👉🏽👉🏽👉🏽The #Synagogue and the #Third #Week of the #Great #Fast
Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, as we journey through the sacred days of the Great Fast, let us meditate upon the divine wisdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who entered the synagogue and taught the people, calling them to repentance and the true knowledge of God. The third week of the Great Fast, known as Mekurab or Synagogue, carries deep spiritual significance, for it is during this week that we reflect on Christ’s teachings in the synagogues and the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets in Him.
The Meaning of the Synagogue
The word synagogue refers to a large gathering place, akin to a hill or mountain, and in the Jewish tradition, it is a house of prayer, a temple where the Law of Moses was read and interpreted. From the days of captivity in Babylon, when the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, the Jewish people established synagogues in all the lands where they dwelt, ensuring that the Word of God would never cease to be proclaimed.
These synagogues became centers of worship, places where the faithful gathered every Sabbath to engage in prayer, read from the Law and the Prophets, and receive instruction in righteousness. The synagogue was not merely a place of assembly but a divine institution where God's people sought His face through worship and study.
Christ in the Synagogue: The Fulfillment of the Law
It is written:
"And 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)
From the beginning of His public ministry, our Lord Jesus Christ entered the synagogues, teaching with authority and revealing the mystery hidden for ages: that He Himself is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. When He took the scroll and read from the prophet Isaiah, saying,
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor…" (Luke 4:18),
He declared to all that the long-awaited Messiah had come.
The people marveled at His words, for He did not speak as the scribes and Pharisees, but with the power of divine truth. He rebuked the hypocrisy of the religious leaders, saying,
"I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I am Lord of the Sabbath."
He drove out those who turned His Father's house into a place of business, proclaiming,
"My house shall be called a house of prayer."
The Authority of Christ in the Synagogue
The synagogue was a place of strict religious order. The leaders had authority to punish wrongdoers, administer discipline, and expel those who opposed the Law. Inside, the sacred books of the Law and the Prophets were kept, and priests and teachers stood upon an elevated platform to read and expound upon the Scriptures. Yet when Christ entered, He demonstrated a higher authority.
"And when the Sabbath day came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and they were astonished at His teaching." (Mark 6:1)
The authority of the synagogue rulers was temporal, but the authority of Christ was eternal. He did not merely interpret the Law—He fulfilled it. He did not merely teach the Scriptures—He was the Word made flesh.
The Apostles and the Synagogues
Even after the resurrection and ascension of our Lord, His apostles continued to preach the Gospel in the synagogues. The Acts of the Apostles tells us that wherever they went, they entered the synagogues first, proclaiming Christ to both Jews and Gentiles. Yet in many places, they faced rejection, for the hardness of men’s hearts refused to accept the truth.
"Take heed that no one causes you to stumble in food or drink, or in a festival or on a Sabbath." (Colossians 2:16)
St. Paul, who once persecuted the Church but later became her greatest champion, exhorted the faithful not to be bound by the shadow of the Law, for Christ is its fulfillment. True worship is not found in the external observance of rites but in the purity of heart and faith.
Continues 👇🏽