At Synagogue With Jesus / Part 2

Note: In the previous post I mentioned the priest who enters and leads the congregation in the benedictory prayers. This would have been a member of the Levitical priesthood. In our service I had the priest also lead the congregation in the Shema, then being seated and replaced by Jairus who was the ruler of the synagogue of Capernaum in Jesus's day. Jairus, then, would have continued the service. However, according to some ancient sources, the priest may have only led the benedictory prayers and one of the rulers of the synagogue may have replaced him at that point to lead in the Shema and beyond.

Jairus ascends the platform as we watch. He walks now, not to the lectern to face the congregation, but rather toward the ark at the innermost part of the room. He faces it and begins pronouncing the eulogies. Here is the first:

"Blessed be the Lord our God and the God of our fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; the great, the mighty, and the terrible God; the Most High God, who shows mercy and kindness, Who creates all things, Who remembers the gracious promises to the fathers, and brings a Savior to their children's children, for his own Name's sake, in love. O King, Helper, Savior, and Shield! Blessed are You, O Jehovah, the Shield of Abraham."

And all the people respond, "Amen." Then Jairus continues:

"You, O Lord, are mighty for ever; You, who make alive the dead, are mighty to save. In your mercy You preserve the living; You bring to life the dead; in Your abundant pity you bear up those who fall, and heal those who are diseased, and loose those who are bound, and fulfill your faithful word to those who sleep in the dust. Who is like unto You, Lord of strength, and who can be compared to You, Who kills and makes alive, and causes salvation to spring forth? And faithful are You to give life unto the dead. Blessed be You, Jehovah, Who brings the dead to life!"

Again, the congregation responds, "Amen." Jairus speaks again:

"You are holy, and Your Name is holy; and the holy ones praise You every day. Selah! Blessed are You, Jehovah God, the Holy One!"

The congregation again responds with an "amen."

Note:  At this point stop and consider the passage in Luke 4 where Jesus begins his public ministry in the synagogue at Nazareth where he grew up.  Luke records that the scrolls were brought to Jesus and that Jesus read a passage from Isaiah and then preached a sermon.  We are not yet that far into our service here, but Edersheim points out that often, when a guest reader and teacher (like Jesus would have been that day in Nazareth) was present, that many times he also would have been the one to pronounce the eulogies recorded above.  Luke 4 is just one instance in Jesus's ministry.  The gospels record that it was Jesus's practice to teach and preach in all the synagogues.  Now go back up to those three eulogies above and read them again, this time imagining that it is Jesus himself who is repeating them to the congregation.  He, himself, is the fulfillment of and answer to those prayers!  It's amazing when you think about it.  Only to have been there!

Now Jairus turns and faces the congregation and an invitation is extended for members of the congregation to come forward and offer their own prayers.  The respondents would only have been men who were properly clothed and it is unclear whether the prayers would have been pre-written or offered extemporaneously.  At any rate, this may have gone on awhile.  Note Jesus's warnings about the Pharisees in Mark 12 and other places when he mentions how for "a pretense (they) make long prayers."  This would have been the time for that.

When this is finished, Jairus steps forward again, faces the ark, and offers this:

"Take gracious pleasure, O Jehovah our God, in Your people Israel, and in their prayers.  Accept the burnt-offerings of Israel, and their prayers, with Your good pleasure; and may the services of Your people Israel be ever acceptable unto You. And oh that our eyes may see it, as You turn in mercy to Zion!  Blessed be You, O Jehovah, Who restores his Shechinah to Zion!"

And all the people respond, "Amen."  Then again:

"We praise You, because You are Jehovah our God, and the God of our fathers, for ever and ever.  You are the Rock of our life, the Shield of our salvation, from generation to generation.  We laud you, and declare Your praise for our lives which are kept within your hand, and for our souls which are committed unto You, and for Your wonders which are with us every day, and Your wondrous deeds and Your goodnesses, which are at all seasons--evening, morning, and mid-day.  You gracious One, Whose compassions never end; You pitying One, Whose grace never ceases--for ever do we put our trust in You!  And for all this Your Name, O our King, be blessed and extolled always, for ever and ever!  And all living bless You--Selah--and praise Your Name in truth, O God, our Salvation and our Help.  Blessed are You, Jehovah; Your Name is the gracious One, to whom praise is due."

"Amen," from the congregation.  Then, finally:

"Oh bestow on Your people Israel great peace, for ever; for You are King and Lord of all peace, and it is good in Your eyes to bless Your people Israel with praise at all times and in every hour.  Blessed are You, Jehovah, Who blesses His people Israel with peace."

Again, the congregation agrees with an "amen."

Next comes the meat and potatoes of the service and we shall describe that in a subsequent post.  But before we do that, stop and consider how full of praise are the prayers and how God-centered the focus thus far has been.  Keep in mind that this is not Scripture.  In other words, in the synagogue service we do not find God's exact commands for how a worship service should be conducted.  We are simply observing how it was done by others who lived at a time of great tragedy and yet of expectancy.  Note how Messianic the prayers are.  How do our prayers compare?  How similar or how different is the focus?  Is that necessarily good or not?  Could our prayers and our worship be more pleasing to God?  Should we be open to that?