Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? — Mark 6:3 Our tour group was gathered, as usual, on top of a mountain when Ray asked us a question: “How many of you know what Jesus and Joseph, His earthly father, did for a living before He began His ministry as a rabbi when He turned thirty?” Every one of us answered, “He was a carpenter.” Smug bunch we were, indeed. Then Ray again rocked our world by replying, “Actually, no. Jesus wasn’t a carpenter, although there is no doubt that he did work with wood at times, along with other items.” Now, at this point, I was wondering what I was doing on a mountaintop 5,710 miles away from home with a guy who obviously didn’t even know the basics of the Bible — with ten days of the tour to go! This was the moment my life changed. Ray explained, “The word translated ‘carpenter’ in Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3 for how Joseph and Jesus made a living is the Greek word tektōn . It means ‘buil...
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