9 – 5 | Talk 6 : Jesus Had A Job
Talk
BRO. BO SANCHEZ:
Thank you so much, guys. Love it. Love it.
I want you to tell somebody beside you: “God sees your hidden ordinary work.”
Listen: 99% of your work is hidden. This is how we are going to close our Feast Talk series, 9-5. This is the last talk and I really just want to speak to people who feel unacknowledged, unrecognized, and who feel not fulfilled in their work.
I want to look at people in the eye. People who feel that they’ve been working and working but nothing substantial is happening for them. They feel they are stuck; they are lost.
They are like: “Am I doing the right thing?
If you are that person– you feel unrewarded, you feel the salary
you’re receiving is not commensurate. If you feel nothing valuable is happening in your career, in your profession, this message is for you. I pray that God will bless you abundantly.
Thank you, Feast, for preparing that greeting for me and my wife Marowe.
Thank you, Audee, all the leaders and servants. Beautiful. We receive your love.
My wife and I have been married for 27 years. Let me backtrack a bit.
In the first two years of our marriage, we were living in an apartment. We were renting it for P2,600 a month. After that, my favorite mother-in-law gifted us with a tiny lot near her house. It was 80 square meters. We gradually built our tiny house on top of that. I thanked my mother-in-law for giving us that lot.
I told her, “You really miss your daughter. You want to see her.” She said, “No. I miss my grandchildren. I want to see them.”
Three Points Why Jesus Is Like Us
1. Like Us, Jesus Did Ordinary Work
There are distinct advantages of having a tiny house.
We’ve been living in our tiny house for 25 years. One advantage is that I don’t have to shout to call my children.
I just whisper, “Boys,” and they will say, “Yes, Dad?”
The second advantage is when it’s a bit hot, I just open the refrigerator door and we have a centralized air conditioner.
The other advantage is that because we are with our Faith Community, we always have visitors at home.
The leaders would meet there. Our kids would bring their youth group there. There is a long line of people outside wanting to go in. I issue tickets with time slots. I’m exaggerating– but not too much. It’s pandemonium every time when we have a meeting there.
We’ve been doing that for 25 years. I’m turning 60 next year. At a time when other couples are empty-nesting and therefore downsizing their houses, I cannot downsize my house. It is impossible. If I downsize my house, my wife and I will live in a birdhouse.
So, we’re doing the exact opposite. We’re building a bigger house.
One of the major reasons is that we want to welcome people. We want to have a pocket Eden (a small version of the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve initially lived with God).
Our bigger house will still be very near our little house and my mother-in-law’s house. She’ll still see her grandchildren.
I look at the construction site and I see we have a bunch of wonderful workers there. If I do what they’re doing, I’ll probably last for six minutes and then collapse. They work so hard under the scorching sun. Even if it’s raining, they’re still working. We have a good number of them but I’m going to introduce three of them.
The first one is Felix Española. He’s 66 years old but he’s as strong as a bull. He’s from Pagadian.
The next guy is Eric Dalosa. He has four kids. He’s from Leyte, Borongan.
The last one, the youngest, is Jerico Pandak. He’s 20 years old. Ironically, he’s very tall. His parents were from Mindanao but he was born in Manila.
Jesus Built My House?
In Mark 6:3, the people of Nazareth, they saw Jesus and they said: “Isn’t this the carpenter?
Isn’t this Mary’s son?”
Let’s extend our hands to the Word of God:
Thy Word, is a Lamp unto my feet And a Light unto my path
The original Greek word used for carpenter was tekton. It’s very interesting because for a lot of us, carpenter means somebody who works with wood.
But tekton is a broader word.
In ancient Israel, there was very little wood and very little timber. Most likely, yes, Jesus worked with wood. He would be building homes, roofs, and doors.
He would actually be building with olive oil. Basically, it’s more also of a mason, a stone cutter. That would be a tekton.
Jesus lived in Nazareth. It was a peasant village, maybe it had about 30 homes. Jesus was building homes not only in Nazareth. Working as carpenter there was not enough to earn a living.
Most likely, Jesus had an ordinary job. Why did I show you the picture of Felix, Eric, and Jerico? Because if I was living in Nazareth, 2,000 years ago, Jesus must be like…
I’ll show you how I imagine Jesus…
Probably, Jesus was one of the builders of my house.
Not only that. Historians would say that He and His father, Joseph, a tekton, too, probably worked in big construction projects in nearby towns like Sepphoris.
Nazareth would be about one to two hours away from Sepphoris which was a bigger city. They had walls to build.
They had cisterns to build. They had a marketplace to build. Most likely, Jesus and Joseph worked there. They could also had worked in Capernaum. Sepphoris was about 1 to two hours away by foot. Capernaum was about 12 hours by foot.
Jesus commuted–like you. Like us, Jesus did ordinary work.
God Sees You
You see Jesus as a preacher. You see Jesus as a healer. You see Jesus as a miracle worker.
But Jesus was a tekton longer. Jesus was a preacher for 3 years. Most likely, Jesus was a tekton for 18.
In ancient Israel, you apprenticed with your father when you were somewhere around the age of 12.
Historical guess is that Jesus had 18 years of doing ordinary work, as apprentice with His father Joseph.
What’s so interesting about Joseph is that in all of the Bible, there was not a recording of one single word he spoke.
Joseph was so quiet. He was an ordinary worker. He spoke through his work. Think about it. He did not say much but he spoke by raising Jesus, The Word.
I’m speaking to people who feel as though nothing worthy is happening in their lives and who feel as though they’re not being recognized and appreciated.
If this is you, do not despise your hidden years. Do not underestimate the power of quiet faithfulness. A day will come when you will see yourself getting rewarded, getting recognized. One day, you will harvest the fruit of your labor–if you endure, if you persevere, and if you do God’s will.
Marowe, Sweetheart, we have a wonderful and amazing 27-year-marriage. How did we do it? Every single week, we would date. Every single morning, I’d wake up and I’d kiss you. We’d pray together. I’d prepare a glass of water for you every morning. Every morning, I’m trying to do my little service to you. 27 years of quiet faithfulness. You have forgiven me of all the mistakes I’ve done all these 27 years. Quiet faithfulness. Hidden, not seen. I love you.
Friends, God sees you even when the world doesn’t see you. God sees you in your ordinary job. A day will come when you will be rewarded.
Everybody, put your hand over your chest and pray:
“Heavenly Father, continue to speak to me. Continue to let Your Word stir up in me a trust that is so deep that I will not be shaken no matter what circumstances happen in my life. In Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen.”
Quiet Faithfulness
I was reflecting on this, our Community. We will be celebrating 45 years of being together. I’ll be going to Brussels this September. Feasts all over Europe will be gathering. Can you just imagine having Feasts in Europe, in various countries? How did this happen?
Well, it started in a garage 45 years ago. I share this a lot– that for the first few years, we were growing and it was wonderful. It was amazing. From 30 persons, our number became 50 and then 100, 200, 500, 1,000. We were unstoppable. Then, 1,500, and we hit 2,000. But then, we just stayed at 2,000. We shrunk back to 1,500, 1,000. Then, we hit 2,000 again. We went back to 1,500 again.
It was so frustrating because we were looking at the different communities and they were growing like crazy.
I remember reading a magazine from Couples for Christ and I couldn’t believe it. I was thinking of how good they were as they reached 1 million members all over the world. Then, I heard about El Shaddai. They had 8 million members at their peak.
Why we’re not growing? Do you know how long we stayed in that range from 1,500 to 2,000? 27 years! We were wondering why we were stuck. But we pressed on. Some of us wanted to give up, especially at the later part of those 27 years.
I was looking at our people, especially our leaders– they were already getting older. No new people were coming in. No young people were joining us.
The average age of our prayer group was slowly getting older. I was asking myself: “From Light of Jesus Community, are we turning into Light of Jesus, Home for the Elderly? Where are the young people? We are not attracting them.”
But one day, God did something and I cannot share you the details of that since it’s not part of this Talk. I just want you to know that God came in and did something. He recognized our efforts. They were all hidden for 27 years.
Quiet faithfulness. We did not give up. God saw us in those 27 years. We didn’t know that He was building a foundation.
Those people who were there for those 27 years became the pillars. They became the foundation for the extraordinary growth that came at that pivotal moment.
Today, we are spread out in 31 countries. Today, we have Feasts in hundreds of cities and hundreds of provinces. God’s grace. But it took a long time.
My friends, Jesus did an ordinary job. We also do an ordinary work.
Our service may not be visible, but God sees it.
2. Like Us, Jesus Had To Manage Money
The second point is that Jesus had to manage money.
Do you remember this story when Mama Mary and Joseph went to the Temple and offered a sacrifice–a pair of turtledoves?
This was 40 days after the birth of Jesus.
The sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons was in accordance with the dictate of the law of the Lord.
This links to Leviticus 12:8 where the law says if she cannot afford a lamb, she may bring two turtledoves or two pigeons:
“If she cannot afford a lamb, she must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons. One will be for the burnt offering and the other for the sin offering. In this way, the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be declared clean.” (Leviticus 12:8 (NLT)
It meant that Mary and Joseph were poor.
In ancient times, 90% of the population was poor.
There was no such thing as middle class. It meant that Jesus had to work to be able to put food
on the table.
I do not think that when Mary needed bread, she would go to teenage Jesus and say, “Jesus, we don’t have enough bread. Please multiply them.”
https://www.istockphoto.com/search/2/image- film?phrase=jesus+mary+joseph
I don’t think that happened. Jesus had to work and had to manage His money. My friends, do you have money problems once in a while? How many of you have debts? How many of you want to earn more? Do you understand that Jesus knows what you feel right now?
He went through that– managing money, budgeting, and thinking of how to earn so that He could bring food to Mary’s table.
My Friend, Jesus knows what you’re going through. I want you to know that in this Talk, I want to encourage you that God will provide.
Your job is not your provider. God is your provider. Your business is not your provider. God is your provider. If something happens to that client, or to that job, or to that salary, God is there. God will provide.
God Sees Your Work
I was reading about Eric Yuan. Who is Eric Yuan?
He was born in a small town in China but he had a dream. His dream was to work in Silicon Valley in San Francisco and to be in the computer industry.
So, he studied hard. He worked hard– in China. He applied for a United States working visa to work in Silicon Valley but he was rejected. He applied again. Rejected again.
How many of you ever been rejected to have a U.S. visas? I was rejected twice or three times.
Eric Yuan was rejected eight times. If he was normal,
he would have stopped by the third rejection. He was rejected 8 times. Then, he applied for the 9th time and he got accepted. He started working in the Silicon Valley.
During the Coronavirus Disease (COVID) Pandemic, Eric Yuan became the star of everyone’s life because he invented Zoom and he became a billionaire.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Eric+Yuan+with+Zoom+
Eric Yuan did not give up. He repeatedly did the quiet work of going to the U.S. embassy, applying for a visa, getting rejected. God was there for him.
God really sees the ordinary work that you do. The world does not see it, but God does. I believe that Jesus was like us.
My point is simple. Jesus knew the struggle of work. He knew the pain and the hardship of work. He had a 9-to-5 job.
So, the next time that you’re complaining to God that He doesn’t suffer the stress that you go through, let me be the first one to tell you that if there’s one person who understands you, it’s Jesus.
My dear Friends, please welcome Audee Villaraza again.
3. Like Us, Jesus Suffered in His Work
BRO. AUDIE VILLARAZA:
Point No. 3 is Jesus suffered in his work.
It’s such a mind-blowing idea what Bro. Bo preached: that Jesus, the Son of God, the Alpha and the Omega, the Second Person in the Trinity, also was like us. He was a regular worker.
I’m imagining that just like you and me, Jesus had clients who were difficult, who would always ask for better and cheaper products, for quick delivery of those products.
Probably, Jesus’ excellence in his craft was oftentimes overlooked. Somebody probably asked Jesus to redo something that was already perfect. You mean to tell me the Son of God made an imperfect table?
I believe that Jesus was like us. He was tired, hungry, dusty. When He came home, he was greeted with clothes that needed to be laundered, dishes that must be washed.
And Mama Mary telling Him, “Son, please take out the garbage.”
What is my point? Jesus was like us. He knew the struggle of work. Because he went through it, working a 9-5 job.
After I preach here at The Feast, after I meet with our leaders, after praying for people, after doing the exciting stuff of ministry, the next thing that I do is go home and help my family.
My wife Kristel and I teach the kids their homework. I help around the house. We do the dishes. We do the laundry.
After I come home from work and I attend to clients here and there, after I shake some important hands, what’s the next thing that I do?
I drive for my wife to the grocery store. I drive her to the dentist or I drive her to the mall and while we’re there, I make sure I never let go of her hand.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining. I truly believe that it’s in these ordinary moments where real growth happens.
I believe that if I continue to show up in these ordinary days, the Lord is slowly preparing me for those extraordinary moments where He’s going to bring me to glory.
Our Task
We like to encounter God in the adventurous thrills of life. But how many of you know that you encounter God more in the mundane, in the ordinary days?
We like to meet God on the mountaintop of life. But how many of you know that God oftentimes shows up in the valleys where there are problems?
That’s when the Lord is loudest to whisper in your ear.
Jesus stayed in Nazareth. Small town. No spotlight, No miracles. No fame.
No glory. No media coverage. Just wood, nails, and sweat every day.
The Lord had been preparing Jesus for the time He would face that extraordinary moment where He would once again meet wood, nails, and sweat.
It’s in the ordinary days of your life when you are bored to death that God is using that as a training ground for when He’s going to call you for that extraordinary moment.
I want to teach you something very practical right now. If you have a lot of tasks in your life, tasks that bore you to death because they are so monotonous, so repetitive, here’s what you do: You turn that task into a TASK.
A tiny act of selfless kindness.
Whether it’s typing a report that you’ve been doing for the 98th time, you turn that into a tiny act of selfless kindness. Whether it’s picking up trash that you didn’t even throw to begin with, you turn that into a tiny act of selfless kindness.
Colossians 3:23 says: “Whatever that you do, do it with all of your heart as if you’re working for God and not for man.”
I promise you that every little act of kindness that you do is like a little seed that’s planted in somebody’s heart. If you keep doing that, the Lord promises that you’re going to reap a good harvest.
Jesus did not change the world in one dramatic fashion. The Cross was just a finish line. Jesus did it in little moments of tiny kindnesses, simple services of walking with people and forgiving them even though they didn’t deserve it. He did it through daily love.
If you want to change the world, do it in your hidden ordinary work.
Image of Jesus Working: His Crown of Thorns
From the very beginning, the Lord always revealed Himself not just as our Creator but as a worker.
Jesus built the world with His hands.
He fashioned every detail of the world according to His grand design. He breathed life into humanity.
That’s why it’s not a surprise that when Jesus came, He came as a construction worker who would silently sweat in His wood shop.
But the greatest representation of Jesus’ relationship with work is His image wearing the crown of thorns.
In Genesis 3, the symbol of thorns became the very symbol of the curse of work.
When Jesus wore that crown, it was His message to the whole world that at that moment, He’s taking this broken labor onto His head and that He’s changing the whole game.
Today, you no longer need to work the way that the world wants you to work.
Even now, the Lord is working in your heart through this message.
I pray and hope that the Lord is ministering to you. Whatever difficulties that you are going through, know that the Lord is working right now.
Everybody, lift your hands and let us honor the God who works, the God who thirsts, the God who loves:
“Father, look at Your children right now. Bless the work of their hands, but start with their heart to change the intention of why they do their work.
May they see every single thing that they do from the small to the largest as an act of worship. See them and love them the way that they truly are– as Your children.
Thank You so much that You are always working. We give You the praise and the glory for working. Amen.”
This story was first published in the Feast Family Online News Magazine
Published by THE FEAST (July 20, 2025)