Part 3 of 9 of the theme 'Leadership of elders ' by Gijs van den Brink
In the first contribution, we saw that elders had no function in the Jewish synagogue. They were, however, those ultimately responsible. It was a collective of old wise men who represented the community to the outside world. So an elder did not have to have a concrete job in the synagogue, but he was responsible and aged.
Since the term "elders" is nowhere explained in the New Testament, we assume that the synagogue was the model for accepting the term "elders" in the Christian congregation. But is this functioning of "elders" also recognizable in the New Testament?
Today we look at the meaning of the Greek word.
The adjective presbuteros means (1) "elder, reverent," and used independently (2) "ancestor, ancestor," and (3) "elder. The word is used broadly in the New Testament. It is used primarily in reference to the age a person has reached in comparison to others. For example, in Luke 15:25 it refers to the "elder" of two sons. It can also function as a noun, for example, the "elder" in general as opposed to the "young" (Acts 2:17) or the "elder (male)" and "the elder (female)" as opposed to the younger men and women (1Tim.5:1,2).
Second, it is used for the "elders" in comparison to the now living, that is, the ancestors or forefathers (Mat. 15:2; Mar. 7:3,5; Heb. 11:2).
Third, following on from the first meaning, it means "elder" as a title for someone with special responsibility for the Jewish or Christian community. In the Jewish community, it may refer to an elder of a local community (e.g., Luke 7:3), as well as a member of one of the three groups that made up the High Council in Jerusalem (e.g., Mar. 11:27; Luke 20:1).
We see that the term presbuteros in the NT shows that the word corresponds to its use in Jewish literature. This is also what we expected because the term is not explained anywhere in the NT. It refers to an older person in charge of the community.
In the following contributions, we will read the texts in the NT to answer another important question: in which church are elders appointed. In the house church? Or over a group of house churches in a particular city or region? Or in the universal church?
Author: Gijs van den Brink
From: Study Bible Magazine
This is part 3 of 9 concise blog on the topic "Leadership of elders" from Study Bible Magazine, Some of which we will be posting online in the near future. We hope this will help you understand the Bible better!
