An Atheistic Bible Study Of The Gospels Jesus And The Synagogues

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We think of Christians going to churches but in the time of Jesus there was no such thing as a church. Formal organized worship of God took place in the open air or in the Jewish synagogues. Christ is often referred to himself as Rabbi, he was circumcised and he makes multiple visits to the synagogues of Jerusalem and Capernaum. The central Temple of Jerusalem is not a synagogue though it undoubtedly contained one or more synagogues within the vast structure, Temple strictly refers to the section of the Jerusalem Temple-centre containing the actual house of God, at one time the Ark Of The Covenant, taken from the Jews at some stage during the struggles with their enemies and outside of the Indiana Jones movies, never seen again. Strictly speaking, only priests and members of the Levite tribe had permission to directly enter the central Temple. There are actually no synagogues in the Old Testament at all. The Jewish people are still in Jerusalem as the Old Testament ends, just before their long Babylonian exile and enslavement begins. Liberated, in a period known as the Diaspora (dispersal), the Jews were torn between returning to Jerusalem (in Israel) and settling in other towns, cities and communities, mainly at first those ruled by the Babylonian and later, part of the rising Roman occupation. Jesus rises in importance in Galilee, among descendants of Jews who chose to live near but not in Jerusalem, with occasional forays into Jerusalem. He visits many independent synagogues as well as the main Jerusalem Temple building itself (though not the central temple which would be closed to him. There were many synagogues and Jesus getting to lead services in several of them was not a recognition of divine status. Any Jewish man who wished could take his turn and address the gathered people. Jesus made use of this to preach his message and also offered healing to the disabled, maimed and seemingly possessed among the people attending. Synagogues were usually built on the highest ground available in a town or city, and though many now face towards Jerusalem, those near Jerusalem did not in the time Jesus is believed to have lived. Local caretakers (misleadingly called rulers) kept order and discipline among often unruly crowds. Boring, or blasphemous speakers often angered the crowd into becoming a rabble, as happened to Jesus from time to time. Boys as young as thirteen were encouraged to address the congregations, as Jesus did in his youth. While priests ran the temple services they were just equals among the other men in the synagogues and often a captive audience for Jesus even when he criticised the priests, Pharisees and Sadducees. The synagogues were used as schools, social clubs and community centre all week, with more formal prayer services conducted on the Sabbath. After the Crucifixion, the Apostles and other early Christians continued to use the synagogues until conflict with the mainstream Jewish groups drove them off to establish themselves as a competing splinter movement. Arthur Chappell