Tracing The Liturgy Of The Word To Synagogue Worship

A good example of Synagogue worship is found in Luke 4:16-20 – “Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the Sabbath day.  He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.  He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:  ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down…”  (The attendant most likely marked that place in Isaiah for the following Friday’s Sabbath service.)

Jesus, the Rabbi (teacher), then delivered an instruction on Isaiah according to Luke 4:20-21 – “…and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.  He said to them, ‘Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing’.”  Either this was the shortest homily in history, or Luke only recorded the first words of Jesus since the following sentence states that “all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth”.  The Gospels narrate other examples of where Jesus taught the people in their synagogues.

Following Jesus’ homily, prayers of intercession were offered up concluding with a blessing, collection for the poor, and dismissal.  This same ritual structure of the Sabbath Service in Jesus’ day dated back to the Babylonian Exile (587-537 B.C.).  It was also by the Jewish Christians in the early Church.  The Acts of the Apostles (2:46) recount that after Jesus’ resurrection, Christians continued to listen to God’s Word in the Synagogue and/or Temple.  Then gathering in their homes, they “broke bread” together (the original term for the Eucharist).   They continued meeting with their fellow Jews for their Scripture Service until the break between Judaism and Christianity became inevitable in 70 A.D.

From 70 A.D., the Scripture readings once heard in the Synagogue by the early Christians were now combined with the “breaking of bread” in their homes.  St. Justin Martyr in his “Apology” (147-161 A.D.) records the most ancient account of the Christian Liturgy of the Word: “On the day which is called Sunday, there is an assembly in the same place of all who live in cities, or in country districts; and the records of the Apostles, or the writings of the Prophets, are read as long as we have time.  Then the reader concludes; and the President verbally exhorts us to imitate these excellent things; then, we all together rise and offer up our prayers” (67).  Note that Christians now read from the letters of the Apostles and the Gospel, no longer from the Torah but occasionally from the Prophets.

Comparing the structure of St. Justin Martyr’s Liturgy of the Word to the Jewish Synagogue Service dating back to 587-537 B.C., we see obvious similarities although in a somewhat different order:

Synagogue Service

                Blessings

Eighteen Prayers (Petitions)

                Psalms chanted

                Profession of Faith – “Shema, Israel”

Readings from the Law and the Prophets

                Homily

                Additional Petitions and Blessing

                Collection for the Poor

St. Justin Martyr’s Liturgy of the Word

Readings (Apostles, Prophets, Gospel)

Psalms (chanted between the readings)

Homily

Prayers of Intercession

Collection for the Poor

Interestingly, St. Justin does not mention a “Profession of Faith,” which was not yet a standard part of Sunday worship.