruler of the Universe, the One Who said, "In the beginning..., Light be", Who Alone created everything you now see, Who Alone, "....formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being", and Who Alone continues to impart to us His, "God-Breathed," Words, how could such a, "Great and Mighty God," then "stoop" to become, "the carpenter's son"? Well, He did, and, it is, "to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Gentiles foolishness, but to (you and me) Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."
Can you imagine what it must have been like to enter that carpenter's shop, to encounter the One of Whom the creed states, "Who for us men, and for our salvation came down," standing there with carpenters' tools? Well, my friend, no need. Jesus is right now in our "shop," gloriously in you and me, Jesus, of Whom the song writer said, "For me it was in the garden He prayed 'not my will but Thine.' He had no tears for His own griefs, but sweat-drops of blood for mine."
Father, in Jesus' Name, "I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene," the One Who for me became, "the carpenter's son." Amen.
**********************
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
