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Since we are coming into the season of our Lord’s Passion, I began to think about the records of Jesus on His way to Jerusalem for the last time. As He headed down the Jordan River valley He passed through the town of Jericho. The Jericho highway was the main road from the valley to the city, so this is the most likely place for the entourage to head up to Jerusalem. The gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke tell of this final entrance into Jericho and each speaks of blind men in some form that are healed.
Luke is different from the other two in that it records Jesus entering INTO Jericho while the other two gospels talk of Him leaving the town. Let’s have a look at Luke;
Luke 18.35-19.1
As Jesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. Now hearing a crowd going by, he began to inquire what this was. They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he called out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He questioned him, "What do you want Me to do for you?" And he said, "Lord, I want to regain my sight!" And Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God. He entered Jericho and was passing through.
Here Jesus is coming into Jericho and a blind man hears about and begs for mercy. Jericho was called the City of Palms, for its oasis-like atmosphere and semi-tropical environment. It was a main destination for the wealthy and many historians believe it was the wealthiest city in the Eastern Roman Empire. Because of this the beggars were relegated to the outskirts of the city, and could not come into the city where the “good’ people were. We see this here as the man cries out as they are entering into the town. Matthew records the record of Jesus as He has already passed through Jericho and is leaving the other side of the town to begin the arduous climb up the Jericho road to Jerusalem.
Matthew 20.29-34 NAS
As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. And two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" The crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!" And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" They said to Him, "Lord, we want our eyes to be opened." Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.
From the record here, we can see that Jesus was on His way out of town and this time there were two blind men that cried out for mercy. The same scenario happens in that the people try to shush them but they cried out more until Jesus acknowledges them and they both receive their healing. So far in this one trip through Jericho we have seen three miraculous healings in the realm of sight. I would say that this is prophetic in that as He goes to Jerusalem for the last time, Jesus is about to open everyone’s eyes in more ways than anyone can imagine. The prophecy from the beginning of His ministry in Luke 4.18 is coming down the pike. Mark also records the exit from the City of Palms, but here we have one blind man only his name is given, or at first glance looks like his name.
Mark 10.46-52 NAS
Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" And Jesus stopped and said, "Call him here." So they *called the blind man, saying to him, "Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you." Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus. And answering him, Jesus said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" And the blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!" And Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.
In the famous Rococo Library located at St Gallens, Switzerland, there are over 150,000 manuscripts of antiquity. The library was built by Gallus in the 7th Century and was originally an abbey. Within the library is a document, written in 1600 by a lawyer turned Jesuit from Naples named Bernardino Realino. In this discourse written in legalese, he liberally uses the writings of Cyprianii of Carthage who had written about the life of Jesus in about 248 A.D. It this document he relates the story of the record of the death of Jesus’ earthly father, the story of Zacchaeus and the one in which we are discussing here, Bar-Timaeus.
One can see from the name given here that it is not really a name or surname but a statement of lineage. Bartimaeus or bar-Timaeus means literally the son of Timaeus. Realino states that Tantautius the Arab had written that this healing of bar-Timaeus made quite a stir among the Romans, and that by the time Jesus had reached Jerusalem, the high standing that He had held had diminished greatly due to this event outside of Jericho. Realino tells us that the Tantautius writing states that the blinding of bar-Timaeus took place in 22 A.D. under the direction of the procurator Valerius Gratus. Gratus, an aristocrat, had a residence in Jericho complete with military guards and supplies. The steward of this residence was a man named Timaeus.
Timaeus had a 24 year old son named Infatius, who at the time led a raid on the compound to obtain weapons. He was attempting to become an arms dealer, making money by selling these weapons to warring factions in the Galilee area. It was strictly a business opportunity since his father worked in the compound. He was caught and was convicted of “profiting by sedition.” This was a crime not punishable by since he was Roman citizen, but his seventeen accomplices were crucified on the northern hill that overlooked the city. Only treason was punishable by death to any Roman citizen, which is why in the days of Jesus’ trial the final Pilate asked Him if He was “King of the Jews.”
Instead of crucifixion, Infatius had his eyeballs burned out with a red hot sword blade and was forced to where a red stained tunic to show that he had tried to profit from Caesar and the Roman authorities. He was not allowed to leave the Jericho area not was he allowed in the city ever again. Instead, Infatius bar Timaeus or bar-Timaeus as Mark calls him, was forced to beg for his survival outside the city of Jericho. When Infatius heard that Jesus the Messiah was passing by he called out for mercy, believing that this Galilean Roman Jew, the Messiah was destined to overthrow all Roman authority. When Jesus called him to come, what do we see bar-Timaeus does? “Throwing aside his cloak” he makes his way to Jesus. He throws off the symbol of his punishment by the Romans and declares to Jesus when asked, "What do you want Me to do for you?" Mark states that he wanted to receive his sight, but it is here that Tantautius says that Infatius declares, “I want to avenge my sight!” which is clearly a cry to the Messiah to avenge his punishment before the Romans when he comes into His kingdom. Either way he is healed.
The healing then provokes the Roman authority which until now in Jesus’ ministry were nothing but impressed and enthralled by Him. This action alone precedes Him to the capitol city of Jerusalem so that by the time He arrives there, all are against Him and He can then accomplish the final task He was sent to undertake; the redemption of all mankind. And now you know a little bit more of the rest of HisStory.
Excerpts taken from The Search. A historians Search for the Historical Jesus, by Dr. Ron Charles
Mark 3.16 NAS
He entered again into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was withered. They were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. He *said to the man with the withered hand, "Get up and come forward!" And He *said to them, "Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?" But they kept silent. After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He *said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.
From the record we can see that it was the Sabbath day, a day set aside where no laborious work was to be done. Of course in any life there has to be exceptions according to circumstances that happen in all of our lives. Jesus confronts the Pharisaical thinking when he tells them;
Luke 13.14-16
But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, "There are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day." But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him?” “And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?"
Another time He also says;
Luke 14.1-6
It happened that when He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching Him closely. And there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy. And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?" But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. And He said to them, "Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?" And they could make no reply to this.
He also confronted them with their own priestly duties that have to happen on the Sabbath.
Matthew 12.11
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath." But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent? But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here.
So from this we can see that there arise in all our lives a time when the Sabbath “law” might have to be broken in order to accomplish some good. Jesus uses the physical reference of taking care of the animals or the Temple duties, when in fact He is declaring a greater truth of taking care of people by bringing deliverance to them on the Sabbath day.
Back in Mark 3 we see this same truth being manifested here in the synagogue. From the reading it looks that since they knew Jesus’ reputation, they were waiting for Him to heal in the synagogue on the Sabbath. At first glance it looks as if they might have brought a “ringer” into the synagogue so as to tempt the Lord. There was a man there who had a withered man, and the religious leaders were all abuzz to see if Jesus would break tradition and heal the man. They were not concerned with the deliverance of the man, but they only wanted to catch Jesus at something to accuse Him.
Have you ever asked yourself the question, “Just who was this man, and why were they setting him up to help accuse Jesus. Luke’s Gospel tells us that the man’s right hand was the one that was deformed. The Amplified Bible tells us that that the hand was deformed due to an accident or disease. These would indicate that the man had some form of a curse by God upon Him and therefore if Jesus healed him He would be fighting against God. So not only could they accuse Him of breaking the Sabbath but they could also bring accusation against Him that He exalted Himself above God.
In Amman, Jordan’s University Archaeological Museum there is a manuscript from the 3rd or 4th century where a monk relates this story in a sermon. In the manuscript he expounds upon his understanding of the culture and history around the time of this record in Mark. He tells the story of the construction of Herod’s Temple around 5 B.C. For this daunting task Herod enlisted 217 master stonemasons to assist in the project. During this time Herod had a premonition that he would die before the completion of the Temple, so in order to get the work completed he asked if the stonemasons could work seven days a week. The over seer of the work, a priest named Jeshu ben See went to the High Priest, Joazar to get his permission. Joazar agreed since it was the Temple that was being worked on. This work was something of benefit for the glory of God and Israel.
Herod died around 1 B.C. and never saw the completion of the Temple. His son Archelaus took over the work continuing Jeshu ben See as his overseer. Within a period of time the stonemasons had completed their part of the work. They were then enlisted then to work on the Fortress of Antonia where the seat of the Roman Government would have its administration. The governor at the time, Coponius, demanded from Jeshu ben See that the stonemasons would continue their Sabbath work. Jeshu ben See had no choice but to petition the new High Priest, Elazar (Joazar’s brother) for this. Elazar issued the Sabbath of Weeks proclamation, allowing the stonemasons to continue their work for 126 more Sabbaths. The Tower was finished, this proclamation expired and the stonemasons were all brought together for a celebration with their families.
When they were all together Jeshu began by honoring them for their work and diligence on the work of the Temple, but as soon as he had done that his true intention for the gathering was manifested. He declared that the work on the Sabbath for the work of the Temple was allowed because it was a work of God. For the work of the Tower though they were condemned because it was for the Gentile Romans. With that Jeshu had all of the right hands of the master stonemasons smashed, thereby destroying any more means of livelihood. The eyes of their children were gouged out and one eye of their wives. The wives also had the fingers of their right hand cut off. The wives were then forced to work in the valley of Hinnom at the dump (Gehenna) for the rest of their lives. The children were to be beggars on the streets for their sustenance. Never again were any of them permitted to see each other again.
The stonemasons were then commanded that every Sabbath they were to spend it all day in their local synagogues wearing sackcloth of their now deformed right arm and hand as an example to all of those that break the Sabbath. They were to keep their heads bowed at all times, not raise their heads in public or look upon anyone. They were destined to beg the streets for their food. The High Priest issued the Xena Reposa or Mason’s Disallowance saying that the proclamation had come directly from God in showing His displeasure with the stonemasons. These masons would have to live out their lives convinced that they were under a curse from God for their actions. The proclamation stated that this curse would continue for three generations, and if the mason chose to take his own life he would never receive forgiveness in the afterlife.
The hermit then states that this is one of the stonemasons that was at the synagogue where Jesus is attending in Mark 3. You can now see why the religious leaders were there waiting for Jesus to see if would heal the man. They knew according to the Xena Reposa that he decree was from God and the man cursed by God. Would Jesus interfere with God’s plan as set forth by a High Priest, God’s spokesman on earth? That’s just what they wanted. It had been around thirty years since this man’s right hand had been smashed. It was withered away, atrophied, and he could lift it. When Jesus asks him to stand out from the crowd He is contradicting the edict of the High Priest, where he was not to have public contact. Not only is Jesus supposedly standing against God, but also God’s representative here on earth.
Jesus confronts the whole scenario of malice from thirty years ago when he states;
"Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?" But they kept silent. After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.
And that is why we see that the man’s hand is restored. He once again has a hand that is whole as it had been years ago. Jesus makes the actions of the Jeshu and the High Priest as the acts that were contrary to the will of God, once again giving life to the destitute. We can also see why they now sought to destroy Him. Now you know the rest of HisStory.
