Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1904-01-21
Paper by Ernest Crosby in the Crafts
man.

Jesus is usually said to have been a
chiefly upon a single passage in the
gospel of St. Mark wi: 81, where the
people listening to his preaching in the
synagog in his own country" were
astonished, and cried: what is the
wisdom that is given unto this man,
and what mean such mighty works
wrought by his hands? Is not this
the carpenter, the son Of Mary?"
Taken by itself, this text is by no
means decisive, for it is not state
ment that Jesus was a carpenter, but
merely that his auditors called him
such, and they might have been mis-
taken or inaccurate. If we turn to
the parallel passage in the gospel of
st. Matthew, we find an almost identi-
cal account of the same episode. "And
coming into his own country he taught
them in their synagog, insomuch that
they were astonished, and said,
Whence hath this man this wisdom
and these mighty works? Is not this
the carpenters son? is not his mother
called Nary" Matthew xii: $3.50
The two phrases, rs not this the car
penter?" and as not this the carpen-
ter's son are clearly variations of
what was historically a single ques-
ton, and in the original Greek they
are equally similar: couch outos bres-
tin no takon" and "Ouch houtos estin
no to tektonos huios" The people
evidently made one of these remarks
and not the other, and the difference
is due to the error of one of the re-
corders. Which version is the more
likely to be correct? 1t is impossible
for us to determine, but 1t is at least
just as probable that the designation
of carpenter" was applied to his
father as to himself, and we must still
consider the question of his calling
an open one. There is a passage in
the gospel of st. John which seems
TO have been derived from the same
source, and it reads as follows: "And
they said, Is not this Jesus, the son
of Joseph. whose father and mother we
know?'" Here the words, "the son of
Joseph" might be regarded as para.
phrase of the words, 'the carpenters
son. which would make this reading of
st, Matthew's appear to be the most
authentic. and IL this conclusion be
correct. all proof of the fact that Jesus
was carpenter would disappear from
the gospels.
The word "tekton," which is correct
ly translated in our versions of the
New Testament as carpenter" has
etymologically a somewhat broader
meaning, denoting any kind of crafts
man, the same root appearing in orr
word architect" which comes from
the Greek "architekton." master
craftsman. In the time of Jesus II
undoubtedly designated any worke, In
wood .-cabinet-m6ker woodcarvel or
builder. as the case might be,-but II
must be borne in mind that practical.
ly all the houses of Palestine were
built of stone, that materia; being very
plentiful, while timber was rare. Jus.
tin Martyr. who lived in the second
century. refers in his "Dialog With
Trypho" to the trade of Jesus. "And
when Jesus came to the Jordan" he
says, che was considered to be the
son of Joseph the carpenter,
and he was deemed a carpenter (for
he was in the habit of working as a
carpenter when among men. making
plows and yokes. by which he taught
the symbols of Righteousness and an
active life)," (Chapter $50 In the
absence of other conflrmatory evl.
dence this passage does not seem to
be conclusive, The phrase che was
deemed n carpenter" suggests I'M
certainty on the part of the writer,
and the imputation of symbolism to
the mechanical work of Jesus has a
certain fantastic air which would tend
to classify the story with the legends
of the apocryphal gospels. The four
canonlcal evangolists make no further
allusion TO his trade or occupation.
They pass over his life from his early
infancy until his S0th year in few
words, and it does not appear that
during the period of his ministry he
engaged in any manual labor. or at
any rate. II he did the fact is not men
toned
Let us turn from these unsatisfac
tory proofs to the internal evidence
afforded by the words of Jesus him
self His discourses, conversations
and observations have been preserved
in great fulness as recorded by various
hearers, and we may be sure that we
have quite complete compendium OF
his entire thought as expressed in
language. Let us examine the Cos
pels and read his sayings, with the
hope of extracting from them some
hints of the work which he was &C.
customed to perform, day after day,
during his youth and early manhood,
And we are surprised first of all not
to find a single word which points to
either carpentry or to any handieraft
whatever. He shows deep familiar.
ity with almost every other phase of
life; domestic, commercial. profes.