a “Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren, James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us?”
There was no doubt about the strength of the evidence against His claimed status. He was the son of the local carpenter, and therefore Himself a carpenter. They knew His mother and that she was called Mary, and that there was nothing special about her. They knew the names of each of His brothers, and had seen them playing in the streets, and generally getting up to mischief. They even knew His sisters, who now still lived among them, probably now married, although it was not worth mentioning their names, possibly because being married they were no longer seen as ‘close family'. Thus they knew His place in society. How then could He be special? And how could He possibly have a genuine religious understanding of any outstanding nature? He was simply an artisan. (There is absolutely no reason for doubting here that Mary was the mother of them all, Jesus, the brothers, and the sisters).
‘Is not this the carpenter's son?' Matthew is here contrasting unbelief with belief. Unbelievers see Him as ‘the son of the carpenter', Pharisees see Him as in league with the Devil (Matthew 9:34; Matthew 12:24), some who are possessed or blind and seek healing see Him as ‘the son of David' (Matthew 9:27; Matthew 12:23; Matthew 15:22; Matthew 20:30), but His believing disciples see Him as ‘the Son of God' (Matthew 14:33; Matthew 16:16).