Isn’t this the carpenter?

When the Sabbath came, Jesus began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. “Where did this man get these things?” they said. “What is this wisdom that has been given to him, and how are these miracles performed by his hands? Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” So they were offended by him. – Mark 6:2-3 (CSB)

The identity of Jesus was often in question—who was this man who could do these things? In his hometown, where many had known him and his family for years, doubt prevailed. Despite hearing his teaching and seeing or hearing about some of his miracles, they were skeptics. “We know him and his family,” so they thought. “This is a carpenter, who does he think he is?”

The identity of Jesus is still in question today. Some doubt he existed, at least as the man described in the Bible. Some think he is a good teacher. Some think he was a religious prophet.

CS Lewis was known to say that when it came to Jesus and the claims he made, then he is either Lord, lunatic, or liar. Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, the Messiah—the Savior-King. Were these claims lies? Were they the ramblings of a mad-man? That seemed to be how many in his hometown of Nazareth thought.

But what about the miracles? In Mark 5, Jesus healed a man who had been possessed by many demons. Then he healed a woman who had suffered for many years from a bleeding condition. To top this all, he took the hand of a dead girl and brought her back to life.

A liar and a lunatic could do such things. A liar could have plants in the crowd and fake miracles with little-to-no verification, but a group of people knew the girl had died and laughed at Jesus when he said otherwise.

The miracles of Jesus help confirm the message and the identity of Jesus. Even if many rejected him, he knew exactly who he was: The Son of God sent to earth to bring good news of healing from sin and its effects. He may have been a carpenter, but he was also so much more.