The Occupation of Jesus

Traditionally, it has been believed that Jesus was a carpenter by trade. This is due to the passage in the Gospel of Mark that states of Jesus, "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?" (Mark 6:3)

The Greek word used for "carpenter" here is tektōn (τέκτων) which can be translated as "craftsman", but it can be applied to both wood-work and stone-work. So, technically, Jesus could have been either a carpenter or stone-worker.

Now when we look at the words of Jesus as they are recorded in the Gospels we see an abundance of references to stone-working:

Building foundations (Matt 7:24-27; Luke 6:48-49), faith as a foundation rock (Matt 16:18), building towers (Matt 21:33; Mark 12:1; Luke 14:28), falling towers (Luke 13:4), cornerstones (Matt 21:42-44; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17-18), temple stones (Matt 24:2; Mark 13:1-2; Luke 21:6), millstones (Matt 18:6; Mark 9:42; Luke 17:2), nicknaming Peter, rock or stone (Matt 16:18; John 1:42), and other general references to rocks and stones (Matt 4:6; Matt 7:9; Luke 4:11; Luke 11:11).

Contrast these to the lack of references to wood and wood-building in the Gospels. When Jesus mentions trees, the references are exclusively agricultural (fruit trees, etc.).

Based solely upon the ambiguity of the word tektōn and the more frequent use of stone analogies in his words and teachings, I submit that Jesus was more likely a stone-worker than a carpenter.

ELOI ELOI LAMA SABACHTHANI

One of the more significant misunderstandings people have when reading the Gospels is the belief that God the Father rejected or turned his back on Jesus during the crucifixion.

This confusion is largely derived from Jesus' crying out on the cross “ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” which is translated, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?” (Mark 15:34).

At first look the idea that Jesus is p...roclaiming that God has forsaken or rejected him seems fairly straightforward. Certainly, everyone at the time believed that Jesus was in this situation because God was not with him (Mark 15:29-32).

However, Jesus' cry of "ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI" is actually an Aramaic translation of Psalm 22:1. If you read the entirety of Psalm 22 a far different picture emerges of what is going on in Jesus' situation.

The Psalm tells of a figure who is crying out to God in desperation. He is in the worst of circumstances. It looks like his enemies have conquered him. They laugh at his affliction. Everyone believes the figure has been deserted by God.

BUT ... in verse 24 we read the following:

"For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from him; But when he cried to Him for help, He heard."

The whole purpose of Psalm 22 is to show that even though it seems like God has turned his back on the figure, in fact, God has been with that person the entire time. He has not rejected.

So when Mark includes Jesus crying out the first line of Psalm 22, he is pointing to the entire Psalm and its meaning, arguing that, just like in the Psalm, even though it seems like God has rejected Jesus, the exact opposite is true: God is with Jesus the entire time him.

The people who gathered at the cross to watch Jesus be executed with the brigands were oblivious to this. In fact, Mark highlights their confusion by saying that when they heard Jesus say, " ELOI, ELOI", they thought he was saying "Elijah, Elijah" (Mark 15:35).

Interestingly, so many of us get this wrong, too. The original readers of Mark would have gotten the literary allusion and understood the meaning: God did not reject or turn his back on Jesus during the crucifixion.