More About Synagogues and the First Century Church Congregations

The entry from last week showed how the structure of the first century Christian congregations were based upon the synagogues of the Jews. There's one more way in which they were similar I want to go into.

First, Jesus is never recorded speaking against the synagogue system in general. Synagogues were a phenomenom which came into being between testaments, during the Babylonian captivity, after the destruction of the first temple. It appears fully developed in the gospels. However, he did comment on the hypocrisy of some of those who ran them, that is, Pharisees and scribes. Since Pharisees generally were over synagogues as the Sadduccees were the temple. For instance:

Luke 12:1
1 In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
KJV

Matt 23:1-3
1 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,

2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:

3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
KJV
(A prominent seat in each synagogue, occupied by a "ruler," was referred to as "Moses' seat.")

Matt 23:15
15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
KJV

In fact, Jesus' custom was to attend regularly.

Mark 1:21
21 And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.
KJV

Luke 4:16
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
KJV

John 18:19-21
19 The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine.

20 Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing.

21 Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said.
KJV

And Paul was pretty much the same. Paul's sermon in one of my favorite chapters, Acts 13, took place in the synagogue at Antioch of Pisidia. Here it is, the entire passage. Partly because I believe he has put the entire Gospel into a very concise form. Then, the verse in Acts 18 is during a long stay in Corinth.

Acts 13:14-42
14 But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.

15 And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.

16 Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.

17 The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it.

18 And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness.

19 And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot.

20 And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.

21 And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.

22 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.

23 Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:

24 When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

25 And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.

26 Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.

27 For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.

28 And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain.

29 And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.

30 But God raised him from the dead:

31 And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.

32 And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,

33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.

34 And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.

35 Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:

37 But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.

38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:

39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

40 Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets;

41 Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.

42 And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.
KJV

Acts 18:4
4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.
KJV

And, to reiterate, the structure of the early church modeled the synagogue.

So, what's my primary point today? The individual synagogues were autonomous. Each was independent. And, so, do doubt the churches were too.

This interests me very much because I spent over twenty years in a top-down, hierarchical structure church which they claimed to be "God's government." Really? That evidently wasn't the case in the first century church.

No, the Worldwide Church of God, of which I was a member, ridiculed the Baptists for not following "God's government." Little did they really know.

Since then I've heard from multiple unrelated sources that top-down, hierarchical government was the "doctrine of the Nicolaitans" that Jesus hated. True? I don't know. But I am convinced that it's wrong.