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A Sabbath Day's Journey

By: Rev. Paul Landgraf
What is a Sabbath day's journey? First of all, it is a Jewish expression. We measure distances in meters or yards. The Jews had a certain distance that they could walk on Saturday before it would be considered work. So their synagogues that they went to on Saturday could not be very far away. The word appears only in Acts 1:12 and indicates a distance of about three-quarters of a mile.

With that in mind, I think it is important to remember the origins of Christianity. Just because we have an Old Testament, it does not mean that we call it the 'Outdated Testament'. Much of the Old Testament has a literary structure that we are not aware of because of our modern emphasis on chapter and verse divisions. Within many of these blogs, I try to get the reader to see a bigger picture, a larger perspective that often includes the Old Testament and the environment that was present when the New Testament was seeing the Light of the day.

Second, a Sabbath day's journey is intentionally short. These 'journeys' with a text, almost always one of the three readings for that Sunday, are deliberately brief discussions. This blog was never designed to be a comprehensive look at any text. Sometimes a specific word is studied in detail. But, as a whole, a blog entry, by itself, is meant to be quite brief.

Finally, since the term 'Sabbath day's journey' appears in Acts, it is meant to appeal to a wide variety of people. This blog is meant for those who cannot come on Sunday mornings. And it is also for those who do come on Sunday mornings but would also like a further study of the text. It is also for those who live somewhere else in the world (besides Drake and Freedom, Missouri, USA) and would simply like a further study of the text. It was meant to get these different groups of people to start thinking about the biblical texts. Part of the reason for this blog is that I am not able to have a bible class on Sunday mornings with either congregation, and so, to have a blog like this seemed like a good idea. I hope it is helpful for you, in whatever situation you may be.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. And thank you for taking the time to read this!

December 03rd, 2022

12/3/2022

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Last Sunday, with the new church year, we started to look at beginning of the Gospel according to Matthew, and we only got through one verse. What comes after this verse is the only detailed genealogy within this account, and you can imagine how quickly this text and those that are like it are overlooked. But it should be said that this genealogy is significant. There are certainly some run-on sentences within this text, but you could say that they are running on toward a very special goal.

The following is a somewhat-literal translation of the genealogy in the Gospel according to Matthew (1:2-16; and since they will be grouped and numbered by the writer immediately following this text, they will be grouped and numbered here as well; it should also be noted that the spelling of some names is different from that which was in the Old Testament, so you may wish to compare this to other translations):

Abraham (1) begat Isaac (2), and Isaac begat Jacob (3), and Jacob begat Judas and the brothers of him (4), and Judas begat Phares and Zara out of Thamar (5), and Phares begat Esrom (6), and Esrom begat Aram (7), and Aram begat Aminadab (8), and Aminadab begat Naason (9), and Naason begat Salmon (10), and Salmon begat Boez out of Rachab (11), and Boez begat Obed out of Ruth (12), and Obed begat Jesse (13), and Jesse begat David, the king (14) [Matthew 1:2-6a].

And David begat Solomon out of the … of Uriah (1), and Solomon begat Roboam (2), and Roboam begat Abia (3), and Abia begat Asaph (4), and Asaph begat Josaphat (5), and Josaphat begat Joram (6), and Joram begat Ozias (7), and Ozias begat Joatham (8), and Joatham begat Achaz (9), and Achaz begat Hezekias (10), and Hezekias begat Manasses (11), Manasses begat Amos (12), and Amos begat Josias (13), and Josias begat Jechonias and the brothers of him at the deportation of Babylon (14) [Matthew 1:6b-11].

And after the deportation of Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel (1), and Salathiel begat Zorobabel (2), and Zorobabel begat Abiud (3), and Abiud begat Eliakim (4), and Eliakim begat Azor (5), and Azor begat Sadoc (6), and Sadoc begat Achim (7), and Achim begat Eliud (8), and Eliud begat Eleazar (9), and Eleazar begat Matthan (10), and Matthan begat Jacob (11), and Jacob begat Joseph (12), the husband of Mary, of whom was begotten Jesus, the one called Christ (13) [Matthew 1:12-16].

Keeping in mind the numbering that was included above, you can imagine how much has been said of the following verse (1:17, and this is also in a somewhat-literal translation).

Therefore, all the generations from Abraham until David, generations fourteen, and from David until the deportation of Babylon, generations fourteen, and from the deportation of Babylon until the Christ, generations fourteen.

If Matthew was indeed a tax collector, you would think that he should be able to count accurately up to the number fourteen. With his job he would probably would have had to count to much higher numbers.

First of all, as was noted last week, the number fourteen is connected to King David and is very special. There are at least a couple of ways to get to the number fourteen with the last section of the genealogy. One could also simply count the last generation of the second section twice, once in the second section and another time at the beginning of the third and last section. One could also add another number at the end because of not just Joseph but also Mary, or not just because of the name of Jesus but also because of the title of ‘Christ’. Or one could simply ‘round up’ to the number fourteen, since thirteen is very close, and that number fourteen is very important.

The number of words in the Greek in each section may help to give some clarity. Numbers of words have been important from literally day one, when the first creation account makes a big deal of the number seven. And in the first two verses of Genesis, the numbers of Hebrew words are seven and fourteen, and the number seven is an important number in the creation account which follows. And it is helpful to know where the words are broken up since paper was expensive in ancient times and the space between words was sometimes extremely small.

People have looked at the various ways that things are added to parts of this genealogy. There are mentions of brothers, there are additional names of women—and sometimes there are names that are left out. There is the mention of the deportation. But the total number of words might be pointing to something important.

In the first verse, the verse that was examined last week, the number of words is eight. That happens to be a very Jewish number. And the number of words of the next section, the first section from Abraham to David, is eighty-two. The next section, from David to the deportation, is also eighty-two. And the third section, because of its shortness—since there were only thirteen generations—is only seventy-four words. While that last number is not necessarily a Hebrew number, when it is combined with the number of words from the very first section, the total is also eighty-two. And, if those two sections are connected, then in the middle of the two sections that each had eighty-two, there is, at the very middle, the mention of King David.

Is the number eighty-two important? It also does not seem to be a Jewish number, but it is interesting that when fourteen, fourteen, and thirteen are added together, the total is forty-one, and that is exactly one-half of the way to eighty-two.
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Perhaps this tax collector DID know how to count. And it seems as though he was able to count accurately past the number fourteen.

Perhaps a proper focus would be on his words and not his person. He was, after all, just a follower. And perhaps the Christ who had—and continues to have—so many unique followers should be valued as well.
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November 26th, 2022

11/26/2022

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ccording to the typical calendar, this Sunday is not the beginning of something new. But in terms of the church year, it most certainly is. The three-year series begins this Sunday, with a focus that looks to the first of the three very similar gospel accounts, the Gospel according to Matthew. The church year essentially begins looking at the first time Jesus came, what is usually known as Christmas, and it will end with looking at the second time Jesus will come.

For the first Sunday in the church year, the First Sunday in Advent, it is noteworthy to mention that the usual gospel text that is read is the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, the last time before his death (Matthew 21:1-11). This is a good reminder how each gospel account is not necessarily a chronological account, as if a study of the order of the events were more important than the ramification of those events for eternity. Each gospel account has been carefully shaped in a unique and salvation-related way.

How the Gospel according to Matthew points to Jesus in a salvation-related way is a topic worthy of some focus. Your thoughts and ideas as to the best topics to study will continue to be appreciated, but at this point in time, this gospel account will be the focus and a more literary and salvation-related progression will be identified within this gospel account.

It has been mentioned before how the beginning of a writing can be very helpful in denoting some of the structural factors that are found within the account. And the only time that the first chapter of this gospel account appears in the three-year series is the text at the very end, and it is the text for the very last Sunday in Advent. Adding some more details to this obscure first chapter may be helpful. And here is the first verse:

A book of generation of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham.

The above verse of the book may be a bit frightening to some. It looks like a genealogy lies before us, and one most certainly is.

Prepare for boredom, right?

Not at all!

Knowing the descendants of Cain may not be all that important, but they have been attributed with some significant discoveries and inventions (see Genesis 4). The descendants of Seth are certainly important, since their line continues past the Flood, but to have a person who is born as both fully man and fully God is obviously totally unique. This deserves a significant amount of attention, even if one does not like genealogies.

A significant amount of effort was given to the writing of this first chapter of this first account. What may be said about the above first sentence?

It may remind a person of the book of Genesis. There are a significant number of genealogies within that book. And the word ‘generation’ is important there. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, it is the translation of the Hebrew word ‘toledoth’. This is a word that comes up five times in the first ‘half’ of the book (1:1-11:26), the beginning of the nations, and five times in the second ‘half’ (11:27-50:26), the beginning of the Lord’s people.

The importance of numbers should be mentioned at this point in time as well. I am not referring to the book of the bible, although that is an important book, but the Hebrew language is also the set of Hebrew numbers. They did not have separate symbols for numbers. (Basically, the letter ‘a’ is 1, ‘b’ is 2, etc.)

From what appears in the introduction, King David is an important person. And the name David, in the Hebrew language, is equal to the number fourteen. And that number will come up later in the chapter. And it will have a very interesting purpose.
Hopefully you will not be bored. This genealogy is unlike any other. And Jesus (having the Old Testament name ‘Joshua’) is unlike any other. 
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November 19th, 2022

11/19/2022

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As was mentioned last time, this Sunday is called the Last Sunday of the Church Year, and this is also our last Sunday in the Gospel according to Luke for a while. Next week starts us again at the very beginning of the three-year series, and we will start again with the first of the three similar accounts, the Gospel according to Matthew.

As was also mentioned last time, this Sunday has other endings. The Old Testament text is from the last book of the Old Testament (Mal 3:13-18), and the Gospel text is about the end of Jesus’ life, when he was on the cross (Luke 23:27-43). But it could also be stated that this gospel text has a significant beginning.

Technically speaking, the gospel text does not include the death of Jesus. The last verse of the text is verse 43, and Jesus is still alive at that point, alive enough to tell the criminal next to him that today he will be with him in Paradise.

In the previous verse, the criminal had asked the following favor of Jesus: ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ This response of Jesus is left out of the other accounts, and it is even a significant difference from what is given in the other accounts. There we have both criminals mocking him, along with the others around him (see Matthew 27:44 and Mark 15:32b; cf. John 19:18). But obviously there was eventually a change of heart.

The uniqueness of Jesus’ statement to the eventually repentant criminal is compounded by the fact that Paradise is only two other places within the entire New Testament. Besides this occurrence, it is also in 2 Corinthians 12:4 and Revelation 2:7. It may be helpful to see these verses in context (and what follows is a somewhat-literal translation of these texts):

I know a man in Christ, before fourteen years, whether in body I know not, or outside the body, I know not, God knows, caught such a one to a third heaven. And I know such a man, whether in body or without the body, I know not, God knows, that he was caught into the paradise and heard unspeakable words, which it is not permissible for a man to speak (2 Corinthians 12:2-4).

To the angel of the Ephesus church, write: These things says the one holding the seven stars in the right of him, the walking one in midst of the seven lampstands, the golden: I know the works of you and the labor and the endurance of you, and that you are not able to bear the bad ones, and testing the ones saying themselves apostles and are not, and you found them liars; and endurance you have, and bearing because of the name of me, and you have not grown weary. But I have against you that the love of you, the first, you did leave. Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen, and repent, and the first works do; and if not, I am coming to you and will move the lampstand of you out of the place of it, if you do not repent. But this you have, that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which also I hate. The one having an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the overcoming one, I will give to him to eat of the tree of the life, which is in the paradise of God (Revelation 2:1-7).
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The first time a word is used in the New Testament is an important thing, especially if it is a word that was around near the beginning of time as well. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the word paradise also appears in Genesis 2:8. There are only a few words that appear at the beginning and at the end of the scriptures—with Jesus using it in the middle.
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November 12th, 2022

11/12/2022

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After the Sunday celebrations of Reformation Day and All Saints’ Day, there are only two more Sundays in this church year. We are nearing the end. We are also at the end of the three-year series. This year has been series C, and we have been looking at the last of the three very similar gospel accounts, the Gospel according to Luke.

With all of those endings, you may not be too surprised that, for these last two Sundays, the Old Testament readings are from the very end of the Old Testament, the writings of the prophet Malachi. And, at first glance, it may be considered a bit unusual that, this next Sunday has the text is from the fourth chapter (4:1-6), while next Sunday, the last Sunday in the church year, is from the previous chapter (3:13-18). But the Old Testament readings are designed to fit with the gospel texts. And there are two significantly different endings described in the gospel texts for those Sundays, and, understandably so, there are two different endings described in those two chapters of Malachi.

It is not a bad thing to read or study the bible from beginning to end. But the four gospel accounts are extremely important and cover a very important topic. There are sometimes in other places where the same events are important enough to be given another time, and obviously from a different perspective. That there are not just two but FOUR gospel accounts make this focus EXTREMELY important. And both the differences and similarities are important as well.

This Sunday’s gospel text [Luke 21:5-28 (29-36)] deals with the signs of Jesus’ second coming, a significant ending indeed. And there are certain situations where the ending is extremely important. Endings are important in the media today because they want you to go back to them again sometime soon. How many times is the ending of a movie remembered much more easily than its beginning? Endings are certainly important. But the ending would not happen without a beginning.

As was said, endings are certainly important, but I would like to suggest that beginnings are even more important, especially from a literary point of view. There are clues within a book’s beginning to help guide the one who will be studying it.
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The beginning of the gospel account that will be the focus in a very short period of time is the Gospel according to Matthew, and that beginning has a very interesting beginning. Here is a somewhat-literal translation of the first verse: ‘A book of genesis of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham.’ The literal translation helped to show the connection to the first book of the bible. And in that book of the bible the first verse or sentence has seven words in the Hebrew, with the second verse having exactly double that.

There are also other things that are prominent in Matthew 1:1. The number of Greek words of this sentence is eight, and that is a very Jewish number. It should also be noted that the chronology of the people noted in this verse is backward. When you get to the genealogy, the direction goes the other way, and you start at the oldest person, and, in this case, it is Abraham. And at the end of the genealogy, it is pointed out that fourteen generations are in each section of the genealogy. What is interesting is that there are not fourteen generations in the last section of the genealogy—unless you count someone else twice. This has bothered many people for a while, especially since Matthew was said to be a tax collector, and that is someone who should be able to count! But he makes up for it in the texts which follow. Some of the details are so intricate that you would be able to say that he is a master of the connection between words and numbers. But that may be saved for another time.

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November 5th, 2022

11/5/2022

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For the last four Sundays, these writings have connected the four gospel accounts to the four living creatures of the LORD’s throne. And those connections have been made on the basis of the historical presents that are in each gospel account. Historical presents are those verbs which, given in the sentence, are usually in the past tense, but they are given in the text in the present. These appearances are somewhat rare, and it is helpful when they appear. Unfortunately, they only appear in the New American Standard version, and even there, the translation appears in the past, but there is an asterisk to note that the original verb is actually in the present tense.

At the start of the Advent season this year, at the end of this November, the gospel texts will again be from the gospel according to Matthew, and the three-year cycle will begin again. It may be helpful to point out at this time that the input of any reader of this blog would be appreciated. The situation continues that I currently serve two congregations that are a significant distance from one another, and, with the current schedule on Sunday morning, it is not possible to offer a serious study of the bible at that time. And thus, the reason for this blog.

Understandably, the reach of this blog is far beyond the area of central Missouri. Input from others would also be appreciated. The title is instructive: A Sabbath Day’s Journey is a short, quick, and hopefully helpful look at a text that combines both testaments and appreciates the structure that was given, pretty much from day one. In the first creation account, in the first chapter of Genesis, FIRST there was evening and THEN there was morning. Without electricity, candles, or anything like that, one must rely on God to do something. And that is exactly what he does. Are there any aspects of the gospel that could be investigated even further? Are there any parts of God’s deep and wonderful scripture that could be further investigated?

Perhaps it may be helpful to look at one more section of scripture that contains historical presents. They appeared in some places in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, they appeared frequently in three of the four gospel accounts. In the account where they were the rarest, in the Gospel according to Luke, there were some strong connections to the historical presents in the Acts of the Apostles. It should be noted that historical presents also appear in the last book of the New Testament, the Revelation of John.

In the previous books, the first appearance of the historical present helped to see their purpose in the rest of the book. For the person (who understands Greek) listening to the Greek text for the first time, to hear that word in the present tense, when it should be in the past, that would be a significant moment. What is in the text has direct ramifications for what is happening at this place and time.

One of the texts for this Sunday, since All Saints’ Day is observed on this Sunday, is from the Revelation of John. The first reading is from Revelation 7:9-17, with the option of including verses 2-8. This longer reading is essentially chapter 7 of the book.

The two chapters before chapter 7, chapters 5 & 6, both contain the first historical presents of the book. In chapter 4, the scene of God’s throne and surrounding area is basically laid out. In the next chapter, chapter 5, the focus is on ‘the Lamb’, obviously Jesus. And in the next chapter, he starts to break open a book that has seven seals on it.
Given that context, here are the first three historical presents in Revelation (in a somewhat-literal translation, with the important verb in bold):

And I wept much, because no one worthy was found to open the book or to look at it. And one of the elders says to me, ‘Do not weep; behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, overcame to open the book and the seven seals of it [5:4-5].

And (the lamb) came, and he has taken out of the right (hand) of the one sitting on the throne. And when he took the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls, full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sing a new song, saying:

Worthy are you to receive the book and to open the seals of it, because you were slain, and you purchased to God in your blood, out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation; and you made them to our God a kingdom and priests, and they will reign upon the earth [5:7-10].

And I saw when (the lamb) opened the seal, the sixth, and a great earthquake happened, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the whole moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell into the earth, as a fig tree throws the unripe figs of it, by a great wind being shaken; and the heaven split apart like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island out of their places were moved. And the kings of the earth and the great men and the chiliarchs and the rich and the strong and every slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and they say to the mountains and to the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one sitting on the throne, and from the wrath of the lamb, for the day, the great one, has come of their wrath, and who is able to stand [6:12-17]?
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There is a noticeable progression from the elder’s encouraging words, then progressing to the new song, and then the contrast to those who are not a part of Jesus’ kingdom. This is a reminder of the bigger picture and what things are EXTREMELY important.
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October 29th, 2022

10/29/2022

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This is the Sunday when the Reformation is celebrated. And for the last three weeks, we have been looking at some of the connections between two sets of things, and both those sets have a connection to the word ‘gospel’, a very important word during the Reformation.​

The word ‘gospel’ in the Old Testament meant the important news that goes from one important place to another, such as the news from a battlefield to a nation’s leader (see 1 Samuel 4:17). For the last three weeks, we have been connecting the first three living creatures of the LORD’s throne mentioned in the first chapter of Ezekiel—the man, lion, and ox—to the first three gospel accounts—Matthew, Mark, and Luke. If you have not read those writings from earlier this month, they may be helpful. And as the first three living creatures are quite similar—they all stay on the ground—the first three gospel accounts are also similar. They are even called the ‘synoptic’ gospels, having a similar view. But now both the fourth creature and the gospel account are significantly different. You might even want to call them ‘dysoptic’.

Since the fourth gospel account is not like the other three, many questions have arisen: Was this written early, late, or with the others in mind? These questions and many others are more historical in nature and would be difficult to answer without some hard evidence. A better and more solid direction of study would be to look at the more literary issue at hand. And the living creature of the LORD’s throne that is usually connected to this account is a significantly different one, that of the eagle.

JOHN AND EAGLE

Where the man, the lion, and the ox are all (usually) confined to the ground, that is certainly not the case with the eagle. And this gospel account has a much broader perspective.

If one lives in the United States of America, one is usually familiar with the characteristics of the eagle. But even within this country, one usually does not have a close relationship with such an animal. It is certainly a memorable day when I see one. And I have always seen just one at a time. And it is usually a long time until I see another. And because of this, it is difficult to list the characteristics of such a rarely seen animal. But the fact that it is able to fly makes this animal stand out among the others.
Isaiah 40:31 makes a connection of the eagle to strength. Here is a somewhat-literal translation of that verse:

And the ones hoping of Yahweh, they will renew strength; they will ascend, wing, as the eagles; they will run, and they will not be weary, they will walk, and they will not be faint.

With such a different gospel account, it should not be too surprising that an article has been written about the historical presents in the Gospel according to John—and such a thing is frequent in this account. The following article is helpful and will be quoted below. Mavis M. Leung, “The Narrative Function and Verbal Aspect of the Historical Present in the Fourth Gospel.” In Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society; Volume 51, Issue 4 (December 2008); pages 703-20: “More specifically, the Gospel’s historical presents are generally located at key junctures of the story where new participants come into scene or existing participants begin to speak. The appearance of the historical present might, then, signal changes to the narrative scene (page 710).”

One might compare this ‘newness’ to the eyesight of the eagle. In this case, its strength comes from its height advantage. For the eagle to see something new, something different, this is a definite strength, an advantage. And it may be this that comes across deliberately in the historical presents within this gospel account.

Later in the article mentioned above, the focus is on the first historical present in this gospel account, that of the word meaning ‘witness’. Unlike other instances, this one does not introduce something new or different. What could be behind such a use of the historical present?

Since the first historical presents were significant in the other gospel accounts and connected more strongly to the living creature of that account, one could connect this historical present to the eagle in the sense that, flying high overhead, it would support and confirm what is being seen on the ground, the perspective of the other living creatures. The sense of ‘witness’ is a supportive one, as it would be in a courtroom or another important place—such as before a king.
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The word ‘witness’ is an important one throughout the history of Christianity. And this is a good reminder that the fourth account works together with the others to support the others. That is certainly appropriate when it comes to speaking about a fourfold gospel.
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October 22nd, 2022

10/22/2022

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During this special month of October, as we celebrate the Reformation, we have also been looking at some of the connections between the four living creatures of the LORD’s throne and the four gospel accounts. If you have not read the writings of the previous couple of weeks, those may be quite helpful in getting a significant amount of the background to this discussion. Two weeks ago, there was the connection made between the Gospel according to Matthew and the living creature of the man. And last week we looked at the connection between the Gospel according to Mark and the living creature of the lion.

LUKE AND OX

Last week I started by mentioning that we do not have too many encounters with lions these days and in this country, and you could say the same thing about the ox. But go to a different part of the world, perhaps the Middle East or Africa, and especially those who have lived a long time ago, and there would be some significant encounters with the ox.

There is a word for a wild ox, but that is not the word that is used to describe this living creature of the LORD’s throne. The lion was definitely wild; this ox is definitely tame. And there are many words that describe that type of animal, and that shows its importance for that group of people in that area of the world. That area of the world can be tough to plough, and so a strong and tame animal is needed. And nothing fits that job description better than the ox.

When it comes to the Gospel according to Luke and the number of historical presents, there is a noticeable difference from the other accounts. Perhaps you remember reading a quote three weeks ago that gave the reason for so few historical presents. It was said that Luke did not want to use such a simplistic literary device. But perhaps there is something more to this rare use—and something much more positive—especially when connecting the gospel accounts to the living creatures of the LORD’s throne, in both cases a very positive thing.

Since there are so few of the historical presents in this account, they will be counted and given below, in bold print and within their immediate context. And, as usual, what is given is in a somewhat-literal translation (it should be noted that the asterisk is not given in the New American Standard version for the first historical present listed below, although that edition of the bible may have an additional note which points out that the verb is in the present tense):

(1.) Luke 7:40 And answering, Jesus said toward [the Pharisee who had invited him], “Simon, I have to you something to say.” And he says, “Teacher, say.”

(2.) Luke 8:49 Still [Jesus] speaking, someone comes from the synagogue ruler saying, “Your daughter has died. Trouble no more the Teacher.”

(3.) Luke 11:37 And as [Jesus] spoke, a Pharisee asks him that he would eat with him; and entering, he reclined.

(4.) Luke 11:45 And answering, one of the lawyers says to [Jesus], “Teacher, these things saying, also us you insult.”

(5.) Luke 16:7 Then to another [the dishonest steward] said, “And you, how much you owe?” And he said, “A hundred measures of wheat.” He says to him, “Take your bill and write eighty.”

(6.) Luke 16:23 “And in the hades, [the rich man] lifting up his eyes, being in torment, he sees Abraham from afar and Lazarus in his bosom.”

(7.) Luke 16:29 “And Abraham says, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’”

(8.) Luke 17:37 And answering, [the disciples] say to [Jesus], “Where, Lord?” And he said to them, “Where the body, there also the eagles will be gathered.”

(9.) Luke 18:6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the judge of unrighteousness says.”

(10.) Luke 19:22 He [a certain nobleman] says to [his slave]: “Out of your mouth I will judge you, evil slave. You knew that I, myself, am an exacting man, taking what I did not place and reaping what I did not sow?”

(11.) Luke 24:12 And Peter, standing up, ran to the tomb, and stooping, and peering in, he sees the linen cloths only, and he went away to his own, marveling at what had happened.

It should be also noted that the last one does not appear in some ancient manuscripts. Why could this be? These manuscripts could have been directed toward those Christians who had a Jewish background. Such a background would have made numbers more important; and the number eleven, the total number of historical presents, was not taken as a positive number, since it fell one short of a better number, that of twelve. The number ten was much more positive for Jewish Christians. (We do the same thing in our day when we avoid the number 666; it falls short of the number seven—three times!)

The variety of the people connected to the historical presents is significant. There is everyone from Abraham to some REALLY bad people. (But Abraham was not a perfect person either.) As the ox is tame around anyone and everyone, Jesus ends up dealing with a great variety of people within this account.

To help understand the importance of the number of historical presents in an account, and to support even more that this literary device was not considered by the writer to be a vulgarism, it may be helpful to point out that there are only a few historical presents within the entire book of Acts, twelve to be exact (and all of these are indicated in the New American Standard Bible). You may wish to look at those as well in more detail, and you may wish to note the variety that is connected to those occurrences. What follows is an extremely brief listing of the historical presents in Acts:
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Acts 8:36 [eunuch]; 10:11 [Peter]; 10:31 [angel of God—see verse 3]; 12:8 [angel of the Lord]; 19:35 [Ephesus town clerk]; 22:2 [Paul]; 23:18 [one of the centurions]; 25:5 [Festus]; 25:22 [Festus], 25:24 [Festus]; 26:24 [Festus]; 26:25 [Paul; it is interesting to note that two verbs of speaking are not given in verses 28 and 29, verbs that probably would have been in the historical present as well; this avoidance was done, possibly to avoid going over the number twelve, but as the last historical present, it makes this argument a climactic one within the work].

A tame ox is able to work with a fantastic amount of variety, and the work done is significant. That the message of Jesus made its way to Rome by the end of the book of Acts could be considered a miracle. And miracles like that continue to happen.
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October 15th, 2022

10/15/2022

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During this month of October, we are looking at some of the connections between the four living creatures and the four gospel accounts, so if you have not read the writings of the previous couple of weeks, that may be extremely helpful in seeing some of the momentum that led to this week’s topic. Last week we looked at the connection between the Gospel according to Matthew and the living creature of the man.

MARK AND LION

We do not have too many encounters with lions these days. It is difficult to imagine what it would be like to cross paths with a lion. These unique animals obviously appeared much more frequently in ancient times than today.

And just the fact that there are several words in the Hebrew language for different types of lions, that may show how significant that animal was for that particular region. Perhaps it may be compared to the Eskimos having many words for snow. For the Hebrews, there were different words for a young lion, a lion, and an old lion—that is something you might expect. But then there were also words for a bold lion and a roaring lion. And we must not forget the lioness.

How is the lion described in all the places in scripture? With those different aspects of the lion in mind, the dominant characteristic of a lion is probably power. Both the roar and the boldness fit well with this characteristic. (If you would like to see some bible verses that go with this topic, check out Proverbs 30:30 and Psalm 10:9—or Jeremiah 4:7.)

Last week, when we looked at the historical presents in the Gospel according to Matthew, we looked at the first occurrences of those historical presents, and there seemed to be a pattern with them. There also seems to be a pattern with the historical presents in the Gospel according to Mark, but a much simpler one.

The first historical present is part of the very small section regarding Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. The following is all that is said regarding this event that immediately follows the baptism of Jesus (and this—along with the other translations which follow—is given in a somewhat-literal translation; and the historical present will be in bold):

…and [there was] a voice out of the heavens: You are the son of me, the beloved, in you I was well pleased. And straightway the Spirit throws out him into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by the Satan, and he was with the wild beasts, and the angels served him [Mark 1:11-13].

The second historical present is pretty much the opposite action of the first.

And straightway he called them; and leaving the father of them, Zebedee, in the boat, with the hired servants, they went after him. And they enter into Capernaum; and straightway, on the sabbaths, entering into the synagogue, he taught [Mark 1:20-21].

In this gospel account there are not just actions that are in the historical present, but the speaking words are also there. While the vast majority of the verbs in the historical present in the Gospel according to Matthew had to do with speaking, that is not the case in the Gospel according to Mark. The total numbers are somewhat similar for both groups, both speaking and acting.

The next historical present that appears in this gospel account is one that has to do with speaking. In this case, there is more than one person speaking. You may note how there is some power that goes with what they are saying. It gets results.

And straightway out of the synagogue, going out, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. And the mother-in-law of Simon was laid, fever-stricken, and straightway they say to him concerning her. And, approaching, he raised her, holding the hand, and the fever left her, and she served them [Mark 1:29-31].

It is extremely difficult to summarize all the historical presents within this gospel account. But perhaps you would like to continue this on your own. A New American Standard Bible translation will be helpful in pointing out these historical presents with an asterisk.

Jesus continues to have authority, sitting at the right hand of the Father; Jesus continues to have power; but he certainly does not show off. It may be said that, as a lion, he is waiting in ambush of his enemies, and to gather his ‘pride’ together on the Last Day.
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October 8th, 2022

10/8/2022

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During the month of October, we will be looking at the connections between the four living creatures—an important part of the LORD’s throne—and the four gospel accounts—an important part of Jesus’ life. If you have not read the writings of the previous couple of weeks, that may be helpful.

Each one of the gospel accounts covers the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, but each one does it in a different way. To many people, it seems that this variety is simply due to the writers having various resources to pick from, or perhaps that the writers were simply writing to different audiences. While these two things may be true, they are historical issues that cannot be proven without some solid evidence. A more literary (and theological) answer may be that these four writers wanted to show to all types of people both the authority and the glory that come from the four living creatures that make up the LORD’s throne.

A throne is usually made out of dead things, maybe some wood, precious metals and stones. But that is not the case with the LORD’s throne. That special throne is made out of four creatures that are alive, and these living creatures are important ones. Each creature has at least one particular strength, and these strengths may be shown in the historical presents that are in each gospel account. These are the verbs that would normally be in the past tense, but this time they are given in the present tense.

A throne shows the authority and the glory of a king. And the four living creatures show the authority and glory of the LORD in King Jesus. And the historical presents within the four gospel accounts show the authority and glory, in other words, the ramifications that Jesus had on earth when he lived, died, and came back to life. And those actions have ramifications to this day, even though they happened about two thousand years ago.

MATTHEW AND MAN

The first gospel account, the Gospel according to Matthew, has usually been connected to the living creature of a man.

What is a man? So much could be said in answer to that question. In the creation account, man is given some special authority. We therefore can expect some authority to show itself in the historical presents within this gospel account.

There is also some advanced intelligence compared to the animals. This may be seen in the very first words of the first man, when the woman was first brought to him. He said the following (in a somewhat-literal translation):

This, the now, bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh; to this will be called a woman; specificity, from a man was taken, this [Genesis 2:23].

What is not obvious from the translation is that the word ‘this’ is not only the first and the last word, but in the Hebrew, it is also the middle word, the seventh of thirteen.

Within the Gospel according to Matthew there seems to be a pattern of the historical presents in the first few chapters. The following are all the historical presents within the first few chapters of this gospel account (in a somewhat-literal translation; and an attempt was made to keep the quotations as short as possible; if you would like to look at another translation of the scriptures, the New American Standard Bible is highly recommended; there the historical presents are indicated by asterisks; here the historical presents have been given in bold):

APPEARS
2:13 And they, having departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appears according to a dream to Joseph….

2:19 And Herod, having died, behold, an angel of the Lord appears according to a dream to Joseph in Egypt….

ARRIVES
3:1 And in those days John the Baptist arrives, proclaiming in the wilderness of Judea….

3:13 Then Jesus arrives from Galilee at the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.

ALLOWS
3:15 And Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow now, for thus it is fitting to us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allows him.

TAKES AND SAYS

4: 5 Then the devil takes him into the holy city, and he stood him on the wing of the temple, and he says to him….

4:8-10 Again the devil takes him into a very high mountain, and he shows him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he said to him, “All these things to you I will give, if, falling, you will worship me.” Then Jesus says to him, “Go, Satan; for it has been written, ‘The Lord God you shall worship, and to him only you shall serve.’”

4:11 Then the devil allows him (to leave), and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.

In the historical presents that follow, the one word translated into ‘he says’ predominates—and this should be expected for the living creature of a man. Jesus speaks, and he speaks as one with authority. Here are only some of the verses that have this characteristic—there are a lot more—but it may be helpful to see how there is some authority to what is being said, usually by Jesus, but by others as well. When people follow the instruction of someone else in authority, they too have received some authority in some way. Here are the locations of the rest of the ‘he says’ historical presents, up to the Transfiguration:

4:19; 8:4, 7, 20, 22, 26; 9:6, 9, 28(2x), 37; 12:13; 13:28, 29, 51; 14:8, 17, 31; 15:12, 33, 34; 16:15
There are a few historical presents in other words as well. Here are two of the first ones after the historical presents above (and, again, they are in a somewhat-literal translation):

9:14-15 Then the disciples of John come to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast? And Jesus said to them, “The sons of the bridechamber cannot mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come with the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

15:1-3 Then some Pharisees and scribes come to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, “Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread. And he, answering, said to them, “And why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?”

The similarities between these two passages should be noted. At the end of the second one, there is a statement from the disciples, asking Jesus if he knew that the Pharisees were offended by what he said. And after this event, Jesus withdraws to the far north, to the region of Tyre and Sidon. The eventual trial and execution of Jesus are hinted at with these events. And that is a significant point when dealing with the ramifications of Jesus.
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To look at all the historical presents will not be easy because some gospel accounts have a very large number of them. But hopefully these few have been helpful. And, as was said above, there is the New American Standard translation that can help you to see some of these living words.
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October 1st, 2022

10/1/2022

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Just a few short weeks ago, when the beginning of Ezekiel was being discussed, the four living creatures of the LORD’s throne were connected to the four gospel accounts in an extremely brief way.

MAN AND MATTHEW, LION AND MARK, OX AND LUKE, EAGLE AND JOHN

Those connections have been seen by many and for many centuries as not only superficial but also superfluous. It may be helpful to go over those connections in a bit more detail—although the attempt will be made to keep these connections as brief as possible—a Sabbath day’s journey with a text should, of course, be relatively brief. These connections will happen during the rest of the weeks in October.

It was stated that the first time those four living creatures were listed (in Ezekiel 1), they were listed in the order that they normally appear, with the connections to the four gospel accounts in their normal order. The next time they were listed (in Ezekiel 10), they were listed in the order that the glory left the temple—and basically came to Jesus. In other words, the gospel accounts that had a genealogy of Jesus were first, with the one that went the farthest back in time, that was the very first one. The next time the living creatures were listed (in Revelation 4), they were listed in the order that they were authorized to give the command to ‘Come’ to various horsemen who did things that were against what that particular gospel account did. This was seen as the order in which they were authorized. Therefore, the ones that were written by the secretaries were first, with the ones written by the apostles, last. And, therefore, all four accounts have the resources to be an answer to those difficulties which are caused by those four horsemen.

Although some people think that some of the gospel accounts were written in the decades after Jesus ascended without knowing that other people were writing other accounts—and that is why there is some similarity among the first three—and some think that the Gospel according to John was written at a very different time. There is some evidence that, rather than a chronological answer to the reason for four gospel accounts, there is also a more literary answer.

There is some evidence for an intentional, fourfold account that relates Jesus in four different and important ways. It is most certainly true that a man, a lion, and an ox have some similarities, especially when compared to an eagle, but they are still four different things. In much the same way, The Gospel according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, are similar, and all three are significantly different from the Gospel according to John. To support the idea of a deliberate, fourfold gospel account, it may be helpful to see some more of the detailed connections between each of the four accounts and the living creature that is most commonly connected to each account.

Starting next week, I will be laying out some of the connections that may be seen between the first of the four living creatures and the account most often connected to it. How can this be done in a brief way? (This is, after all, a Sabbath day’s journey with a text.) A detailed analysis will, admittedly, be quite difficult. Perhaps the easiest way to make a strong connection between the two things will be to look at the historical presents that are in each account.

An historical present is a verb that is in the present tense when one expects the past. One grammar book explains it this way:

The historical present can replace the aorist indicative in a vivid narrative at the events of which the narrator imagines himself to be present; the Aktionsart usually remains punctiliar in spite of the present tense form. This usage is common among NT authors, especially Mk (the Aramaic participial sentence may have contributed to its frequency; s. M.-H. 456f.), as it is among classical writers; only Lk uses it less frequently, probably because he regarded it as a vulgarism… [F. Blass and A. Debrunner, A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, A Translation and Revision of the ninth-tenth German edition incorporating supplementary notes of A. Debrunner by Robert W. Funk; Chicago, Illinois, USA: The University of Chicago Press, 1961; page 167.].

It is difficult to read the mind of someone who wrote something about two thousand years ago. It would be extremely difficult to say how they were feeling. Therefore, a more literary solution will be attempted with this aspect.
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For the next four weeks, connections will be attempted between the historical presents in the four gospel accounts and the four living creatures. After all, those four creatures are called living creatures, and the historical presents help to bring some of the actions into the present. Instead of focusing on the writer of the text, this method aims to focus on The Author behind the text. He is the One on the throne with those four living creatures. And those creatures are still alive, and they are still doing the work they have been given to do.
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