Synagogue (sunagoge)

1) I recently spent some time looking at the word “synagogue.”

2) When it was time for Jews to worship and even learn non-religious information, they went to synagogues.

3) There are about 40 places in the New Testament where we find the word “synagogue.”

4) When we look at several of these passages, they bring a variety of important points to mind.

a) One of the first time we find the English word in the ASV is Mt. 6:2.

b) This verse was already read for a Scripture reading.

c) Jesus said there were “hypocrites” in the first century synagogues. Imagine that!

d) Tonight I would like to draw some comparisons between Jewish synagogues and the church.

e) Here is the first one; hypocrites were in ancient synagogues and they are still around today.

f) Jesus did not believe that hypocrites in the assembly were a reason to stop coming.

g) We know that He refused to have this view because of Mt. 12:9.

h) Matthew says Jesus went into “their synagogue.”

i) In spite of people who were not sincere in these places of worship, Jesus still attended.

j) In fact, we might say the Lord found a kind of “church home” in the synagogues.

k) It is a pretty good feeling when we can say about a place of worship, “this is my church home.”

l) “This is where I belong; this is where my family serves God; this is where I am part of a group.”

m) One of the television shows from 1982-1993 that used to be pretty popular was CHEERS.

n) CHEERS was never a show that was of much interest to me, but I looked up some facts about it.

o) CHEERS was based upon the idea of a Boston bar.

p) People who came into drink or people who worked at this establishment all knew each other.

q) It was almost like a kind of “second home.”

r) Not long ago I saw this illustrated; at a funeral a bar actually sent flowers to honor the deceased.

s) Today the church can and should be viewed as a type of “home” (a place of safety and comfort).

5) In the next chapter of Matthew (13:54), we learn that “teaching” was done in the synagogue.

6) Here is another thing in command on with the synagogues and a local congregation in modern times.

7) Both places were designed to transmit information (be places of teaching).

8) Today people have all kinds of ideas about the church and what it should or should not do.

9) One of the focal points for any local congregation should be teaching.

10) We do not want a membership that believes something; we want people schooled in the Bible.

11) If we are the church of the New Testament, we want Christians to know the easy stuff and the hard stuff.

12) We want Christians to be taught how to interpret the Bible, defend the faith, and use the Bible to evangelize.

13) If the church is not a teaching church, it will at one point or another fail.

14) Leaving Matthew and coming to Mark (Mk. 3:1) we find that a variety of people came to the synagogues.

a) In the case of Mk. 3:1, there was a man who was “sick.”

b) This sickness was related to the physical realm – this fellow had a “withered hand.”

c) Today as we look at the church we will find people who are sick.

d) We will see those with physical or even mental problems who need help.

e) Spiritual problems also exist.

f) The church is a place for the sick as well as the physically health.

g) In God’s church, all are to be welcomed.

h) When a person wants to obey the Lord, we welcome them as a brother or sister in Christ.

i) We want to see each other and treat each other as equals.

j) Unfortunately this is not always what people want.

k) Mk. 12:39 refers to “chief seats” in the synagogues.

l) Some people see some aspect of the church as a place of competition.

m) The church is many things, but it is not a place to compete with one another.

n) It is an environment where we work together, there is harmony, and we want the best for each other.

o) To help facilitate all these things, God has created the local church with leadership.

15) In the first century synagogue there were rulers (Mk. 5:22).

16) Such is also the case with the Lord’s church.

a) Not every person who attends a group that believes in Christ has local leaders.

b) There are those who adhere to some type of national board or conference.

c) God has designed the church described in the Bible as an instituting having local leadership.

d) What can a ruler in Rome know about a congregation of 100 or 500 people in Northern Indiana?

e) How can a board in Chicago set policy for a rural congregation 200 or 500 miles away?

f) God established local leadership through elders and the wisdom in that should be self evident.

g) Leaving Mark and coming to Luke we find an important statement in Lk. 4:16.

17) Jesus had some interaction with the synagogue and we want to see what this was - Lk. 4:16.

18) It was the Lord’s “custom” to go to the synagogue for the assemblies.

a) Two points jump off the page as we look at this statement.

b) Initially we see that Jesus viewed the place where God’s people assembled (the synagogue) as important.

c) When the Son of God had an opportunity to be with the people of God, He was there.

d) Sometimes people ask preachers or someone else, “How often should I attend services?”

e) That question may be asked because people do not know.

f) In other circumstances it may be asked because someone wants to see just how little they must do.

g) “Three times a week Christians assemble, but what is the minimum time required for me”?

h) Jesus had a habit of coming to the synagogue when it was open.

i) The Bible instructs us to follow His example and here is an example from the Lord’s life.

j) A second point from this verse involves the Lord's Supper.

19) It was Jesus’ “custom” to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath day.

20) Which Sabbath day did the Lord attend? Was it the first Sabbath the month or the last one?

21) We understand the language to mean that when the day or time came, Jesus went to the synagogue.

22) Knowing that Jesus did this on a regular basis is even to conclude that He went time after time.

a) It is hard to believe that anyone could look at this verse and come to a different conclusion.

b) We have this same type of language used when describing the Lord's Supper.

c) “When the first day of the week came, Christians partook of the Lord's Supper” (Acts 20:7).

d) Someone says concerning this verse, “It does not say every Sunday or every first day.”

e) That is true, but does the verse need to say that to mean every Sunday to mean every Sunday?

f) We have the same type of statement in Lk. 4:16 and there is no trouble here.

g) Acts 2:42 says Christians were “steadfast” in the breaking of the bread.”

h) That is, they were in the habit or custom of doing this. What does this tell us about their worship?

i) The Lord's Supper was something they partook of each first day of the week.

23) Staying with Lk. 4 we may also direct our attention to what is said in verse 20 – READ.

a) When Jesus spoke in the synagogue, people listened.

b) They really, really listened to what He said in the synagogue.

c) When we come together as a body of people, we want to pay attention to what is done.

d) This is true when it comes to our Bible classes.

e) In many religious groups, what is called a Bible class is little more than something like a school recess.

f) There is little to no teaching. It is just a time to play, laugh, and have a good time.

g) Bible class should be enjoyable, but it is called “class” for a reason (it is a time and place to learn).

h) Bible class is not the place to talk when a teacher is talking.

i) It is not the place to pass notes, talk on the cell phone, or work on homework.

j) Bible classes are periods to help us learn more and more about the Bible.

k) If that is not what is being done, both by the teacher and the student, that is a failing class.

l) Teachers need to teach the Bible and students need to listen.

m) When it comes time to worship, attention needs to be directed to this part of our service as well.

n) The longest single period we have at this place is an hour.

o) We would be hard pressed to point to too many Sunday mornings when we have gone for more than an hour.

p) Our nation’s attention span is not always too long, but we can pay attention for 60 minutes.

q) Based upon what is said in Lk. 4, this is a heaven sent illustration from the Lord’s life.

24) One more verse from Luke’s account deserves our attention – verse 28 – READ.

a) One of the saddest things that can happen in a local congregation is what we see in this passage.

b) Preachers have preached sermons that have made some people very, very angry.

c) I am ashamed to say it, but there have been congregations that have had fights in church parking lots.

d) There have been cases where the preacher created the problem(s) and he deserved the blame.

e) It is not a preacher problem in Lk. 4.

f) Jesus spoke the truth, and He was not hateful when He spoke in this synagogue.

g) A preacher can say some things that we may not like and Jesus did that on this occasion.

h) Our obligation as hearers is to consider what is said.

i) Is it right? Is it true and consistent with the Word of God?

j) The preacher’s duty is “speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15).

k) In some places that has been done and people literally blew up.

i) The anger in the case of Lk. 4 is well described by the 29^th verse – READ.

25) If we hear some things in an assembly that do not make us too happy, we need to do some reflecting.

26) Was the preacher trying to communicate a needed message from the Bible?

27) Was the information he provided ultimately designed to help us?

28) Was the sermon material something that applied to our lives and that is what got under the skin?

29) God designed assemblies to be places of fellowship, not friction and fracture.

30) After the book of Luke we have a key passage in the book of Jn.

a) John’s account (9:22) records a threat.

b) Jews hostile the Lord said that if Jesus were confessed as the Christ, they would be thrown out of the synagogue.

c) If we draw parallels to the synagogue and the church, here is one that is especially interesting.

d) We do not “throw” people out of the church. This was, however, what the Jews wanted to do.

e) If there are individuals who, to use a Bible word, walk “disorderly” and will not repent, we withdraw.

f) Generally speaking withdrawal is not something that needs to be done too often.

g) There are a very limited cases in the Bible of this process being used.

h) Withdrawal is ultimately designed to redeem people (bring them back).

i) John 9 has nothing to do with redeeming people; it is all about intimidation.

j) I have personally seen brethren who suggested that a fellow Christian be intimidated.

k) Reasons for that vary, but in the end, the wanted result is the same—a threat just like Jn. 9.

l) That is not how the church operates; the Bible tells God’s people to “walk in love.”

m) If Christians will not do that and we exhaust all possible options, then withdraw from them.”

n) The church is very different from the synagogue picture in Jn. 9.

31) Acts 17:17 says Paul “reasoned” in the synagogue.

32) Several times in the book of Acts we find the word synagogue as a place where preaching was done.

33) Often this preaching involved “reasoning” - God wants us to “reason” things out.

a) If my calculations are right, I have taught well over 2,000 Bible classes.

b) Some of those classes have left me with some feedback from participants (publicly and privately).

c) I have had people tell me, “What was said today helped me finally realize some things.”

d) There have been some other times when someone suggested that an argument was weak.

e) I have even had a few occasions where someone said they thought my reasoning was flawed.

f) All these things can and do happen to people if they teach enough classes.

g) There are also times when teachers give explanations that may not be thorough enough for the class.

h) A teacher may think all understand something when some key points are not grasped.

i) Reasoning in the Bible conveys a two-way street, and this is demonstrated in Acts.

j) In the synagogues teaching took place in the form of interaction between the teacher and the students.

k) As a preacher taught those listening could agree, disagree, or ask questions.

l) This is one of the things we have tried to do here and other places do it as well.

m) The sermon is not a real good time to raise a hand and ask a question.

n) Our Bible classes are an excellent time for that. If there is disagreement or a lack therefore, let it be known.

o) The apostles found this to be effective in the synagogues and it is a technique that still works.

34) We want to reason things out and think things through for the reason in Acts 18:8.

35) Once again Paul was “reasoning” with people and the result was the conversion of some people.

36) We do not get together just to say we can all talk for a while.

37) We come together to learn about God’s word and grow in our knowledge and move closer to God.

38) My final reference is Jas. 2:2.

39) An inspired writer said if someone comes into the synagogue, and they are poor, they might be treated badly.

40) A person who is rich might be treated very well.

41) James said this is very wrong—it is not the way of Christ.

42) This is certainly true for the church as well.

43) No matter who comes or who they are, all are welcome and all are equally welcome.

44) In Christ’s church there is no distinction for race, class, abilities, etc.

45) God has created His assembly (the church) and He invites us to be a part of it. Are we?