Home Church Community

Statement of Beliefs

Contact Us

Search Our Site

Bible Study Resource



Printer Friendly Version

Particulars of Christianity:
312 The Church Ethic


The First Supper, Jesus' Specific Instructions, Conclusions of Gospels Survey

Introduction & 3 Models of Church Gatherings and Leadership
Examining the Models
Examining the Models Conclusions and Study Expectations
Examining Church Gatherings in the Gospels
The First Supper, Jesus' Specific Instructions, Conclusions
Survey of Post-Ascension Church Gatherings
Apostolic and Eldership Functions in Acts and the Epistles
1 Corinthians 1-10 & Introduction to 1 Corinthians 11-14
1 Corinthians 11-13
1 Corinthians 14
1 Timothy 2:12, Conclusions on Women in Church Gatherings
Conclusions: 1 Corinthians 14, Church Gatherings & Leadership




The First Supper –John 13-17 and the Communion Meal

 

Having taken a look at the final chapters of John, we will return to the portion we momentarily skipped, John 13-17.

 

Chapter 13 begins John’s record of Jesus’ last meal with his disciples. This event is also covered briefly in each of the other gospels (Matthew 26:17-45, Mark 14:17-43, Luke 22:14-46). Matthew’s account of the Last Supper contains Jesus’ indication that Judas would betray him and Jesus’ instructions for the continued practice of the communion meal. Then there is the singing of a hymn, Jesus’ mention of his pending suffering and death, Peter’s denial that he would abandon Jesus, a time of prayer on the Mount of Olives while the apostles fall asleep, Judas’ betrayal, and Jesus’ arrest. Mark’s account records similar details. Luke 22 records Jesus’ instructions for the communion meal, his indication of who would betray him, an argument among the apostles as to which would be the greatest in the kingdom, Jesus’ indication that Peter would be tested, Peter’s confidence that he wouldn’t abandon Jesus, Jesus’ prophecy of Peter’s denial, going to the Mount of Olives to pray, an angel appearing to strengthen Jesus, the disciples sleeping, and finally Jesus’ betrayal by Judas.

 

John’s account of the Last Supper is the longest and most detailed by far. Chapter 13:1 begins with Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. After a brief exchange with Peter over this, Jesus instructs his disciples about service and leadership citing himself as the example that they should follow. After this, there is some discussion about Jesus’ remark that one of them would betray him and Judas leaving to initiate that betrayal.

 

After Judas’ exit, a long discourse from Jesus begins in John 13:31. This discourse is important to our study for several reasons. First, the context of this discourse is definitely a gathering of Jesus’ disciples. And second, this chapter contains Jesus’ initiation of the communion meal which we will discuss later in our study. At this point, we should note that the Last Supper was a full meal. Specifically, it was a Passover meal consistent with Old Testament Passover requirements. It was not merely the eating of a small piece of bread and a sip of wine.

 

Matthew 26:17 Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? 18  And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples. 19 And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover. 20 Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.

 

Mark 14:12 And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover? 13 And he sendeth forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him. 14 And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? 15 And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us. 16 And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover. 17 And in the evening he cometh with the twelve.

 

Luke 22:7 Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed. 8 And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat. 9 And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? 10 And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in. 11 And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? 12 And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. 13 And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover. 14 And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. 15 And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:

 

Likewise, we must note that the gospels inform us that Jesus commanded the disciples to continue this practice as a model for later church gatherings.

 

Matthew 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. 27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

 

Mark 14:22 And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. 23 And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. 24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. 25 Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

 

Luke 22:17 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: 18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. 19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

 

The New Testament further indicates how the early church took these instructions at the Last Supper from Jesus to his disciples regarding the communion meal. The early church took these instructions to be instructions for their church meetings. By comparing the passages above to the passages below, two facts emerge. First, the phrase “breaking bread” became synonymous in the New Testament for the communion meal. Second, the communion meal itself became a hallmark and essential feature of church gatherings. The reason for this was simple. The early church understood Jesus’ instructions in the Last Supper to be instructions for regular church gatherings. (In the passages below, we see not only the use of phrases like “breaking bread” but also the notion of eating a meal or feast as a central part of those gatherings.)

 

Acts 2:42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

 

Acts 2:46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,

 

Acts 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

 

1 Corinthians 10:6 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17 or we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.

 

1 Corinthians 11:17 Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. 18 For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. 19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. 20 When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper. 21 For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. 22 What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. 23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. 27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

 

2 Peter 2:13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;

 

Jude 1:12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;

 

These two facts make chapters 13-17 of John particularly and significantly relevant to our study. Simply put, the early New Testament church clearly took the Last Supper as having prescriptive implications for later church gatherings.

 

A third reason that these chapters are important to our study concerns the characteristics of the discourse itself. The discourse that follows spans four and a half chapters containing 125 verses. Of these 125 verses, Jesus is interrupted at times by his disciples. In fact, several disciples speak up with questions during Jesus’ instruction. Peter starts with two questions in two verses at the beginning of the dialogue. Thomas also asks a one-verse question. Philip does similarly followed later by Judas (not Judas Iscariot). In four different verses John makes the general notation that “the disciples” spoke up with a question or comment either among themselves or to Jesus directly.

 

From this we can deduce that the disciples’ early experience and “on-the-job” training was that gatherings allowed for interaction and questions from those present. However, though the interaction seemed open to all those present, the contribution, function, and participation is not equally shared by all. In fact, of the 125 verses that record this important and foundational gathering, Jesus speaks for a commanding 116 of them with the disciples speaking for only a total of 9 verses.

 

This being the case, John 13:31 through the end of John 17 must be understood as having implicit and foundational importance to our study. It certainly corroborates the general model we have seen throughout the course of our survey. It is certainly relevant given that the context of these passages is a gathering of Jesus’ followers. And it is relevant in that at least a portion of this event (the communion meal) was taken by the disciples as being prescriptive for later church gatherings (1 Corinthians 10:16-17, 21).

 

To be clear then, what we see in these four and a half chapters is a gathering of Jesus’ followers, which was (at least in part) taken by those followers as prescriptive for later meetings. Furthermore, this prescriptive gathering is characterized by a teacher-dominant format in which other men could speak and ask questions, but in which there was not equal participation, contribution, or function by all persons present.

 

And while it is certainly clear that this prescriptive aspect included the meal, the prescription may have included more than just the meal itself. If that is the case, we might expect later church gatherings to be characterized largely by one person leading through teaching with some lesser, limited participation from those with questions or comments. (Such an expectation corresponds fairly closely to the expectations of the Elder-Leadership model.)

 

And we have also learned that the communion meal was taken as a part of a full meal modeled after the Passover feast. The fact that the communion meal was a full feast is also indicated by problems Paul identifies with the Corinthian church’s meal. Specifically, some of the Corinthians were getting too full and others were going hungry. This result would not be possible if the meal consisted solely of a single piece of unleavened bread and a sip of wine.

 

We might also make an additional note based on John’s longer description of what happened at this gathering with Jesus and his disciples on the night before he died. Though several of the men are mentioned by name as speaking in the gathering, there is no account of any of the women speaking over the course of the gathering. It is generally held that Mary Magdalene (as well as other women who were among the 120 disciples of Acts 1 and 2) were present at this meal. However, in point of fact, John provides no direct indication that they were present. But, if we were to assume that Jesus’ women followers were in attendance that night, the Last Supper might then provide some precedent for later comments from Paul, in which he states that women were to remain silent in church gatherings. In short, if the women were present, John 13-17 would provide additional early evidence that the silence of women during church gatherings originated with Jesus (as exemplified at the Last Supper) just as Paul seems to imply in 1 Corinthians 14:34-37.

 

As we continue our study of early church meetings we will see if the descriptions of later meetings do, in fact, follow the model of the Last Supper in all aspects including the full meal, the limited number of speakers, the pre-eminence of teaching, open participation for men to ask questions and make comments, and the silence of women. All of these features of the Last Supper gathering find their parallel in the Elder-Leadership model for church gatherings. What we may find is that instead of being the Last Supper, Jesus’ last meal with his disciples’ before his death was instead the First Supper, which was intended to serve as a prescriptive model for all later church gatherings.

 

 

 

Specific Instructions from Jesus on Leadership in the Church

 

Having concluded our survey on the topic of how Jesus Himself modeled leadership and conducted gatherings, we should take a moment to consider a few specific passages in which Jesus provided instructions to His disciples about church leadership. The first texts we will look at are Matthew 20, Mark 10, and Luke 22.

 

Matthew 20:20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. 21 And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom. 22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. 23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. 24 And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren. 25 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. 26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; 27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: 28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

 

Mark 10:35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. 36 And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? 37 They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. 38 But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? 39 And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: 40 But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. 42 But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. 43 But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: 44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.

 

Luke 22:24 And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. 25 And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. 26 But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. 27 For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth. 28 Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. 29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; 30 That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

 

In his book Reimagining Church, Frank Viola describes to his readers his understanding of what Jesus’ meant in these passages.

 

In brief, the hierarchical leadership structure characterizes the spirit of the Gentiles. The implanting of these structures into the church, therefore, is at odds with New Testament Christianity. Our Lord didn’t mince words in declaring His implicit disdain for the Gentile notion of leadership: “It shall not be so among you!”(Matthew 20:26 KJV) is His explicit feeling on it. All in all, there is no room in the teaching of Jesus for the hierarchical leadership model that characterizes the institutional church. – Frank Viola, Reimagining Church, Chapter 8, Reimagining Leadership, page 157

 

Significantly, the Greek word for “exercise authority” in Matthew is katexousiazo. Katexousiazo is a combination of two Greek words: kata, which means over; and exousiazo, which means to exercise authority. Jesus also used the Greek word katakurieuo in this passage, which means to “lord it over” others. What Jesus is condemning in these texts is not oppressive leaders as such. He’s condemning the hierarchical form of leadership that dominates the Gentile world. That bears repeating. Jesus was not just condemning tyrannical leaders. He was condemning the hierarchical form of leadership itself. What is the hierarchical form of leadership? It’s the leadership style that’s built on a chain-of-command social structure. It’s rooted in the idea that power and authority flow from the top down. Hierarchical leadership is rooted in a worldly concept of power. This explains why it’s endemic to all traditional bureaucracies. It’s present in the vicious forms of liege/lord feudalism and master/slave relationships. But it’s also present in the highly stylized spheres of military and corporate America. While often bloodless, the hierarchical leadership style is undesirable for God’s people. Why? Because it reduces human interaction to command-style relationships. Such relationships are foreign to New Testament thinking and practice. Yet hierarchical leadership is employed everywhere in secular culture. And the institutional church operates by it. – Frank Viola, Reimagining Church, Chapter 8, Reimagining Leadership, page 156

 

According to Viola, Jesus isn’t just condemning tyrannical leadership, he’s condemning any form of leadership which places some individuals over other individuals. But is this what Jesus is actually saying in these passages?

 

First, we should note that Jesus indicates some sense of hierarchy by affirming that there will be thrones on His right and left hands when He comes in His kingdom.

 

Second, it is true that Jesus is condemning the manner of leadership exercised by the Gentiles and that Jesus forbids his disciples from following that Gentile type of leadership. However, we are told in Matthew’s account that in place of this Gentile model, Jesus sets Himself as the example for leadership in the church. From this we can see that Jesus gave us clear indications of what He meant church leadership should be by pointing to how He Himself leads.

 

And if Jesus replaces the Gentile leadership model with the model He Himself exemplified, is Frank Viola right to conclude that Jesus’ model is prohibitive of speaker-dominant teaching during church gatherings as well as a hierarchical structuring of leadership? In order to assess the validity of Viola’s conclusion we only have to ask whether Jesus’ own manner of leadership precludes hierarchical structure and speaker-dominant church gatherings.

 

So, did Jesus leadership involve gatherings in which a single person dominated the meeting through lengthy teaching sessions? Yes, it most certainly did. Did Jesus’ leadership of the church involve him being in a position of authority over the rest of the church? Yes, it most certainly does. Does authority in the church flow from the top down from Jesus to the church? Yes, it absolutely does. Does Jesus Himself provide indications of hierarchical structuring within church leadership in which some of His servants will be in a position over other servants? Yes, in fact, he does.

 

Luke 22:28 Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. 29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; 30 That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

 

Here in Luke 22:28-30, which occurs at the end of Jesus’ teaching on Gentile leadership, we find Jesus indicating that the twelve apostles will have a position of authority over others in His kingdom. And we already know that Jesus said that there would be two thrones on His right and left hand as well. Similarly, we find Jesus giving a parable in Luke 19 where faithful servants receive authority over ten and five cities respectively.

 

Luke 19:16 Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. 17 And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. 18 And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. 19 And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.

 

And in Matthew 24 and Luke 12, Jesus similarly speaks of those who are rulers over the master’s house and over the rest of the master’s servants. Note that in these passages Jesus is describing servants being placed in a position over the master’s household while the master is away.

 

Matthew 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler (2525) over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler (2525) over all his goods. 48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

Luke 12:42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler (2525) over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? 43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler (2525) over all that he hath. 45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; 46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

 

We will cover these passages again later in our study, but for now we should note that Jesus condemns the servants who have been placed over the rest of the master’s household for beating and mistreating the other servants. This condemnation seems to fit pretty well with Jesus’ condemnation of Gentile leaders who “lord their authority over” those under them. Consequently, contrary to Viola’s interpretation, it would seem that Jesus is mostly condemning the tyranny and oppression in Gentiles hierarchies, not the hierarchical structure itself. Conversely, if Jesus’ own idea of leadership was inclusive of some hierarchical structuring then Viola is wrong when he concludes that “Hierarchical leadership is rooted in a worldly concept of power.” Instead, hierarchical leadership seems to be equally represented in God’s own kingly authority. And, after all, kingly authority is the basis of the liege/lord feudal systems and command-style relationships that Viola condemns specifically. If Christ is our king, then we have no basis for saying that the entire notion of hierarchical leadership structures and “command” style authority is “foreign to New Testament thinking and practice” as Viola does.

 

Because Jesus Himself conducts speaker-dominant gatherings, occupies a hierarchical leadership position, and speaks about hierarchical leadership among his servants whom He would appoint over His “household” while He is gone, it is impossible to understand Jesus’ instructions to the apostles in Matthew 20, Mark 10, and Luke 22 as Frank Viola suggests. Instead it is much simpler and more consistent to understand Jesus as teaching His apostles that even though He was their leader, His leadership served to benefit them and not to benefit Himself. This was different from the manner of Gentile rulers who used their authority over others selfishly to benefit themselves at the expense and even at the abuse of others.

 

This same theme is also expressed in Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet during the Last Supper in John 13.

 

John 13:12 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? 13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. 16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. 17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

 

In John 13, Jesus’ leadership and instructions inform the apostles that their own leadership should be a service and a benefit to those they lead and not simply for their own benefit. Likewise, in Matthew 23, Jesus condemns the leadership of His generation for their egotistical motivations and for loving the attention and honor they received from others because of their position.

 

Let’s consider another teaching from Jesus on the topic of leadership and whether or not Jesus’ comments were intended to remove hierarchical leadership.

 

Matthew 23:1 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, 2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: 3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. 4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, 6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. 8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. 9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. 10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. 11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

 

Here, Jesus forbids His disciples from using titles because the Pharisees used such things to distinguish themselves from common men. According to Jesus, only He is our master, and we are all brethren. Certainly, Jesus prohibited the use of titles in this passage, but are his comments here equally prohibiting of leadership positions within the church?

 

Consider 1 Corinthians 11:1-3.

 

1 Corinthians 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. 2 Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you. 3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

 

In this passage, when he states that Christ is the head of every man, Paul upholds Jesus statements in Matthew 23:8-10 that we have only one master and that we are all brethren. In making this statement Paul affirms that there is no intervening master between each man and Christ. However, in verse 1 Paul tells the Corinthians church to follow him as he follows Christ. Why didn’t Paul simply say “follow Christ” instead of “follow me as I follow Christ?”

 

In a similar vein, Paul’s statement in verse 3 that “the head of every man is Christ” is attached to two additional statements indicating some sort of hierarchy in which Paul places God as the head of Christ and man as the head of woman. This constitutes a hierarchical structure of authority in the church while at the same time preserving Christ’s unique leadership role.

 

Similarly, look at Paul’s remarks in 1 Thessalonians 2 and 1 Corinthians 4.

 

1 Thessalonians 2:11 As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, 12 That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory. 13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

 

1 Corinthians 4:15 For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. 16 Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.

 

Though Jesus specifically forbids his followers from being called by the title “father” in Matthew 23:9 (because God the Father is our only Father), Paul describes his relationship with the Christians in Thessalonica and Corinth as one of a father to his children. In both passages he connects his “fatherhood” to teaching them the gospel.” In 1 Corinthians 4, Paul even concludes by again saying “be ye followers of me.” From these passages it seems clear that the apostles did not take Jesus statements in Matthew 23 as prohibitive of them having positions of hierarchical leadership when it came to instructing of the church.

 

Given Paul’s comments in these passages and Jesus’ other teachings on this same subject, it is difficult to infer that Jesus was condemning any and all forms of hierarchical leadership structures in the church as Viola confidently claims. In order to determine exactly how the apostles understood and applied Jesus’ comments in these passages we will have to further examine the mode of their leadership as exemplified later in the New Testament after Jesus’ ascension into heaven. Then we will be able to know if the apostles understood Jesus to forbid all practice of hierarchical leadership structures and speaker-dominant meeting formats. We have already seen some indications from Paul that they did not. But we will continue to examine these questions as we continue our study into the Book of Acts.

 

For now, we can only be sure that Viola is simply wrong when he concludes that “there is no room in the teaching of Jesus for the hierarchical leadership model” and that, “Such relationships are foreign to New Testament thinking and practice.” Viola fails to take into account or mention other passages in which Jesus teaches on the subject. And he does not provide his readers with an examination of Matthew 20, Mark 10, and Luke 22 in light of these other passages, not to mention their own context. Contrary to Viola’s overreaching conclusion, Jesus’ New Testament instructions only indicate that leadership must be understood and practiced as a service to benefit those who are led and not in terms of a service provided by those who are led to the benefit of their leaders. Nothing in Jesus’ words in these passages in any way forbid speaker-dominant formats in church gatherings or the concept of some individuals being in a position of oversight and leadership over others. Rather, Jesus words in these passages actually demand hierarchy and speaker-dominant gatherings for two reasons. First, because in these passages Jesus cites himself as the pattern that Church leadership is based upon. And second, because Jesus himself serves in a hierarchical position, employs teacher-dominant meeting styles, and, in fact, indicates that some of his servants will oversee others while He is away and during His kingdom. Consequently, Viola’s conclusion isn’t simply unsupported. It’s wrong.

 

 

 

Conclusions from Our Survey of Gatherings in the Gospels

 

We have now completed our survey of the gospels. By proceeding thoroughly through each passage and chapter of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John we have become familiar with the disciples’ experience and the nature of their gatherings during Jesus’ ministry. We have been tedious. To ensure that we did not overlook any critical instances,  which might inform us about what style of gatherings the disciples experienced with Jesus or how Jesus’ trained them “on-the-job” for their future leadership of the church, we have not left out a single passage. What we have done is to provide the larger historical narrative in which to context later New Testament meetings.

 

What we have seen is that the kinds of interaction in the gospels can be classified into basically three general types or categories.

 

And among these there are perhaps two categories, which we would hesitate to call actual “gatherings” of Jesus’ followers. The first of these two categories would be instances of intermittent conversations or interactions between Jesus and one or two people as he traveled about proclaiming the gospel. In many of these occasions Jesus is engaged by a single person from the crowd (the centurion, the synagogue ruler, the rich young man, a mother, etc.). On some of these occasions Jesus is approached by one or two members of the religious leadership (a scribe, a Pharisee, a Sadducee, etc.) These intermittent exchanges between Jesus and one or two persons sometimes may have occurred in the presence of the crowds, but sometimes they occurred in more isolated or less populated circumstances. In either case, it is doubtful that anyone would seek to place these two types of exchanges into the category of a “gathering” of Jesus’ followers.

 

In the second category, we also have instances recorded in the gospels where Jesus is teaching the crowds who had come to see him. These types of situations are both comparable to and informative regarding gatherings of Jesus’ followers. One reason to place these kinds of interactions into the category of “early gatherings of Jesus’ followers” is because these people had often followed Jesus about and left their daily lives or routines to hear his teachings. They came to him in large numbers in remote places (and sometimes in the cities or at people’s houses). Consequently, in the most immediate and natural sense, they simply were “gatherings” of Jesus’ followers (and potential followers). And what we see in these circumstances is a format in which a single speaker dominates the gathered audience through the teaching of God’s Word. What we do not see is equal participation by all persons present.

 

However, admittedly many of those who had been a part of these crowds and who had followed Jesus to hear his words, went away and did not become part of his disciples. For this reason, it might be suggested that these types of occurrences were more like opportunities for public evangelism among the unbelieving masses rather than gatherings of Jesus’ disciples. In that case, maybe the format of these types of assemblies is not necessarily informative regarding the manner of meeting of Jesus’ disciples when they came together. Whether these instances are applicable to Church gatherings will have to be determined by looking at the structure of church gatherings in the book of Acts and the epistles. If the church gatherings described in those books begin to look remarkably similar in structure to Jesus’ preaching to the crowds, then we ought to conclude that the structure of Jesus’ preaching to the crowds should also be deemed informative to how to conduct Church gatherings today.

 

After examining these two types of interactions and gatherings we arrive at a third and final category, one which most certainly is relevant to the question of the disciples’ early experience with gatherings during Jesus’ ministry. Our final category is comprised of instances in which Jesus was gathered together solely with his disciples and followers. In these cases, what we observed was a model in which a single speaker, Jesus, directed and lead the gathering. His speaking was heavily teaching-oriented. We very clearly see that these meetings allowed for open participation. By that we mean that at any point one of the disciples (at least one of the male disciples) could speak up, could make a comment, or could ask a question. In many instances we see the disciples doing just that. But what we do not see is the concept of equal participation, contribution, and function by all those present. The teaching and leadership function was performed by Jesus who also did the bulk of the contributing and speaking. In no case anywhere throughout any of the gatherings during Jesus ministry do we have any instance where all those gathered spoke, functioned, and contributed equally. Instead, the format is one of imbalance. One person dominates the meeting by teaching the Word. This is how Jesus trained His disciples to lead the church and conduct church gatherings. And on that note, this third category seems quite similar to the second category in which Jesus spoke in dominating fashion to larger crowds that had gathered to hear his teaching. Together, these two categories show that from public evangelism to discipleship, Jesus’ handed on a model of gatherings to his disciples, which was speaker-dominant rather than a model of equal contribution by all.

 

Now that we have familiarized ourselves with Jesus’ own manner in conducting gatherings let us compare what we’ve learned with our Expectations Chart to determine how our models for church gatherings and leadership fit with the model the disciples experienced during their “on-the-job” training time with Christ. Below is the Expectations Chart which we compiled based upon the key features of each model on the main issues of church gathering and leadership. After reviewing this chart we will assess how the expectations of each model fit with the New Testament data.

 

Church Gathering and Leadership Models and New Testament Expectations Chart:

 

Category A: Church Leadership.

1. The Pseudo-traditional Model – New Testament church communities will be lead by a single individual head pastor. New Testament church communities will not involve shared leadership distributed to a group of elders or overseers who together share the leadership of the church community.

2. The Viola Model – New Testament church communities will be lead by a group of individuals called elders or overseers who together share the leadership of the church community. New Testament church communities will not be lead by a single individual head pastor.

3. The Elder-Leadership Model – New Testament church communities will be lead by a group of individuals called elders or overseers who together share the leadership of the church community. New Testament church communities will not be lead by a single individual head pastor.

 

Category B: The Communion Meal.

1. The Pseudo-traditional Model – New Testament communion meals will consist of only a small portion of bread and a small portion of wine. New Testament communion meals will not consist of a full meal.

2. The Viola Model – New Testament communion meals will consist of a full meal. New Testament communion meals will not consist of only a small portion of bread and a small portion of wine.

3. The Elder-Leadership Model – New Testament communion meals will consist of a full meal. Testament communion meals will not consist of only a small portion of bread and a small portion of wine.

 

Category C: Format and Common Features of the Meeting (not including Communion.)

1. The Pseudo-traditional Model – New Testament church gatherings will consist of a large segment of musical worship and a large segment devoted to an absolutely uninterruptable teaching from the head pastor. New Testament church gatherings will not involve any participation from anyone besides the main speaker.

2. The Viola Model – New Testament church gatherings will consist of every person participating, functioning, and contributing equally. New Testament meetings will involve various types of activities including: singing a song, reading a poem, performing a skit, giving a short teaching, giving a word of encouragement, providing a testimony, or offering a prayer. New Testament church gatherings will not contain special roles or tasks reserved for certain, distinct individuals including pastors or elders/overseers. New Testament church gatherings will not involve one, two, or three individuals dominating the time and contributions of the meeting while all other attendees contribute and participate to a much lesser extent (primarily in the role of an audience). New Testament meetings will not contain long sections of musical worship or teaching.

3. The Elder-Leadership Model – New Testament church gatherings will consist of a large teaching component lead by one to three male leader(s) called elders and may be interrupted by other men with questions or comments. New Testament church gatherings will also include prayer (and possibly some singing). New Testament church gatherings will not consist of a large segment of musical worship or an absolutely uninterruptable teaching from a head pastor. New Testament church gatherings will not consist of every person participating, functioning, and contributing equally.

 

Category D: Gender Participation.

1. The Pseudo-traditional Model – (Views on the participation of women in leadership and church services will vary depending on the denomination.)

2. The Viola Model – New Testament church gatherings will include the participation of both men and women with no distinctions or limitations based on gender. New Testament church gatherings will not be limited to participation from men only and will not restrict the participation of women.

3. The Elder-Leadership Model – New Testament church gatherings will limit participation to men only. New Testament church gatherings will not include examples of women speaking, teaching, or asking questions.

 

So, how do these expectations compare to what we read in the gospel accounts of Jesus’ ministry? Let’s do a category by category, model by model analysis.

 

Category A deals with the issue of church leadership. The essential distinction between the three models is whether church leadership is held by a single, individual person such as a head pastor, by a group of individuals collectively, or by all members of the church equally. At this point, having surveyed the gospels, we have only seen one passage that touched on this topic directly. That passage was Matthew 18.

 

Matthew 18:15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. 18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

 

When we read through this passage earlier we noted that in verses 19-20, Jesus places the authority for decision-making in the consensus or agreement of his followers. By establishing this model of decision-making, Jesus is contradicting the concept of a single-headed leadership for the church and placing church leadership under shared authority.

 

Of the three models that we are studying one model, the Pseudo-traditional, model vests leadership of a New Testament church community in a single individual head pastor and rejects the notion of shared leadership held by a group of elders or overseers. As such, Jesus’ statements in Matthew 18 directly contradict the expectations and structure of the Pseudo-traditional model of church leadership. Conversely, the expectations of the Viola model and Elder-Leadership model both fit very well with Jesus’ instructions in this passage because both conceive of church leadership as shared by a group rather than restricted to a single head.

 

A similar analysis of Category B, which deals with the communion meal, also indicates that the Pseudo-traditional model contradicts the New Testament model for church gatherings. The Pseudo-traditional model practices a communion meal, which consists of only a small portion of bread or cracker and a small portion of wine or juice. It was apparent from our survey of the gospels that the communion meal was instituted based on the Old Testament Passover, which was a full meal  (Matthew 26, Mark 10, Luke 22, and John 13-17). Conversely, once again both the Viola model and the Elder-Leadership model fit with the gospel accounts regarding the practice of a full meal for communion.

 

Category C of our Expectations Chart concerns the issues of format and common features of church gatherings. The Pseudo-traditional model typically holds to a church gathering consisting of a large segment of musical worship and a large segment devoted to an absolutely uninterruptable teaching from one person, usually the head pastor. In complete contrast to this, the Viola model requires that all persons function, participate, and contribute equally during the meeting and that no long teaching or long musical segments occur. Instead, in the Viola model meetings are characterized by such activities as each person singing a song, reading a poem, performing a skit, giving a short teaching, giving a word of encouragement, providing a testimony, or offering a prayer. Finally, the Elder-Leadership model envisions a church gathering as a teaching session lead by one to three persons, but where others can participate by asking questions or making comments during the course of the teaching.

 

In this category, our survey of the gospels could fit with either the Pseudo-traditional model or the Elder-Leadership model. As the following list shows, the gospels provide examples of both uninterrupted teaching from Jesus as well as examples of Jesus teaching with some participation from his disciples.

 

1. Matthew 5-7 – Jesus speaks to the crowd gathered on the hillside and delivers the Sermon on the Mount. He is uninterrupted for 106 verses.

2. Matthew 10 – Jesus gathers the twelve and instructs them uninterrupted for 37 verses.

3. Matthew 11 – Jesus teaches the crowds for 23 verses, uninterrupted

4. Matthew 13 – Jesus teaches the crowds and his disciples in a long discourse where Jesus speaks for 46 out of 53 verses. There is some interaction and questions from the disciples about the parables.

5. Matthew 17 and 18 record a series of interactive dialogues while Jesus is gathered together with disciples. Jesus is featured as the teacher with his disciples asking him questions.

6. Matthew 19 – Jesus is gathered with his disciples and teaches them uninterrupted for 19 verses.

7. Matthew 23 – Jesus instructs the crowd gathered around him. He is uninterrupted for 38 verses.

8. Matthew 24-25 – Jesus is gathered with his disciples who ask him about his return and the coming of the kingdom. Jesus responds with 93 uninterrupted verses instructing them what will happen and what to watch for.

9. Mark 13 – Jesus is gathered with his disciples who ask him about his return and the coming of the kingdom. Jesus responds with 33 uninterrupted verses instructing them what will happen and what to watch for.

10. Luke 6 - Jesus speaks to the crowd gathered on the hillside and delivers the Sermon on the Mount. He is uninterrupted for 30 verses.

11. Luke 8 – Jesus teaches the crowds and his disciples for 14 verses. He is interrupted in the middle of this by a question from the disciples about the teaching.

12. Luke 10-22 – Jesus teaches the crowds and his disciples who are gathered together to hear him. Jesus’ speaking comprises 419 of the 538 verses, which end with Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane before his arrest. Some minimal interaction from others does occur throughout.

13. John 13-17 – Jesus gathers together with his disciples on the night before his death. These four chapters consist of 125 verses with Jesus teaching his apostles for 116 of the verses. During Jesus’ discourse, he is on several occasions interrupted by the disciples who comment and ask questions.


However, in contrast to the Pseudo-traditional model, we must note that we did not see any examples where gatherings during the ministry of Christ contained a large segment of musical and/or corporate worship. In this respect, we would have to say that on the topic of the format and common features for church gatherings, the Pseudo-traditional model does not fit the gatherings recorded in the gospels.

 

Similarly, nowhere in our survey of all four gospels did we find instances of gatherings during Jesus’ ministry in which everyone present was portrayed as participating, functioning, and contributing equally through songs, poems, skits, short teachings, encouraging words, testimonies, or prayers. So, we must conclude that the Viola model does not accurately describe the disciples’ experience and “on-the-job” training in gatherings during the ministry of Christ.

 

Our final category, Category 4, deals with the issue of gender participation in church gatherings and leadership. With regard to this issue we can only note that we don’t have a single instance or recording of Jesus’ women followers speaking in any of Jesus’ gatherings with his disciples (or even with the crowds such as the Sermon on the Mount or the Olivet Discourse.) While this information is inconclusive on whether women were permitted to speak, teach, or ask questions during church gatherings, it is still informative regarding the nature of the disciples’ experience of gatherings during the ministry of Christ. That being the case we must again recognize that the Viola model does not fit with the gatherings recorded in the gospels. However, the Elder-Leadership model is consistent with the descriptions we have read.

 

With regard to our four categories, an overall assessment provides the following results for each of the three models. The only model that fits the gospels’ description of gatherings during Jesus’ ministry in all four categories is the Elder-Leadership model, which held to shared leadership of the church, a full communion meal, long presentations of teaching by a dominant speaker, and a lack of participation by women.

 

However, both the Pseudo-traditional model and the Viola model are contradicted by the gospel accounts in two categories. The Pseudo-traditional model fails to fit with the gospel accounts by restricting church leadership to a single head, by shrinking the communion meal down to small portions of bread and wine instead of a full meal, by inserting a large segment of musical worship into the church gathering. The Viola model fails to fit with the gospel accounts by requiring equal participation, function, and contribution by all, by prohibiting long presentations of teaching, and by suggesting that women participated in an equal manner to men at the gatherings.

 

To be fair, a few important points must be mentioned with regard to the analysis of these models in comparison to the gospel accounts. First, just because we see shared church leadership, a full communion meal, speaker-dominant gatherings, and no instances of women speaking at the gatherings prior to Jesus’ ascension does not mean that such practices were necessarily maintained after Jesus’ ascension. To be sure, what we have learned from the gospels does provide pretty strong indications for what we might expect the apostles to put into practice after Jesus’ ascension, but it is at least hypothetically possible that pre-ascension meetings possessed certain, unique features because of the fact that Jesus was physically present (or for some other reason.) The question still needs to be addressed as to what format the church would employ for their meetings after Jesus had ascended. How were church gatherings conducted when Jesus was not physically present to speak, teach, and lead the church? We have not yet answered these important questions fully. To fully answer them we must turn to the rest of the New Testament.

 

However, despite the fact that we have not examined the rest of the New Testament to see how gatherings were conducted after the ascension, we have seen two extremely relevant starting points. First, we have already noted some indications that the Last Supper was intended to serve as a model for future church gatherings. In fact, the Last Supper may have solidified both the full communion meal as well as the speaker-dominant model, which Jesus exemplified during his earthly ministry, as essential and defining format components for future church gatherings.

 

Second, we have resolved the question of what Frank Viola calls the apostle’s “on-the-job” training.

 

This is a very big topic. But, in short, the way that Jesus Christ trained Christian workers was to live with them for a period of years. It was “on the job” training. He mentored His disciples at close range. They also lived in community together. Jesus did the work, they watched, and then they went on a trial mission which He critiqued. He sent them out, and they carried on the work themselves. – Frank Viola, Pagan Christianity, Chapter 10, Education: Swelling of the Cranium, page 218

 

Jesus provided the initial model for this “on-the-job” training when He mentored the Twelve. – Frank Viola, Pagan Christianity, Chapter 12, A Second Glance at the Savior: Jesus, the Revolutionary, page 249

 

If it is accurate to view the disciples’ time with Jesus prior to his ascension as their “on-the-job” training for how to structure church gatherings and leadership, our survey of the Gospels plainly demonstrates that the apostles were clearly not trained to conduct meetings involving equal participation by all. We now can be confident that the “on-the-job” training of the disciples included a familiarity with gatherings dominated by teaching from a single speaker with some participation from others. This was what they saw Jesus do throughout His ministry. Consequently, anyone proposing a model, which either entirely rules out audience interaction or conversely requires full and equal participation from everyone present, would have to abandon any appealing to the “on-the-job” training that the apostles received from Jesus.

 

This brings us to a rather revealing fact. Even though we do not yet know if the structure of church gatherings and leadership changed after Jesus’ ascension, we do know that in order for either the Pseudo-traditional or Viola models to be biblically valid, there necessarily must have been such a change after Jesus’ ascension. If the pattern seen before Jesus’ ascension remained the defining model in the Church throughout the rest of the New Testament, then neither the Pseudo-traditional or Viola models can be biblically valid.

 

If the Pseudo-traditional model is biblically valid we would expect to see church gatherings in the Book of Acts and the rest of the New Testament trending in a new direction towards uninterrupted monologues, abbreviated communion meals, and large segments of musical worship. However, if church gatherings in the Book of Acts continue to be characterized by interaction from the audience during the teaching sessions, full communion meals, and the absence of large segments of musical worship, we would likely discard the Pseudo-traditional model altogether.

 

Similarly, there is no place in the gospels where Jesus instructed or trained the apostles to conduct gatherings where everyone participated, functioned, and contributed equally or where the women were recorded as speaking during the gatherings. We have seen that Jesus instructed them to continue to meet using the Last Supper as a model. He instructed the disciples before His ascension to teach all things as He had taught them. And He continually exhibited a teacher-dominant model for church gatherings in which at least the men interrupted His teaching with questions or comments.

 

Since this is the case, if the Viola model is valid we must be able to identify when, where, and why the change toward “every-member” participation and functioning was made. We must be able to clearly point to examples of women speaking, teaching, and asking questions during the gatherings. And we would have to be able to determine when the teaching-dominant gathering was abandoned in favor of shorter activities including skits, songs, and poems. If no such change is apparent or identifiable and we are able to easily fit what we read in the rest of the New Testament to the model we have seen in Jesus’ ministry, then we will have to reject the Viola model as well.

 

Whatever we find as we proceed forward, we must keep in mind that this is the status quo at the end of Jesus’ ministry on earth. This is the experience and training that the disciples had from gatherings during the ministry of Christ. These are the questions and expectations that we must keep in mind as we arrive at the Book of Acts and as we survey the record of post-ascension church meetings when Jesus is not present to lead the church.