Dr. Ron Charles
14th November 2010

There is such incredible depth to the Bible – the verses and incidents that strengthen us today, have a historical background that we don’t comprehend. One such incident is the story of the man with the withered hand as recorded in Luke 6:6-11. Dr. Ron Charles, a renowned historian, had this to say about the background of the incident in Luke 6:6.

According to historical records, Herod the great, initiated many building projects during his time, including one to enhance the Jewish temple. The temple was a magnificent piece of work. In order to build the temple, Herod hired a project manager called Jeshu Bensee and also 217 of the finest stonemasons that the region had to offer. While the substructure work was still underway, Herod feared that he would die and hence he decided to speed up the building work. The stonemasons were ordered to work round the clock, seven days a week, including the Sabbath. Jeshu Bensee convinced the high priest and religious leaders that this was necessary and would benefit the temple. They gave their approval and all 217 stonemasons worked round the clock to finish their work on the temple. Once that was completed, the Romans wanted to build the Tower of Antonio, the administrative headquarters of the Roman governor in Jerusalem. The Romans also demanded that the stonemasons work around the clock to complete this work in record time. Once again, Jeshu Bensee convinced the high priest to issue a proclamation called the Sabbath of Weeks, which allowed the stonemasons to work on Sabbaths until the work was completed. At long last, the work was. Jeshu Bensee organized a celebration in honour of the stonemasons who had worked so hard, along with their families. It was a gala time, but at some point in the celebration Jeshu Bensee stood up and spoke to the stonemasons. He told them that they had broken Jewish law by agreeing to work on the Sabbath. They would be forgiven for working on the Sabbath on account of the temple but not for the extra work they did on the Tower. He said that it would have been better for them to refuse and face death, then to break the law. The punishment meted out to the stonemasons and their families was barbaric in order to make an example of them. Their punishment included the crushing of the right hand of all the 217 stonemasons, thereby taking away their livelihood. The eyes of the children and their wives were gorged out. The stonemasons were separated from their families for ever, and they were forced to wear sackcloth and beg at the synagogue. No one spoke to them and they were not allowed to speak to anyone. The high priest told them that God hated them and had rejected and abandoned them forever. Officially, this proclamation was called the Stonemasons Disallowance. They could not take their own lives as God would then transfer the punishment to the next 3 generations of their family. Many years passed.

And then one day, our Lord Jesus stepped into the synagogue and addressed the man with the withered hand for the first time in many years. Read Luke 6:6-11 for the details. Our Lord Jesus restored his dignity, his hand, his livelihood and his place as a child of God. Our God does not stand far off when we go through trouble, He weeps when we weep and laughs when we laugh. Though you may stand accused, though you maybe still in sin, remember that the banner over you is love, His love!