What's in a Benediction?
By Dave Hatcher
How do you end a worship service? Is it best to say, "You are
dismissed", or to sing a final hymn, or send them off with "Please
join us for coffee and doughnuts in the Fellowship Hall"? As always, we
should turn to the Word of God to answer this question. Many churches have
followed in the tradition of the pastor offering a benediction to end the
service. The historic understanding is that a benediction is the conferring of a
blessing by one of the elders (traditionally, the pastor) upon the congregation.
Where has this come from, and what exactly is in a benediction?
The word 'benediction' means literally a 'good-speaking'. It is the
pronouncement of blessing upon another. While it is a type of prayer, it is
different than other prayers. Rather than a supplication to God to do something,
it is closer to an act of obedience to God in His desire to bless the people
through the leadership. It is done, like prayer, in obedience, seeking God's
blessing. At the same time, as with preaching, it is done with an understanding
of the God-appointed office and the privilege to confer something to God's
people while in that office. The practice of the priest, apostle, and church
leader blessing God's people is found throughout the Scriptures.
We have examples of these blessings from the patriarchs. Noah blesses his
sons, Shem and Japheth (Gen 9:26-27), Isaac blesses Jacob (Gen 27:28-29) and
Moses blesses the twelve tribes (Deut 33). With the establishment of the service
in the Tabernacle and then the Temple, the priests were commanded to give a
benediction over the people. In Numbers, we see the form given. "And
the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying,
'This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: "The
LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be
gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you
peace." "So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I
will bless them."" - (Num 6:22-27)
The effect was that the name of the Lord was placed on the children of
Israel, and they were blessed. One may only approach the throne of grace in the
name of the Lord. Here, the priest symbolically placed the name of the Lord upon
the people. When this was done in faith, God blessed them.
We find the practice occurring on several occasions:
Leviticus 9:22-24
"Then Aaron lifted his hand toward the people, blessed them, and came down
from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and peace offerings. And
Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting, and came out and blessed
the people. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people, and fire came
out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the
altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces."
Deuteronomy 10:8
"At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of the
covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister to Him and to bless
in His name, to this day."
2 Chronicles 30:27
"Then the priests, the Levites, arose and blessed the people, and their
voice was heard; and their prayer came up to His holy dwelling place, to
heaven."
It makes sense to see that Jewish mothers brought their infant children to
Jesus to receive a blessing (Mark 10:13-16). Those who brought their children to
the High Priest, believing Him to be the Messiah, were seeking the blessing of
God. We also see the risen Christ giving a benediction before His ascension.
"And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and
blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted
from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him, and returned to
Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and
blessing God. Amen." (Luke 24:50-53)
We do not have express warrant given to the New Covenant community to
continue in the practice of giving benedictions. But we have plenty of examples
in the Scripture and in the early church as evidence that the practice
continued. Examples of apostolic blessings are numerous in the epistles, and
these epistles, remember, were read to the churches addressed (Col 4:16). Here
we see the pattern continuing to occur at the end of the sermon. The end of the
book of Hebrews, possibly an outline of a sermon, is one example.
"Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that
great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make
you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well
pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.
Amen." (Hebrews 13:20-21, see also 2 Cor 13:14, Eph 6:23-24, 2 Thess 3:16,
18, 1 Pet 5:10-11).
In addition, the early Christian church did not develop an order of service
out of thin air. All indications point to the liturgy of the New Testament
church following the pattern of the synagogue. In the synagogue, the sermon was
followed and the service closed with a benediction pronounced upon the
congregation. At this point the congregation answered 'Amen', which was the
pattern of accepting the validity of the blessing with its responsibilities and
consequences.
Some churches have erroneously thought that the priest, garbed in particular
robes, carries with him sacerdotal powers, and is able to pronounce a blessing
in the act of uttering particular words. They believe he can do this not only
upon people, but also upon animals and inanimate objects as well. This, however,
is not the teaching of scripture. Unfortunately, in reaction to this, some have
taught that a benediction is nothing more than a prayer. But this seems to miss
the emphasis of the Scriptures. Clearly, the benediction is a time when God
intends to use His appointed leaders to accomplish something for His people. A
blessing is being placed upon them. And His people, who stand in covenant
relation to Him, may by faith receive that which is conferred upon them by the
Holy Spirit.
The benediction was given not only with particular words, but particular
actions as well. One or two hands were raised, and although we are not told
specifically why, it appears it was a symbolic gesture of placing the blessing
upon the congregation. "Then Aaron lifted his hand toward the people,
blessed them, and came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering,
and peace offerings." (Lev 9:22). Jesus follows this pattern with His
benediction just before His ascension - "And He led them out as far as
Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them." (Luke 24:50)
When considering the appropriateness of this activity along with the words of
the benediction we should certainly avoid drawing attention to ourselves for the
sake of drawing attention to ourselves. In addition, we must not give any
indication of possessing magic or 'the force' from within us. We would be
required to instruct the body in these matters so that there is no hint of such
false impressions.
However, we should also avoid the false teaching that it doesn't matter what
you are doing with your body - only that you are 'doing it in your heart'. This
is the tendency of the gnosticism that has quietly crept into the church today.
It would be prudent in offering a benediction to do so with solid instruction as
to what a benediction is and what it isn't, and to follow the biblical patterns
of how the benediction was performed.
The purpose of this paper is not to command that we must have a benediction
in the conclusion of the worship service. Rather, it is an attempt to open our
eyes to see the prudence and privilege in receiving this blessing. And so we do
not teach that a benediction is required necessarily, but that it is a glorious
opportunity for the covenant people of God in the service of worship. Handled
properly, the congregation will be blessed, and God will be glorified.
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