Son Of A Carpenter

They say He is the son of a carpenter,
living on the streets of Galilee.
I’ve seen Him playing with the other children,
He doesn’t look so different to me.
Mother said she saw Him in the market,
Something in His eyes relieved her hears.
Daddy said He heard Him in the Temple,
Said that He was wise beyond His years.

Just the other day down at the stable,
I was talking with a friend of mine.
said that He saw Jesus at the wedding,
Saw Him turn the water into wine.
Gathered all around Him were people,
Listening to all He had to say,
I’m telling you I saw Him touch a lame man,
He got up and he walked away.

I never hung around religious people,
I never thought they cared too much for me.
But I believe this Jesus, might be different,
I believe He’s more than what He seems.
They say He doesn’t stay inside the temple,
He’s talking to the people on the streets.
I guess I’ll never know, why would He talk to,
Someone who’s a beggar and a thief.

A lady that I know said she met Him,
When she was drawing water from the well.
Said that He knew everything about her,
Things that she was too ashamed to tell.
Told her all about some living water,
When you drink you’ll never thirst again.
Said she had to leave that things were different,
she said found forgiveness for her sins.

So now I’m all alone and I was thinking,
They tell me that a friend of His has died.
I’m sure that I could find Him at the funeral,
Maybe I could talk to Him awhile.
All around the tomb the people gathered,
I couldn’t see a thing above the crowd.
I thought I heard them say the stone was rolled back,
I thought I heard them say a man came out.

Every time I turn around I mess up,
I guess my reputation found me out.
Suddenly I found myself in shackles,
I don’t want to know what they’ll do now.
Over in the other cell they laid Him,
Through the blood I hardly recognized.
The man who was the son of a carpenter,
I’m not even sure He’s still alive.

It’s getting hard to breathe my eyes are weary,
He’s hanging on the cross right next to me.
A while ago He whispered, “please forgive them”,
They’ve driven nails in His hands and His feet.
I told Him I was sorry I deserve this,
He said, “You’ll go with me to paradise”.
And when He bowed His head He cried “It’s finished”,
Everything was still when Jesus died.

He said somewhere up above My Father’s working,
Building mansions for the redeemed,
They say He was the son of a carpenter and I believe…I believe.

When Mark Bishop writes a song about a Bible character, he has a talent for weaving who the character is into the lines without coming out and saying the persons name. This is one of those songs! When you first listen to it, you may be tempted to think, “what does this have to do with Easter?” Then, we answer our own question when we figure out it’s the thief on the cross!

Luke 23:40-43 “But the other answering rebuked him, saying, ‘Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation’?
And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
And he said unto Jesus, ‘Lord, remember me when thou come into thy kingdom’.
And Jesus said unto him, ‘Verily I say unto thee, To day shall thou be with me in paradise’.”

The Thief:
This man was truly hopeless. In the eyes of the world, there was no escape for the thief on the cross – his fate was sealed. Death. No hope. No time for repentance. No chance to change.

To be sentenced to crucifixion you would have to be the lowest of the low. In other words, this wasn’t the result of one little “mess up,” this represented a lifestyle, and most likely a lifetime of it. Yet, as he hung on the tree, we see that he had a major change of heart. Too bad it came a little too late, huh?

…Or was it? The thief obviously did a lot of things wrong in his life, for once, could he do something right? He didn’t have time to physically earn his salvation so to speak, but he did do the ONLY thing that is expected of any human being: he realized the sin in his life, confessed that Jesus had no sin in Him, and putting his trust in the Lord, requested that He remembered him when He entered His kingdom. Here is the example of true repentance. Even when it looked like the Lord Himself was helpless, the promise was given, “today shall thou be with me in paradise.”

In the world’s eyes, the thief had no hope left. But the world failed to see that Hope was hanging next to him.

Did you know: The thorns used for the crown pressed down upon Jesus’ head were three to four inches long?

The Savior:
Throughout the Gospels, as Christ came in contact with the needs of men and women everywhere, one common theme prevailed – there is always hope! Legion, the man in Luke 8 who couldn’t even be bound with chains because of the demon in him, was set free by Jesus. The woman in Matthew 9, who spent 12 years and all her money on doctor’s for a cure of her blood disease, was instantly healed by a touch. The woman caught in the act of adultery – forgiven. Lazarus, in the grave four days – lived again, by a simple command from the Savior. If anything is to be taken away by these examples, it is this, Jesus offers hope for every situation. As with the thief’s case, even in His suffering He was able to administer that hope to one willing to receive it.

The Savoir is still offering hope for every situation we face. It doesn’t matter how great or small, every request is important to Him…are we willing to receive His hope, this Easter?