How can Jesus Christ, a carpenter, claim to be the son of God?
Those sentences which are colored in orange are from Maharishi Dayananda Saraswati book Satyarth Prakash (The Light of Truth) and those which are colored in black are Jerry Thomas’s response.
"Is not this the carpenter?" (6:19)
C. Joseph was really a carpenter, and, therefore, Jesus (being his son) was also a carpenter, and for years together he worked as such then he began to aspire to be a prophet. By and by he pretended to be the son of God and those savages (around him believed him to be such. No wonder then that he was so clever in dividing people, and in causing discord and dissensions among them.
Answer: The correct reference of this verse is Mark 6:3.
More than anything, probably the nasty casteism is in real display here. One fails to understand why God incarnate could not have been a carpenter until He started His public ministry. Is it because that the carpentry is not something that a religious teacher should do? If LORD Jesus Christ was born in Levite tribe as the son of Aaron, the Chief Priest, probably it would have been more acceptable to Maharishi.
If so, let us first note that the God of the Holy Bible had worked on the soil (Genesis 2: 7) and no work is considered as inferior in the Holy Bible. Therefore this objection is totally unwarranted though it reflects the unconscious mind of a “reformer”.
Let us quote the complete passage to understand the meaning of this statement.
Mark 6: 1-3 “Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?" So they were offended at Him. In other words, these people could not believe that one among them could perform mighty works and have exceeding wisdom. In fact, the very words of wisdom and the power should have convinced the hearers about who LORD Jesus Christ is. There is no other explanation for the wisdom and deeds of a carpenter other than He is the Son of God.
Let us hear from the very words of LORD Jesus Christ.
John 8:28-29 Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."
So, rather than dismiss LORD Jesus Christ claim based on the argument that He was a carpenter, people like Maharishi should have objectively evaluated the miracles and words of LORD Jesus Christ. They would have obviously fallen at the feet of LORD Jesus Christ and worshipped Him.
