Luke 4:14-17 - "And As His Custom Was..."

Today we want to take this chat and explain the importance of the synagogue in the days of Christ and the early church.   First, what is a synagogue? The basic definition is a synagogue is a Jewish house of worship. A synagogue is for Jews what a church is for Christians, or a mosque for Muslims, or a temple for Hindus. The word comes from the Greek roots “sun” which means "together", and “agein” which means "to go” or “to bring together". Wuest Word Studies gives this explanation: “It refers to the act of a group of people "going with one another," thus congregating in one place. Finally, it came to refer to the place where they congregated. The word was used to designate the buildings other than the central Jewish temple where the Jews congregated for worship.”   Though some Jewish traditions claim synagogues existed “from the time of Moses,” history notes that the practice of meeting in synagogues emerged during the period of Israel’s Babylonian captivity. During this time, the Jewish temple was unavailable for worship, requiring an alternative gathering place for dispersed Jews who desired to gather for prayer and communal worship.   By the time of Jesus and the New Testament period, synagogues had become a common local fixture. The New Testament mentions synagogues over 60 times, largely in connection with the ministry of Jesus and the apostles. On the Sabbath, local Jews would meet for prayer and Scripture reading. Of course, the Sabbath in the Bible is the seventh day of the week which has its beginning in Genesis 2:1-3 when God rested on the seventh day of creation and as verse 3 says, “He blessed the seventh day and sanctified it…”. Then in the Law of Moses God makes the seventh day of the week a special day set apart for worship for the Jews and no work was to be done. This is why the Jews go to the synagogues on Saturday.   Jesus was fulfilling the law as He went from synagogue to synagogue teaching the law and the prophets and worshipping with the Jews in that region. Jesus might have argued that the "religious system" was corrupt, or that He didn't need the instruction; but instead, He made His way on the Sabbath to the place of prayer. From verses in Luke 4:16-21 we can observe many synagogue customs: First, the meeting took place on the Sabbath (Saturday). Second, Jesus stood to read. Third, He read from a scroll. Even today, scrolls are found in synagogues and are used for weekly readings (see also Acts 15:21). When finished with His reading, Jesus sat down to teach, another synagogue tradition.   Paul and the other apostles would use the synagogue as a launching point for missionary activities. Upon arriving in a new community, Paul would show up at the synagogue and request to speak. He would then present Jesus as the Messiah and begin his local outreach. This sometimes resulted in many people believing in Jesus. Historically, the synagogue has continued to play an essential role in the practice of Judaism. After the destruction of the Jewish temple in A.D. 70, worship could no longer take place in the temple, making the synagogue the central place of worship. The synagogue has served as an important fixture in Judaism and early Christianity. Its importance during the time of Jesus and the apostles provided one of the key ways the gospel spread in the earliest years of the church.   Today, as believers we meet on the first day of the week in celebration of the resurrection of Jesus on that day! That is when the New Testament believers met. It should be our custom, our regular practice, to come together with other believers to pray, to worship, and be taught the Word of God. In Hebrews 10:25 we are exhorted: “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”   God Bless!