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JESUS, THE CARPENTER!

An exposition of Mark 6:2-3

"And when the sabbath day was come, He began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing Him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this Man these things? And what wisdom is this which is given unto Him, that even such mighty works are wrought by His hands? Is not this the Carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not His sisters here with us? And they were offended at Him."

CARPENTRY IN THE LIFE AND MINISTRY OF OUR LORD

 

 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
II Timothy 2:1

 

 

 

 

 

 

LESSON 1:

The things Jesus did on various "Sabbath Days" are both numerous and amazing!

Mark 6:2 describes a typical Sabbath in our Lord's earthly life.

He had been asked to teach that Day.

Indeed, Sabbaths were busy times for our Lord! He healed a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath. He cast a demon out of a man one Sabbath also. He once healed Peter's Mother-In-Law on the Sabbath. He freed the woman with a back infirmity on Sabbath too. She had been "bowed over" for eighteen years! He healed a man with dropsy on the Sabbath as well. He was swollen, retaining far too much fluid in his body. That man at the Pool of Bethesda was healed on the Sabbath too. He had been sick thirty eight years! And Jesus furthermore healed a blind man on the Sabbath. He was born that way!

But most Sabbaths our dear Lord simply faithfully attended Synagogue, hearing and applying God's Word. We are told in Luke 4 that His "custom" was to attend services at God's House.

The Sabbath issue was certainly one center of controversy in Jesus' Ministry. The Pharisees and Scribes could not understand His behavior. While never disobeying the Law of God concerning the Sabbath, Jesus did correct many wrong understandings of that law!

For example, one could pull his ox from a pit on the Sabbath. That would be no sin! Relieving the suffering of a poor beast apparently had the approval of God ... any day of the week. Then Jesus reminded His enemies that the Priests in the Temple worked on Sabbath, with God's blessings in fact! Then once He taught that you could lead your thirsty ox to get water on the Sabbath. Jesus also told those hypocrites that if He worked on the Sabbath, so did His Father! That certainly says that the Lord Jesus, God's Son, is greater than the Sabbath, doesn't it? One day when especially hungry, the Lord's Disciples were allowed to pluck raw grain and eat it on the Sabbath, without sinning. Jesus approved their action, mentioning that David ate the shewbread once. Once Jesus reminded these nit-pickers that circumcision was often performed on the Sabbath and no one got upset ... not even the Scribes! Jesus even said that He was greater than the Temple and was Lord of the Sabbath too!

And for these things, these helpful words and miraculous deeds, the "Jews" sought to kill Him!

Yet with all these previous events duly recorded in Scripture, the main emphasis of all Jesus' Sabbath Experiences seems to have been His teaching and preaching God's Word. With our Lord, as it should be with us, the Word of God must have preeminence.

Hence Mark 6:2, our Text for today, tells us: "And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue."

Oh, to have heard Him!

                                                                         --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 2:

What would it have been like to hear Jesus preach?

To have actually been there?

Relatively few have ever had that privilege!

Yet the Scriptures record for us the reaction of those who did hear Him!  Read with me Mark's words: "And many hearing Him were astonished." Mark 6:2

"Astonished!"

What a word!

It is spelled "ekplesso" and has a rather dramatic meaning!

The root "plesso" has the idea of striking or hitting something!

The prefix "ek" simply means "out" or "out of."

Therefore, to be "astonished" in Biblical terms means to have been "knocked out" of one's senses!

Or "struck" with amazement!

Or maybe "stunned" with our Lord's Wisdom!

There was just something about Jesus that impacted folks that way!

Perhaps that's why they often said: "Never man spake like This Man." John 87:46

Often it was reported of our Saviour: "For He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." Matthew 7:29

I have never heard Jesus speak in Person, not yet!

But I have heard the voice of the Holy Spirit, that still small Voice, speaking to my heart through some precious verse of Scripture!

And even That, after all this time, is still "astonishing!"

Praise the Lord!

                                                                                 --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 3:

In the same paragraph of Scripture that describes Jesus as the "Carpenter," we are reminded of His faithful teaching of God's Word!

Mark records: "And when the sabbath day was come, He began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing Him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this Man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto Him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? Is not this the Carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not His sisters here with us?" Mark 6:2-3

Upon hearing Him preach, the local people were astonished!

Jesus, Who built lovely wood items in Joseph's carpentry shop, also built lovely word pictures and framed timely applications of Truth founded on the Scriptures!

They then asked: "From whence hath this Man these things?"

In other words, where did He get such things?

Such love for Scripture?

Such knowledge of the Word?

Such power presenting these great Doctrines?

Such grace even when exposing sin?

He, Jesus, could have easily answered their question!

From whence?

From His Father!

Part of John 8:28 quotes Jesus: "I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things."

Now get this!

As the Holy Spirit here couples Jesus' words in the synagogue with His work as a Carpenter ... perhaps He is drawing for us a parallel.

In both cases the Father figure is extremely creative! God the Father created or built the world! Joseph the carpenter, considered by Jesus' townspeople as His father, built plows and houses and towers and other things too.

And in both cases Jesus also created or built some beautiful things under the auspices of either His Heavenly Father or his earthly father. Now I know Jesus is Virgin born! I am simply using Joseph as a metaphor here.

From Whence hath Jesus these things?

From His Father!

Through His Father!

Time spent with the Father will equip one for service!

By the way, how much time have you spent with Him lately?

                                                                                  --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 4:

The "Carpenter" Text, Mark 6:2-3, asks of our Lord: "What wisdom is this which is given unto Him?"

People who heard Him preach couldn't help but wonder!

Of course we know from Paul's hand that Jesus not only was wise ... He IS Wisdom personified! Wisdom in human form! Omniscience clothed in flesh!

"Jesus ... In Whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom." Colossians 2:3

Also ... "Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." 1st Corinthians 1:30

Thinking of the "Carpenter" comment Mark made, calling Jesus "the Carpenter, the son of Mary," one notices that immediately in the same paragraph linkage is established to Jesus' preaching ministry and His great wisdom too!

Now, the first time in our Lord's earthly life that I can find His wisdom discussed is Luke 2:52. "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man."

Now this is describing Jesus as a twelve year old Boy.

This, among other things, must mean that His Wisdom was evident as He learned carpentry at Joseph's side.

Wisdom ... in a carpenter's shed!

Sawing wood, gluing or nailing corners, carving yokes, even sweeping shavings ... and doing all so wisely!

What?

Sweeping?

Yes, part of an apprentice carpenter's job was keeping the floors clean!

Think of this with me.

Jesus sweeping?

God sweeping?

Yes!

Listen to Isaiah. He is quoting God. The subject is the coming judgment upon the King of Babylon, a type of the devil. "I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts." Isaiah 14:23

See God sweeping!

A "besom" is just a broom.

And twice in Jesus preaching He referred to sweepers!

In Matthew 12:43-45 a man is sweeping his once demon infested house! But this man did not complete the job! He left his home swept but empty and the devils returned in force!

Then in Luke 15:8-10 a lady is sweeping her house! Looking for a lost coin! A picture of a lost soul I believe. She did complete the job! With resulting joy!

Jesus knew about sweeping all right!

I am so glad that one day he swept my life clean ... and yours too dear Believing friend!

And He did not quit too soon either!

He saved our lost souls!

And having swept away the dirt and filth of our sin, He replaced it with His Holy Spirit!

And yes, Jesus will some day sweep this whole wide world!

In judgment!

Proverbs 28:3 mentions a sweeping rain and Isaiah 28:17 mentions the sweeping hail, both elements of the weather! Yet both are manifestations of God's powerful sweeping!

Amazing!

I just noticed one more fact too!

Of the scarcity of "sweeping" metaphors in the Bible, two refer to the devil. Isaiah chapters 14 and 28 both discuss the enemy!

And both times he is swept away ... into everlasting fire!

Wisdom from a Carpenter ... with a broom!

                                                                                    --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 5:

The congregations who heard Jesus preach and teach often asked questions such as this: "What wisdom is this which is given unto Him, that even such mighty works are wrought by His hands?" Mark 6:2

The noun "wisdom" is spelled "sophia" in Greek and here speaks both of Jesus' godly intelligence and spiritual discernment. It has also been defined as skill in living a pure and holy life.

Jesus' wisdom was clearly visible in His passion for God's Word!

But do notice here that this wisdom breaks forth into practical unselfish deeds of kindness!

"Mighty works," two words in English, are represented by one Greek term, "dunameis," a nominative plural noun. It means an act of great power or strength! It is usually associated with a miracle, especially in the life of Christ.

Then the verb "wrought" translates "ginomai" and means "to bring into existence, to give birth to, or to be performed by" someone. It is framed here as an indicative present middle verb.

But certain miracles are in Mark's scope! Particularly things done by Jesus' hands! The preposition "by" is "dia" and means "through" or "by means of" when used with the genitive case, as here.

And the noun "hand" is "cheiros" and can mean one's fingers as well as his hands. Jesus is a "hands-on" Saviour!

Among other feats; He touched lepers, applied remedies, unstopped ears and raised the dead ... with the simple touch of That great Hand!

But, do remember, this word about Jesus' hands here occurs in the Carpenter Text of Scripture. Next Mark has the people immediately ask about our Lord: "Is not this the carpenter?" Mark 6:3

What, if anything, about His hands correlates with His carpentry?

Plenty, I believe!

He daily, at least in those first years of earthly life, worked in the carpenter trade with Joseph. And He, being the oldest son in the family, would have done the heavy labor too!

Think of the doors He framed!

The yokes He carved!

The rooms He built!

All with no electrical tools, purely by hand!

Of course those Same hands and fingers created the world also! "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained" writes the Psalmist!

Jesus is a Builder!

I close this article today with a couple of purposeful word pictures.

Once a man was buying a swing. He needed to know its weight limit. The salesman was not able to help. This was at a roadside market and no other information was available. That is, until a man walked up and said: "It will hold 225 pounds." Naturally the reply was "How do you know, sir?" He quipped, "Because I built it!"

Listen to me! Jesus, our great Creator Redeemer Who built us knows exactly how much of a load we can carry!

How?

He built us!

And, at least when it comes to temptation, He will put no more on us that we can bear! See 1st Corinthians 10:13.

Secondly, a skilled carpenter once revealed his successful philosophy for home building. He simply declared that he never built a house that he himself was not willing to indwell! "I build it like I am going to live in it," he promised!

What comfort that brings!

Christian friends, our Lord Jesus, Who ultimately created us, is ... through His shed Blood and the presence of His Holy Spirit ... building us and indwelling us at the same time!

That makes each Believer the temple of the Holy Spirit!

That's quality building!

Praise His good Name!

                                                                                 --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 6:

The people of Nazareth and surrounding areas knew Jesus as a carpenter! They for the most part did not realize Who He really was, the very Son of God.

That noun, carpenter, is spelled "tekton" in Greek. It means anything from a worker in wood to a builder even to a stonemason. Our word technician is derived from "teknon." The word is used only twice in the whole New Testament, both times of Jesus.

The singular English word carpenter occurs four times in the Bible; Isaiah 41:7 and 44:13 plus Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3. However when the plural form is searched, carpenters, nine more references are located. All of these are in the Old Testament, mostly associated with the building projects of King Solomon.

That Hebrew word for carpenters, "charash," is also translated several other ways in the King James Bible: "workman, craftsman, engraver, artificer, smith or maker" being examples.

Jesus was a skilled laborer!

Isn't it wonderful that God's Son took the trade of a carpenter? Not a farmer or tanner or hunter or even a fisherman, but a carpenter!

Carpenters build things!

Or repair them!

Praise the Lord!

Therefore, when Jesus says that He is going to prepare a place for us, a mansion, we can take great pleasure in His words!

He knows what He is doing!

When we get to heaven, it will not be like moving to some strange city. We will not have to seek a place of residence! One has already been established for us! We will not be refugees, but citizens!

I suspect that our home will be custom made.

I have known folks who spent years planning their next house! How many bedrooms? Where should the bathrooms be located?

One level, split level or two story?

City or rural?

Brick or wood?

Some people even after such careful planning still sell within a year or two because they really just didn't know what they wanted!

I have a feeling Jesus knows what we want ... even if we don't!

And Heaven will be just perfect!

Designed by a Technician, an Engineer, a Builder ... better yet, by THE SAVIOUR!

Amen!

                                                                             --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 7:

The Carpenter, our Lord Jesus Christ is identified in Mark 6:3 as "the son of Mary!"

Read it here: "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?" That's exactly what the Jewish people were asking.

Now here's one thing that's certain. Jesus, the Carpenter, is employed in a man's job! There simply were no lady woodworkers or stonemasons in that day!

And Jesus practiced His craftsman's skills under the auspices of Joseph, Mary's Husband.  We know that because Matthew 13:55 tells us. Asking of Jesus, the crowds say: "Is not this the carpenter's son?" They are here referring to the carpenter Joseph of course.

Certainly!

Jesus entered into a man's occupation!

And had a man for a tutor!

In fact, He was born into a man's world!

Yet ... when it comes to His genealogy, Jesus is "the son of Mary!"

The man is omitted completely in this Holy Spirit inspired account!

Of course the Virgin Birth is in view here.

No man fathered Jesus, no human!

He is the Son of God!

He is God the Son!

He was conceived miraculously of the Holy Spirit Who "overshadowed" the Virgin Mary. The angel promised Mary: "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." Luke 1:35

In this, the greatest of all miracles ... at least up to that time in history, the woman is more important than any man!

The women took precedent!

Jeremiah mentions this fact, I believe, in his 31st chapter: "For the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man." A woman was used of God ... without a man being involved ... to bring the humanity of Jesus into the world!

It has become popular today, even for feminists, to downplay the role of womanhood.

Mothering, homemaking, nurturing, cooking, help-meeting ... all are archaic and despised terms now! They even write books belittling feminine roles!

Yet the fact remains, Jesus is NOT the son of Joseph!

He IS the son of Mary!

Mary is more important in the Virgin Birth miracle than any other human!

When you tell a bunch of feminists that the woman is that significant in her motherly role and wifely duties, they go berserk!

Here's why.

They have spent their lives and their careers trying to be everything but women!

They hate femininity!

They refuse to dress like or talk like or act like women!

No sir!

They will morph into men!

Masculine is the word!

Some go even to the point of having certain surgeries ... to be more man-like!

Others to the point of taking male hormones!

Others just adopt male haircuts!

Or male clothes!

Or, certainly, men's jobs!

Why?

They believe the role of the man is more dominant!

They want to be men!

They are dissatisfied that they're women!

To them ... that must change!

And then, literally after decades now, to be told that they were wrong all the time!

To be told that the woman was more important after all?

That without her the whole world would have died and gone to Hell?

Without her giving birth to the Saviour I mean!

Feminists, listen to me!

You all have missed it!

You have trashed the more important to embrace the less important!

For all eternity we will thank God that one day He chose a human to give Birth to His Son. So Jesus could come to earth, live a sinless life, die a vicarious death on the Cross, be buried, rise again, ascend to Heaven and save lost souls!

And guess what?

That human is not a man!

She was a woman!

Yes; "Jesus, the son of Mary!"

This is not Mother's Day.

If it were, I would preach this text!

I guarantee you this. Today's thought will thrill some folks ... and make others so angry they can't see straight!

So be it!

Thank God for Jesus our Saviour, son of Mary!

                                                                                     --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 8:

Jesus the Carpenter is also ... "the brother of James."

So says Mark in what is most assuredly the inspired Word of God!

"Is not this the Carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not His sisters here with us?" So asked the people in attendance at synagogue one Sabbath day. Mark 6:3

This James is really the half-brother of Jesus! Now listen to me before you quit reading!

Jesus and James have the same Mother, Mary. But they do NOT have the same Father! Jesus' Father is God Almighty. Our Lord is Virgin Born! James' Daddy is Joseph the carpenter!

Yet I am going to suggest to you today that Jesus not only built literal objects in that Nazareth carpenter shed, things like ox yokes or plow stocks or tables for some home! No, He also "built" lives!

And we can see His handiwork in James His brother!

At first James was lost, unsaved! He apparently rejected Jesus' claims as God the Son. John tells us: "For neither did his brethren believe in him." John 7:5

But with time, years of godly living, sincere purity on display, never an unkind word ... James gradually began to see that Jesus was indeed more than a man!

Jesus was constructing or building some faith ... deep down in the heart of his brother! Saving faith it would seem!

After our Lord's death, burial and resurrection, He specifically made a decision to find and reveal Himself to James! In 1st Corinthians 15:7, where Paul is enumerating Jesus' post-resurrection appearances, we read: "After that, he was seen of James."

Jesus is still building!

Then ... once this fact is recorded, we next see James preaching God's Word and leading the Church in Jerusalem!

He's been saved!

No doubt!

He even moderated the council assembly in Acts 15, the men of God meeting in Jerusalem to decide that critical law/grace issue!

James also led the huge Jerusalem Church for years it seems.

He wrote an Epistle in the New Testament, the one bearing his name!

And, history says, he died for his faith!

Faith and trust in His Brother Jesus, God the Son!

Again, what accounts for this drastic change in James' life?

He saw the resurrected Saviour, believed, and got saved by God's Grace!

Surely you now see Jesus' spiritual carpentry in the life of James!

I somewhere read that the carpenters of old did not waste anything! No lumber went unused! Archaeology has found specimens of their work from time to time, and in most cases all kinds of timber were used in the structures under observation! One boat, a Galilean vessel, contained willow, oak, cedar and some pine!

My point today is just this.

Jesus the spiritual builder, like God the heavenly Potter, just does not throw material away, not readily!

What a saint Jesus built ... in James the man of God!

If you have any doubt about the quality of Jesus' workmanship, read the Epistle of James sometime today! It is solid, just like hardwood!

By the way, dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, you are His workmanship too!

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." That's Paul talking in Ephesians 2:10.

Yes, Jesus is still building!

And YOU and one of His projects.

So am I.

Amen!

                                                                                  --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 9:

Yes, He was a carpenter. He also is the Son of God!

Mark tells us that the Lord's neighbors described Him as: "The carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon." Mark 6:3

Notice that one of Jesus' "brothers" was named Joses.

The word "brother" is spelled "adelphos" in Greek and means "from the same womb."

Each of these had the same Mother, but certainly not the same father! Jesus had no earthly father! He is God the Son!

It is almost certain that Joses is an abbreviated form of the name Joseph. This boy is named for his father, the carpenter Joseph who was also the husband of Mary.

The names have nearly identical meanings of course. They suggest the idea of that which is "added" or "accumulated" or "exalted."

We really know nothing of Joses. He was younger than Jesus! No one will dispute that fact! Jesus HAD to be the firstborn, since He was conceived miraculously of the Holy Spirit when Mary was yet a virgin.

At some point in life Joses did get saved!

We know that because Jesus' brothers were with the other saved folks of the early church in that upper room in Acts 1, just prior to Pentecost. Luke records: "These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren." Acts 1:14

Yet it can be deduced that Joses had some difficult and trying times in his life. The sudden disappearance of Joseph his father leads us to conclude he likely died at an early age. Joseph is not mentioned at all in the Bible after the "Jesus at age 12" incident in the Jerusalem Temple.

And often when young Joses traversed the city of Nazareth, he no doubt overheard folks talking disrespectfully about his mother Mary and his Brother Jesus! Things like: Jesus is "a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners." Matthew 11:19

Or "Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication." John 8:41

At times his oldest Brother was even being accused of being demon possessed! "He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils" said the scribes and Pharisees!

We do not know how the Lord used Joses as a Believer. His brothers James and Jude wrote epistles of Scripture! And James of course pastored that great Jerusalem Church!

But Joses, or really "Joseph Junior" as his name implies, remains a relatively unknown family member!

But I can assure you of this fact. Our Saviour and Lord and Christ and God Himself molded and formed Joses spiritually ... just as carefully as He had earlier formed those superb ox-yokes or plow-stocks in the carpenter shop!

Jesus went from building wood and stone structures to building men's and women's lives!

And little Joses was no exception!

Christian friend, you may consider yourself a "nobody" too!

An "unknown!"

You may be having a particularly hard time now also!

But Jesus, the Carpenter Saviour, can take your life in His Hands and do wondrous things!

In fact I recently learned something about certain kinds of wood and the carpenters who build with them.

Have you ever seen a tree whose growth was abnormal?

It had a knot or a huge growth or tumor-like protrusion?

That's a sign of a diseased tree, or one hit by lightning, or insect infestation or sudden trauma of some kind!

In fact these blobs can be quite large! Maybe even a foot or two across!

Let me tell you this.

A good carpenter, one who is an artist as well as a nail driver, tells us that such abnormal areas of a tree produce the most beautiful wood!

Furniture makers take such tree sections and carefully craft them into their most lovely products!

Look at this!

The suffering parts of the tree produce its best quality wood!

That's what our Heavenly Carpenter can do!

Is someone reading here today who is under pressure?

Sick?

Hurting?

Bombarded by life's pressures?

Do not despair!

Trust your Lord and Saviour ... and Carpenter!

He can make your tough experiences into beautiful trophies of His marvelous Grace!

Yes!

Praise His Name!

                                                                            --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 10:

Our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, was a carpenter while on earth, at least in His earlier years.

Only one New Testament Text calls Him such however. "And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of JUDA, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him." Mark 6:2-3

It is captivating how the Holy Spirit here has linked Jesus' trade, carpentry, to both His preaching and His family!

Even his brother "Juda" is mentioned.

Fundamental preachers and accurate historians both believe this "Juda" is the same man as wrote the New Testament's general epistle of "Jude." The two names are identical in Greek. In fact the spelling is "ioudas." When the name assimilates into English, the "i" becomes a "j." So we have "Joudas" or "Judas" or just "Jude." By the way "Jude" means "praise!"

If "Juda" and "Jude" are identical, as it seems, then we know some specific things about this brother of our Lord.

Jude was a saved man, having realized that his own brother Jesus was indeed the Son of God Who came to die on the Cross to wash away sin!

Exactly when he was saved we do not know. But he was born again at least by the Day of Pentecost. "These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren." Acts 1:14

But Jude really grew in the Lord, no doubt being impacted again and again by Jesus the Saviour ... and Carpenter!

Somehow Jude became an extremely tough and stable Believer in Christ!

Listen to some of the things he has written to us.

He wanted to exhort us to "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." (Jude 1) That verb "contend" is built upon the Greek stem "agonize!" Sounds pretty rigorous, doesn't it? Wrestling and fighting for the Faith! Some of the enemies want to steal and destroy our Faith! We must defend It!

And never content with the status quo, never satisfied without further spiritual growth, Jude writes: "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost." (Jude 20) The time sense of our verb (present participle) here insists upon continual growth! Again, see the discipline involved! Keep on maturing! Keep on advancing! Forward!

By the way, that verbal expression "building up" yourselves uses a carpentry term! "Oikodomeo" literally means "to build a house!" Isn't this an example of Jesus still influencing Jude's vocabulary? Or did this younger brother work as a carpenter too?

And again, if history is right, Jude died a martyr's death! He was clubbed to death with an axe while preaching the Gospel many believe. Still ... faith under fire! Faith that fails not! Faith that grows in the face of opposition!

My point today is this. The same Jesus Who built long-lasting and durable ox goads and animal yokes and plow-stocks also built men!

Tough men!

Faithful men!

Men with courage and stamina!

Fortitude!

Men who would fight for the faith!

Men like ... Jude!

A couple of weeks ago I read about a man who needed an especially durable batch of lumber. He was building a boat to sail around the world!

A craftsman who really knew timber encouraged him to find and buy wood from ash trees. But not just any ash trees. The carpenter said to select ash trees that had grown high on the mountain slopes! That had to fight the winds and gales and snows and ice for their very existence! That's where the "tough" wood is found! And the hardest and most reliable of all the ash, said the expert, would be found in the northernmost trees of the peak! That's where the fiercest winds blew! And the coldest air hit! And it was further suggested that even the boards cut from the northern side of those tree would be best of all!

See!

Storms produce strength!

Battles can produce beauty!

That exactly what the Carpenter Jesus did with Jude His brother!

He exposed His younger sibling to the storms of the northern slopes of life ... and reaped a young man, a preacher, who could fight for the faith! And grow incessantly! And even die for what he believed!

Tough ... but so useful in difficult days!

Our Lord knows what He's doing!

After all our God is a Carpenter too!

And, saved friend, He is building something lovely out of your life too!

Those hard and trying times you're been enduring ... just might be evidence of your dear Lord, the Heavenly Carpenter, building and shaping you into something useful and beautiful, as well as strong!

                                                                            --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 11:

The Bible mentions a number of men who are named Simon. In addition to the most famous, Simon Peter the Apostle, there are Simon the Canaanite (Matthew 10:4), Simon the leper (Matthew 26:6), Simon the Pharisee (Luke 7:36,40), Simon of Cyrene who helped carry Jesus' Cross (Matthew 27:32), Simon the father of Judas Iscariot (John 6:71), Simon Magus the former sorcerer of Acts 8:9, Simon the tanner in whose house Peter was resting for a few days (Acts 9:43), and the Simon who interests us today ... the brother of Jesus and daughter of Mary!

Mark 6:3 records all we know about him by name: "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? "

It is interesting that the only appearance of this little known Simon is in the context that portrays Jesus as a carpenter.

You might say that the text "joins" or "connects" these 4 brothers, then adds His "sisters" anonymously to the family unit.

The only "missing" member here is Joseph. And in reality Joseph is NOT the father of Jesus anyway. He was the father of all the other children!

I believe, based on Acts 1:14, that Jesus' earthly brothers and perhaps even His sisters all were eventually saved, probably after the resurrection of Christ.

We know that when those 120 Believers met in the "upper room" after Jesus ascended to Heaven, among them were Jesus' brethren ... and Mary too!

Folks, that was a gathering of the redeemed! They were awaiting the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost! They were in one mind and accord and had prayed for ten straight days! These are born again people!

In this "Carpenter Text" I would like to preach some on that brother named Simon, but what could be said?

He is just one among many, the one about whom we know the least! Nearly nothing in fact!

But this can be said. He, being by man's standards insignificant, was certainly "joined" to a great family!

Think of it!

Growing up beside the Lord Jesus Christ!

Sitting with Him at table!

Hearing Him read the Scriptures!

Working beside Him day by day as he hammered and sawed and built beautiful things!

As far we we know, thirty years of close association with the Saviour!

Then, after Jesus' death and burial and resurrection, when Simon was apparently saved ... he was really "joined" to a family, the Family of God!

Here a nobody became a somebody ... because of Jesus! Jesus our Lord and Saviour and Carpenter!

Maybe it's better said this way: An unknown man became a well known man, again, because of Jesus! I'd say that if you are mentioned in the Bible by name, you're thereafter pretty well known!

What spiritual carpentry this is!

Jesus, long after He had left the literal carpenter's shed, still worked as the spiritual Carpenter each day He walked this earth!

Simon was "joined" to His Brother Jesus by Grace through Faith!

All good carpenters must know how to join various pieces of wood to make a strong table or chair or picture frame.

Such skill is so important that carpenters even have a name for it ... joinery!

They occasionally speak of learning "joinery!"

Jesus The Carpenter is good at that!

He joined Himself to us!

But more importantly, He joined us to Himself!

Paul in Romans 8:35 asked "Who shall separate us from the love of God?"

Of course for any joint to be strong, it must be shaped like its counterpoint! Otherwise there can be no "fit!" We are even now being more and more day by day shaped like Christ Jesus, being "conformed into His image!"

And much like a grafted grape branch is "sealed" into its new vine stock ... so is a piece of wood "glued" into its new setting!

Glue?

Yes, we are "sealed" or "glued" into the Body of Christ, into the building of God, by the adhesive power of the Holy Spirit of God!

Amen!

Oh, one more thing today.

Good carpenters learn early in their careers that one of the best joints that can be used in any building is the "stress" joint. That's when two boards are fused, having been properly matched and cut and glued, and the weight of one piece of timber holds the other place!

Let me quickly apply this "stress" joint principle in two ways.

The weight one gives to Jesus, the "capstone" of our Christian lives, just might fundamentally impact how stable and steady we will be day after day! The "heavier" He is in respect and reverence and worship and adoration, the more firmly we are held in place!

Then, secondly, each of us faces various pressures of life. These weights and trials will do one of two things in our Christian experience. They will either tear us apart spiritually ... or, if famed properly, press us closer and closer to the One to Whom we am joined, to Jesus!

Yes, Simon was joined to Jesus!

So are we!

Hallelujah!

Here's an example of pressure making a Believer stronger in his unity to Christ, Job said it. "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in Him." (Job 13:15) The more pressure ... the more trust!

"Joined," Preacher Bagwell?

Let Jesus say it now: "At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you." John 14:20

Amazing!

To all the "nobodies" and "unknowns" reading here today who, like me, have lived rather obscure lives ... take heart!

We as Believers in Jesus have been "joined" to Something and Someone mighty big!

                                                                                     --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 12:

The Mother of Jesus was a Virgin. That is, she was a Virgin when Jesus was miraculously born. The Bible is specific on this matter.

However, it appears that after Jesus was born Mary and her husband Joseph lived together as any normal husband and wife, bearing and rearing other children as well.

Several boys and some girls too were born into the family.

This is problematic for the masses who believe in something called the "perpetual virginity" of Mary. She, after Jesus' Birth, did bear other children according to Mark 6:3. Only Jesus in all of human history was Virgin born!

"Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us?" Mark 6:3

The word "brother" here is "adelphos" and means another "from the same womb!" Likewise the plural noun "sisters" conveys the same thought: "adelphe."

While Mark names Jesus' brethren, he is less specific with the girls. "His sisters" are grouped and left anonymous.

While these ladies are not mentioned elsewhere in Scripture, one can safely deduct some things concerning them.

They, as did the brothers, must have faced the ridicule and sarcasm of their townspeople.  Questions about their Older Brother Jesus! Listen to the wicked lost people of Nazareth and Jerusalem: "Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication." John 8:41

Also they said that Jesus was demon possessed! "The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil." John 7:20.

And the belittling "nicknames" they gave Jesus? "Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners." Matthew 11:19

What would it have been like to hear the multitudes clamor for your Brother's death on the Cross? "But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him." Luke 23:21

And the sorrow of watching Jesus die?

While we do not exactly know where these ladies were as Jesus suffered and died, we do know that Mary was present on Golgotha's Hill that day. The girls may have been somewhere near their Mother.

Oh, the cost of being in that family!

Jesus, being a carpenter, well knew about the cost of things! He even taught a parable about counting the cost before one begins to build!

"For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish." Luke 14:28-30

If these sisters were saved, as we all trust they were, in Heaven some day they will tell us that being in Jesus' family was not a drudgery ... but a delight!

More blessings than burdens!

More joys than sorrows!

More victory than defeat!

These thoughts today lead me to say that I am so glad Jesus, our Heavenly Carpenter, counted the cost of our salvation!

He knew such a lofty Goal would require His death!

He was willing "to endure the cross, and despise the shame" it involved!

He was ready to pay the price for our Redemption!

In fact, now ... it has been paid in full!

Yes, Jesus built our Ark of Safety!

Built ... that's carpenter language, isn't it?

He built our spiritual City of Refuge too!

Our Ship of Zion!

Our Heavenly Home!

Our mansions in Glory!

And He counted the cost beforehand!

Jesus never quit any Project He started!

In fact, He is still not a quitter! "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." So says Paul in Philippians 1:6.

Praise the Name of the Lord!

                                                                             --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 13:

The crowds were occasionally "offended" at Jesus!

That's what the New Testament says several times.

Particularly are we told this about Jesus in the Gospel Texts that mention His being a carpenter!

In Mark 6:3 the people ask: "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him."

Again Matthew 13 asks: "Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were offended in him."

Yet Jesus did not purposely offend anyone. He rather went out of His way not to do so. In the incident with Peter and the temple tax, Jesus sent the Apostle fishing. "Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee." Matthew 17:27

What is it about Jesus being a carpenter that could offend anyone?

The verb "offend" is "skandalizo" and means "to put a stumbling block or impediment in someone's way, upon which they may trip or fall."

Jesus knew that His preaching would offend some! That day when the Saviour called Himself The Bread Of Life some got upset! John records: "When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?" John 6:61

He in fact tried to keep His Own followers from being offended in Him! "These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended." John 16:1

Jesus once identified a key area of life that causes offense! "For when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended." Matthew 13:21

The problem was so great that Jesus promised: "And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me." Matthew 11:6

Now ... back to the "Carpenter Text" for a minute. We already learned that the noun for carpenter is "tekton" and can mean a stonemason as well as a builder with wood.

Jesus the Carpenter, the Stonemason, is also described by Peter as being the Stone! The Psalmists call Him the Rock!

Here we see the connection between His being a builder and His being the Stone too! "Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed." 1st Peter 2:7-8

Here Jesus, the Rock of Ages, becomes a disallowed or disapproved or failed stone, one that cannot be used in the building! The contractors have decided He is unworthy! That's exactly what the Pharisees and Scribes and Sadducees did too!

This rejected stone would have been pushed aside at those ancient building sites. Many would have mocked it and laughed at it and spit upon it.

But, when the building was nearly completed, something interesting happened.

As time approached to place the last stone in place, the head stone, the topmost stone in the opening arch of the structure, only one stone would fit!

Guess which one it was!

It was the once rejected stone!

It had to be selected and uplifted into the highest place of honor and visibility!

So this great stone was either a stone of offense ... or a stone of honor!

To those who despised it ... destruction awaited! "The stone will "grind them to powder!" See Matthew 21:24.

Those who adore and worship Jesus the living Stone will be at first "broken" and at last "saved!" Again, see Matthew 21:24

Yes, thousands of years ago the Heavenly Carpenter offended folks!

He still does so today!

But those who look beyond the offense of the Cross of Christ and instead see His amazing saving Grace displayed there ... salvation awaits! Eternal Life!

Some were offended!

"And some believed!"

Luke in Acts 28:24 makes it plain: "And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not."

Amen!

                                                                              --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

P. S. --- In Peter's Text printed above Jesus is both the Cornerstone and the Capstone! In both cases He is the One Who holds the building of God together! By Him all things consist or adhere! Furthermore, the Cornerstone is laid at the beginning of the building project ... the Capstone at the end! That makes Jesus both the Beginning and the End of God's Building Program, the Alpha and the Omega! The First and the Last!

 

 

LESSON 14:

The New Testament's famous "Carpenter Text" links Jesus' building skills with His people skills! Then it closes with these words: "And they were offended at him." Mark 6:3

One of the things that offends people most often is, according to Jesus, the trials and persecutions and hard times of life.

As He taught the great "Parable of the Sower," Jesus explained what He meant by those stony ground hearers.

Remember: "Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: and when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away." Matthew 13:5-6

Now listen to our Lord's explanation for the seed that landed on stony ground: "Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended." Matthew 13:21

Difficult times of life are indeed sources of offense!

More people probably get "mad" and "hurt" at the Lord over these trying situations than any other thing! So "hurt" or "discouraged" they they quit their faith!

They get "offended!"

They "stumble" and "fall" at the impediments they meet, the tests of life.

Now ... why was this "offense" lesson incorporated by the Holy Spirit into the account of Jesus being a carpenter?

Perhaps it is because carpenters hammer and nail and saw and rip and cut and shorten and pull and plane ... all day long!

Such treatment of the timber is often going to cause offense ... especially living timber!

I mean when Jesus the earthly carpenter serves as Jesus the Heavenly Carpenter and begins to build us into spiritually mature structures for His Glory. "living temples" as Peter called us! "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." 1st Peter 2:5

I learned this about those old-time carpenters. Obviously they did not have electric saws or air powered tools.

They in fact often used a dagger-like or sword-like saw called a "pull saw." Archaeologists have even found some of these!

The unique thing about these tools is that they could saw in only one direction!

Therefore the carpenter had to place the saw on the wood at the mark he needed to cut. Then he briskly pulled it toward him at a rapid pace. Then it had be lifted out of the deepening grove and put back where it started ... so it could again be pulled toward the carpenter. This process is repeated hundreds of times until the plank is sawn as desired!

Again, it is called a "pull saw!"

It always must be pulled toward the carpenter!

I am convinced that's the kind of "saw" Jesus still uses when He has to cut or trim or mold us a bit further!

Even in the hard biting times of pain and distress and molding ... the saw our loving Saviour utilizes PULLS US TOWARD HIM in love! Every "cut" is designed to produce a closer walk with our Lord!

This is to keep us from being alienated or offended or driven away from our Creator and Saviour!

Even in chastening and training and testing times ... our Lord is kind and inviting!

Even His "yoke" is "easy!" That adjective is spelled "chrestos" and means "kind or loving or good or mellow!"

His "sawing" is tempered by His love! "In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old." Isaiah 63:9

Jesus knows all about offense ... and has made every conceivable effort to alleviate its possibility!

Praise His Name!

Paul even got to the place where he could say: "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." 2nd Corinthians 12:10

And Job determined: "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." Job 13:15

And Peter, seeing no satisfactory alternative, asked: "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life." John 6:68

Even the Patriarch Joseph adds: "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive." Genesis 50:20

And even God Himself promises: "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jeremiah 29:11

No wonder Jesus preached: "And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me." Luke 7:23

Even His sawing and pounding and nailing are acts of love!

After all, He is building us into the image of Himself! "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." Romans 8:28-29

                                                                                      --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 15:

The Carpenter!

That's what the folks of Nazareth called our Lord, at least at first!

Mark 6:3 says so.

An ancient author, Justin Martyr, who was born in Samaria around 103 AD writes about our Lord: "And when Jesus came to the Jordan, He was considered to be the son of Joseph the carpenter; and He appeared without comeliness, as the Scriptures declared; and He was deemed a carpenter. He was in the habit of working as a carpenter when among men, making ploughs and yokes; by which He taught the symbols of righteousness and an active life."

Jesus, according to this source, specialized in making yokes and ploughs!

He preached about both objects, you know!

"And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." Luke 9:62

Then, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Both "object lessons" here emphasize faithfulness.

Elisha, who was farming when God called him into the ministry, can teach us some things about plowing! "So Elijah departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee." (1st Kings 19:19-20) I see here an obedient Elisha! And a humble man too! And the work ethic is presented in a favorable manner also!

And Moses the man of God taught us something about those yokes. He wrote: "Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together." (Deuteronomy 22:10) Here's a "separation" text! And it teaches kindness to animals as well! Plus it shows us how the Lord invades every area of life, including work!

Some textual scholars even believe that Jesus' words "My yoke is easy" may have been one of His descriptions for the quality carpentry work He performed! I'll promise you this: He was the Best!

Folks, when He saves us we are yoked together with Him!

He will walk with us and fellowship with us and help us in every area of life!

In fact, He forbids our yoking together with ungodly associates. "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" 2nd Corinthians 6:14

Samson even uses the metaphor of plowing as an emblem of fellowship! "If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle." Judges 14:18

Jesus the Carpenter, what lessons He yet teaches us!

Thank God for our Lord and Saviour and great High Priest!

                                                                              --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 16:

Jesus the Son of God was a Carpenter too!

His carpentry skills enter into almost every area of His life and ministry it seems!

Even His Resurrection!

One day He made this promise: "Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." John 2:19

The Lord had just "cleansed" the Temple, fervently driving away the money changers!

His enemies among the Jews then asked Him: "What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?" John 2:18

That's when He told them!

"Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."

The verb "destroy" is spelled "luo" and actually means "to loosen or untie" something. But it is twice translated "destroy" and "dissolve" and five times rendered as "break" in our King James Bibles. "To break down" is another possibility.

The noun "temple" is spelled "naos" and means not just the whole building or merely the outer court, but the Holy Place and Most Holy Place themselves! The sanctuary is in view here!

The Place where God dwelt in Old Testament days!

The adverbial element in this verse, "three days," tells how long the Temple will be dissolved! There is nothing here to indicate that Jesus meant anything other than a literal three day and night period either.

To "raise up" this demolished Temple, Jesus Himself here claims credit!  Watch: "I WILL raise It up!"

The verb translates "egeiro" and means "to arouse, to awake from sleep or even to recall to life from the dead!"

It is obviously a promise about His coming Death, Burial and Resurrection!

Jesus IS The Temple!

He is the Dwelling Place of God!

He is God the Son!

The Jews would soon kill the Lord, thus dissolving the Temple!

Yet, three days later HE would raise It up again!

Amen!

He did that too!

Now too ... it is clear that Jesus is still using terms from the carpenter's shop! He never ceased incorporating building terms into His preaching and teaching!

A fallen building ... a need to rebuild ... work for The Carpenter!

He rebuilt the destroyed system of Judaism ... replacing it with the New Birth and subsequent Christian life. Such miracles are possible because of the power of Jesus' life and death!

The Old Temple was frail and temporary! The new Temple, Jesus as the Resurrected One, is strong and eternal!

The Old Temple housed much hypocrisy! The New Temple Jesus allowed none! He is sinless!

The Old Temple ultimately attracted a bunch of thieves. Jesus said so! The New Temple attracts ex-sinners washed in the Blood of our Lord and made into saints!

The Old Temple was primarily for Jews! Jesus the New Temple is for "whosoever will!"

Any way one evaluates the situation, Jesus is Better!

Even a Better Carpenter!

And certainly the Only Saviour!

Praise His Name!

                                                                                      --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 17:

During the past sixteen days we have looked at Jesus The Carpenter.

That is the trade God the Father chose for Jesus to learn.

Joseph, while certainly not the real father of Jesus, was Mary's husband and is said to have been a carpenter. In Matthew 13:55 the townspeople asked of Jesus: "Is not this the carpenter's son?"

Thereafter Jesus is Himself known as a carpenter. Then folks asked: "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us?" Mark 6:3

Through His whole earthly ministry Jesus either directly used or made reference to carpentry again and again!

I have not yet mentioned His parable about the man who built his house on the sand! And the man who built his house on the rock! Foundations interest carpenters!

And our Lord certainly used a square, ruler and plumb line! Carpenters know that a house has to be built true to specifications! That became one of Jesus' favorite words! Truly truly I say unto you! The Greek word for "truly" is spelled "amen" and in the King James Bible is translated "verily." Dozens of times Jesus used that builder's term: "Verily verily I say unto you!"

But today one expression is in view. We find it in John 14:2-3. "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."

Like Grooms did in those days, Jesus goes to build a home for His Bride! The home will really be an addition to the father's house, the father of the groom! The wealthier and more affluent the groom happened to be, the more lavishly the house would be constructed!

So with Jesus and His Bride, the Blood-washed born-again Church!

The Text suggests that Jesus is building "many mansions." All are for His followers, His children! Furthermore He plans to return and get us some day! That we may live in the Place He so lovingly prepared! Live with Him eternally!

The verb "prepare" is "hetoimazo" and means "to get everything ready!"

Jesus, still The Great Builder!

A few weeks ago I read of a church somewhere in Europe. It was old and ornate, yet beautifully preserved. As one approached the door to enter the sanctuary, he was impressed by the detail and beauty of the entranceway alone! Into the gigantic door frame were carved hardwood emblems of the Patriarchs and Prophets and Apostles, as if they were awaiting one's arrival! At the top of the frame, in the position of preeminence, was Jesus! Most every visitor to the site stopped and gazed upon both the beauty and the message of such artwork! "Welcome to God's House," they all seemed to say in beautiful harmony!

One day, when a lady had spent hours at the entrance, a caretaker said to her, "Come on inside. You have not seen anything yet! If the Door so enthralls you, you will never get over the interior!"

That's a good way to picture Heaven!

Perhaps many faithful witnesses will welcome us to the Father's House! Saints of the ages and departed loved ones too! And certainly Jesus will be foremost of all!

He IS The Door!

We no doubt will gaze at Him for all eternity!

But the inside!

The inside of that prepared Place; the mansions of Glory, the street of gold, the Throne of God, the worshipping multitudes, its foundation and size and likely millions of other unlimited possibilities ... will surely astound us for evermore!

Hallelujah!

Jesus, what a Carpenter!

What a Saviour!

What a Lord!

Amen!

                                                                                      --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

THANK GOD FOR JESUS! WHAT A SAVIOUR HE IS! WE TRUST THIS STUDY WILL BE A BLESSING TO YOU AS A STUDENT OF GOD'S WORD.

 

 

 

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