About the Synagogue and the Temple

You’re wrong. The early Christians worshipped. Their worship was directly based on Jewish synagogue worship, which is well documented historically.

The relationship between synagogue gatherings and early Christian gatherings is not “direct,” nor is it “well documented historically.” These are oft-repeated myths that have spread undeterred among Christians for some time.

For my doctoral dissertation, I spent about three months—full time—analyzing the latest scholarly assessment of “the origins of the Christian assembly.” My dissertation has 25 pages on this topic, but I’ll try to be brief.

First, the astonishing fact is that the NT never says that Christians met in the synagogue. Yet, it’s amazing how far this errant idea has spread. It’s true that Paul used synagogue meetings as an opportunity to proclaim the gospel to the gathered Jews (Acts 9:20; 13:5, 14; 14:1; 17:1, 10, 17; 18:4, 19, 26; 19:8), but Christians did not, in fact, “meet in the synagogue.”

In addition, it must be noted that the synagogue itself is never mentioned in the OT. Unlike the long list of Scriptures that specify dozens of details about the building and operation of the temple, there are no Scriptures that identify how God demanded the building of the synagogue or how He specified its purpose and activities.

It’s true that some scholars think the Christian assembly is “based on” the synagogue, but it’s also true that some scholars adamantly deny it. A few scholars say that church meetings were based on the temple, while most reject that idea. In recent decades, some scholars have proposed that early Christian meetings sprang from the Greco-Roman banquet tradition, the symposia, or association meetings. While these proposals have attracted some supporters, they, too, have problems.

I tend to think that the best proposal is that Christian gatherings were based on customary practices for domestic gatherings around “the breaking of bread” of a common meal. After all, the house is, in fact, where early Christians commonly met (Rom 16:5; 1 Cor 16:19; Col 4:15; Phlm 1:2; 2 Jn 1:10; cf. Acts 9:17; 10:17; 12:12; 17:5; 20:20; 21:8; 21:16).

Yet, we must admit that the biblical documents do not tell us the origin of the Christian assembly, and ultimately, all such proposals of its “origin” are merely guesses. So, if we want to know what early Christian assemblies were like, it’s much better to simply study the NT evidence, which provides us with abundant information about the purpose and nature of these gatherings.

One more point seems necessary. Today, it is common for scholars to refer to first-century synagogue meetings as “synagogue worship” or “synagogue services.” In fact, first-century synagogue meetings were never described as “synagogue worship” or as “synagogue services.”

Again, anachronism is rampant in our thinking. We are making unjustified assumptions that these early synagogue gatherings were like their modern versions—or perhaps like their much-evolved fourth-century versions.

Similarly, when we assume that early Christian assemblies were viewed as “worship services,” we are anachronistically forcing modern conventions into the first-century culture. In fact, these meetings were never called “worship” in the first-century culture, and they were never described as “services.”

You say that the early Christians met in homes. But didn’t the early Christians meet daily in the temple? What about Peter and John going to the temple in Acts 3?

First, I did not say that the first-century Christians met exclusively in homes. But it’s abundantly clear that homes were a common venue for their meetings. The certain house churches are mentioned in Rom 16:5; 1 Cor 16:19; Col 4:15; Phlm 1:2; 2 Jn 1:10. Other possible references to house churches include Acts 9:17; 10:17; 12:12; 17:5; 20:20; 21:8; 21:16.

Yes, the temple was the likely initial venue for the earliest Christian gatherings, but only in Jerusalem, the only town that had a Jewish temple. Acts 2:46-47 says, “Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people.” (NASB)

But the idea of “continuing in the temple” needs closer attention. Instead of “continuing (προσκαρτεροῦντες) with one mind in the temple,” some English versions translate these words as “attending the temple together” (ESV, RSV; cf. NIV, CSB, NAB). This translation might lead the reader to conclude that the verse is a depiction of Christians “attending church” in the temple. However, the usual Greek terms for “meeting” or “assembling” are absent in this passage. The participle προσκαρτεροῦντες, used also in Acts 1:14 and 2:42, does not carry the connotation of “meeting” but of “continuing” or “persisting” (EDNT, NIDNTTE, and BDAG).

The temple activity of these early Christians probably included no structured activity other than encountering one another on the temple grounds “where all the Jews congregate” (Jn 18:20) and participating in the designated Jewish prayer times as Peter and John did, only two verses later, at “the hour of prayer, the ninth hour” (Acts 3:1).

Since the temple is mentioned as a locus of activity, the modern reader might be tempted to envision that these Christians participated in an organized “service” in a “sanctuary.” But there is no evidence that the temple had seating or meeting rooms. In the first century, the overall temple area encompassed a space equivalent to thirty-five (American) football fields, and the majority of that space was uncovered, exposed to the weather, and open to the free roaming of non-priestly Jews.

The area would have been ideal for these early Christians because (1) they were all Jews or Jewish converts, (2) they were likely already accustomed to visiting the temple daily for the designated Jewish prayer times, (3) being close to the “dwelling place of God” (Acts 7:46) would be the natural inclination for Jews who are “praising God” (Acts 2:47; 4:21-24), and (4) the outer courts may have been the only city area large enough to accommodate the three thousand believers mentioned in Acts 2:41. Solomon’s Portico, a large “porch” area specifically mentioned in Acts 3:11 and 5:12, was likely a favorite space for this large body of new Christians.

What did these believers do when they “continued” in the temple? While the Jewish priests focused on sacrificial rituals in the Holy Place, the temple courts in the first century were used for commerce (Mt 21:12; Mk 11:15-16; Lk 19:45; Jn 2:14-15), personal prayer (Lk 2:37; 18:10; Acts 3:1; 22:17), free-flowing discussions (Mk 11:27-28; 12:35-38; Lk 2:46; Jn 10:23-25; 11:56), and impromptu teaching and preaching (Mt 21:23; 26:55; Mk 14:49; Lk 19:47; 20:1; 21:37-38; Jn 7:14, 28; 8:2, 20; Acts 3:12ff.; 4:1; 5:20-21, 25, 42).

It seems likely that the Christians found each other when they entered the temple for the daily Jewish prayer times. While it is possible that the Christians employed leader-led prayer, temple prayer in the Gospels and Acts is primarily depicted as an individual activity, each person offering his own personal prayers (Lk 2:37; 18:10; Acts 22:17).

In Acts 3:1, just a few verses later, Peter and John were found in the temple. As lifelong Jews who were living in Jerusalem, these two were likely in the habit of “continuing” in the temple for the hour of prayer. In spite of the miraculous outbreak of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, Peter and John apparently saw no reason to stop their habit of praying in the magnificent Jewish temple, the only one in the world.

Peter used that visit as an opportunity to proclaim the gospel to the Jews (3:12-26), just as he did in Acts 2. However, his preaching ended up getting them thrown into prison (4:2), and they were commanded not to “speak or teach in the name of Jesus” (4:18). But an angel soon told Peter to “Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple area the whole message of this Life” (5:20), which they continued to do (5:42).

But after Acts 5, there are no more references to Christians using the temple—with the notable exception of Paul performing the purification ruse in Acts 21. Instead, the narrative in Acts records several anti-temple sentiments by Christian leaders.

In Acts 6, Stephen is accused of “speaking against this holy place” (the temple) because he was heard to say “that this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place” (6:13-14). Then, in Acts 7, Stephen openly declares that “the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands” (7:48-50), and Paul makes a similar statement to the Athenians in Acts 17: “The God who made the world and everything that is in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything”(17:24-25).

So, to sum up, Peter in Acts 2-5 used the temple as a venue for proclaiming the gospel to the Jews there. The nature of the Christians “continuing” there is unclear. But their gathering there does not continue for long, probably because of the vigorous official opposition. Starting in Acts 6, Christian leaders also clearly de-emphasized the temple’s significance as they recalled Jesus’ extensive comments about the temple’s eventual destruction (Matt 24; Mark 13; Luke 17, 21, John 2, etc.).

To learn more about the temple and its significance to first-century Christianity, see Video #3, The Temple That Changed Everything.