GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 3:1
Sunday School Pins
Many churches used to give out pins for perfect Sunday school attendance. While some churches may still practice this tradition, it has become less common. If someone was away from their home Sunday school, they could attend a Sunday school wherever he was, and it would still count toward his perfect attendance. One motive behind awarding the attendance pins was to instill the practice of attending Sunday school regularly.
St. Mark wrote, “And he entered again into the synagogue, and a man having a withered hand was there.” (3:1) This does not seem to have been a synagogue in Capernaum. Any village with ten families had a synagogue. It seems that, as Jesus traveled, when it was the Sabbath, he found a synagogue. Jesus did not ignore cultural practices; he went to the synagogue, as a regular practice. Jesus, of course, was not seeking an award for regular Synagogue attendance; his motive was to worship Yahweh. There’s certainly nothing wrong with external awards, but they are no substitute for the internal motive to gather with other believers to worship the Father.
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