35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!"
38 Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else--to the nearby villages--so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." 39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
One of the most effective sermons I have ever preached was shared ten years ago when I was just beginning to preach. I didn’t expect it to be good because I was tired when I wrote it and tired when I preached it. In fact, I was afraid I was failing the people that day because I thought the sermon wasn’t much good at all.
In the sermon I shared with the folks why I was so tired, all the things that had happened to me that week. A child had died in City Hospital. The parents had no friends, no family, no one. Their doctor asked me to do the funeral. We sat together quietly in the funeral home, looking at the little lifeless body laid in a cardboard coffin. A member of the congregation I was serving as a summer vicar had suffered a near-fatal heart attack and that had taken a lot of attention. I was working forty hours a week in another job. And to top it all off, my car had blown up. I was tired, I told the people, physically, emotionally, and mentally drained and the only thing holding me together was God. I shared with them how God was sustaining me. I told them that if it had not been for God I would have completely fallen apart.
The sermon came together beautifully because everybody there had been that tired sometime in their lives, most of them that very week. They knew what I was talking about because they, too, one time or another, had collapsed in God’s arms for sustaining care. We came together in our common experience of exhaustion and in our shared experience of God’s help. It was precious.
Being tired is something to which we can all relate. So many demands are constantly made on our time, our energy, our selves, that we regularly feel overwhelmed and worn out. Job, home, kids, marriage, other people, hobbies, telephones that keep ringing all the time: we want to shout, with the commercial, "Calgon, take me away!" People go away for a weekend just to get a little rest. Moms lock themselves up in the bathroom just to have a little peace and quiet. We lie in bed in the morning, knowing it’s time to get up and get going but wishing we could just lie there a little longer. Often it seems as though we are tired most of the time.
Our Lord Jesus got that tired also. The demands that were made on him were far greater than anything that is ever asked of us, and he got very, very tired. Mark tells us that one time our Lord Jesus was so tired that "he went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon" (Mark 7:24). Jesus went into a house there to hide, to get away from everybody. He didn’t want anybody to know where he was. But they found out anyway and he was not allowed to rest. Mark further tells us that Jesus was so busy he couldn’t even eat in peace (Mark 6:31). The Lord was a "man of sorrows and acquainted with grief," the One who bore the sicknesses, griefs, and sorrows of the world - the world’s sin - and he was tired.
Today’s Gospel lesson records for us one of those days in our Lord’s life when too much happened in too little time. Our Lord’s day began with a bang and kept on going that way well into the night. It was a sabbath, so Jesus went to the synagogue to worship. His quiet time in that place was shattered by a demon whom he promptly cast out. The people marveled at his power and after the worship they couldn’t stop talking about what had happened. Jesus and his friends went to Peter’s house for lunch. When they got there, they found Peter’s mother-in-law sick with a fever. Giving us all a beautiful example of how to care for mothers-in-law, Jesus healed her. He touched her and took the fever away. News of this healing traveled as quickly as the news of the earlier healing in the synagogue and, combined, they caused all the people of the region to come to Jesus, bringing their sick and those possessed by demons. What was supposed to have been a quiet day of rest for our Lord finally ended when it was dark, and a great number of people, now healed, had been given normal, healthy lives. Then everybody left. It was time to sleep. But not for Jesus. He was too wound up and exhausted, so he went off to a lonely place and prayed.
Our Lord was always tired because the people came to him so much. Leprous, blind, dying, crippled, they all came to him for healing. Remember the story of the man let down through the roof? Jesus was teaching in a house. The crowd was so great already that there was no more room, no way for anybody to get in. So some people peeled back the roof and with ropes lowered their crippled friend right in front of Jesus (John 5:9). Everybody wanted a piece of the Lord. Many came, asking nothing more than to touch the fringe of his garment because those who touched it were made well (Matthew 14:36). Great crowds followed Jesus all the time. He healed them. He fed them. He taught them. He gave them so much of himself that his own family worried about his health. Matthew tells us that the Lord’s mother and brothers once came to take him home, hoping to force him to rest (Matthew 12:46).
The reason the people mobbed Jesus that way was that he was the only One who had ever been able to help them so well. Nobody else ever did the things he did. They knew he was special. Nicodemus spoke the popular opinion when he said, "Teacher, we know that you come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him" (John 3:2). The people knew Jesus was special. He is special because he is God, our only Savior.
When it all got to be too much for Jesus, he went away: Six separate times the Gospels tell us that Jesus went away by himself. He especially liked to go up into the mountains. He went away and prayed. Even on the night before his death, in the closing moments before his arrest, Jesus went to be alone for a while and to pray.
What a beautiful vision of the Lord Jesus this is. He is true God, who has the power to heal all those who were brought to him. And he is true man, who got tired from overwork. He is God with us, able to sympathize with us in our experiences of life.
Like Jesus, we like to get away also when it gets to be too much. It feels good to leave all the pressure behind and go someplace. Unlike Jesus, however, we don’t get as much out of our get-aways as he did because we don’t do with them what he did when he went away. Jesus went away to pray. We just go away.
For our Lord, rest from all the tension of life came through prayer and quiet time with his Father in heaven. Rest came not just from "doing nothing," but from taking all that he had to do and giving it to God. Our rest comes in the same way, when we spend time with God.
Jesus frequently spent all night in prayer. It simply fascinates me that he could give up a whole night’s sleep and still be refreshed in the morning. When I lose a night’s sleep, I am a mess. How did he do it? His rest, his recreation came from God. So often when we are lucky enough to sleep a few extra hours or to have a few extra days off, we are still tired. David learned this fact and prayed, "Return, O my soul, to your rest" (Psalm 116:7).
We need to pray more. The more tired we are the more we need to pray. This means more than just the same old prayers we pray regularly, the mealtime prayers and the prayers we recite from memory. Good as those prayers are we need along with them to pray prayers that open up our lives to God as we give everything to him. Before choosing his disciples, Jesus prayed all night for guidance. Before he asked them, "Who do you say that I am?" he prayed all night. We have been invited by him to pray without ceasing.
Jesus said, "Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). Just as he went to his Father for rest, we will find our rest in him also, in the Father and in our Savior. When we pour out the concerns of our life to him, telling him all that is going on, all that is making us tired, he takes those things away from us and makes the burden his own. Then it doesn’t weigh us down anymore. We need to pray, to "spill out our guts" to God, to share with him our life. When we try to live it alone, without him, all we get is tired.
Jesus prayed. On the cross he prayed. While he was hanging there between heaven and earth, dying to pay for all of our sins and to make us one with God, to open up the way of communication between God and us, he prayed. "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." His last words were a prayer. Jesus gave it all to God and God sustained him. God raised him from the dead and he lives today. He lives in us and calls us to give it all to God also, to pray so that we may finally find rest for our souls also.
And such rest may be found, in Jesus’ name. Amen
While it is still dark and after very little (if any) sleep, Jesus leaves the crowded house to find a solitary place of prayer. Most likely he …
35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!"
38 Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else--to the nearby villages--so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." 39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
Mark 1:35–39 describes Jesus’s itinerant ministry among the small villages along the northwest quadrant of the Sea of Galilee. Mark normally prefers to describe Jesus’s encounters with specific persons and places, but general summaries like verses 35–39 remind readers of the broad reach and expanse of his ministry. Jesus was more than a private teacher and healer: he was a public figure in Galilee. This is the first of three times in Mark when Jesus seeks solitude in order to pray (also 6:46; 14:32–39), each of which is set within a context of either implied or expressed opposition. Here Peter and other, unnamed disciples pursue Jesus and seek to control his movements. The effect, whether intended or not, would prevent Jesus from fulfilling his wider ministry. In 8:32–33 Peter will pose a greater hindrance to Jesus’s ministry. Jesus resists the intrusion of the disciples by reasserting his mission: to proclaim the gospel among the Jewish synagogues and to confront demonic oppression.
Big Idea: Jesus’s ministry of power and authority is universal. He helps every person who comes, and his popularity with the crowds grows in phenomenal ways. However, his desire is not for the plaudits of the people but to proclaim the kingdom truths to everyone.
Understanding the Text
Mark 1:21–38 describes one twenty-four-hour period (from Sabbath morn to Sunday morn). All of this material (including through 1:45) traces Jesus’s ministry to the crowds, who are filled with wonder at each new illustration of his healing power over demons and all kinds of illnesses (1:23–28, 32–34), leprosy in particular (1:41–45). In addition, with each new powerful act, Jesus’s popularity soars. The news spreads after the first miracle (1:28), with “the whole town gathered at the door” (1:33). Jesus tries to get away for a time of prayer and learns that “everyone is looking for” him (1:37). Then, after his final healing miracle, he can no longer enter the towns because people are streaming to him “from everywhere” (1:45). This extreme popularity with the crowds will be contrasted with its polar opposite in 2:1–3:6, his growing rejection by and opposition from the leaders.
Interpretive Insights
1:29 they went . . . to the home of Simon and Andrew. Immediately after the synagogue service in 1:21–28, Jesus proceeds to the “home” where he likely stayed in Capernaum, that of Simon and Andrew (Matt. 8:20 says that Jesus had “no place to lay his head”). As successful fishermen, they had moved from Bethsaida (a short distance away on the other side of the Jordan) to Capernaum, the center of the fishing industry on the northern part of the lake. Their home, obviously large enough for two extended families and Jesus, may well be the one discovered in 1968 by archaeologists in Capernaum. Some see a deliberate contrast between the synagogue in 1:21–28 and the future “house” churches of the Christian movement, but that cannot be proven here.
1:30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever. Simon’s wife is not mentioned here, but 1 Corinthians 9:5 indicates that she often traveled with him (“Cephas”) on his missionary journeys. The fever probably is serious, for his mother-in-law is bedridden (cf. Luke 4:38: “high fever”). It was commonly believed that fever was a divine curse for disobedience (Deut. 28:22: “The Lord will strike you . . . with fever and inflammation”). So this could have been perceived as a spiritual as well as physical problem.
1:31 took her hand and helped her up. In exorcisms Jesus normally uses vocal commands, but in healings he uses touch.1The strength of the healer is transferred to the sick person. Jesus’s power has instantaneous results, proven by the fact that she immediately gets up and begins “to wait on them.” “Wait on” represents the same Greek verb (diakone?) used of the angels “attending” to Jesus in 1:13, and it will become a characteristic term for discipleship and ministry.2
1:32–33 brought . . . all the sick and demon-possessed. The news had spread throughout Capernaum and the surrounding regions, so that by Saturday evening (Sabbath ended at dusk) the crowds engulfed Simon’s home, and the sick were everywhere. The verb “brought” in the Greek text is in the imperfect tense, picturing the people “bringing” the ill much of the afternoon and evening in an ongoing pilgrimage to Jesus the healer.
1:34 he would not let the demons speak. Jesus’s power over the demons was absolute. He cast them out with a modicum of verbiage (every word was filled with power), and he closed the mouths of the demons. This has two purposes: to bind Satan in his house (3:27) by shutting the mouths of demons and casting them out of people, and to keep his messianic nature from the people because they could not understand that in his first coming he is to be a suffering servant rather than a conquering king.
1:35 went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. This may be the same “wilderness” or “desert” (er?mos) where Jesus was tested by Satan (1:12–13), yet it is also a place of solitude where Jesus can gain divine solace in prayer with his Father. There is a contrast between Jesus, who wants to be alone with God, and his disciples, who in 1:36 are attracted to Jesus. This concludes Mark’s portrait of twenty-four hours at the beginning of Jesus’s ministry, and it is appropriate that it ends with prayer.
1:36–37 Everyone is looking for you. The four disciples from 1:16–20 are still with Jesus, and they, as the NRSV puts it, “hunt him down” (katadi?k?), obviously because they are caught up in his popularity. In effect, this becomes the source of a new temptation for Jesus, the path of opportunism and desire for fame. As David Garland points out, “looking for” in Mark always has a negative connotation, describing a search for Jesus with a false purpose.3Here they want spectacular miracles rather than the kingdom truths and the call for repentance. Jesus, however, intends to move in a different direction. The problem with the crowds here in Mark 1 is that they are filled with wonder and follow Jesus everywhere but fail to commit to him. Their desire is for the spectacular miracles but not for the gospel truths. This problem will continue throughout Jesus’s ministry, and at the end the crowds will join the leaders in seeking his death (15:11–15).
1:38–39 Let us go somewhere else . . . so I can preach there also. Jesus’s mission is to “preach” the gospel and call people to repentance (1:15), not to bask in the adulation of the multitudes. He has already proclaimed the kingdom message in Capernaum, and now he wants to take these truths to the villages in the rest of Galilee. This, not Mark 6:7–13, is the first mission tour, and Jesus undoubtedly made several tours (Luke has two [9:1–6; 10:1–17]) in his two-to-three-year messianic ministry. It was a small province (it took only a couple of days to cross it), but visiting the many villages and towns probably would take at least two to three weeks. Mark mentions “driving out demons” for the third time in this chapter (1:25–26, 34, 39), emphasizing Jesus’s ministry of power over the evil forces as proof that the kingdom has arrived.
1:40 A man with leprosy came. Leprosy in the Bible comprises several skin diseases (see Lev. 13–14 [leprosy as we know it, called “Hansen’s disease,” was only one type]) that rendered persons unclean and forced them to be excluded from home and society. They were to stay away from others and call out “Unclean, unclean” when anyone came near (Lev. 13:45–46).
1:41 Jesus was indignant. The majority of the Greek manuscripts as well as quite a few versions (NRSV, NIV [1984], ESV, NLT, NET) have something like “moved with pity/compassion.” However, it is easier to see later scribes copying Mark to replace “indignant” with “compassion,” a much more amenable idea for this context. Therefore, it is slightly better to follow the reading here (so also REB).4Why would Jesus be angry? It is very unlikely that Jesus was unhappy with the man breaking with tradition by approaching him, for he never worried about such issues in his ministry.5In 3:5 Jesus is angry about the “stubborn hearts” of the leaders, and in 10:14 he is indignant because of the disciples’ rejection of children. The case here is unlike either of those and is probably similar to John 11:33, 38, where Jesus is angry at the power of sin and death in this world, specifically the physical, emotional, and social anguish that the person has experienced.
1:43 a strong warning. The “strong warning” is expressed by the Greek verb embrimaomai, indicating a strong emotion, often anger (used in John 11:33, 38), and that is possible in light of the indignation of 1:41. But in the context of the compassionate healing touch, it likely refers to a stern charge, as in the NIV. Jesus demanded obedience, with a hint of strong emotion (“See to it that you obey!”).
1:44 See that you don’t tell this to anyone. Jesus’s “strong warning” to keep the miracle quiet is part of the “messianic secret” described in 1:34 (see the sidebar). He does not want the people to degenerate into a frenzied mob stirred up by the spectacular healing. At the same time, the man cannot keep quiet. He is not ultimately disobedient. He has experienced the hand of God and been healed. One simply cannot remain silent. This is Mark’s point. When Christ has changed your life, you must go public with the incredible joy that you feel.
show yourself to the priest. When Jesus commands the leper, “Be clean!” there is a double meaning, encompassing both the physical healing and the social/religious cleansing that allowed the man to reenter society. Leprosy was the one disease that demanded a ritual ceremony witnessed by the community before the healing could be finalized. It was a complex ritual, an eight-day ceremony that involved offerings presented in the temple (Lev. 14:1–32) and thus a trip to Jerusalem, and as a result it was done “as a testimony” to the people that the formerly leprous person indeed was allowed to resume a normal life. In Mark 6:11 (shaking the dust off one’s feet) and 13:9 (answering charges from hostile officials) there was a negative cast to this “witness,” but here it is not confrontational but rather positive, obeying the regulations of Torah.
1:45 stayed outside in lonely places. This does not mean that Jesus had a “lonely” life. This once more was the “wilderness” area (cf. 1:3–4, 12–13, 35), the place not just of testing but also of divine solace and here of a wilderness ministry like that of Moses or Elijah. The crowds throng to Jesus so greatly that he cannot visit the towns, since there will not be enough room for “the people coming from everywhere” to see him. He has to minister out in the open spaces, so great is his popularity. Thus ends the first cycle of his ministry to the crowds, and the stage is set for the opposite reaction from the leaders.
Theological Insights
Here Mark traces Jesus’s growing popularity with the crowds. Although the world is characterized by rebellion and rejection, the gospel is not powerless, and a significant number of people will respond and be drawn to the power of God in Jesus. Jesus makes himself available to the crowds and prioritizes his time to be with them. The compassion of God for the lost is quite evident here. Finally, those touched by Jesus join him in proclaiming the grace and mercy of God; they cannot keep quiet once they have felt the hand of God in Jesus.
Teaching the Text
1. Jesus needed time alone with his Father. Jesus was the God-man, fully God as well as fully human. If God-of-very-God needed time for prayer and fellowship with his Father, how much more do we finite believers desperately need time in prayer. Prayer is more than intercession, more than an activity whereby we ask God to do things for us and for others. Too many Christians are like their children, only going to Mom or Dad when they want something. Their prayers mainly involve giving God a grocery list of things that they want him to give them. For Jesus (and it should be the same for us), prayer was communion, a time to be alone with his Father and to bask in his presence and love.
2. Jesus centered on his kingdom mission and did not seek popularity with the crowds. He never sought fawning crowds of people who would make him the latest entertainment. He was totally unlike all too many well-known preachers of our day who seek the limelight. His desire was not for fame but for the proclamation of the gospel. He wanted conversion more than crowds. At the same time, he used his popularity to heal all who came to him, to meet their every need, physical as well as spiritual. His compassion was universal. The hurts and ailments of people had absolute priority, even over the rituals and traditions of his Jewish roots. That is the message for the church today: reach out to people in their spiritual and physical deficiencies with the compassion of Christ, care more for people than for “success,” and tell people what they need rather than what they want to hear.
3. When our life has been touched by Jesus, we must tell others about it. As part of his desire to keep his messianic nature secret, Jesus commanded the leper to tell no one. But that was not possible. Mark does not describe the man’s failure to comply as an act of disobedience; rather, it is the natural result of the joy he felt when Jesus healed him and he could return home. When we are excited, we cannot keep quiet. This is the best basis for evangelistic outreach. Far better than putting guilt on people for failing to witness to Christ, we need to get them excited about what Christ (and our church) is doing in their lives. Then witnessing will be natural rather than forced.
Illustrating the Text
To follow Jesus means to be committed to him.
Theological Book: Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis. As we see in the Gospels, many people became curious about Jesus because of his miracles and authoritative teaching. But sadly, many refused to follow him. In his book Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis argues that given the claims that Jesus made about himself, he was either a liar (“the Devil himself”; his claims were intended to deceive and lead astray), a lunatic (his claims were false, but he believed them), or Lord (“this man was, and is, the Son of God”).6If the claims of Jesus and the Bible are true, then he is Lord and demands our full commitment. Do your life choices reflect your belief that Jesus is Lord?
Jesus had a deep prayer life.
Quote: Martin Luther. A common excuse offered by people who do not pray consistently is that they are too busy. Martin Luther is credited with saying, “I have so much to do that if I didn’t spend at least three hours a day in prayer, I would never get it all done.” It appears from Mark that Jesus embodies similar priorities. After what must have been an exhausting day of ministry, Jesus arises early the next morning to pray. If prayer was a priority for Jesus, it should be for us as well. Through prayer we center on God’s will and purpose for our lives, enabling us to make clear life choices.
In Gen. 3 the serpent entices humankind to sin. Not until Rev. 12:9 are we told explicitly that the serpent is Satan.
In the OT, “evil spirit” may be a heavenly being sent by God (1 Sam. 16:14 23; 18:10; 19:9; cf. 1 Kings 22:22–23). The OT engages in extensive rebuke of the superstitions of the surrounding nations that included belief in demons (Deut. 32:17; Ps. 106:37; perhaps Isa. 13:21; cf. Rev. 18:2).
Jesus’ encounter with the devil in the wilderness recalls Adam and Eve’s encounter with the serpent in Eden. The setting, significantly, is now a wasteland. The second man to walk the earth with no sin claims the right to take back the dominion that Adam passed to the serpent. Jesus can have the whole world (without the cross) if only he will submit to the devil’s rule (Luke 4:5–7). Jesus rejects the offer. Later, he sees Satan’s fall from heaven to earth (Luke 10:18; cf. Rev. 12:5–12). Whereas once the devil had access to God’s courtroom, now his case is lost. His only recourse is murderous persecution. Between the ascension of the Son of Man (Acts 1:9) and the final judgment, this is understood to be the experience of Christ’s people (Dan. 7:25; Rev. 12:17; cf. 1 Pet. 5:8).
Whereas the OT provides sparse information about Satan and his angels/demons, the NT opens with an intensity of activity. Demons are also called “evil spirits,” and they are associated with physical illness, madness, and fortune-telling. In Acts 17:22 Paul describes his pagan Athenian listeners as “demon-fearers” (NIV: “religious”). Jesus’ miracles demonstrate his lordship over Satan’s regime as the demons flee in terror before him (Mark 1:23–26; 5:1–15). According to Paul, Christians are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19), and John urges believers to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1 John 4:1), assuring them that they need not fear Satan or his forces, “because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4). On judgment day Satan will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14–15) along with all of God’s enemies.
A broad designation for certain regions in Israel, typically rocky, although also plains, with little rainfall. These areas generally are uninhabited, and most often “wilderness” refers to specific regions surrounding inhabited Israel. A fair amount of Scripture’s focus with respect to the wilderness concerns Israel’s forty-year period of wandering in the wilderness after the exodus (see also Wilderness Wandering).
More specifically, the geographical locations designated “wilderness” fall into four basic categories: the Negev (south), Transjordan (east), Judean (eastern slope of Judean mountains), and Sinai (southwest).
The Negev makes up a fair amount of Israel’s southern kingdom, Judah. It is very rocky and also includes plateaus and wadis, which are dry riverbeds that can bloom after rains. Its most important city is Beersheba (see Gen. 21:14, 22 34), which often designates Israel’s southernmost border, as in the expression “from Dan to Beersheba” (e.g., 2 Sam. 17:11).
Transjordan pertains to the area east of the Jordan River, the area through which the Israelites had to pass before crossing the Jordan on their way from Mount Sinai to Canaan. (Israel was denied direct passage to Canaan by the Edomites and Amorites [see Num. 20:14–21; 21:21–26].) Even though this region lay outside the promised land of Canaan, it was settled by the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh after they had fulfilled God’s command to fight alongside the other tribes in conquering Canaan (Num. 32:1–42; Josh. 13:8; 22:1–34).
The Judean Desert is located on the eastern slopes of the Judean mountains, toward the Dead Sea. David fled there for refuge from Saul (1 Sam. 21–23). It was also in this area that Jesus was tempted (Luke 4:1–13).
The Sinai Desert is a large peninsula, with the modern-day Gulf of Suez to the west and the Gulf of Aqaba to the east. In the ancient Near Eastern world, both bodies of water often were referred to as the “Red Sea,” which is the larger sea to the south. In addition to the region traditionally believed to contain the location of Mount Sinai (its exact location is unknown), the Sinai Desert is further subdivided into other areas known to readers of the OT: Desert of Zin (northeast, contains Kadesh Barnea), Desert of Shur (northwest, near Egypt), Desert of Paran (central).
Wilderness is commonly mentioned in the Bible, and although it certainly can have neutral connotations (i.e., simply describing a location), the uninhabited places often entail both positive (e.g., as a place of solitude) and negative (e.g., as a place of wrath) connotations, both in their actual geological properties and as metaphors. The very rugged and uninhabited nature of the wilderness easily lent itself to being a place of death (e.g., Deut. 8:15; Ps. 107:4–5; Jer. 2:6). It was also a place associated with Israel’s rebellions and struggles with other nations. Upon leaving Egypt, Israel spent forty years wandering the wilderness before entering Canaan, encountering numerous military conflicts along the way. This forty-year period was occasioned by a mass rebellion (Num. 14), hence casting a necessarily dark cloud over that entire period, and no doubt firming up subsequent negative connotations of “wilderness.” Similarly, “wilderness” connotes notions of exile from Israel, as seen in the ritual of the scapegoat (lit., “goat of removal” [see Lev. 16]). On the Day of Atonement, one goat was sacrificed to atone for the people’s sin, and another was sent off, likewise to atone for sin. The scapegoat was released into the desert, where it would encounter certain death, either by succumbing to the climate or through wild animals.
On the other hand, it is precisely in this uninhabited land that God also showed his faithfulness to his people, despite their prolonged punishment. He miraculously supplied bread (manna) and meat (quail) (Exod. 16; Num. 11), as well as water (Exod. 15:22–27; 17:1–7; Num. 20:1–13; 21:16–20). God’s care for Israel is amply summarized in Deut. 1:30–31: “The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”
The harsh realities of the wilderness also made it an ideal place to seek sanctuary and protection. David fled from Saul to the wilderness, the Desert of Ziph (1 Sam. 23:14; 26:2–3; cf. Ps. 55:7). Similarly, Jeremiah sought a retreat in the desert from sinful Israel (Jer. 9:2).
Related somewhat to this last point is Jesus’ own attitude toward the wilderness. It was there that he retreated when he could no longer move about publicly (John 11:54). John the Baptist came from the wilderness announcing Jesus’ ministry (Matt. 3:1–3; Mark 1:2–4; Luke 3:2–6; John 1:23; cf. Isa. 40:3–5). It was also in the desert that Jesus went to be tempted but also overcame that temptation.
The northern region of Israel. Determining the region’s precise boundaries is difficult, but in Jesus’ time it appears to have encompassed an area of about forty-five miles north to south and twenty-five miles east to west, with the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee forming the eastern border. Josephus divides the region into Upper and Lower Galilee. Upper Galilee contains elevations of up to about four thousand feet and is composed mostly of rugged mountains, while Lower Galilee reaches a maximum height of about two thousand feet and is characterized by numerous fertile valleys. Lower Galilee was the site of most of Jesus’ ministry.
Galilee appears several times in the OT (e.g., Josh. 20:7; 1 Kings 9:11; 1 Chron. 6:76). It was part of the land given to the twelve tribes (Josh. 19). Since Galilee was distant from Jerusalem, which played the most prominent part in Jewish history, much of its history is not mentioned in the OT. Many of the references that do occur are military references, such as Joshua’s defeat of the kings at the waters of Merom (Josh. 11:1 9) and the Assyrian removal of the northern kingdom of Israel (Isa. 9:1). However, its great beauty, particularly of mountains such as Carmel, Hermon, and Lebanon, was the source of numerous images and metaphors in the poetic and prophetic literature (e.g., Ps. 133:3; Isa. 33:9; 35:2; Jer. 46:18).
Galilee figures more prominently in the NT. Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and conducted much of his early ministry there. Luke specifically identifies Galilee as the place where Jesus’ ministry began before spreading to Judea (Luke 23:5; Acts 10:37). Galilee is also portrayed as the place where Jesus will reunite with his disciples following the resurrection (Mark 16:7) and where he gives them the Great Commission (Matt. 28:16–20).
(1) One of the original twelve apostles (Matt. 10:2), also called “Peter.” Simon Peter was the brother of Andrew and a fisherman by trade (Matt. 4:18). (See also Peter.) (2) The Zealot, one of the original twelve apostles (Matt. 10:4). (3) One of the brothers of Jesus, along with James, Joseph, and Judas (Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3). (4) A leper who lived in Bethany. In his house the precious bottle of ointment was poured upon Jesus in preparation for his burial (Matt. 26:6). (5) A man from Cyrene who carried Jesus’ cross on the way to crucifixion (Matt. 27:32). (6) A Pharisee who invited Jesus for a meal (Luke 7:40). Jesus was anointed with ointment in his house. He perhaps is the same individual as in Matt. 26:6. (7) The father of Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus (John 6:71). (8) A sorcerer who believed the gospel and was baptized. However, he became enamored with the miraculous power of Philip and with the ability of the apostles to impart the Holy Spirit, and he offered them money to give him that ability (Acts 8:9 25). (9) A tanner with whom Peter stayed in Joppa before traveling to the house of Cornelius (Acts 9:43).
The period of the day beginning at sunrise and often described as a time of great activity, such as embarking on a journey (Gen. 44:3), initiating a battle (Judg. 9:33), offering sacrifices (Amos 4:4), starting to work (Matt. 20:1), and meeting with God (Exod. 34:2–4; Mark 1:35; cf. Ps. 55:17). Morning is a time of joy (Ps. 30:5), though some may express this joy more loudly than others (Prov. 27:14).
A transliteration of the Greek word synagōgē, meaning “gathering, assembly, meeting.” In English, the word “synagogue” refers either to a Jewish congregation or to the place where that congregation meets. Synagogues of the biblical era functioned as both religious and civic centers for the Jewish community.
Origins
The origin of synagogues is uncertain. The earliest archaeological evidence is from Egypt in the third century BC, consisting of inscriptions and a papyrus letter. The oldest architectural find is from the island of Delos in the Aegean Sea, although whether this was constructed as a synagogue or redesigned into one is unknown, as is whether it was Jewish or Samaritan. The oldest structures yet found in Israel consist of two rooms at Qumran and the synagogue at Gamla, which date from the late first century BC. In Capernaum, the basalt synagogue was built by a Gentile centurion for the community in the first century AD (Luke 7:1–5).
By that time, synagogues were well attested in Israel, elsewhere in the Roman Empire, and in Egypt (Matt. 4:23; Luke 4:44; Acts 9:2; 17:10, 16–17; 18:8, 19). Synagogues were found wherever there were communities of Jews, in cities and rural areas alike. Especially in Diaspora settings or remote locations, they were the heart of Jewish life. Several hypotheses have been suggested to account for their apparently sudden appearance.
Some believe that synagogues were developed during the Babylonian captivity as the response of the exile community to the destruction of their temple and sacrificial system. Despite these enormous losses, the Jews still had the Torah, and from that point forward worship and prayer based on the reading and studying of the Scriptures, which could be done locally, began to gain ascendancy. Critics of this idea, however, point out that while it makes sense, there is no direct evidence to support it.
Others think that the spread of Hellenism in the second century BC precipitated a crisis of identity among Jews. For example, 1 Maccabees reports with distress that some Jews had abandoned the covenant and teamed with the Hellenists, even going so far as to build a Greek-style gymnasium in Jerusalem (1:11–15). Thus, the thought is that synagogues were a form of resistance to the overwhelming and perversely appealing cultural changes of the day.
More recently, it has been suggested that synagogues were the gradual successors to functions that had previously taken place at city gates. First-century synagogues served a wide range of functions for the community. Throughout Israel’s prior history, however, these same activities—assembly, legal, social, educational, and religious—had taken place at the city gate (Deut. 12:15; 2 Sam. 15:2; 2 Kings 23:8; Neh. 8:1–8). The Gamla synagogue sits against the east city wall next to a probable gate, and its location could be evidence of the slow development of the synagogue as city gates changed from multipurpose facilities to portals of ingress and egress.
First-Century Synagogues
First-century synagogues served as integrated centers supporting Jewish life. Regular communal reading and exposition of Scripture, including teaching and discussion of the law and transmission of its complex associated traditions (Luke 4:16; Acts 13:14–15), occurred there. Although formal liturgical rites evolved after the destruction of the temple in AD 70, synagogues were places of prayer in the first century (Matt. 6:5). Synagogues also served as courtrooms and places where crimes were punished (Acts 22:19), as well as locations for common meals and festivals (see Acts 6:2).
Synagogues were administered by local community leaders, including a president and a board (Acts 13:15). Synagogue leaders named in the NT include Jairus (Mark 5:22; Luke 8:41), Crispus (Acts 18:8), and Sosthenes (Acts 18:17). The role of the leader was to preside over services, to rule as the judge in court cases, to represent the community, and often to act as a patron. The board served in an advisory role and assisted with teaching. A scribe maintained community records and taught.
Congregations included Pharisees, who advocated strict adherence to the law, although they were chided by Jesus for their false piety (Luke 11:42–44). Women participated in the synagogue along with the men, and in some cases they were financial donors (cf. Luke 8:3). God-fearing Gentiles were welcomed (Acts 17:17). In Jerusalem, synagogues included both Hebrews and Jews from the Diaspora (Acts 6:1, 9).
A synagogue could be a designated room in a house or a discrete building. Most of the better archaeological evidence is later than the first century and reveals more clearly religious intentionality in design than may have been characteristic earlier. This evidence includes the door facing Jerusalem, artistic temple motifs, a niche for the Torah scrolls, and perimeter bench seating around an open central hall.
The Synagogue in the Bible
Since synagogues were institutions with a documented history no earlier than the third century BC, they are not mentioned in the OT. The Greek word from which the English one is derived does appear frequently in the LXX, but always with a general reference to a gathering, assembly, or meeting.
Rabbinic history (but not Scripture) makes reference to the “Great Synagogue,” meaning a group of men who transmitted traditions from the prophets to the earliest named rabbinic teachers. It is loosely based on Neh. 8–10, which describes the prayers and actions of the Jewish leaders who had returned from exile.
Synagogues frequently were locations of the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus. He began preaching the kingdom of God, teaching, and performing healing miracles in Galilean synagogues (Matt. 4:23; 9:35; 12:9; 13:54; Mark 1:21–29, 39; 3:1; 6:2; Luke 4:15–38, 44; 6:6–11; 13:10–17; John 6:59; 18:20). Later, the apostle Paul customarily initiated his mission work in the local synagogue at each of his destinations (Acts 9:19–20; 13:5, 14–15; 14:1; 17:1, 10, 17; 18:1–8; 19:8).
The last (and, from a twenty-first-century perspective, most controversial) use of the word “synagogue” in Scripture is the difficult phrase “synagogue of Satan” (Rev. 2:9; 3:9), which must be read in its context. This was written in response to the significant persecution in Asia Minor of the churches at Smyrna and Philadelphia by Jews who were in collusion with the Roman authorities. They were falsely accusing Jewish and Gentile Christian believers, creating unspeakable suffering for them. This phrase, intended to encourage Christian perseverance, implies that the churches in view represented true Israel, while their accusers were false Jews. Similar language was used by the covenant-keeping community in Qumran when, in the DSS, it referred to apostate Jews as a “congregation of Belial” and an “assembly of hypocrites” (1QHa 10:22; 15:34).
Twilight before sunrise (Gen. 19:15; Job 3:9; cf. Prov. 4:18). People typically slept from dusk to dawn (but see Judg. 19:25; 1 Sam. 14:36), beginning activity at sunrise (Judg. 16:2; Neh. 4:21; Dan. 6:19). The psalmist and Jesus pray before dawn (Ps. 119:147; Mark 1:35). Jesus was raised from the dead before dawn (Mark 16:2), making the time a symbol of the resurrection (2 Pet. 1:19).
This prayer, found but not named as such in Matt. 6:9–13; Luke 11:2–5 (see also Did. 8.2, which follows the Matthean version), is a version of the Jewish Qaddish prayer revised around the theme of the kingdom of God and is a paradigmatic model of prayer given by Jesus to his followers.
Jesus and Prayer
Prayer was a key element of Jewish piety and devotion to God. It was a large part of meetings in synagogues, annual festivals, worship in the temple, and daily recitals of the words of the law. Jesus is remembered as withdrawing into lonely and desolate places for times of prayer (Mark 1:35; 6:46), most poignantly in the garden of Geth-semane (Mark 14:32–42 pars.). Jesus’ time in the wilderness probably was a time of prayer and fasting as well (Mark 1:12–13 pars.). Besides the Lord’s Prayer, another prayer of Jesus celebrates God’s revelation to the disciples after their short itinerant mission (Matt. 11:25–26 // Luke 10:21).
The evangelist Luke emphasizes Jesus at prayer more than any other Gospel writer. Luke’s Gospel portrays Jesus as praying at his baptism (3:21), prior to his selection of the Twelve (6:12–13), prior to Peter’s confession of him as Messiah (9:18), at his transfiguration (9:28–29), prior to his teaching on the Lord’s Prayer (11:1), for Peter (22:32), and twice while on the cross (23:34, 46). Jesus also taught much about prayer, concerning how his disciples are or are not to pray and how to show genuine devotion in the kingdom community without hypocrisy (Mark 11:24–25; Matt. 5:44 // Luke 6:28; Matt. 6:5–8; Luke 11:5–13; 18:1–14; 21:36).
In the Fourth Gospel, Jesus’ prayers underscore the unique nature of the relationship between the Father and the Son (John 11:41–42; 12:27–28). Jesus’ high priestly prayer for the disciples concerns their preservation and the role of the Holy Spirit in their lives (17:1–26). A distinctive characteristic of Jesus’ prayers is that God is addressed by the Aramaic word abba (“father”), and this became common in early Christian worship (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6).
The Lord’s Prayer: Matthew and Luke
The Lord’s Prayer takes distinct forms in Matthew and in Luke (see table 2). The differences in the two prayers might be attributable to Jesus teaching two different versions. More likely, Matthew and Luke both knew the prayer from a common source (written or oral), and Matthew’s version is a more liturgical elaboration of Luke’s shorter and more “original” version. Matters are complicated somewhat by the fact that later Christian scribes had a propensity for harmonizing the two prayers and sometimes amended them in their respective manuscripts. Both prayers agree that (1) God is the Holy Father, (2) the kingdom is yet to come in its fullness, (3) followers of Jesus depend on God for their daily provisions, (4) followers of Jesus depend on God for forgiveness, (5) which is reciprocated in the forgiveness of others, and include (6) the supplication that God not let them fall into the final tribulation.
Table 2. The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew and Luke
Matthew 6:9-13….Luke 11:2-4
Our Father in heaven,….Father,
hallowed be your name,….hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,….your kingdom come.
your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven….
Give us today our daily bread….Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,….Forgive us our sins,
as we also have forgiven our debtors….for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation,….And lead us not into temptation.
But deliver us from the evil one….
For your is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. [added in some later manuscripts; see NIV mg.]….
The Lord’s Prayer: The Petitions
The prayer can be broken up into a number of petitions. First is the petition addressed to God as Father and self-sanctifier. God is invoked as Father, and his name represents both his character as a loving father and his authority as the master over all creation. The prayer is theocentric, and it reads literally “let your name be sanctified,” which is a plea that God’s holiness will become more and more evident. The Lord’s Prayer is not some kind of “I want” list, but rather a burst of praise expressing the hope that God’s sheer goodness and Godness will be acknowledged by all.
The second petition is for God to finally establish his kingdom. The “kingdom of God” is more akin to God’s reign, rule, or government. It is referred to rarely in the OT (e.g., Dan. 2:44; Obad. 21); much more prominent is the theme of God as “king.” In many of the psalms God already is king of Israel and the nations (e.g., Pss. 93–99), and yet the prophets could look forward to the day when Yahweh would again show himself to be king precisely through his deliverance of Israel, which would be the ultimate expression of the kingly power (e.g., Isa. 52:7; Zech. 14:9). The prayer for the coming of the kingdom of God is a prayer for God to establish his reign or rule in its final and full manifestation on earth. Although the kingdom was partially present during Jesus’ ministry by virtue of his exorcisms and healings (e.g., Mark 1:15; Luke 11:20), it still awaits its final consummation. Matthew’s version has “on earth as it is in heaven” and may indicate a millennial view of the kingdom as supplanting earthly kingdoms, resulting in the transformation of the present age. The petition does not promote escapism from the world but rather points toward its eventual redemption and transformation by the glorious power of heaven becoming a reality upon the earth.
Third is the petition for daily provision of physical needs. The “daily bread” petition looks to God as the provider and caregiver of his people. Elsewhere in the Sermon on the Mount/Plain, Jesus preaches dependence on God as a means of escaping the worry and lure of wealth and money (Matt. 6:25–33 // Luke 12:22–34). Bread was a powerful symbol for sustenance and life (e.g., Prov. 22:9; Lam. 2:12; John 6:35, 48; Sir. 29:21; 34:25). The petition assumes that God is interested in the most mundane aspects of human existence, and that he gives what is needed, not always what is wanted. God sustains his people in their hour of need as proof of his fatherly care and compassion.
Fourth is the petition for divine forgiveness in coordination with mutual forgiveness among the community of Jesus’ followers. The prayer does not ask God to forgive persons who then in turn forgive others; rather, in reverse, the prayer implies that God forgives in the same way that humans forgive each other (Matthew) or on the basis of humans forgiving each other (Luke). The role of mutual forgiveness within the new covenant community is spelled out clearly by Paul in Colossians: “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Col. 3:13).
Fifth is the petition to be spared eschatological tribulation and the malevolence of Satan. The word peirasmos can mean “testing,” “trial,” “temptation,” or even “tribulation” or “ordeal.” The prayer could constitute a plea for help in the face of personal trials and struggles in the believer’s life and in the journey of discipleship (e.g., 1 Cor. 10:13; James 1:2), or it could denote a request to be kept from the eschatological ordeal that will precede the final and full establishment of the kingdom of God (e.g., Mark 14:36, 38; Rev. 3:10). Importantly, what is feared in this prayer is not experiencing the peirasmos but rather succumbing to it—the fear of failure. In addition, the prayer asks to be delivered from ho ponēros, “evil,” or (more likely) “the evil one” (cf. Matt. 5:39)—that is, the devil or Satan. God tests his people to strengthen them and prove their faithfulness, while Satan tempts people to subdue and destroy them. This prayer acknowledges the fragility and helplessness of the human state in the face of human, spiritual, and cosmic evil. The prayer seeks liberation from evil in the coming reign of God’s eschatological kingdom.
The Lord’s Prayer: The Theology
The theological framework, ethical exhortation, and social dynamics created or presupposed by the prayer are as follows.
First, God is the Father of the followers of Jesus. This is axiomatic in the Gospels and is repeated by the Christian prayer that addresses God the Father as “Abba” (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6).
Second, an overarching importance is attached to the kingdom of God as the context in which all prayer is prayed. The tension of the prayer—the very fact of needs and the threat of continuing perils—exists only because God’s plan to restore Israel and renew creation has not yet been put into full effect. God’s kingdom has broken into the world through the work of the Son of God and the giving of the Holy Spirit, and yet it still awaits a final consummation, when God is “all in all” (1 Cor. 15:28) and finally repossesses the world for himself. The prayer presupposes the “now” and the “not yet” of God’s saving action and balances prayers of triumph and lament in light of current temptations and the coming victory of God.
Third, in this prayer salvation not only is spiritual (understood as going to heaven when one dies) but also involves the physical well-being of a person and healthy relationships within the believing community. Just as God is concerned with physical human needs, so should humans be with their fellow humans. If human beings forgive, then God also forgives them. Human relations are to mirror the values of heaven and the vision of the kingdom.
Fourth, the world order currently exists in partial subjugation to evil powers opposed to God’s rule, which is simply part of the dire situation of “this age.” The prayer presupposes an apocalyptic worldview characterized by dualism (God/Satan, good/evil, present/future, etc.), the necessity of encountering and persevering against evil, and divine intervention to put the world order right and replace it with the kingdom of God.
Fifth, discipleship involves a variety of traits and characteristics. This prayer depicts the disciple as trusting and as exhibiting faith in God’s purpose and plan. The prayer presumes that disciples cling to God in dependence upon him in their day-to-day need. The prayer assumes that disciples try to imitate God in reflecting goodness, love, holiness, and peace in their respective communities. The prayer also admonishes endurance in the face of trials and persistence (not repetitiveness) in the discipline of prayer.
Sixth, although the prayer does not have an explicit Christology, one can be found implicitly. It seems implied that Jesus is a mediator between the Father and the disciples, and that he possesses an important role in the final manifestation of the kingdom. It is, after all, the disciples of Jesus who are promised a special place in the kingdom and a special relationship with the God of Israel.
Summary
The Lord’s Prayer has remained a common thread in the devotional life of followers of Jesus for two millennia because it is simple, memorable, poignant, and yet profound. It is not the prayer of an elite few; it belongs to all who cry out to God as Father and see the way to God in Jesus Christ, the exalted Lord and Messiah of Israel. As teachings of Jesus hold immeasurable significance for the life, faith, praxis, and service of his followers, this prayer encapsulates a motif of Jesus’ own mission: God as king and the love of God for his own people.
On several occasions Jesus commanded demons or individuals to refrain from announcing his identity or making known a miracle that he performed. These commands to keep silent are found in Luke and Matthew, but more frequently in Mark (1:25, 34, 44; 3:12; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26, 30; 9:9). Since Jesus came to reveal himself as Israel’s true Messiah, these prohibitions against the public proclamation of his identity and certain miracles that he performed are puzzling. This feature in Mark’s Gospel has been called the “messianic secret.” Several examples are as follows:
Mark 1:24–25: Jesus silenced an evil spirit that identified him as the “Holy One of God.”
Mark 1:34: Jesus prohibited demons from speaking because they knew who he was (see also 3:12).
Mark 1:44: Jesus commanded a leper whom he healed not to tell anyone.
Mark 5:43: Jesus commanded those present at the healing of Jairus’s daughter not to tell anyone.
Mark 7:36: After healing a deaf and mute man, Jesus ordered those present not to tell anyone.
Mark 8:30: When Peter confessed Jesus to be the Christ, Jesus commanded him not to tell anyone.
Mark 9:9: After the transfiguration, Jesus commanded Peter, James, and John not to tell anyone what they saw until after his resurrection.
Several explanations have been proposed concerning the motive behind the so-called messianic secret and the commands to keep silent. One interpretation, proposed by William Wrede in 1901 in his book The Messianic Secret, attempted to explain why Jesus was not accepted as the Messiah during his earthly ministry. Wrede argued that Jesus never conceived of himself as the Messiah. Rather, the early church designated him as such after the resurrection. Thus Mark, writing for the church, fashioned his Gospel, inserting these passages to make it appear that Jesus privately taught the disciples that he really was the Messiah, even though he prohibited this proclamation in public. Others have proposed that Mark was actually attempting to soften Jesus’ claims to be the Messiah.
There are, however, better explanations of why Jesus sometimes instructed individuals not to broadcast his identity or tell of a miracle that he performed. In each case or context the reason for silence is probably slightly different. A frequent explanation is that Jesus did not want to encourage false messianic expectations. Many Jews imagined the Messiah to be a political and/or military figure who would deliver the nation from its Gentile oppressors. Most Jews did not expect or welcome a suffering Christ. From God’s perspective, hailing him as Messiah while rejecting or being ignorant of his redemptive plans would have been counterproductive to his purpose. In light of this, some interpreters maintain that the veil of secrecy was lifted as Jesus neared Passion Week (Mark 10:47–48; 12:6–7; 14:62).
A second reason for silence, regarding those cases where demons proclaimed his identity, was that God had sovereignly chosen men and women to be his witnesses, not wicked spirits. Even in the cases where demonic announcements concerning Jesus were accurate, their advertisement surely would skew the character of the message and hinder its reception.
Third, Jesus withheld further revelation of his identity and messianic power from those who were rejecting his claims (Matt. 13:16; Mark 4:24–25).
Fourth, miracles sometimes conjured up the wrong kind of faith. Multitudes sought miracles without embracing the Messiah (Mark 1:32–38; John 6:2, 14–15, 26).
Fifth, sometimes Jesus’ prohibitions against identifying him were disobeyed, and in most cases the command to silence did not hinder the amazement and wonder at what had taken place (Mark 1:27, 45; 5:42; 7:36–37). This inability to keep quiet regarding who Jesus was and what he did reinforced the uniqueness of his identity and emphasized how remarkable the Messiah and his miracles were.
Finally, an overly zealous response to Jesus endangered his purpose of completing his earthly ministry according to God’s timetable. This is most clearly stated in John’s Gospel (2:4; 7:6, 8, 30; 8:20; 12:23, 27; 13:1; 16:32; 17:1). Jesus needed to fully proclaim his message to the nation and prepare his disciples before his death (Mark 1:38). A premature arrest and trial would have defeated this purpose.
A transliteration of the Greek word synagōgē, meaning “gathering, assembly, meeting.” In English, the word “synagogue” refers either to a Jewish congregation or to the place where that congregation meets. Synagogues of the biblical era functioned as both religious and civic centers for the Jewish community.
Origins
The origin of synagogues is uncertain. The earliest archaeological evidence is from Egypt in the third century BC, consisting of inscriptions and a papyrus letter. The oldest architectural find is from the island of Delos in the Aegean Sea, although whether this was constructed as a synagogue or redesigned into one is unknown, as is whether it was Jewish or Samaritan. The oldest structures yet found in Israel consist of two rooms at Qumran and the synagogue at Gamla, which date from the late first century BC. In Capernaum, the basalt synagogue was built by a Gentile centurion for the community in the first century AD (Luke 7:1–5).
By that time, synagogues were well attested in Israel, elsewhere in the Roman Empire, and in Egypt (Matt. 4:23; Luke 4:44; Acts 9:2; 17:10, 16–17; 18:8, 19). Synagogues were found wherever there were communities of Jews, in cities and rural areas alike. Especially in Diaspora settings or remote locations, they were the heart of Jewish life. Several hypotheses have been suggested to account for their apparently sudden appearance.
Some believe that synagogues were developed during the Babylonian captivity as the response of the exile community to the destruction of their temple and sacrificial system. Despite these enormous losses, the Jews still had the Torah, and from that point forward worship and prayer based on the reading and studying of the Scriptures, which could be done locally, began to gain ascendancy. Critics of this idea, however, point out that while it makes sense, there is no direct evidence to support it.
Others think that the spread of Hellenism in the second century BC precipitated a crisis of identity among Jews. For example, 1 Maccabees reports with distress that some Jews had abandoned the covenant and teamed with the Hellenists, even going so far as to build a Greek-style gymnasium in Jerusalem (1:11–15). Thus, the thought is that synagogues were a form of resistance to the overwhelming and perversely appealing cultural changes of the day.
More recently, it has been suggested that synagogues were the gradual successors to functions that had previously taken place at city gates. First-century synagogues served a wide range of functions for the community. Throughout Israel’s prior history, however, these same activities—assembly, legal, social, educational, and religious—had taken place at the city gate (Deut. 12:15; 2 Sam. 15:2; 2 Kings 23:8; Neh. 8:1–8). The Gamla synagogue sits against the east city wall next to a probable gate, and its location could be evidence of the slow development of the synagogue as city gates changed from multipurpose facilities to portals of ingress and egress.
First-Century Synagogues
First-century synagogues served as integrated centers supporting Jewish life. Regular communal reading and exposition of Scripture, including teaching and discussion of the law and transmission of its complex associated traditions (Luke 4:16; Acts 13:14–15), occurred there. Although formal liturgical rites evolved after the destruction of the temple in AD 70, synagogues were places of prayer in the first century (Matt. 6:5). Synagogues also served as courtrooms and places where crimes were punished (Acts 22:19), as well as locations for common meals and festivals (see Acts 6:2).
Synagogues were administered by local community leaders, including a president and a board (Acts 13:15). Synagogue leaders named in the NT include Jairus (Mark 5:22; Luke 8:41), Crispus (Acts 18:8), and Sosthenes (Acts 18:17). The role of the leader was to preside over services, to rule as the judge in court cases, to represent the community, and often to act as a patron. The board served in an advisory role and assisted with teaching. A scribe maintained community records and taught.
Congregations included Pharisees, who advocated strict adherence to the law, although they were chided by Jesus for their false piety (Luke 11:42–44). Women participated in the synagogue along with the men, and in some cases they were financial donors (cf. Luke 8:3). God-fearing Gentiles were welcomed (Acts 17:17). In Jerusalem, synagogues included both Hebrews and Jews from the Diaspora (Acts 6:1, 9).
A synagogue could be a designated room in a house or a discrete building. Most of the better archaeological evidence is later than the first century and reveals more clearly religious intentionality in design than may have been characteristic earlier. This evidence includes the door facing Jerusalem, artistic temple motifs, a niche for the Torah scrolls, and perimeter bench seating around an open central hall.
The Synagogue in the Bible
Since synagogues were institutions with a documented history no earlier than the third century BC, they are not mentioned in the OT. The Greek word from which the English one is derived does appear frequently in the LXX, but always with a general reference to a gathering, assembly, or meeting.
Rabbinic history (but not Scripture) makes reference to the “Great Synagogue,” meaning a group of men who transmitted traditions from the prophets to the earliest named rabbinic teachers. It is loosely based on Neh. 8–10, which describes the prayers and actions of the Jewish leaders who had returned from exile.
Synagogues frequently were locations of the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus. He began preaching the kingdom of God, teaching, and performing healing miracles in Galilean synagogues (Matt. 4:23; 9:35; 12:9; 13:54; Mark 1:21–29, 39; 3:1; 6:2; Luke 4:15–38, 44; 6:6–11; 13:10–17; John 6:59; 18:20). Later, the apostle Paul customarily initiated his mission work in the local synagogue at each of his destinations (Acts 9:19–20; 13:5, 14–15; 14:1; 17:1, 10, 17; 18:1–8; 19:8).
The last (and, from a twenty-first-century perspective, most controversial) use of the word “synagogue” in Scripture is the difficult phrase “synagogue of Satan” (Rev. 2:9; 3:9), which must be read in its context. This was written in response to the significant persecution in Asia Minor of the churches at Smyrna and Philadelphia by Jews who were in collusion with the Roman authorities. They were falsely accusing Jewish and Gentile Christian believers, creating unspeakable suffering for them. This phrase, intended to encourage Christian perseverance, implies that the churches in view represented true Israel, while their accusers were false Jews. Similar language was used by the covenant-keeping community in Qumran when, in the DSS, it referred to apostate Jews as a “congregation of Belial” and an “assembly of hypocrites” (1QHa 10:22; 15:34).
