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He was the son of a carpenter, and they had expected that He would be a carpenter. They had watched Him grow up, and they knew all the names of His siblings. When He spoke in the local synagogue, they witnessed His miracles and marveled at His insights, and yet they stubbornly denied what they saw and heard. He was their neighbor. The kid from down the street. A commoner. He was, as they said, "Just a carpenter." Was He, "a carpenter"? He would have been trained to follow Joseph’s trade, and there were the years before His earthly ministry began, during which we can assume He hammered, and chiseled, and shaved the wood just as Joseph had. But their prejudices blinded them to who Jesus really was. The angels who had announced His birth, called Him a Savior, whose name was Christ the Lord. Simeon held the infant to his breast, and with praise to God, acknowledged that his arms held God’s promised light for the nations. The wise men knew they were searching not for just a baby, but, for a king. In response to their inquiries, the religious leaders echoed the words of one of the prophets, and acknowledged He would be a ruler and a shepherd. Growing to manhood, Jesus was baptized by His cousin, and the voice of His Father declared His pleasure in His Beloved Son.
The leper called Him, Lord, as did the centurion. The crowds called Him, Son of David, but demons called Him, Son of God. Though scribes and Pharisees tended to refute Him, they still acknowledged Him as Teacher. John wrote of Him as the Giver of Living Water, the Bread of Life, the Door of the Sheepfold, the Vine that sustains the fruit-bearing branches, and records Jesus’ own words when He says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." In response to Jesus’ question, this Father put into the heart of Peter a bold confidence to utter the words, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus’ epitaph in death carried the truth that many would not accept – He was King, just as the wise men had said.
Scripture is rich with the names of Jesus, and with concise references that depict the God-Man in His purpose, His exalted state, His character, and His ministries. His neighbors were trapped in their own mediocrity, and could not recognize One that far exceeded their commonality. As our lives are consumed with the trivial and the mundane, may we never relegate our Savior, our King, our Shepherd, our very life, to a lesser place. May our eyes and our hearts behold Him as the Christ, the Son of the living God, and may our lives be a bold and confident witness to that truth.
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