阅读经文 

福音书（马太、马可、路加、约翰）主要讲述了耶稣公开传教的事工。在三年的时间里，祂教导有关神国度的道理，医治病人，喂饱饥饿的人，甚至使死人复活。但在这之前的大概三十年里，耶稣都住在家里。其中大部分时间，祂都与父亲约瑟一起做木匠。

我们通常都认为约瑟是一个木匠，一个和木头打交道的人。但其实他也可能是一个石匠。原文并不清楚，但可以确定的是，约瑟是某种匠人。所以他用双手和工具来工作：或者是制作农具和家具，或者为建筑物打地基。而耶稣也做过同样的工作，大概有二十年之久。福音书中几乎没有提及这部分。但这些事我们可以推想而知。

现在，耶稣开始了祂的教导事工，方圆几十里的人都知道祂是一个教导者和行神迹者。他们对祂充满了敬畏。但在祂家乡人的眼中来说，祂只是一个手工业者。他们无法跨越这个印象。

对我们而言，存在一个相反的问题。我们知道耶稣是神的儿子。我们可能会忽略祂真实的人性。但在祂人生的大部分岁月里，耶稣都过着和其他人一样普通的生活，就像你和我一样。

The gospel books (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) focus on Jesus' public ministry. For a period of three years he taught about the kingdom of God, healed the sick, fed the hungry, and even raised the dead. But before any of that, for about thirty years, Jesus lived in the family home. And for most of those years, he worked alongside his father Joseph in the family trade.

We think of Joseph as a carpenter, someone who worked with wood. But he may have been a stoneworker. The original language is not clear. What is clear is that Joseph was a builder of some sort. So he worked with his hands and with tools: perhaps making farm implements and furniture, or laying foundations. And Jesus did the same thing for probably about twenty years. The gospel books barely mention it. But they do give us that much.

Now, when Jesus began his teaching ministry, people for miles and miles around came to know him as a teacher and wonder-worker. They were in awe of him. But to the people in his hometown, he was just a guy who worked with tools in his hands. They couldn't get beyond that.

We have the opposite problem. We know Jesus as the Son of God. And we can lose sight of his genuine humanity. But for most of his years, Jesus lived a life as ordinary as anyone's, like yours or mine.