The Temple and Synagogues in Jesus’ Day

The Temple and Synagogues in Jesus’ Day

Joseph R. Shell

Averett University
0720; REL 102
Mark Nickens, Ph.D.

April 13, 2013

The Temple and Synagogues in Jesus’ Day
Introduction
The scriptures show that Jesus visited both the Temple and Synagogues of his day (Nickens, 2011). The purpose of this paper is to provide background and explain the purpose of the Temple and Synagogues that existed in Jesus’ day. A layout of the Temple and a description of its different areas will also be included.
The Temple The Temple is building where divine beings are worshiped. God told Israel to build him a temple and worship him there. He rewarded them by showing up there in Spirit. In the New Testament, God’s people, not a building, are the temple. This is because the Holy Spirit lives within the hearts of those who follow Christ (Follow the Rabi, n.d.). However, the Temple of Jesus’ day was the ancient center of Jewish worship where sacrifices were performed. From the time Solomon had it built in 957 BCE to its destruction by the Romans in 70 CE, this was where sacrifices and other religious rituals were performed. This first Temple was partially destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE and rebuilt in 516 BCE. All that is left of the Second Temple is the Wailing Wall, also known as the Western Wall or the Kotel. This is actually part of the retaining wall, not a wall of the building itself. The Temple was located on a platform above and behind this wall; it is as close to the Temple sanctuary as Jews can go now that a Muslim shrine, called the Dome of the Rock, occupies the site (Rich, 2012). During Jesus’ day, Jews were spread throughout many areas in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Jerusalem remained their spiritual center even though they were in different areas of the ancient world. The Temple of Herod, which was located in Jerusalem, was truly the spiritual center of Judaism during Jesus’ day; although Synagogues grew in importance during this time. The three major pilgrimage feasts required by the Law of Moses: the Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles and all sacrifices were performed in the Temple (Satterfield, n.d.). Traditional Jews eagerly wait for the day that the Messiah returns and the Temple is rebuilt. However, modern Jews reject the idea of rebuilding the Temple and resuming previous customs such as presenting sacrifices. These modern Jews treat their houses of worship as their Temple, believing that the Temple will never be rebuilt (Rich, 2012).
The Synagogues Synagogues are Jewish buildings, which are similar to some modern-day church buildings. They are the most important Jewish institution outside of the Temple. The word comes from the Greek synagein, which means to bring together. This is a Greek word rather than the traditional Hebrew because there is no Hebrew equivalent. There are no documents that describe exactly when worshiping in synagogues began; however, general consensus is that synagogues originated during the Babylonian Exile, which began in 586 B.C. Because the Jewish people were deprived of the Temple, Jews would meet from time to time to read the scriptures. This was during the first century C.E., most likely after the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 A.D. After that time the synagogue emerged as a well established institution and the center of the social and religious life of the people (Rich, 2012). Several Gospels mention Synagogues; and archeological evidence of a synagogue in Gamla supports the idea that by the time Jesus ' ministry began a synagogue was in most towns of Galilee. Synagogues were placed in prominent places highly elevated above the town. This symbolized the importance of living under God. Outside each synagogue was a ritual bath called a mikveh. Worshipers would stop here to symbolically cleanse their hearts before entering the synagogue (Follow the Rabi, n.d.). Inside the synagogue benches, called chief seats, lined three sides of the room. This is where important people would sit. People who were not important sat on the dirt or flagstone floor. Speakers and readers would stand on a small platform called the bema where a small menorah most likely stood. The Seat of Honor, also called Moses’ Seat, was reserved for the Torah readers. The Synagogues sometime had a special closet, called the Holy Ark, where the Torah scrolls and the writings of the prophets were kept (Follow the Rabi, n.d.). The Synagogues developed first as a local meeting place, a place where people could gather and read the scriptures and discuss them together. By Jesus’ time, the regular reading of scriptures had become the central part of the synagogue service. The synagogue was also used for lessons of bible teachers and rabbis. The Scriptures tells of Jesus being asked to read in the Synagogue in his home town of Nazareth when he returned there for a visit. The apostles used synagogues as a starting point for missionary activities. Synagogues in Jesus’ day were important because they provided one of the key ways the gospel spread in the earliest years of the church. When apostles arrived in new communities, they would go to synagogues and ask to speak. As known apostles, they would then present Jesus as the Messiah and begin His local outreach. This sometimes resulted in many people believing in Jesus. In contrast, often the apostles’ practice of teaching in the synagogues led to persecution (Got Questions Ministries, 2013). The Tempe was located in Jerusalem, a city with a population estimated at 100 to 200 people. However, during Jewish holy days the population swelled to approximately one million Not only did the city have to make room for the people, it also had to accommodate their sacrificial animals until time of slaughter. Herod, the Roman governor of Jerusalem, created a huge courtyard around the temple. The Temple sat at the top of Mount Moriah, so large retaining walls were created to form a platform, which expanded the top of mountain. This platform was approximately the size of six football fields. The retaining walls are approximately five meters thick and the stones weigh from two to 400 tons. They are marvelously engineered without mortar, yet they are so closely aligned that a single sheet of paper cannot fit between them. These retaining walls were the height of a typical 20 story building. It is a mystery how these walls were actually constructed because most modern equipment could not handle stones of that size. The Temple took only three and a half years to get to be significantly built yet final construction would last some 20 years longer (Cohney, 2013).
Temple Layout Below is an illustration of the parts of the Temple Mount, which includes the increasing areas of holiness as you move in toward the Holy Place, which is the Temple building itself.

Source: Bible-history.com

Below is a description of the callouts in the illustration above: The Golden Gate – This is the Eastern Gate to the Temple and it is also the gate that Jesus entered through. It was used to give access to the Temple courtyards through the Kidron Valley. Because Jews do not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, nor do Muslims, in 1530 A.D. the gate was sealed to prevent the Messiah from entering. However, the sealing of the gate was prophesied by Ezekiel in the New Testament (Herod’s Temple Illistration, n.d.). Porticos – These are the magnificent porches of the outer courts. Here Jesus was seen at age twelve and again in his thirties during the Feast of the Dedication when he was teaching the multitudes (Herod’s Temple Illistration, n.d.). The Court of the Gentiles – So called because they Gentiles, or non-Jews, were allowed only as far in the Temple area as this. Jews were permitted to kill any Gentile who trespassed past this area. It is here that Paul, one of Jesus’ apostles, yet also a Roman, was beaten by an angry crowd for trespassing. This is also the area that Jesus chases away the money-changers who were making money off the people visiting the Temple (Herod’s Temple Illustration, n.d.). The Court of Israel – This court was open to Jewish laymen and is located east of the Women’s Court (Herod’s Temple Illustration, n.d.). The Alter of Sacrifice – This area is located inside the Court of the Priests and could be seen from far away. It is where animal sacrifices to God were made by the Jewish people. The Holy Place – This was the true Sanctuary of the Temple. It had three distinct areas; the Porch, where the showbread was placed; the Hall, where the Golden Alter stood; and the Holy of Holies, where only the High Priests could enter, once per year on their Day of Atonement (Herod’s Temple Illustration, n.d.). Antonia’s Fortress – This was Herod’s palace fortress, where Jesus was tried before Pontius Pilate (Herod’s Temple Illustration, n.d.). The Court of the Priests – This was the innermost court where the court of the burnt offering stood. Only the Priests and Levites who served in the Temple were allowed to enter this area, and only after ritual cleansing (Herod’s Temple Illustration, n.d.). The Women’s Court – This was as far as women were allowed into the Temple. It was also where Jesus witnessed a widow put her last two coins in the Treasury (Herod’s Temple Illustration, n.d.).
Conclusion
Whether one believes in the Bible or not, there is no doubt a magnificent structure once existed in Jerusalem. Remains of this massive structure are still being uncovered today. This structure was the center of Jewish worship and it complimented the smaller Synagogues where Jews could worship and learn about God.

References

Cohney, S. (2013). The Second Temple at the Time of Jesus. The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. Retrieved from: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/secondtempletimeofjesus.html

Follow the Rabi (n.d.). Synagogues of Jesus’ Time. Retrieved from: http://followtherabbi.com/world/encyclopedia/article/synagogues-of-jesus-time

Got Questions Ministries (2013). What is a synagogue? Retrieved from: http://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-a-synagogue.html

Herod’s Temple Illustration (n.d.). Retrieved from: http://www.bible-history.com/jewishtemple/JEWISH_TEMPLEHerods_Temple_Illustration.htm

Nickens, M. (2011). The Temple and Synagogues. Retrieved from: http://www.christiantimelines.com/templesynagogues.htm

Rich, T. (2012). Judaism 101. Retrieved from: http://www.jewfaq.org/shul.htm

Satterfield, B. (n.d.). Jerusalem and the Temple of Herod. Brigham Young University, Idaho. Retrieved from: http://emp.byui.edu/SATTERFIELDB/Rel211/TEMPLE.html

References: Cohney, S. (2013). The Second Temple at the Time of Jesus. The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. Retrieved from: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/secondtempletimeofjesus.html Follow the Rabi (n.d.). Synagogues of Jesus’ Time. Retrieved from: http://followtherabbi.com/world/encyclopedia/article/synagogues-of-jesus-time Got Questions Ministries (2013). What is a synagogue? Retrieved from: http://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-a-synagogue.html Herod’s Temple Illustration (n.d.). Retrieved from: http://www.bible-history.com/jewishtemple/JEWISH_TEMPLEHerods_Temple_Illustration.htm Nickens, M. (2011). The Temple and Synagogues. Retrieved from: http://www.christiantimelines.com/templesynagogues.htm Rich, T. (2012). Judaism 101. Retrieved from: http://www.jewfaq.org/shul.htm Satterfield, B. (n.d.). Jerusalem and the Temple of Herod. Brigham Young University, Idaho. Retrieved from: http://emp.byui.edu/SATTERFIELDB/Rel211/TEMPLE.html