Luke 4

Synagogues

He taught in their synagogues. Luke 4:15.

We often read in the Gospels about synagogues. Perhaps you would like to know what kind of place the synagogue was.

Among the Jews the synagogue took the place of our church. There was only one Temple in Palestine, the beautiful building in Jerusalem. Only there could sacrifices be offered by the priests. But the people who did not live in Jerusalem, and who were sometimes a long way from it, could go there only once, or at most a few times, in the year. They made the journey on foot or riding on donkeys; and it was slow and dangerous because the roads were bad and infested with robbers. So in every town and village of any size there was a synagogue where the people gathered on the Sabbath to worship. A service could not be held for fewer than ten men (women did not count), therefore, before a synagogue could be built, ten men who could always be present had to promise that they would be there every Sabbath to make a congregation.

The synagogue was a large hall, sometimes divided into aisles by pillars. The most important piece of furniture was the cupboard, which stood at one end, and in which the sacred books were kept. This was the holiest; part of the synagogue, and it was treated with great reverence. A curtain hung in front of it, and before the beginning of the Sabbath that is on Friday evening a canopy was spread over the top of it. In this cupboard were the books of the Old Testament. They were written on long, narrow rolls of skin. The writing was in columns across the roll, and when the reader wished to find any particular passage he unrolled the roll from the one end, and rolled it up at the other. The Scriptures were treated with great reverence by the Jews, and when these rolls were not in use they were wrapped in fine embroidered cloths to which little bells were fastened.

The congregation sat on benches, and the Scribes and elders sat in front in the best places, with their faces to the rest of the people. Jesus once said of the Scribes and Pharisees that they loved the chief seats in the synagogues, and He told His disciples not to be like them.

In the middle of the synagogue, or at one end, there was a raised platform with a reading-desk, from which the Scriptures were read. There was no priest or minister. The service was conducted by the most educated men present, generally the Scribes, who were the great students and teachers of the Bible.

Then there was a man called the ruler of the synagogue. He kept order, and decided who was to take part in the service. Jairus, the father of the little girl whom Jesus raised from the dead, was a “ruler of the synagogue.”

There was also an attendant called the chazzan, He was rather like our church officer. Every Friday he arranged the lamps, and made ready for the Sabbath. The preparation had all to be done, and the lamps lit, before the Sabbath began. It began at sunset on Friday night, and when the time came, the chazzan went up to the roof of the synagogue and blew loudly three times on a trumpet. Immediately all work stopped. The chazzan was a Scribe, and sometimes he read or preached himself, or led the prayers. He took care of the holy books, and at the proper time in the service he took out the roll and handed it to the person who was to read. ~ Afterwards he wrapped it up and put it away again.

Now, when the congregation had gathered in the synagogue on the Sabbath, what did they do? What kind of service did Jesus go to? First, they all repeated together what they called the Shema, three short portions of Scripture, beginning with the words, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” You may find the portions in Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Deuteronomy 11:13-21, and Numbers 15:37-41. These were said aloud by everybody.

Next, a number of prayers were said by one person, and all the others said, “Amen.” During the prayers the people turned towards Jerusalem and stood with their heads covered.

After the prayers came the reading. First there was a lesson from the Law that is, the first five books of the Bible. It was read by seven people, each one reading a little bit. Then the chazzan took back that roll and brought another, and someone was asked to read a portion from one of the prophets, and as he carried the rolls the people bent forward and kissed them to show their love for the Bible. By the time of Christ the language of the people in Palestine had changed very much from the Hebrew in which the Bible was written, so much so that they needed to have it explained to them. So when the Bible was read in the synagogue, someone, very often the schoolmaster, who understood Hebrew, explained it in the common speech in order that everyone might understand.

Last of all someone was invited to give a sermon. It was the custom to ask any educated stranger who was present to do this, and he preached, or “taught,” sitting.

But the synagogue was the school as well as the church. Jewish boys went to school at six, and stayed till they were about thirteen. They learned reading and writing and math and, most of all, the Bible. They learned the laws of their religion, and the history of their people, and all the Bible stories in the Old Testament the stories of Jacob, and Joseph, and David. They learned a great deal by heart, sitting on the floor round their teacher's chair, and repeating the lesson all together in a loud voice.

It was the custom of Jesus on His journeys to go into the synagogues of the towns He visited. There He taught the people, and there sick people were brought to Him that He might heal them. He must have been in a great many synagogues, but there are two in particular about which we are told.

One was the synagogue of Nazareth, where He was brought up. After He had begun His public work He came back and spoke in this synagogue, and told the people that the prophecy of the Savior they were expecting was fulfilled in Him. When they heard Him say that He was that Savior, they rushed upon Him and took Him to the top of a high cliff to throw Him over, but He escaped from them.

The other synagogue was that of Capernaum, where He lived a great deal It was very beautiful. Built of pure white stone like marble, it had a porch, and marble steps led up to it. It was built for the Jews by a Roman soldier (a centurion) who “loved their nation.” This was the centurion whose servant was sick, and who begged the Jews to ask Jesus to heal him.

Not long ago some explorers found the ruins of this synagogue buried under the earth. They have cleared away the earth, and are building up the stones and setting up the pillars. When it is finished we shall see the synagogue as it was when Christ lived in Capernaum. All the other buildings of that time have crumbled away, and have been replaced. But we shall see this beautiful synagogue just as Jesus saw it when He worshipped in it on the Sabbath, performed in it His miracles, or preached in it those wonderful sermons which are written in the Gospels.