As a late teenager deeply committed to Christianity and invested in debate – making arguments, evaluating evidence, convincing skeptical judges – I was naturally drawn to Christian “apologetics,” the attempt to demonstrate the truth claims of Christianity based not on faith but on proof. And so, like others in that boat at the time, and like many still today (often still using the same arguments we did), I had at my ready disposal numerous “proofs” for the existence of God, the fulfillment of prophecy, the divine nature of Christ, his (actual, physical, historical) resurrection from the dead, and the full inspiration of Scripture.
One of my favorite go-to guides for persuasive logic was a book by Josh McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict. Later I became equally interested in his Christologically-focused (but still apologetic), More than a Carpenter.
These days I am obviously
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Perhaps Jesus was indeed a carpenter, but the true originators of parables attributed to him were not? Perhaps non-carpenters put those parables on his lips?
I’d say most scholars think that some of the parables, at least, go back to Jesus; possibly even most of them.
“Be on your guard against the termites of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. The outside of the wood may look good but the inside is rotten!”
Good!
Professor,
Within this context of Nazareth, and the broad/ unspecific translation of tekton, would not Occam’s razor and the dissimilarity criterion point to Jesus bring known in his home village as a simple common laborer not otherwise notable for knowledge of scripture (which he could not read anyway) ? Mark was otherwise comfortable with unexplained mysteries. Est quad est.,,
Yup, keep tuned! We’re on the same page.
Jesus is the Good Carpenter; He measures twice and cuts once. Such is the Kingdom of Heaven, where no one can complain that their judgement wasn’t perfect.
Nice.
Were you aware that the latest edition of McDowell’s Evidence that Demands a Verdict has an appendix entitled “Responding to the challenges of Bart Ehrman”?
I don’t think I was. OK then…
About “Jesus the carpenter” – I’ve always thought that “the carpenter” was a byname that differentiated this Jesus from the other men called Jesus in the village. “Jesus” was a common name, wasn’t it? I thought that in a world where people didn’t have last names, one used such descriptive attributes to make it clear whom one was referring to. So in Nazareth, there were perhaps: Jesus, the tailor; Jesus, the carpenter; Jesus who lives by the bridge; and Jesus who walks with a limp. Would this explanation be plausible?
Yes, but only if he really was the carpenter.
My question referred specifically to the use of the definite article. You wrote, ‘It is interesting that Mark uses the definite article in the passage. The townsfolk do not ask if he was “a” carpenter or “one of the” carpenters, but “the” carpenter.’
The use of the definite article would make sense if “the carpenter” was a byname to differentiate various individuals who had the same name: Jesus the tailor, Jesus the carpenter, Jesus the baker,… In that case, it would not have to imply that there were no other carpenters in town (perhaps Jude the carpenter, Matthew the carpenter, etc.)
I realize that this says nothing about whether Jesus did really work as a carpenter. I was wondering whether the grammatical construct using the definite article could be explained in this manner.
Interesting consideration. But normally people were differentiated from others by identifying their father: Simon son of Jonah; John son of Zebedee, etc; for women it’s oftne their residence, or children, Mary of Bethany, Mary mother of James, etc.
This makes me wonder about Peter and his work as a fisherman. Would fishing be a ‘full-time’ job in Galilee? Could the Gospel writers have portrayed Peter as a fisherman to prove some theological point? (i.e. “fisher of men”)
Yes, fishing was an established occupation for those living in towns on the Sea of Galilee.
Not a parable, but could the warning in Matthew 3:10 that “the axe is at the root of the tree” count as a metaphor drawn from woodworking? Or does the passage’s larger focus on “bearing fruit” overshadow this?
Yes indeed! Unfortunately, it’s not Jesus who says it!
Psalm 90:17 “May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands.”
Jesus the carpenter (or carpenter’s son). Jesus the crucified, on a cross, made of wood and nails….
His earthly works is synergistic with his mission/heavenly work. Yet that very work is not “his loss” but rather his sacrifice, our gain, and when exulted to the cosmic sense, his “win”. Didn’t he have to “work hard” to tick off the authorities to get himself crucified? I mean, he said he was destined for it! He had to work at it.
Fishermen. Tent makers. Carpenters. Fields. All commonly known things used as allegories while teaching.
Possible moral lesson: “Whatever work you do, do it for the sake of God and his plan.”
There’s further synergies in these symbols. Trees and forming wood in particular.
If all the woodworking in a village was done by a single person, then it seems unlikely that most others would be familiar with carpentry. Maybe Jesus knew that most of the people he was preaching to wouldn’t understand and tailored his parables to fit the crowd.