The structure of the local synagogues was carried over directly into the structure of the early church. As a result of the lack of understanding concerning Jewish practices, many pastors and churches have erred by making improper application to these functionaries, not realizing that originally the early church was following a customary set pattern from the synagogue. A president, deacons, a preceptor (song leader), and teachers can all be found in both the synagogue and the early church. We know from early sources that there were between 394 and 480 synagogues in Jerusalem during the first century, one being located within the precincts of the Temple itself (Jer. Talmud, Meg. 3:1; Ket. 105a; Sot. 7:7,8 Yoma 7:1).

This is undoubtedly why the early pattern of the church had its origins in the Jewish synagogue. The many similarities between the ancient synagogue and the early church include the principal leader of the synagogue and the church’s being called the nasi or president. In the Christian congregation, the leaders were still called president rather than pastor as late as 160 C.E., by such non-Jewish writers as Justin Martyr (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1, p. 186). In the synagogue structure, three of these leaders would join together to form a tribunal for judging cases concerning money, theft, immorality, admission of proselytes, laying on hands, and a host of other things mentioned in the Sanhedrin section of the Mishnah. Because they took on the chief care of things, these men were known as the rulers of the synagogue, a title mentioned several times in the teachings of Jesus (Mark 5:3; Luke 8:41). This practice was still in use among the non-Jewish congregations at Corinth under the apostleship of Paul, where he spoke of the court within the congregation (I Corinthians 6:1, 2). The nasi was the administrator of the synagogue. We know that James, the half-brother of Jesus, was the nasi of the early church at Jerusalem. Early documents such as the Didache suggest that the churches in Asia Minor and Greece treated the church at Jerusalem with much the same authority as the synagogues did the Sanhedrin (Hitchcock, Didache 8, ch. 11-15; Eusebius History 3:25.4).

There was also a public minister of the synagogue called a chazen who prayed, preached behind a wooden pulpit, and took care of the general oversight of the reading of the Law and other congregational duties. He did not read the Law, but stood by the one who did, to correct and oversee, ensuring that it was done properly. He selected seven readers each week who were well-educated in the Hebrew Scriptures. The group consisted of one priest, one Levite, and five regular Israelites (Luke 4:16). The terms overseer of the congregation, angel of the church, and minister of the synagogue all referred to this position (Lightfoot, Vol. 11, 89-99; Revelation 3:1, 7, 14).

There were also three men known as almoners or parnasin who cared for the poor and distributed alms and were expected to be scholars of the Scriptures. They were also known as gabbay tzedikah, a term and function from which we get the modern term deacon. Although the function of the deacon comes from this, the actual word deacon is borrowed from a Greek word representing an ancient pagan cult official and was used after the church had started to lose its Jewish influence. Some scholars hold that it was from these seven, the president, the ruler, the overseer, the chazen, and the three parnas, that the idea of selecting seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom came about (Acts 6:3). These men were appointed over the business affairs of the church so the apostles would not have to be distracted from their study of Scriptures and prayer.

In Jewish literature the question is asked, "Who is a scholar worthy of being appointed Parnas?" The answer is: "He who is asked about a law from any source and is able to give an answer" (Talmud, Shab. 114a). In modern times the Jews use this term to refer to a lay person, who is also called an elder.

Another function in the ancient synagogue was the shaliach, or announcer. From this position we get the term apostle, meaning one who is sent to announce the gospel, a role equivalent to that of our modern missionaries. There was also the maggid, a migratory evangelist of the first century who spoke to various congregations, and the batlanim, a scholarly teacher who was either independently wealthy or on some type of support so he would be available to provide the congregation with accurate academics and answers. There had to be at least ten batlanim in every congregation of one hundred and twenty members. There was even a tradition that a synagogue service could not commence without ten such men present (Lightfoot, Vol. 2, p. 89). Jesus may have been amending this tradition when He said, "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20).

Next, there was the zakin, a word meaning old, more in the since of maturity than age. This person provided counsel to the people and was similar to a modern-day pastor or elder. In Judaism, those who had reached the age of forty were considered to have attained understanding, and those who were over fifty were determined worthy to counsel the younger people (Avot 5:21; I Peter 5:5; I Timothy 5:1).

The rabbi was a prophet after the manner of the post-exilic prophets of Judaism. He carried the responsibility of reading and preaching the word and exhorting and edifying the people (I Corinthians 14:3). There was also the interpreter, known as the meturganim. This was a person skilled in languages who stood by the one reading the Law or teaching in a Bet Midrash (a house of study) to interprete into the lingua franca of that day the Hebrew that was being spoken. The use of an interpreter goes back to the time of Ezra, when the interpreter was said to have added the meaning. The Talmud gives many details of the interpreter’s duties in the synagogue (Meg. 4; Maimon. Tephillah, 12; Mas-secheth Soph. 103). It is from this concept that we understand Jesus’ words, "What you hear in the ear, that preach you upon the housetops" (Matthew 10:27). This phrase was easily understood by those who were familiar with the system of study in the Bet Midrash, where the teacher would literally speak the message in the interpreter’s ear, who would then shout it out to others, both inside the classroom and out.

Besides the organizational structure of the early church’s having its roots in the synagogue, many of its customs were also Jewish. All of the initial Christians were either Jews by birth or by conversion, and apparently there were no Gentile members for at least the first ten years. This conclusion is implied by several texts, including Acts 10, where approximately ten years after His ascension, the Lord had to instruct Peter three times to go into the house of a Gentile. This strongly suggests that the Jewish church had been meeting house to house and breaking bread only in Jewish homes up to that time (Acts 2:42-46). Furthermore, when Peter entered the house of Cornelius, he explained to his household that he still understood it to be unlawful for a Jew to enter the house of a non-Jew (Acts 10:28).

Further evidence of the Jewishness of the early believers can be found in an incident recorded in Acts 21:20, an event which occurred some twenty-five years after the Lord’s ascension. When Paul returned to Jerusalem with some charitable contributions for the believers, he was told that during his absence many thousands of Jews had become believers, yet they continued to be staunch upholders of the Law.