| The Hebrew words for "holy convocation" here are the same used elsewhere in this chapter for assembling on feast days. Deuteronomy 16:16 and other
Scriptures make it clear that the people were to gather together. Twice we read "You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord" (Leviticus 19:30; 26:2). It is on the
Sabbath day that people went to the temple, which contained the sanctuary or "holy place", the physical representation of the Eternal on earth. They were to worship and "reverence" His
holiness.
This pattern of the faithful meeting at the temple on the Sabbath continued even during difficult times of the evil queen Athalia. It was on a Sabbath day that Jehoiada made Jehoash king in front of the large crowds at the temple (2Kings 11:9,13-14).
Sabbath assemblies will continue in the Millennium. Chapters 40 through 48 of Ezekiel are a prophecy of the future restoration of a temple at the Messiah’s return. They contain instructions to the priests that mention the keeping of the Sabbath and appointed assemblies in the same sentence: "And they [the
priests] shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. In controversy they shall stand as judges, and judge it according to My judgments. They shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed meetings, and they shall hallow My Sabbaths" (Ezekiel 44:23-24).
Good Things To Do On the Sabbath
Psalm 92 is titled A Song for the Sabbath day. These 15 verses provide some wonderful insights about what we should be doing on the Sabbath day. We will quote the entire Psalm:
" A Song for the Sabbath day. It is good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night, On an instrument of ten strings, On the lute, And on the harp, With harmonious sound. For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands.
" O Lord, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep. A senseless man does not know, Nor does a fool understand this. When the wicked spring up like grass, And when all the workers of iniquity flourish, It is that they may be destroyed forever.
"But You, LORD, are on high forevermore. For behold, Your enemies, O Lord, For
behold, Your enemies shall perish; All the workers of iniquity shall be scattered. But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil. My eye also has seen my desire on my enemies; My ears hear my desire on the wicked who rise up against me. The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing, To declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. "
These are the major points that we learn:
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We should praise the Eternal on the Sabbath day, with singing and instrumental music (v 1,3). This is done to some degree in nearly every church
groups, but there is probably much more that we could do. If people are not available who can sing or play special praises to God, perhaps we could utilize the 20th century convenience of
recorded music. In any case, the music should praise the Eternal for His great deeds (v 2,4-5); not praise the membership.
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We should appreciate the knowledge that has been given to us, realizing that others do not understand (v 6). (This must be done with a humble
spirit; we should not look down on others just because they do not understand—Zephaniah 3:11.)
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We should receive fresh oil, which is a symbol of the Holy Spirit (v 10). The Holy Spirit is given in increased measure when we pray for it (Luke
11:13; Acts 4:31).
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We should go to the "house of the Lord" (v 13). This expression is used over a hundred times in the Bible to indicate either the tabernacle built
in Moses’ day or one of the temples in Jerusalem. Being "planted" in it certainly means that we make a habit of going there. (Since there are no temple services today, we will deal
with their replacement later.)
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When trials and evils are surrounding us, we should use this day to remember that good will triumph over evil, the righteous over the wicked, etc.
(v 7-11). Many other prophecies show that this will ultimately happen in the millennial reign of Christ (Revelation 20:2-6) There are several hints in the scripture that the Sabbath pictures the
Millennium—the first six days of the week picturing the first six thousand years of Man’s existence under his own rule.
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Those who are mature in the Word should "bear fruit" or teach others the greatness of the Eternal, how we can trust Him. The Sabbath is a day for
teaching and learning.
Did the Command to Assemble Continue in the New Testament?
We learn from the Gospel of Luke that our Savior was in the habit of assembling on the Sabbath and Holy Days as He grew up:
His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover (Luke 2:41).
" So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read " (Luke 4:16).
While Christ sometimes spoke outdoors as in the famous "Sermon on the Mount" (Matthew 5:1), his most frequent places of teaching were the synagogues and
the temple.
Jesus answered him "I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always meet, and in secret I have
said nothing" (John 18:20).
During His early ministry there are mostly references to synagogue teaching. For example:
" Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught "(Mark 1:21).
" And He entered the synagogue again... " (Mark 3:1).
"And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue... "(Mark 6:2).
During His later ministry we find more Scriptures mentioning His teaching in the temple.
"Now about the middle of the Feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught" (John 7:14).
"And he was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him " (Luke
19:48).
After the death of our Savior, His way was taught in the temple for a while, as well as in synagogues and houses.
" So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of
heart " (Acts 2:46).
" But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, "Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all
the words of this life" " (Acts 5:19-20).
"And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ" (Acts 5:42).
The number of disciples in Jerusalem continued to grow for a while (Acts 6:1), but not much later:
"A great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria,
except the apostles.... As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. Therefore those who were scattered went
everywhere preaching the word" (Acts 8:1,3-4).
We find little mentioned about preaching in the temple after this time. Paul certainly had a custom of synagogue attendance, both to preach to new
people and to assemble with the brethren.
" ...They came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths
reasoned with them from the Scriptures " (Acts 17:1-2).
Acts 18 shows that these were regular meetings of the brethren, not just efforts to convert the Jews:
"And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.... And he departed from there and entered the house of a
certain man named Justus, one who worshipped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue.... And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.... Then
all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat.... " (Acts 18:4,7,11,17).
Sosthenes was a converted man and continued as a leader of the brethren (1Corinthians 1:1), but he maintained his position as ruler of the synagogue.
Additional references to teaching and assembling in synagogues are available (Acts 9:20; 13:5,14,42; 14:1,10,17, etc.).
Obviously, this practice of Christ’s followers attending synagogue services was not appreciated by the unbelieving Jews. His prophecy came to
pass:
"They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service (John 16:2).
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It is noteworthy that His followers were not told to leave the synagogues, but told they would be put out. Sometimes the
disciples recognized a hopeless situation and left the synagogues before they were put out.
"And he [Paul] went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of
God. But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of
Tyrannus. And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks" (Acts 19:8-10).
Here we have a good example of meeting in another facility that was not designed for worship services—something done frequently in our age. The
last Bible reference we find to brethren meeting in a synagogue is in James 2:2-3:
" For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy
clothes... "
The word "assembly" is translated from the Greek sunagoge, which is translated "synagogue" in all 56 other places that it appears in the New
Testament. There is no linguistic or contextual reason for translating it differently here. The King James and most other Bible translators could not bring themselves to admit that
Christ’s followers were still using "Jewish" forms of worship as late as 60 AD (the approximate time of James’ writing). Such an admission would be tremendous evidence for keeping
the Sabbath rather than Sunday—evidence they would rather not face. Bible translations that do properly say "synagogue" in this verse include Young’s Literal Translation,
Green’s Literal Translation, the Darby Bible, the Emphasized New Testament and the Jewish New Testament.
What Happened After They Were Put Out of the Synagogues?
Whether it took a few years, or many years, the true believers were eventually put out of the synagogues (John 16:2). Persecution may have moved more
slowly among "the twelve tribes that are scattered abroad" (James 1:1)—thus explaining the later reference to synagogues in James 2:2. So where did the saints (the believers in Christ)
assemble after they were put out of the synagogues? The commonly thought answer is "in Christian Churches!" But what does the Bible say? Do we find biblical descriptions of church
buildings? The surprising answer is, "No!" Do we find a description in the Bible of a church service? Only a partial one—and it is nothing like a typical Christian church service that
one might attend today.
The Greek word translated "church" in the New Testament is ekklesia. It means "assembly" or "people that have come together". "Called out
ones" is preferred by some, and if a crowd "comes together", they certainly must have come out of somewhere! Of interest, ekklesia is translated "assembly" three times in Acts 19,
once for a "lawful assembly", (v 39) and twice for a rather unruly mob.
" And some cried one thing and some another, for the assembly [ekklesia] was confused, and most of them did not know
why they had come together" (v 32, 41).
The word ekklesia is also used in Acts 7:38 to describe the Israelite nation at the time of Moses, the "church in the wilderness". It is also
used in Hebrews 2:12, a quotation from Psalm 22:22, to translate from the Hebrew qahal, which is usually translated "congregation" in the Old Testament.
All other uses of ekklesia in the New Testament refer to the Church—the Body of Christ—the assembly of saints or the true believers.
Sometimes it refers to the entire body of believers as in Ephesians 5:25: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church [ekklesia] and gave Himself for
it." Other times it refers to a local congregation in a certain area: "To the church [ekklesia] which is at Corinth" (1Corinthians 1:2, cf Revelation 2 & 3). The plural form
is used to refer to multiple assemblies: "so that we ourselves boast to you among the churches [ekklesia] of God" (2Thessalonians 1:4).
The biblical definition of the ekklesia is the Body of the Christ (Colossians 1:24). It is the Eternal who sets the members in the Body when they are
baptized (1Corinthians 12:12-14,18,27). Only those who obey Him receive His spirit and are part of the Body (Acts 5:32, Romans 8:9). There is no record of an apostle or any other leader placing
someone into or out of the ekklesia.
This paper uses "congregation", "assembly", or "body of believers" rather than the word "church" because when most people hear the word "church" they
think of either a building or some kind of organized group of which one can become a member, not the definition given above.
Are Assemblies Required or Optional?
We have already seen much of the Old Testament evidence for Sabbath Assemblies. The New Testament contains more!
We can start with the signs the Eternal gave His people. Exodus 31:13 shows that the Sabbath would be a sign between the Eternal and His people. In
John 13:34-35, our Savior gave a new sign whereby his people would be known: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one
another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." Today, many Jews claim to keep the Sabbath, but do not claim to have the love spoken of in
these verses. Many Christians claim to have this love, but do not keep the Sabbath. We should be doing both. How can these signs identify us unless we are assembling regularly
on the Sabbath? How can we show such love to others and how can the world see that we are showing it unless we have close acquaintances and regular fellowship? The most common reasons for
people not to regularly fellowship are meetings that are too far away, meetings that take too long and doctrinal disagreement with others. If these things prevent us from assembling on the
Sabbath, will we still be able to set the good example of love for each other during the other six days of the week? It is hard to believe that we would.
There are numerous Scriptures that show us that the saints assembled together on a regular basis—usually on the Sabbath (Acts 13:44; 14:27;
15:6; 15:30; 1Corinthians 5:4; etc.). Paul and Barnabas spent a year in Jerusalem assembling with the brethren (Acts 11:26).
" And let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to
stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day
approaching " (Hebrews 10:25).
The Greek word used for assembling here is very interesting: episunagoge. The prefix epi means "on", "upon", or "towards" and the rest
of the word is sunagoge; the exact same form used for "synagogue" everywhere else in the Bible. This same word, episunagoge, is used only one other place in the Scriptures
where it describes the gathering together of all the brethren for the Messiah’s return. As Hebrews 10:25 makes clear, we need to meet together to exhort one another all the more as we
are nearing the end.
Background to First Century Worship
Before we look at the Scriptures to see what they say about New Testament services, it helps to have a historic perspective about the services in
which our Savior participated. As we have shown previously, He taught in both the temple and synagogue. The nature of these services would allow any man of Israel to speak and teach
provided that he had something worthwhile to say that was in keeping with the Scriptures. If Jesus (or "Yeshua" as his fellow Israelites probably called him) did not participate in the rest
of services (songs, prayers, Scripture readings), He certainly would not have been considered a man of Israel and would not have been allowed to speak.
The synagogue services were patterned after the temple services. Even though top-level Jewish leaders in the New Testament period had great faults
and broke the law by their tradition (Mark 7, Matthew 23), they did not seize control of local synagogue services. Our Savior as well as other less-honorable teachers were able to teach
through that system. He was able to teach a message that was in many points contradictory to what the top leaders believed. Contrast this with most modern-day church services where a
traveling teacher, no matter how knowledgeable or righteous, would not be allowed to speak unless given permission by the organization in charge. To provide a historic
background of this kind of service, we will quote selected paragraphs from chapter 19 of William L. Colman’s Today’s Handbook of Bible Times and Customs (Minneapolis:
Bethany House Publishers, 1984):
"The synagogue was extremely important in the time of Christ, serving as the center of religious education and the spiritual lighthouse of
Jewish community life....
"When Jesus began His ministry, the synagogue could not be ignored as a force in Israel. Other than the temple in Jerusalem, no religious institution
in Israel held such importance. The advantage of a synagogue was that it was in close proximity to the common person. Consequently much of the early church’s initial impact was felt in
synagogue services.
"Diversity. Synagogues might be compared with the present diversity among Christian churches. While there were similarities between most
synagogues, there were also notable differences between congregations and between regions. Ten Jewish males were necessary to form a synagogue, but beyond this standard they were free to
establish their own structure and format.
"The Synagogue of the Libertines or Freedmen (Acts 6:9) may have been comprised of former Roman slaves. Consequently they had their own background and
perspective. Some synagogues allowed meetings concerning political intrigue and insurrection against Rome. Others were very traditional, staid and non-controversial.
"A synagogue, especially outside of Israel, might have people from diverse backgrounds. Often, converted Gentiles made up part of the congregations.
"Architecture of the buildings could differ drastically....
"Leadership. Most of a synagogue’s affairs were managed by a committee of ten elders. It was their job to oversee synagogue life and
select those who would be in charge of the activities. Two officials were expected to provide the main leadership, though this number often varied.
"Ruler of the synagogue. This general overseer is found in the New Testament. He was expected to maintain smooth order in the services or other
meetings. He needed to assign people to read the Scriptures and lead in prayer. When a visitor came to the synagogue, the ruler invited him to address the congregation, as was done at
Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:15). Jesus was invited to speak in synagogues as He traveled about (Luke 4;14,15). Such a ruler objected to Christ’s audacity to heal on the Sabbath (Luke
13:14).
"Attendant of the synagogue. Called a hazzan, this was the person who worked in the synagogue and received a salary. When the Scriptures
were to be read, he removed the appropriate scrolls from the chest and afterward returned them. Jesus handed the Isaiah scroll to the attendant after reading to the congregation (Luke
4:20).
"It was not uncommon for the attendant to live in a part of the synagogue.
"Not every attendant was a godly person. Some were known to save the prestigious seats for those who offered a small gift. Such men may be the objects
of James’ scorn when He condemned the practice of selective seating. In some congregations the wealthy were given the best benches, and the poor had to stand at the back or sit on the
floor at someone’s feet (James 2:1-4).
"Services. Considering the pluralism that existed among Jews, it is impossible to define a standard order of service. Nevertheless, there were
certain ingredients that would have been found in most.
"Shema. As an affirmation of their faith in one God, the congregation recited a passage from the writings of Moses (Deuteronomy 6:4,5). The shema is the central credal statement of the faith. [It was reaffirmed by our Savior in Mark 12:29-30!] Monotheism was the cornerstone of Judaism and conflicted with the polytheistic
religions that surrounded Israel.
"Several prayers of thanksgiving also were used, interspersed with hearty "Amens."
"Reading the scrolls. The Scriptures were at the heart of the synagogue services. Jews believed God had revealed His will in written form;
consequently literacy and the scrolls were paramount. Those who recorded their experiences in the synagogue, especially around the New Testament era, noted the centrality of the Scriptures.
"Often someone would then explain the Scriptures. Occasionally young people were invited to render their interpretations. [In most church services
the young person’s role is primarily to be quiet.] If an honored or respected visitor was in their midst, he was invited to speak....
"The Jews were quite liberal in allowing people to interpret the Scriptures. They did not look to a select few gifted, trained or anointed leaders.
Most any Jewish man was eligible to pre-sent his insights concerning the Word of God."
All of these elements are not directly supported by Scripture, but it is hard to find where they contradict Scripture. This is the kind of service in
which our Savior, the apostles, and most of the first-century brethren participated since childhood. This is the system in which He preached the Gospel to Israel. We must read the New
Testament with this in mind. These people did not consider a Sabbath service to be a few songs, two or three prayers, some announcements, and one or two "sermons" given by men carefully
chosen to represent the approved theology of a corporate church organization. We are not suggesting today’s congregations look primarily to Jewish tradition for their format of
services—but some Jewish tradition may be more useful than Christian traditions. This author believes it is better to take this approach:
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Start with the applicable instructions for services from the Old and New Testaments.
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Fill in the missing details from history to help understand what Christ and His apostles were doing at their services. (Much of this history will be Jewish in nature, though some of the Christian "Church Fathers", information may be useful.)
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Ask Christ to show a congregation what He wants them to do. This is a direct request that He answer His promise to guide and be with any meeting where two or three are gathered together (Matthew 18:20).
Let us begin with what the Scriptures say:
What does the Bible Say About Worship Services?
When & Where? We have already seen that services should be held on the Sabbath day. There are scriptural references to other Holy Days,
but they exceed the scope of this article. While the early believers did meet primarily in synagogues, it was not a "requirement". The school of Tyrannus was used (Acts 19:9) as well as
houses (1Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; Philemon 2). Since the synagogue had few specific architectural requirements and no other requirements are specified in the New Testament, we can conclude that the
shape or nature of the building is not a critical part of the service.
Outdoor meetings were used also. Acts 16:11-13 mentions people meeting for prayers by "the riverside" (a more limited service since the
Jewish-required 10 men were not present). It is likely that the synagogues in Philippi, a Roman Colony, were destroyed a few years before when Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from
Rome (See Acts 18:1). It is possible that the political situation may have forbidden men to meet together, but an assembly of mostly women would not be considered "dangerous". The overall
lesson to be learned is this: The need to assemble to encourage each other is far more important than the physical facilities. We should make the best use of what is available.
Who assembles? Several Scriptures tell us all believers assembled together, both men and women. History shows children were present, too. Paul
directly addresses children in two of his letters which were read to congregations (Ephesians 6:1; Colossians 3:20). If he did not expect children in the audience, he would have said, "parents, tell
your children to...."
Should unbelievers be invited to attend? There is not one example of someone "inviting someone else to a service" in the New Testament. The
whole emphasis of the preaching of the Gospel was for people to repent, be baptized, and accept Christ as their Savior. Worship services were for those who were already believers.
Nevertheless, unbelievers may sometimes come into a worship service. When they do, they should not be escorted out, but should see an orderly service that will convince them that "God is
truly among you" (1Corinthians 14:23-25).
There are some people who should not be assembling with other believers. People with obvious flagrant sins who would bring a bad name on all
of them should not be accepted in fellowship (1Corinthians 5:11). Deceivers who are teaching false fundamental doctrines should not be there (2John 7-11). Those who are "obsessed with disputes and
arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings", or who feel wealth is a sign of righteousness should also be avoided (1Timothy 6:3-10).
While the Scriptures tell us we should assemble on the Sabbath, neither the Old nor New Testament commands any kind of punishment for non-attendance. It is the individual’s responsibility to attend as often as possible. If sickness or other circumstances interfere, each believer must decide what to do. Indeed, the Old
Testament commands us to stay away if we have certain diseases. When Paul talked about "not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some" (Hebrews 10:25), he did not say to disfellowship or shun those who were forsaking the assembling.
How should we be dressed? This writer knows of a woman whose husband had studied the Bible for years but never attended services. He finally
decided to attend with her. They were not wealthy and he did not own a suit and tie. He wore a clean shirt and pants but when he arrived at the service she normally attended, he was not
permitted to enter because he did not have a suit. While Scriptures such as Isaiah 64:6 and Zechariah 3:3-4 compare dirty clothes with sin, our mission is to bring not "the righteous,
but sinners to repentance" (Mark 2:17). The parable of the man rejected for not having a wedding garment (Matthew 22:1-14) is not talking about a worship service either literally or by
analogy. It is telling us that we must be completely ready for His Kingdom when it comes.
Individually, we should strive to be clean and neat for services, but the Bible clearly teaches that we should not reject anyone based on their
clothing. John the Baptist wore very plain clothes but was called the greatest man (Matthew 3:4; 11:8-11). The context of 1Timothy 2:9-10 seems to be public worship: women should not put on a
"style show" but emphasize modesty. Finally, we have specific instructions in James 2:2-4:
"For if there should come into your assembly [synagogue] a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man
in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at
my footstool," have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?"
Written by: Norm Edwards
What good things can be done during Sabbath services?
Can a worship service be held without an ordained minister?
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