Was Jesus a Carpenter?

Verses to Read: Matthew 7:24; John 14:6

Mark 6:3 describes Jesus as a carpenter, and Matthew 13:55 calls him a carpenter’s son.

But the Greek work translated “carpenter,” tekton, is actually a term for any kind of builder or craftsman. The word tekton also appears in the Greek translation of 2 Samuel 5:11, describing “workers of stone and workers of wood.”

It’s likely that Jesus worked with stone more often than he worked with wood because stone was much easier to find than trees in ancient Israel. Another clue is that Jesus often used building illustrations in his teaching (like the wise man building his house upon a rock). Maybe Jesus was speaking from personal experience.

We don’t know exactly what work Jesus did for a living, but we can be sure that he is the Son of God—the way, the truth, and the life.