The Religious Authorities

[00:00:00] Then last week we spoke about the jewish background. And we spoke of the two main streams of jewish life. [00:00:09] That we call, on the one hand, the Hellenists or the dispersion. That is all those Jews that were scattered throughout the whole of this area and even wider. And the Hebrews, the Jews who returned to the Homeland and remained in the homeland. And we were saying last week that those Jews of the homeland. Were by nature much more conservative, much more cautious. [00:00:40] They were really the puritans of the Old Testament era. And they were divided into three main parties. You will remember them. The Pharisees, the Sadducees and. And the Essenes. Now, last week we spoke about the Pharisees. You will remember that they were a party who came out of a group called the Hasidim. That grew up after the return from the exile. And were called the Hasidim, or the pious ones. [00:01:16] They wanted to preserve the purity of God's word. And to keep the purpose of God from becoming hellenized or corrupted by gentile influences. Later on, this movement, the pious, the Hasidim, split into two main wings. And one wing we dealt with last week. That was the Pharisee and the zealots. The zealots became a small, powerful pressure group, a small political party. We have. One of the apostles was one of them, Simon the zealot. They were the cause of many uprisings. Because they believed they were to be used by God. To overthrow the Romans and cast off the Roman yoke. They believed in military force, physical force, to achieve the will and purpose. [00:02:14] The larger group of this first wing of the Chassidim we call the Pharisees, the separatists, they were not so political as the zealots. [00:02:29] They bothered themselves more to do with religious and spiritual matters. And they were very, very concerned about the keeping of the law. And as time went on, they felt that the oral law. That is the tradition of the elders, that is all that the elders down through the centuries have ever said about the law. Was as important as the law given by God. And, in fact, they got to such a pitch. That they felt that the tradition was even more important than the written law. In fact, some rabbis have actually said, and it's in the Talmud. That if a man speaks against the tradition, it is worse than speaking against the law. [00:03:12] That's how far it got. So, of course, it meant that the law of God, the first five books of the Bible. Were, in fact, buried under a morass and welter of interpretations. [00:03:30] Which only the Pharisees could untangle and spent their lives seeking to untangle. We shall deal, in fact, with those who talked about it. It was said by one rabbi that if it were possible, one of these days the Pharisees will make the son obey their purification laws. [00:03:56] That's how far they had got. They felt that everything had to be purified. And it got to such a place that someone said that one day they'll get even the sun to obey their laws and join them. Now that's really the Pharisee. Of course, the Pharisee was known in public. He wore VeRY Long fringes to his garments. You know, in the Old Testament. It spoke about fringing one's garments. And around the neck, hemming it at the bottom. They were known for their very big fringes. They made a very big, showy fringe. Show everyone. They were keeping the law, you see. Great big fringes, long garments. They also wore what they call phylacteries. That's little, long, round things. They used to wear one normally here, between the eyes and the forehead. And one on the palm of the hand. Back of the hand tied on. When they put the shawl on in the synagogue before worship. First they put the shawl on. Then they put the hand phylactery on. Then they put the head phylactery on. This phylactery has a certain amount of scripture that was copied out. So now you know what a flattery is. [00:05:09] Some people evidently didn't quite know what it was. We'll explain that perhaps other times later. When we come to deal with it in our studies. In the New Testament, anyway. The Pharisees are often blackened and maligned. And should not be. Because in church history. The very characteristics of the Pharisees have reappeared again and again and again. What were those characteristics? Finally, it began off as a purist movement. In other words, a separatist movement. To keep free and clear of gentile, unclean, worldly influences. It ended up as something whose characteristics were formalism, legalism. And were more concerned about the outward than the inward, the ritual and the spiritual. And this has happened again and again and again in church history. And evangelicals are certainly by no means those who can get away with the charge that they have become pharisaical. We ourselves can be charged often with Pharisees. [00:06:16] So be careful before you accuse. Now we can read Matthew, chapter 22, verse 15. Now, from this verse 15 right the way through to the end of chapter 23. We have all these groups except the Essenes mentioned. And it is very interesting if you go away and read it. Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might ensnare him in his talk. And they sent to him their disciples with the herodium, saying, teacher, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, and carest not for anyone, for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us, therefore, what thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, why make ye trial of me, ye hypocrites? Show me the tribute money. They brought unto him a denarius. And he saith unto them, whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them. Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. And when they heard it, they marvelled and left him and went away. On that day there came to him sadducees, they that say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him, saying, teacher, Moses said, if a man die having no children. His brother shall marry his wife and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us seven brethren. And the first married and deceased. And having no seed, left his wife unto his brother, in like manner, the second also, and the third unto the 7th, and after them all the woman died in the resurrection. Therefore, whose wife shall she be of the 7th? For they all had her. But Jesus answered and said unto them, ye do err not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as angels in heaven, but as touching the resurrection of the dead. Have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living? When the multitudes heard it, they were astonished at his teaching. But the Pharisees, when they heard that he put the sadducees to silence, gathered themselves together. And one of them, a lawyer, a scribe, that is, asked him a question, trying him, teacher, which is the great commandment in the law. And he said unto him, thou shalt love the Lord thy God. With all thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the great and first commandment. The second lie come to it is, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments, the whole law hangeth, and the prophets. Now, while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, what think ye of the Christ, whose son is he? They say unto him, the son of David, he saith unto them, how then doth David in the spirit call him Lord? Saying, the Lord said unto my lord, sit thou on my right hand till I put thine enemies underneath thy feet. If David then calleth him lord, how is he his son? And no one was able to answer him a word. Neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions. [00:09:36] Then spake Jesus to the multitudes and to his disciples, saying, the scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses seat. All things. Therefore, whatsoever they bid you, these do and observe. But do not ye after their works, for they say and do not. Yea, they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne and lay them on men's shoulders but they themselves will not move them with their finger, but all their works they do to be seen of men. For they make broad their phylacteries and enlarge the borders of their garments. And love the chief place at feasts and the chief seats, and the synagogues and the salutations in the market places. And to be called men rabbi. But be not ye called rabbi. For one is your teacher, and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father on the earth, for one is your father, even he who is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters, for one is your master, even the christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled. And whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted. But woe unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites. Because ye shut the kingdom of heaven against men. For ye enter not in yourselves. Neither suffer ye them that are entering in to enter. Woe unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites. For ye compass, sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he has become so, ye make him twofold more a son of hell than yourselves. [00:11:06] Woe unto you, ye blind guides, that say, whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing. But whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor, he fools and blind. For which is greater the gold or the temple that hath sanctified the gold? And whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing. But whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it? He is a debtor, ye blind. For which is greater the gift or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? He, therefore that sweareth by the altar sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And he that sweareth by the temple, sweareth by it, by him that dwelleth therein. And he that sweareth by the heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. Woe unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites. For ye tithe, mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith. But these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone, ye blind guides that strain out the gnat and swallow the camel. Woe unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites. For ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full from extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the platter, that the outside thereof may become clean also. [00:12:29] Woe unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites. For ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness. Even so, ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but inwardly ye full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites. For ye build the sepulchres of the prophets and garnish the tombs of the righteous and say, if we had been in the days of our fathers, we should not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye witness to yourselves that ye are sons of them that slew the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye offspring of vipers. How shall ye escape the judgment of hell? [00:13:29] Well, now, this evening we want to go straight on with our study in the background of the jewish. [00:13:39] Of the jewish people in the 400 years before the Lord Jesus end of the New Testament. And I want to start this evening immediately with this second main party of the Hebrews in the homeland. And that is the party we call the Sadducees. Now, the Sadducees were never the numerous and popular movement that the Pharisees became. [00:14:08] We find them very much in the gospel record. For instance, we have read together in that chapter 22, verse 23. On that day there came to him Sadducees. [00:14:24] They were almost completely comprised of wealthy, upper class and aristocratic people. [00:14:34] And membership was not open to all people. Now, membership of the pharisaical party was open to the people of the land. Anyone could become a Pharisee, providing he passed the very strict and severe membership tests. You or I could have become a Pharisee if we'd been living in those days. But you and I could not have become a sadducee. That is, unless we belonged to wealthy upper class or aristocratic families. It was a kind of closed shop. It was only open to those who had the correct family pedigree of line, of wealth and influence behind them. The high priestly families were completely Sadducey. And many of the priestly families were sadducees. Originally, the Sadducees were the hellenized aristocracy of the land. Now, you remember how we talked about the way that the whole of the inhabited world became hellenized after Alexander the Great overthrew the persian empire in 331 BC. [00:15:53] After that, the whole world adopted Greek as their common language and greek customs, greek ideas, greek thought, greek culture. [00:16:05] Now, in the promised land in Palestine, as we call it, they of all peoples, withstood the advance of hellenism. [00:16:16] But not the more upper class people. [00:16:20] They were drawn irresistibly to hellenism. Greek culture, greek thought, greek traditions and ideas and customs appealed to them. And indeed, somehow you weren't with it unless you were, somehow or another, hellenized. [00:16:41] Now, many of the more aristocratic families in the homeland of Judea became hellenized. And it was these hellenized upper class families that from which emerged the Sadducees. [00:17:04] And they emerged at the same time as the Pharisees. Just about the same time as the Pharisees came into being as a distinct party. So the Sadducees came into being as a distinct party. That is, in the maccabean period, in the latter part of the second cEntury. B. See, on the whole, the Sadducees were rationalists, refusing to accept the oral law or the traditions of the elders. They were very, very firm and authoritative in this matter. They absolutely refused to accept that the traditions of the elders. All these interpretations, down through the centuries of various people, were, in fact, authoritative at all. And were even to be considered as the word of God, or having vital and influential bearing upon our understanding of the word of God. Now, as I have said, the Pharisees, on the other hand, put the oral law, the interpretation of the law by the elders of the scribes, down through the centuries above the law. [00:18:15] So this was one of the main dividing points between the Sadducee and the Pharisee. The Sadducee believed in the law of Moses. Implicitly, that is, the first five books, Genesis, exodus, Leviticus, numbers and deuteronomy. And anything that could not be proved from those five books was not to be believed in necessarily. It was certainly no part of the Creed. It wasn't fundamental or essential if you couldn't prove it from those five books. Of the first five books of the Bible, the law, they did not believe in a future life or in a future judgment, nor did they believe in the resurrection, nor did they believe in angels or demons and many other things. They were rationalists. Now, the Sadducees had a very bad time of it, especially with the early church. And when you begin to understand the Sadducee party, you begin to see some of the humor. Sometimes people tell me that humor is not in the Bible. But Luke certainly had a great sense of humor, both in his gospel and in his history of the early church, the Book of acts. And that's where you begin to see it when you understand the background. For instance, think what an awful time the Sadducees had when you turn to acts, chapter four, verse one. And as they spake unto the people, the priests and the captain, the temple and the sadducees came upon them, being sore troubled because they taught the people and proclaimed in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them and put them in ward unto the morrow. For it was now even tied. Now when you turn over the page to chapter five and verse 17, but the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him now the high priest's sadducees, which is the sect of the Sadducees, and they were filled with jealousy and laid hands on the apostles and put them in public ward. But an angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors and brought them out and said, go ye and stand and speak in the temples of people all the words of this life, what a dreadful shock for the Sadducees. The person they crucified rose from the dead, and they spent their time trying to stamp out this whole thing. And secondly, they found that angels began to do things. But of course, the angels just didn't exist as far as sadducees were concerned. It was all very troubling. And then acts, chapter 23, where we've got one of the sort of perhaps more remarkable insights into the temperament and character of the apostle Paul. I once heard a Bible teacher explained this as really rather wrong of Paul. [00:21:27] You know, this is one of the weaknesses of Paul. But still, in many ways it's extremely amusing. Chapter 23 and verse six. Of course, if you don't understand the Sadducees and the Pharisees, you don't understand what this chapter is about. [00:21:42] When Paul perceived that one part, that is, of the Sanhedrin were Sadducees. And the other Pharisees, he cry out in the council, brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. Touching the hope and resurrection of the dead, I am called in question. And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. And the assembly was divided. For the sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit. But the Pharisees confess both. And then arose a great clamour. And some of the scribes of the Pharisees part stood up and strove, saying, we find no evil in this man. And what if a spirit hath spoken to him or an angel? And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing this Paul, should be torn in pieces by them. Commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them and bring him into the castle. That was rather naughty of Paul. But if you understand the whole situation, you understand what had happened. The Sadducees and the Pharisees were diametrically opposed in every way. On the one hand, you got a party who believed in the resurrection of the dead. In future life, future judgment. In angels, demons, spirits. On the other hand, you have a party who did not believe in a future life. Or angels or spirits, or a future reward. They believe in the law. The first five books, Moses. And they said, anything you can't prove from that is suspect. [00:23:17] Even the prophets. [00:23:20] And I'm talking now about the jewish division of the Old Testament, the prophets, which includes all our historical books, so called. And all our prophetic books, the prophets, even the prophets, the Sadducees looked upon as mere commentary. And not as inspired and authoritative as the law. [00:23:42] The Sadducees also believed in free will. [00:23:47] And this meant that they were diametrically opposed. To their more calvinistic friends, the Pharisees. [00:23:55] The Pharisees believed in predestination and fatalism. They were almost fatalistic. What will be, will be. What God has willed happens. But the Sadducees believed in the free will of the individual to a point of excess. He even believed that all good and evil was determined by man. [00:24:20] In later rabbinical writings, the Sadducees were always looked upon as heretical as a party. They influenced the roman governorship very greatly. For they were the upper wealthy aristocratic classes with influence. [00:24:41] They also controlled the temple, you see. Because they were the high priestly families. And because most of the priestly families belonged to the Sadducee party. They controlled the temple and its services and its worship. They also controlled the Sanhedrin. Being the sort of upper crust in this. What we would call today the jewish house of parliament. The Sanhedrin, the great assembly, the great court. From the beginning, there was a natural antipathy, as I no doubt you have guessed, between the Sadducees and the Pharisees. Not to be wondered at at all. But it is no and remarkable that Sadducees and Pharisees completely forgot their differences. And united in plotting the death of Christ as one party. They came together at the trial of Jesus Christ. And they were absolutely one in all the events that led up to the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you turn to John, chapter 18, verse three. We read this. [00:26:04] Judas then. Having received the band of soldiers and officers. From the chief priests and the Pharisees. Now, whenever you read in the New Testament the phrase chief priest, the chief priests, you know that is a prayer phrase concerning the sadducees. The Sadducees and the Pharisees. Remarkable, isn't it? You turn back to Matthew, chapter 27 and verse 62. [00:26:34] Matthew 27, verse 62. Now, on the morrow, which is the day after the preparation. The chief priests and the Pharisees were gathered together unto Pilate, saying, sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, after three days, I will rise again. [00:26:57] So you've got this remarkable unity between the Sadducee and the pharisee. Now, last week I told you that Nicodemus, Joseph of Aramisia, Gamaliel, saul of Tarsus. Were the noblest that we know of the Pharisees in the New Testament. Now, of the sadducees, UNFORtunately, we don't know of anyone who was noble. [00:27:26] Noble in character, that is, in the new testament. Maybe some were in became Christians. There must have been sadducees who became christians. But the ones we do know are caiaphas, the high priest. Who sadducees. And annas, his FATHER in law. These are the two that stand out in the New Testament record as sadducees. Now, there was a third party amongst the Hebrews in the homeland. And this party is called the esses. [00:28:02] This party grew up at the same same time as the Pharisees time and the sadducees. And shared with the Pharisees the same source. It was the chassidim, the pious, that broke into two wings. You remember the Pharisee and the zealots on the one side and the other. The purely spiritual, the Essians, these people who known to us as the Essenes, they arose. [00:28:33] The formation of their party came about probably because they could not accept the political settlement after Antiochus epiphanes persecution, which gave the high priesthood and the governorship to what we know as the Hasmoneans. Now, that may not mean a lot to you just now, but when we one of these weeks, we shall take the history of the period and it'll all mean a good deal more to just remember it. Anyway. The fact is that the Essenes did not accept or like the fact of this settlement that was made. They felt the Hasmoneans were, in fact a compromised, defiled party, a compromised, defiled group. [00:29:26] They could not accept it. Therefore they withdrew from public life as a righteous remnant. [00:29:34] A righteous remnant. A people prepared for the coming of the Lord. These were the words they used. A people prepared for the Lord. [00:29:44] Whenas both Pharisees and Sadducees were within public life, the Essenes believed in a complete set separation and withdrawal from public life. They entirely disagreed with the Sadducees, believing that the temple and its worship was polluted and compromised by their presence. That was because they'd become hellenized. They felt the whole thing was terrible. [00:30:12] Nor did they feel that the Pharisees were right, although they called themselves separatists, in that they worshipped with the multitude. You see, although the Pharisee was very careful about who he had to take. And when they did have someone to tea who was a sinner or a non fallacy, they even sometimes gave them special clothes to wear so that the house wouldn't become defiled or polluted. The fallacy was nevertheless part and parcel of public life. He went along to the synagogue, he went along to the temple. But the Essene felt they couldn't do it. They felt both temple and synagogue were defiled, defiled by these hellenising gentile influences and by these things that had crept into what they felt to be the work of God. [00:30:58] Therefore, they felt the only answer was to completely withdraw from the whole thing. In other words, we got history repeating itself. We have here the first exclusives in history. [00:31:15] They felt that they had got to become exclusive. They've got to exclude all these other forces and anyone who was bound up with these other forces too, in order to keep themselves pure and separate before God. They were in fact, a strange paradox. [00:31:37] In many ways. They were more legal and exhausted acting than the Pharisees. And that's saying something, believe me. When you remember that the Pharisee. Tithe, anise and Cummin and mint. Which you can hardly see. [00:31:53] They were more legal and exacting in many ways than the Pharisees. And yet, at the same time. The Essenes reacted against the formalism and legalism of the Pharisees. And went right to the other end. [00:32:10] And stressed and emphasized. The mystic, inward, spiritual view of everything. Most remarkable paradox. As we have said. They went much farther than the Pharisees. Believing in complete separation. Involving withdrawal from public life. They built exclusive, highly organized communities. Completely self supporting. And withdrew into them. [00:32:43] And membership into those communities was very severe indeed. It was at least a three years trial. Before you could actually get in. And then another two year period. Before you actually became a full blooded member. Of an as seen community. [00:33:09] They renounced money, took no oaths. Held all property. In common. Were pacifists, vegetarians. And normally celibate. [00:33:24] Though not always required. And they were against slavery. Now you may smile. But in actual fact, that's most remarkable. [00:33:33] They were centuries before their time. In some things. People had never heard of. Pacifists. [00:33:39] Not heard in one way. Of people who were for the abolition of slavery. Most remarkable. These communities were in actual fact, of course. Naturally. One wonders whether they attracted cranks. [00:33:56] As so often with this kind of sort of mentality. You do sometimes get cranks as well. But that doesn't mean to say that the main body of the Essenes. Were not balanced. God fearing and spiritual people. [00:34:14] They wore white garments as a symbol of purity. They let go of everything else. They just had these pure white garments. And special fellowship meals. They wore pure white linen. [00:34:25] That was just a symbol of purity. They did not believe in animal sacrifice. They based it on what the prophets had said. That the law did not want bullocks and goats and so on. They felt that it was all compromised somehow. Belonged to the past. They didn't believe in it. They practiced a kind of regular baptism. Now, it was so regular. That many of them were baptized every day before a meal. Before a meal. They had special systems of water. That everyone was sort of dipped in water before a meal. It wasn't in any way like our kind of baptism. Except that it was immersion. And it was a kind of ablution. Kind of washing. Ceremonial washing of themselves completely from all dirt and filth. And they also practiced a fellowship meal. Which was uncommonly like the love feast of the new. Of the New Testament church, a meal at which everyone sat, after having washed themselves ceremoniously and ceremonially in this baptism, this kind of baptism, they all sat down together for this fellowship meal. [00:35:26] They had a fervent anticipation of the coming messiah, believing that nothing but divine intervention in human affairs could bring about the fulfillment of the purpose of God. Doesn't that ring a bell in your heart? These were people who believed that the state of affairs, humanly speaking, had got to such a pitch that nothing but a sovereign breaking in of God could in fact bring about the fulfillment of his purpose. And they waited for that, that divine intervention, believing that it had been revealed to them that it would happen in their lifetime. Now, of course it did. That's the remarkable thing. It happened at least within the lifetime of the Qumran community that we know about, or know quite a bit about. [00:36:24] The community at Qumran that I just mentioned, expected three great figures to arise in their day, herald in the messianic age. Now, these three great figures, and we know this now from the Dead Sea Scrolls, these three great figures they waited for with a tremendous expectancy and fervor. The first great figure they waited for was a prophet like Moses. They based that upon what Moses had said, the Lord shall raise up a prophet like unto me. And they waited for this great prophet like Moses that was going to appear amongst them to herald in the new age. The second figure they waited for was altogether distinct from the prophet. And he was a davidic king or the Messiah. He was the second one. He was of the line of David. They were waiting for the king to appear who was going to usher in the messianic age and sit upon the throne over his people, Israel. The third great figure they waited for was a priest of the aaronic line, that is, the high priesthood. They were waiting for a high priest because they believed that the sadduceean high priests were utterly compromised and corrupt. They, in fact, they did not believe they were the high priesthood. [00:37:48] So they were waiting for this great new high priest to appear on the scene. Now, this is quite remarkable because in our Lord Jesus Christ, of course, all three are united in one person, the prophet, like unto Moses, the king of David's royal line, and the high priest forever not after Aaron's line, but after the order of men. [00:38:21] Isn't that remarkable? So you mustn't just despise these essene communities. It seems to me that they may have had a good deal more spiritual awareness and understanding of the times than was in either the Pharisee or the Sadducee party. [00:38:39] They stressed very much prophetic ministry in the Old Testament. In fact, they felt that at home in the prophetic ministry of the Old Testament, and that's not to be wondered at. Didn't Daniel say that the angel said to him, the Lord said to him, close up, seal up the book until the time of the end? [00:39:00] Now, these people, the Essenes community, they felt that they were in the time of the end. And therefore, to them, prophetic ministry had much greater value and influence than anything else. In fact, the law, it was at the expense of the law. The law almost became secondary to the ascet. They felt that it was in the prophets. They've got the real fire of God. And there are one or two things I shall say in just a moment about them, which is, I think, rather revealing. [00:39:33] They also believed that they had been given special insight into the prophetic book. Especially at Qumran, where their leader was called the teacher of righteousness, a most remarkable man. And he felt that the Lord, angels and others had spoken to him and given him special insight into the prophetic books. And that's why there was this fervent anticipation of the coming of Christ and a belief that somehow or other God was going to break into human affairs and do something quite, quite sovereign. [00:40:09] Now, these people, we are told at times actually prophesied. [00:40:17] There were times when amongst them the spirit of prophecy was heard and given. And also they had much ecstatic experience. Now, in the Pharisee party, this was entirely absent, and so was it in the Sadducee party. But it's interesting that in these communities there was this enthusiastic, as it's often been called, or ecstatic experience where people were carried away in the spirit and felt as if God was showing them things about the time of the end. Certainly they made a very great impression upon the common people of the land. The Sadducees and the Pharisees didn't like them, of course, that's to be understood at all. But the common people of the land felt that the essenes were really godly, pious people. [00:41:12] Rather strangely, although we don't know where their name came from, the only possible interpretation that has been given to it is healers. [00:41:23] The word could mean healers, and this sect were called healers. Whether, in fact, that means that they were those who believed in the spiritual healing, healing of Israel, or whether in fact they had any experience of physical healing, we don't know. But it could be that this explanation for their name is true. Now, was the Qumran community where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Was it essene? [00:41:50] Most scholars think so, although at present we cannot be dogmatic. There are many striking similarities between the Qumran community and the Essenes, which lead us to believe that it was in fact an essene community. From the evidence that we have of this holy era, it would seem that there were many sects and groups such as the Essenes and such as Qumran, before the actual coming of Christ. In fact, many scholars believe that the name Essie covers all these groups in a rather loose way that came into being in anticipation of the coming messiah. [00:42:39] Although the Essenes are not mentioned in the New Testament, they played a great part in the preparation for the coming of Christ, just as great a part perhaps greater than the Pharisee and the Sadducee played. [00:42:58] They prepared everywhere by a spirit, even amongst people who didn't join their communities, a spirit that somehow or other, the coming of the messiah was near. [00:43:16] It has been suggested by many that John the Baptist was an essay. Now, we have absolutely no evidence for it, and everyone is divided on this. Was John the Baptist an essay? All we know is that he came out of the desert one day crying that he was a voice in the wilderness. Crying makes straight the way of the Lord. [00:43:41] The suggestion has been made that he spent his early days in an essene community, and that much of his ministry had been greatly influenced by the Essenes. His insistence upon repentance, his insistence on the preparation for the coming of the Lord, his insistence on baptism as a cleansing away of compromise and corruption, and so on. Well, we don't know. But one thing we can say there is the most remarkable and striking similarity between the Lord's teaching, especially in the sermon on the Mount, and much essene teaching. [00:44:28] And we don't know how there is the connection, but there's a very real similarity in many things. And it must have been that the Essenes rejoiced when they heard the Lord say, when a man smacks you, hits you, strikes you on one cheek, turn the other. When a man takes your coat, give him your second coat. If a man makes you walk a mile, go with him 2 miles. This was Essene teaching, and it must have to then been remarkable to hear it in many ways, just as it was an awful lot tussle to the pharisee and the sadducee. [00:45:11] Well, there we are. That's the esse. Now we come to another group, the scribes. [00:45:21] Now, because here we could really go down into dust with the scribes. In one way, I would not include the scribes as a party within. Amongst the Hebrews. Although in actual fact, really they are the fourth party in one way. Now I'll explain why. What I mean in just a moment. The scribes were a group. [00:45:50] We meet them very much in the New Testament. You can't possibly read one of the gospel records without coming across the scribes on almost every page. They are there everywhere, as common as the pharisee and a good deal more common than the sadducee. [00:46:08] But although they were in fact mainly centered in the homeland and were a party of the hebrews, they were found throughout the dispersions. [00:46:23] And therefore, I think we must deal with them separately, as a group found everywhere. So we've moved on from the Hebrews now to our next subject, the scribes. [00:46:36] They were a body of men whose origins go back to Ezra. At least. [00:46:43] They were the experts in all matters to do with the law of moses. We find them called scribes. That is, men of letters. That's what he just means. Men of letters, learned men, men of letters. Doctors or teachers of the law. [00:47:01] Synonymous. And lawyers. This was the party. In fact, all three terms are really synonymous. [00:47:11] They're the same PeOPle, the scribes. Before Ezra's time, it was an office combined with the priesthood or with leviticals service. But after the exile, it became separate, although not always so. Ezra was both priest and scribe. If you turn to Nehemiah, chapter eight. Nehemiah, chapter eight, verse nine, we read this. And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and the priest, the scribe and the levites that taught the people. The priest, the scribe. Now ezra was the scribe, par excellence. He is the scribe of Jewish history. And whenever any rabbis talk of Ezra, they always speak of Ezra as Ezra the scribe. Not ezra the priest, but ezra the scribe. [00:48:20] Actually, Ezra left upon this group the scribes an indelible and abiding impression. [00:48:32] The scribes were the creators of the synagogue service. Even as we have it todaY. [00:48:38] They preserved in written form the oral law or the tradition of the elders, which eventually became the Talmud. Now, my dear friends, the Talmud runs into about 36 volumes. That's one of the reasons we haven't got it herE. [00:48:55] It runs. I'd love to have it, but the fact is I don't know WhERE to put it. And first I can't find the money to buy it. [00:49:02] It's colossal sum. [00:49:04] Now, that work. [00:49:07] Eventually, the work of the scribes, in putting the tradition of the elders into written form, became the tale of the other thing, of course, that the scribes did was to preserve in an utterly faithful way the Hebrew text of the Old Testament scriptures. Now, for that we shall be eternally grateful to the scribes, because long after the days of Christ, they faithfully copied the Hebrew. When there was no printing and there was all the possibilities of human fault and error, they faithfully copied it and checked it and rechecked it and rechecked it. Some of you remember our studies on the. On the Bible, introduction to the Bible. Will remember the extraordinary lengths they went to in checking and rechecking what they had written, in copying out the hebrew text. Now, this was the job of the scribes, and we are very thankful to them for it. In earlier days, before the New Testament time, they were specially devoted to the study and exposition of the law. [00:50:15] You see this in Ezra himself, when he stood up and read the law with an interpretation so that everyone could understand. Of the people who returned. This was their job, the study and exposition of the law. They were copyists, editors, students, and interpreters of scripture. [00:50:37] They occupied themselves in collecting and editing the sacred writings of God's people. [00:50:46] This is before New Testament taboos, in interpreting them in colloquial language to the common people of the land and inestimable service. [00:50:58] You see, most of the Jews that had returned to the land couldn't understand Hebrew, any law anymore. So the scribe used to take the Hebrew and used to translate it to them and put it into colloquial Aramaic, so that they could understand what the scripture was all about. That was another one of their great services, one and two chronicles. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. We owe completely to the scribes under Ezra. [00:51:29] We owe the book of proverbs and ecclesiastes to the scribes, in all probability, amongst many other books. [00:51:38] So you can see that much about old testament. In one way, we owe to the careful editing and copying, preserving defense of the scribes in the terrible persecutions of this gentleman, Antiochus Epiphanes, that I am holding before you like the carrot before donkeys that one day we shall get to and look at. [00:52:03] They became a distinct political party and were granted seats in the Sanhedrin, that is, Ivoh Tywin, in the jewish house of parliament, if you like. [00:52:17] And they were granted seats as a separate party, alongside the chief priests, the Sadducees and the elders, who were largely pharisees. [00:52:29] So this Sanhedrin was made up of the Sadducees, chief priests and high priests, and the scribes and the elders. And you find these three people mentioned continually in the New Testament, the chief priests, the scribes and the elders. The chief priests, the scribes and the elders, again and again and again you get, this is the Sanhedrin. In other words, it is the government of the jewish people that is acting after they became a party, after they got seats in the Sanhedrin, they became mainly jurists. In other words, they became legal experts of the law. Thus, by New Testament times, we find them as champions, perhaps unconsciously, of a formal legal kind of piety. Now, that's how the scribes are known to us in the New Testament. We find them associated more often than not in the New Testament with the Pharisees. If you look at Matthew 22, which we read together, Matthew 22 and verse 24, no. 34, it must be. [00:53:51] That's right. And 35. But the Pharisees, when they heard that he had put the sadducees to silence, gathered themselves together, and one of them, a lawyer, a scribe. Here you put the Pharisees and scribes working together. Then again, if you turn to Matthew, chapter 23 and verse two, the Lord puts them together. He says, the scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses seat. The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses seat. Basically, the scribes and the Pharisees shared the same theological outlook, although the scribes were a separate class. And it would seem that there were scribes, the sadducees too, but few of them. [00:54:40] In New Testament times, they were divided into two schools, the school of Hillel, which was known for its mild, gentle interpretation of the law, and the school of Shami, that was known for its very severe and strict interpretation of the law. For instance, Shami taught that on the Sabbath you should not visit the sick. [00:55:10] And that's where the Lord got into trouble, because he not only visited a sick man on the Sabbath, but he healed him. And you should not help the poor on the Sabbath. [00:55:23] And furthermore, you should not teach your children on the Sabbath. Now, that's how far it had got. [00:55:32] On the other hand, Hillel was a remarkable man, and many of the things that he said have real spiritual character and insight. Now, Hillel's grandson was Gamaliel, the gamaliel we know in scripture as the one who stood up and stopped the Sanhedrin from taking action against the early christians in a harsh way. He was also Saul of Tarsus, great teacher. Saul's great teacher, Gamaliel. It is just possible that Hillel could have been one of the doctors in the temple that the Lord talked with when he was twelve years of age. For if we believe the jewish tradition, Hillel lived till he was 120 years of age and was found in his last days continually in the temple. [00:56:23] The scribes function, therefore, we can summarize, was first to preserve, explain and defend the law of Moses. [00:56:38] Therefore, any attack or onslaught on that law from whatever corner was to be resisted. Now, that's why we find them later on, particularly in the ministry of the Lord Jesus, in collision with him. Again and again and again they did this, this defense and explanation of the law of Moses by the oral law, seeking to determine by all that the elders had said before what the law meant and required. [00:57:14] Now, if you turn to mark seven, and this is where I'm just hoping that these evenings will mean much more to you. When you read your New Testament, when you read Mark seven, you see you've got the whole thing before you listen. There were gathered unto him the Pharisees and certain of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem and seen that some of his disciples ate their bread with defile. That is, unwashen hands for the Pharisees and all the Jews, except they wash their hands diligently, eat not holding what? Where is it in the word of God holding the tradition of the elders beyond the law. [00:57:56] And when they come from the marketplace, except they bathe themselves, they eat not. And many other things there are, which they have received to hold washings of cups and pots and brazen vessels. And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, the oral law, but eat their bread with defiled hands? And he said unto them, now listen how he answers them. See, he ignores the tradition of the elders. Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, hypocrites. As it is written, the people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching as their doctrine the precepts of men. [00:58:34] That's what he calls the honourable, the precepts of men. [00:58:38] Ye lead the commandment of God and hold fast the tradition of men. [00:58:44] And he said unto them, full well do ye reject the commandment of God that ye may keep the tradition. For Moses said, honour thy father and thy mother. And he that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, if a man shall say to his father or his mother that that wherewith thou mightest have been profited by me is Korban, that is to say, given to God, ye no longer suffer him to do aught for his father or his mother, making void the word of God by your tradition. [00:59:17] And then he explains another thing in another place. You'll find what he has to say about the. Now, it's very, very interesting, because in actual fact, what the Lord is saying, you see, he's getting at the root of the point. The scribes, by their interpretation of the word of God, by all the various commentaries and interpretations of it, undid it. The word of God stood like this. Honour thy father and thy mother all the days of thy life. They said, if you say, one of the rabbis or elders have said that if a man gives himself to God, then he's free from doing anything for his father or mother. [00:59:58] So the Lord said, you see, you used a tradition to undo the direct meaning of the commandment of God, the law of God. [01:00:10] So important was this interpretation of the word of God, the law of God, by the tradition of the elders, in the eyes of the scribes, that they were looked upon as developing the law. [01:00:24] Developing the law. In other words, as they debated and discussed and deliberated and finally came to a conclusion, that conclusion was looked upon as final, even if it was an addition to the word of God. They developed the law. The second thing in the scribes function was they taught pupils the law throughout the land and the dispersion. They lectured and debated in the temple. If you look at Luke chapter two and verse 46, you find that the Lord Jesus actually talked with these men. They found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both hearing them and asking them questions. [01:01:09] Doctors. The doctors or teachers of the law. So this was the second function of the scribes to act as schoolmasters. There was no other school. They were the schoolmasters who taught everyone the simple, rudimentary lessons in reading and writing and in the law of God. The third function of the scribes was they acted as judges in the administration of the law. In the Sanhedrin, normally they were addressed as rabbi. So when the Lord Jesus was addressed as rabbi, it meant the people looked upon him as a scribe. They felt that he was a scribe, he was a doctor to them. He was a teacher, he was a doctor, a lawyer. So they called him rabbi. What should we do here? There was the normal form of address to the scribes. Rabbi or father or master. [01:02:06] They did not become a title. They weren't called rabbis. [01:02:10] It did not become a title till after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 ad. Then, as time went on, we call them rabbi, now a rabbi. The rabbis. But then it was just a form of address. The scribes in the New Testament are revealed to us as pedantic, fond of technicalities and discussion, lovers of honor and holders of an outward and showy piety. If you turn to mark chapter twelve, Mark chapter twelve, verse 38 and 40. In his teaching, he said, beware of the scribes who desire to walk in long robes. That's those who have the long fringes and have salutations in the marketplaces and chief seats in the synagogues and chief places at feasts. They that devour widows houses, that is, they keep on making charges for finding out what the law really says about some poor widow and her inheritance. And they eat up the whole of her inheritance by just simply trying to get to the root of what the law says. And for a pretense, make long prayers. [01:03:32] These shall receive the greater condemnation. [01:03:37] Matthew, chapter seven, verse 28 and 29, is a very interesting comment on them, if you turn to it, and in fact, is a very interesting comment on life, for it says, this came to pass when Jesus had finished these words. The multitudes were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. Now, isn't that remarkable? Now, it's not so remarkable. It's quite authentic. It's got an authentic ring about it. Because people who take everything into account are often those who cannot be authoritative. And this was just what the scribes were. They were pedantic. They were in wilful. [01:04:20] Well, we'll have to talk that one out, see? And then they discussed and discussed and discussed and discussed and discussed. And finally, when they came out with a formula at the end of it, quite honestly, it was. It was just incomprehensible to the ordinary man or woman. [01:04:35] How they had arrived at their conclusion, no one could find out, because they'd gone through all the race. But the Lord, he didn't speak like a scribe. Although everyone knew him as a doctor or a teacher. He didn't speak. He spoke as one having authority. That is, there was an authentic truth about what he said, and the people knew it. In other words, they knew the thing was in the man, whereas the scribes were all the time buried in books, and they knew it was secondhand. It wasn't in them. There's a most interesting sidelight upon these people. The greatest contribution the scribes made to Christ coming were these. First, the editing, copying and collecting of the Old Testament scriptures. Secondly, the Hebrew text called now the Masoretic Text, which is the basis of our present Old Testament. And thirdly, the synagogue service which may have contributed much to the early church pattern. [01:05:38] Now there's the scribes for you as another large body that you find in the New Testament. Now, in closing, and finally, I don't know how far we'll get, but we'll say just something about the synagogue, a subject which I do find very interesting. The synagogue. Everywhere you went, throughout the whole of the dispersion, you found synagogues. Wherever there was a jewish community. The focal point of that jewish community was the synagogue, and is to this day, during the exile, God's people were forever cured of idolatry. [01:06:10] With the Temple destroyed, sacrifice ended, the priesthood scattered, Jerusalem raised, the people deported. A new form of worship and fellowship grew up amongst them. We don't even know how it grew up, except that it came to be called the synagogue. And it started somehow, by sometime during the exile, God's children getting together in a home. That's how it all started. We've got the account in Ezekiel of how he gathered some of the elders together in his home, and they sat before him and heard the word of God. This is thought to be the start of the synagogue. They began to gather together for the reading and the exposition of the scriptures, and for worship and prayer and fellowship. [01:07:05] Synagogue is a word of greek origin, and it means a gathering of people together, or a congregation. And the hebrew is Knesset. And today the jewish houses of parliament are called Knesset. The Knesset. [01:07:23] It is used 56 times in the New Testament tradition, ascribes the beginning of the synagogue to Ezekiel. If you want the scriptures, I'll give them to you. Ezekiel, chapter eight, verse one. Ezekiel, chapter 20, verse one to three. [01:07:40] That's where they say it began. And they attribute its development to Ezra, the priest and scribe. What we do know is that during the 400 years before Christ, the synagogue became the greatest single factor in the life of the jew. And to this day, the synagogue is the focal point of jewish life. [01:08:04] Before the exile, any such gathering was suspect because of the popular worship of local gods and the fear of the priesthood, that if there was a local synagogue, it would go over to the worship of a local God, which would undoubtedly have happened. You know, remember all the high places that are mentioned in the first and second book of kings? That's what would have happened. So it was suspect. But after the return from the exile, the synagogue became the recognized place in every locality for Bible study and prayer and fellowship. And the temple in Jerusalem became the recognized place for sacrifice and for the great annual feasts. [01:08:56] Before a synagogue could be formed, there had to be ten males. [01:09:03] And that was why dear old Lydia had such a predicament when she had a prayer meeting, including a few gentlemen in a little wayside placed beside some water. You remember the story she had. She couldn't find ten gentlemen, ten jewish gentlemen. If she could have only found, even if one of them wasn't too much, or two or three of them weren't too. She could only find ten. She got the quorum. Do you know to this day, if there are not ten jews in synagogue service, they can't have the service? It is the quorum. For the beginning of a synagogue service, you must be ten men before you can start or form a synagogue, and before you can have any service, and there must be the quorum of ten men. Most I know what happened to some christian places. Anyway, that is the minimum quorum for the formation of a synagogue and the conduction of conduct of its service. And that makes you understand why dear Lydia was in such a predicament and why she prayed and prayed with the others for the lord to do something there in her home town, the synagogue was governed in larger towns by a body of 23 elders called, in the greek presbyters. Elders, or the greek word by it is presbyters. Now, that's exactly the same word we have for the church. See, the elders of the church, the presbyters of the church. And in smaller places, there needed to be seven elders, or presbyters. Now, this body was called. This body of elders was called a sanhedrin. [01:10:48] So they didn't necessarily just call them the elders, but they called them the Sanhedrin. Now, if we spoke of the sanhedrin of the Richmond synagogue, it is the court of elders who rule it, the Sanhedrin. And so every synagogue had a sanhedrin of elders, the men, the corp, or body of men, either 23 in large places or seven in smaller places. Sometimes these elders or presbyters were called rulers, or they were sometimes called shepherds, and one was called the chief ruler. Now you find him again and again. Crispus was the chief ruler, if I'm right, in one of the synagogues that Paul came to, and you remember Jairus, daughter, he was chief ruler of the synagogue. The chief ruler was the first amongst equals. All the elders were absolute equals. But there was a first amongst equals. That's how they called it. For purposes of getting things done, of leadership. There was the first amongst equals. So you've got the college of elders, the court of elders, the Sanhedrin of elders, and the chief elder or chief ruler, who was the first amongst equals. Another very important office in the synagogue was the gentleman called the attendant or the minister. Now get out of your minds. The christian denominational idea of minister. But you've got it in Luke, chapter four and verse 20, when the Lord was in the synagogue and it says verse 20, closed the book and gave it back to the attendant. Gave it back to the attendant or the minister. Now this gentleman is in fact a most interesting person. [01:12:27] His job was really rather like a deacon. His job was to prepare the building or rooms for service, take the scriptures needed from the chest that they were kept in in the meeting room to whoever wanted to read them or was going to read them. [01:12:45] Teach the children and listen. Inflict corporal punishment. [01:12:51] I should imagine most of you are very glad that you are living under this New Testament age. We had stewards here that had to inflict punishment upon recalcitrant saints. It might be rather interesting, but anyway, that's exactly what happened in the old days. His job was to teach the children, Sunday school teacher, more or less keep and prepare the rooms for meeting with the synagogue building itself, and take the scriptures to and from people who were taking part in the service. And there is one very delightful little thing that this man that I read of in the great synagogue at Alexandria, which was famous not only for its beauty, but for its congregation and for its sort of high standard of education and class there. The attendant used to hold a handkerchief in the service and he held it up, and every time he went down, everyone said amen together. This was the kind of job that the attendant had. Rather interesting. [01:13:59] Keep everyone together. So the responses were together in the service and so on. So he's a very interesting man. [01:14:09] These elders, or Sanhedrin, served as the local court in Judea, both civil and religious. [01:14:19] They could inflict punishment on any jew, and the punishment they could inflict, because the Sanhedrin, of course, remember, there was no political government except Roman. It was all actually religious. [01:14:35] Judea. [01:14:36] The punishment they could inflict was threefold. 1st, 40 stripes, save one. Now does that ring a bell with you? 40 stripes. Do you remember Paul, how many times he'd been beaten with 40 stripes save one? Now that 40 stripes save one, inflicted, it was a very severe beating, was inflicted by the attendant or the minister in the synagogue upon anyone who was so judged by the Sanhedrin. [01:15:11] The second form of punishment was excommunication in greek, anathema. Anathema. And you remember how you get it in the New Testament, where Paul speaks of anyone who preaches another gospel as being anathema. That is the word, the greek form of this word, anat. Excommunication. Now, excommunication was twofold. It was either absolute and final exclusion, or it was the temporary loss of privilege and temporary exclusion from the worship of God's people. [01:15:53] The third form of punishment they could inflict was death by stoning, and this required the roman governor's assent. You remember Stephen? [01:16:05] They sentenced him. The Sanhedrin sentenced him. And Paul said, I cast my vote. He remembered that in years after Wafty was converted, I cast my vote in favor of it. And I was the one who stood by his clothes while he was stoned to death by the people that had to get. The roman governors ascend. The Sanhedrin of Jerusalem became known in time as the great Sanhedrin, the highest court and authority amongst Jews, recognized throughout the land and throughout the dispersion. [01:16:42] Now, the synagogue building was simple. [01:16:46] The chief piece of furniture in the synagogue itself was the ark. And the ark was rather like that chest outside that door, if you go and look at it, something like that, just a kind of press, just a kind of box in which were kept the rolls, the scrolls, or rolls of scripture. All the books and writings were kept in that chest. And normally that piece of furniture was placed on the wall furthest away from the entrance. So if this was a synagogue, then it would be on this wall. It would be just a plain box. There would be none of this furniture here, just a plain chest there in which were deposited and kept the scriptures. Remember, not everyone had scriptures then. They were priceless manuscripts of the scriptures, and they were kept in that chest. [01:17:46] In the larger buildings, there was a platform not very much bigger than this, sometimes not higher than that, sometimes much larger, wider than that. And that was normally put in the center of the room or toward the center of the room, and upon it there was a lectern. And that literally was all the furniture there was in a synagogue meeting room. That's all, just the plain room, the chest, the platform and the lectern. The rest of the room was given up to seating, simply to seat him. And the chief seats, which we read about so much in the gospels that the Pharisees and the scribes loved to get, were normally alongside of the ark, facing the congregation. They were the chief seats, the honourable seats. And then synagogue worship was as simple as the building. [01:18:48] Any competent jew of age could contribute under the supervision of the chief ruler in the synagogue service. Anyone? No such thing as a highly organized service, as you and I know in denominational places. It was anyone, under the supervision of the chief ruler, any competent, qualified jew could. [01:19:12] The service consisted of prayer, reading of the law, reading of the prophets, and the translations, scriptures, if people couldn't understand it, from Hebrew into Aramaic or other languages, Greek, and then their exposition in the language of the people. So you had a message given, or a sermon, whatever you like to call it, at the end. Normally it was a scribe who would be called upon to preach or teach. All contributions were made from the platform. So there was no such thing as anyone calling out from anywhere. They had to go to the platform and sit or stand on the platform to read. You stood to teach, you sat for prayer. Everyone stood up for prayer. Normally, although there are known cases when people knelt or bowed right down on their haunches, right onto the ground with their head touching the ground, but normally they all stood up and their arms were outstretched, not in the pentecostal fashion, up high, but outstretched this way with palms up to heaven. It was the jewish way of praying, to stand with hands outstretched toward heaven. [01:20:35] That was the way they prayed. Synagogue. And that's why, of course, Paul says, I beseech men everywhere, that they lift up holy hands in prayer. See, it's a thing we don't do as christians, but that's what the jew does. Even today, he still lifts his hands up and he has his palms open to heaven in the attitude that he receives from God. Clean hands. That's the idea. Clean hands and an attitude of receiving from him. [01:21:09] The synagogue also acted as local library and as the local school. Now, in summarizing, what can we say was the synagogue's main contribution to Christ's coming? Well, it was threefold. [01:21:25] First, the intensive regular reading and teaching of the scriptures, keeping alive amongst the people of God, the word of God, a sense of his purpose, and an anticipation of the coming of the messiah. [01:21:46] The second thing, the tremendous impact upon the gentile world through the synagogues, the dispersion, strategic centers already prepared for the Gospel all over the whole of the roman empire and beyond. [01:22:09] Wherever there was a synagogue, there was a strategic center prepared by the spirit of God for the coming of the gospel. And the last thing, and this is quite important, actually, it bears all the people thinking about the simple pattern and way of meeting given to the early christians. You see, when those early christians were pushed out of the synagogue, they only had the Holy spirit, they only had their risen lord. They were out, absolutely out. They had nowhere to meet. They didn't know what to do. So they started meeting in homes and as they met in homes, they did the thing natural to them. By the way, the wonderful thing is the Holy Spirit was in it. They met just like the synagogue, they just met together, simply gathered around. They may not have had the platform, but they read the scriptures. You see, they had the same interpretation. They allowed anyone to take part as led of the spirit under the supervision of the elders. That's how it happened. And so they built one another up. You see, it's so simple, utterly simple. Of course, there's no doubt there was no modified, adjusted and developed by the Holy Spirit. That's another subject altogether. But the fact remains that the simple pattern of the synagogue service was designed by the Holy Spirit for the early christians as well, so that it was taken over. And so when we come to the new, the Church of God locally, we find they've got elders, we find presbyters, we find overseers, rulers, we find shepherds. These are the same terms used again. We find deacon, the attendant, the minister, we find the whole thing again. [01:23:49] It's all there. We find that everyone's contributing. One has a psalm, one has a hymn, one has a revelation, one has a tongue, one has something else. They all contribute together in just really the same, only it's more glorious, it's more free, it's more living. The wonderful. The thing is, it's broken out of the old into the new and it's become altogether new because the Holy Spirit is there. Shall we pray now? Dear Lord, we do pray that all this abundance of background material may be somehow or other registered in our hearts and minds, and that as we read the New Testament, Lord, these will mean something to us in a new way in these terms that we read and somehow sly glide over so easily. Lord, may we begin to get fresh light, deeper insight, clearer understanding. May somehow or other thy spirit be able to speak to us in a new way through quite simple things. In thy word, o Lord, thou art the God of him, istra am the God of the present. And we thank thee, that as thou led and prepared thy people in days past, so thou leading and preparing thy people today, and we thank thee for it. So bless us and keep us, we ask it in thy name. Amen.