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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 Just because we have an Old Testament, it does not mean that we call it the 'Outdated Testament'.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!

June 12th, 2021

6/12/2021

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This is the third Sunday after Pentecost, and it is the Sunday after our first look at the first cherubim in the Bible, the ones guarding the way to the tree of life. This Sunday’s Old Testament text [Ezekiel 17:22-24] also happens to be about trees.
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It may be a coincidence that the next time cherubim are mentioned in the scriptures, a special type of tree is also mentioned there. The ark of the covenant was made out of acacia wood, a hardwood usually used to make cabinets, etc. (see Exodus 25:10).

The ark of the covenant was to be the footstool of the LORD’s throne (see 1 Samuel 4:4 and Psalm 132:7). And above the ark were to be two cherubim—made out of gold this time (see Exodus 25:18)—although there was the instruction at Exodus 20:4 not to make any graven or carved image. Here we see a very special exception.

Trees are important. Trees have life. And do not forget about the tree of life! More importantly, it is the LORD who ultimately makes all these trees and gives life. EVEN MORE important is the Lord Jesus Christ who gave up his one life on a tree. And then there is this verse from Deuteronomy [21:23] that shows the great significance of it all: Cursed to God is he who is hanged on a tree (a somewhat-literal translation).’

The cherubim are also important. And the cherubim are most mentioned frequently when it comes to the tabernacle and temple. The word ‘cherub’ has been connected to blessing, and that is what the LORD does in that situation, since he is no longer so far away. The word in Hebrew is connected to a word in the ancient language of Akkadian which means to pray, consecrate, and bless [See Ludwig Koehler & Walter Baumgartner’s, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament: Study Edition; Brill, 2001; volume 1, page 497.] The temple is a place to communicate with the LORD, and it is a place in which he has chosen to give out his gifts.

There are four living creatures that are connected to the LORD’s throne, and those four creatures show the different ways in which the LORD is actively communicating and giving out his gifts. [See also Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses, book 3, chapter 11, section 8.]

When the four living creatures are listed for the first time in Ezekiel 1(:10), when Ezekiel has the vision—he says at the very beginning of the book, ‘I saw the visions of God’—they are in the usual order of the four gospel accounts: Human (& Matthew), Lion (& Mark), Ox (& Luke), Eagle (&John). Much has already been said about the connections between these four gospel accounts and the four living creatures, but there is still much more that could be written.

When the glory of the LORD is leaving the temple in Ezekiel 10 (see especially verse 14), there is a slightly different order of the creatures, and there is also a cherub instead of an ox. The change from an ox to a cherub is not a significant one, and it may even be helpful since it may be more proper to think of a cherub as a composite creature that could be ridden. When we think of a cherub, we can get too used to an angel in human form. (See also 2 Samuel 22:11 & Psalm 18:10.)

The reason for the change from ox to cherub may be that the ox would have been listed as the first of the four creatures. And perhaps the cherub is mentioned instead because this is a special event and an ox is seen to be a lowly, hardworking animal. The glory leaving the temple is an important thing and should not be seen as a mundane task.

The glory leaving the temple is a significant prediction of what was ultimately going to happen in the New Testament. At first glance, the glory leaving the temple would leave a person being sad. But if that glory were given to Jesus, there might be a totally different reaction. And a possible reason for pointing to the Gospel according to Luke (since the ox/cherub is connected to this gospel account) is that this account goes back in its genealogy, all the way to the Adam (see Luke 3). In this way, this account would ‘lead the way’ for the glory to be given to Jesus.

Something is promised, and then something is given. At the heart of the issue are the words of the Lord. He is dependable in what he says. This is emphasized in the last part of the verse of the Old Testament text (again, in a somewhat-literal translation): ‘I, Yahweh, have spoken and done.’ This focuses on first the words and then the actions of the LORD. And that is what we see promised in the scriptures. And this is what we see that goes on during worship.
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June 5th, 2021

6/5/2021

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Last Sunday it could be said that the focus was on seraphim, and we looked at the only passage that mentions this type of angel, Isaiah’s temple vision in chapter six of his book. This Sunday, the Second Sunday after Pentecost, the Old Testament reading focuses on the fall into sin [Genesis 3:8-15], but soon after that text is the first time that another type of angel appears. This time we will be looking at the cherubim.

A word somewhat similar to cherub is chubby, but please do not think of these angels as chubby and cute. Their first mention is in Genesis 3:24, and they have some serious business on their hands. And here is a somewhat-literal translation:

And he [Yahweh God] drove out the man and caused to dwell on the east to the garden of Eden the cherubim and the flame of the sword, the one turning every way, to guard the path of the tree of the life.

There are obviously many more passages about cherubim, and we will be looking at some of them in the next few weeks. But this one is special. This one is the first. And it seems as though you might also say that this one is ‘popular’. Here is a quotation from Stephen Cook, who is connected to the Society of Biblical Literature, to give you an idea as to the extent of their popularity:

In the ancient Near East, cherubim were winged, composite beings (“sphinxes”), regulating access to the center of the cosmos and divinity. They guarded temples and royal thrones, prime earthly access points to the transcendent (page 179 of “Cosmos, Kabod, and Cherub: Ontological and Epistemological Hierarchy in Ezekiel.” This chapter is by Stephen L. Cook, pages 179-197, in Ezekiel’s Hierarchical World: Wrestling with a Tiered Reality; SBL Symposium Series, number 31; Brill, 2004.)

What is interesting is that these cherubs in other cultures not only have the job of guarding, but they are sometimes seen guarding a tree. Here is a much longer quote from the same work and from the next page (page 180), but hopefully it is helpful:

Parallel imagery of monstrous, guarding beings positioning themselves symmetrically about a holy, divine axis is common both in the ancient Near East and in the mythologies of world cultures. In these images, the cosmos’s axis often appears as a highly stylized, symbolic tree, which marks paradise, or Eden, where God is present (cf. Gen 3:24; Ezek 31:9). Earthly temples aim to model this locale (cf. Ezek 41:18), presenting themselves as Eden, God’s mountaintop garden….

A cylinder seal from northern Syria (Alalakh level I-Ii, 1225-1175 B.C.E.) shows seated, winged sphinxes flanking a sacred, cosmic tree. They have raised their paws, forming a shield against all encroachers. Similarly, two ram-headed sphinxes mirror each other across a palmette tree on an ivory carving from Arslan Tash (ninth century B.C.E.). Antithetical sphinxes, from about the same time, also appear on an ivory panel from Nimrud. They flank the same voluted tree, which rises heavenward in tiers.

From farther west, winged male sphinxes guard the cosmic center on five cast plaques from Mycenean Cyprus (twelfth to early eleventh century B.C.E.). The plaques form part of a tripod’s ring-shaped top. On each one, sphinxes sit upright, at attention, arrayed about a stylized, lily-like tree. They are lean and hungry, and wear round helmets with knobs and plumes.

This quotation seems to say that there may be something to this biblical text, and having cherubs and trees appear in so many other places, it may actually be true!
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May 29th, 2021

5/29/2021

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The focus for the first Sunday after Pentecost is dedicated to a significant teaching in the Christian Church, that of the Trinity. One Old Testament passage that has been connected to the Trinity is in Isaiah, chapter 6[:1-8], since there is a threefold call from one angel to the other.

The topic of angels is often popular, and the word ‘angel’ appears in many places in scripture. We will be looking at some more of them in the weeks ahead. This angelic appearance in Isaiah 6 is a significant one, since it is actually the Hebrew word ‘seraphim’ that appears here. And that word seems to describe a unique type of angel that is only found here.

You might think that this word for angels appears at least a few more times in the Bible, since it appears in SEVEN hymns within the Lutheran Service Book [507:2, 624:7, 670:2, 939:1, 940:2, 941:1, 960:1, and if you include the word in the singular of the Hebrew—the word ‘seraph(s)’—then you may also add two more hymns, 621:4 and 670:1]!

You can probably imagine that people have guessed throughout the centuries about what these seraphim looked like. This particular Hebrew word appears at other times in the Bible, but it means ‘to burn’. This is certainly significant. And it also seems to be the case that its use is somewhat negative.

In the discussion of this word in the Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, [volume 14, article by Rüterswörden, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, page 219], the author writes the following concerning Genesis 11:3, the burning of bricks to make the tower of Babel: ‘This is the only passage using the verb to write about a constructive rather than a destructive act.’ But a point could also be made that this action was ultimately and definitely destructive to the human race. Either way, one of the common negative uses is that of a snake which, after biting someone, causes a ‘burning’ sensation, and this is quite understandable—although, thankfully, I have never experienced such a thing.

Some have said that these ‘burning ones’ are snakes with six wings. There is some archaeological evidence to make this a possibility. If this interests you, and if you are familiar with the German, you may wish to look at the following book: Othmar Keel, Jahwe-Visionen und Siegelkunst: Eine neue Deutung der Majestätsschilderungen in Jes 6, Ez 1 und 10 und Sach 4 (Stuttgart, Germany: Verlag Katholisches Bibelwerk, 1977).

What these particular angels are looking like does not seem to be important in the text. The first thing that seems important in this text is the contrast between the king, Uzziah, who just died (and is probably lying down in a grave somewhere), and THE King, the Lord, who is described as sitting on a throne (see verse 5). In the twenty-first century, the idea of sitting does not mean a position of authority to us; it usually means a position of rest. But the idea of sitting is an important one and should not be forgotten.
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The second thing that seems to be important in this Isaiah 6 text is the position of the others who are involved. After a quick description of the Lord, there is some detail as to the position of the seraphim, and note that they are described in relation to the Lord. The following is the first part of that Isaiah text, in a somewhat-literal translation, but the positions of those involved are capitalized:

In the year of the death of the king, Uzziah, and I saw the Lord, sitting upon a throne, HIGH, and LIFTED UP, and his robes, ones filling the temple. Seraphim, ones STANDING, FROM ABOVE TO HIM, six wings, six wings to each, with two, he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he FLEW.

Being high and lifted up, like the position of the Lord, is a pretty amazing thing. But then, the seraphim are still above him! That position above the Lord does not seem to be a position of authority, since they are covering some significant body parts. The head is important as the highest thing on a person’s body; the feet are important as the lowest thing. In Joshua 10:24 there is the time that the feet of those who won the battle were placed on the necks of those who lost. The Lord is definitely in charge, and those particular angels, the seraphim, were definitely subject to him.

We will be looking at another type of angel, the cherubim, next time.
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May 22nd, 2021

5/22/2021

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This Sunday starts the season of Pentecost, and we will again turn out attention toward the Old Testament. And we will stay there for a while. Looking at the Old Testament is helpful for seeing the great significance of Jesus’ humble activity while in this world.

The text for Pentecost Sunday is from Ezekiel 37[:1-14]. With this chapter, we are not only near the end of the Old Testament and near the end of the section of so-called Major Prophets, but we are also near the end of the book of Ezekiel. This is the last reading that is taken from that book that contains forty-eight chapters. It is also the most popular reading, and the same text will appear, not only within the Easter Vigil, but also in the Fifth Sunday in Lent in the ‘A series’.

The text that we have here is sometimes connected to the end of time, since it speaks of a resurrection from the dead, and this is sometimes connected to the end of the book, since it deals with a significant vision of a ‘new temple’, and this is often connected to the new heavens and the new earth.

I have mentioned at other times the importance of the Greek translation of the Old Testament, usually called the Septuagint. A comment could be made about it here as well, since in some manuscripts, this chapter is right before the section on the new temple in chapter 40. But this resurrection is also appropriate here since the bodies that are resurrection are called a very great ‘army’ (in verse 10), and this fits well with the ‘final battle’ that is described in chapters 38 & 39.

In the Concordia Commentary on Ezekiel 21-48, Dr. Horace D. Hummel puts together how this new temple also and especially points to Christ. He quotes various commentaries. He also points out that the guide Ezekiel has as he shows him this new temple calls Ezekiel ‘son of man’, and this is the same title that Yahweh calls Ezekiel. [For more details, see page 11149-1160 et al., but especially 1158; St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2007.]
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For the next few weeks we will be looking at the ways in which the Lord has chosen to deliver his messages. Sometimes we pass over the mention of an ‘angel’ all too quickly. A messenger has a critical job. The gospel is a critical message. 
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May 15th, 2021

5/15/2021

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t is the last, the Seventh Sunday of the Easter season, but, in a way, the Easter season will continue every Sunday until the end of time. The Lord will continue to meet with his people, as the resurrected Lord met with his followers on Sunday, and that is called, in some languages, the Lord’s Day, and that is for a good reason. The term ‘lord’ shows authority, and it would be good to remember who is really in charge of that day and what is truly important. Jesus showed his authority over sin, death, and hell.

The First Reading, for the last time, is from the book of Acts, chapter 1[:12-26]. The text moves in a positive direction, despite Jesus having just ascended. You get the idea that Jesus is still involved and giving his input. The apostles want to bring their number back up to twelve, and, by the end of the chapter, the twelfth one is in place, and he is doing his job—although we do not hear anything more about Matthias specifically—that is a good thing. That is the way the flow of the text seems to be moving within this entire book, the Acts of the Apostles, although a better title may be ‘the Acts of the Risen Lord’. Throughout the chapters there are some difficulties, but those difficulties are handled. And the Lord’s Church continues to grow.

This seems to be a stark contrast to what is considered the end of the Gospel according to Mark, in its most reliable manuscripts. There, the women have just talked to the ‘young man’ at the empty tomb of Jesus. He tells them to tell Jesus’ disciples that Jesus will see them in Galilee, just as he had promised. Then what follows is this last verse, in a somewhat-literal translation, of the most ancient manuscripts of this gospel account:

And [the women] going out, they fled from the tomb, for trembling and ecstasy had them, and they said nothing to no one, for they feared.

Much has been written about this ending. Some people insist that this cannot be the ending of a gospel account. [For more details in a recent writing, see Excursus 19: A Consideration of the ‘Long Ending’ of Mark: 16:9-20, in Concordia Commentary: A Theological Exposition of Sacred Scripture, Mark 8:27-16:20; Mark 8:27-16:8, James W. Voelz; Mark 16:9-20, Christopher W. Mitchell; Concordia Publishing House, Saint Louis, 2019; pages 1222-1237.]

Such a negative reaction regarding this ending usually comes from a negative reaction to fear, the last description of the women who went away from the tomb. But, as Rev. Dr. James Voelz points out in the commentary mentioned above, fear is not always a bad thing.

Dr. Voelz references these verses below that are also in the Gospel according to Mark. They are somewhat literally translated below, and they have fear mentioned somewhere in them, but it is not an exclusively negative fear. Along with the fear is some action that is far more important. For the first three, it is some sort of miracle, but for the second two, it goes to a much more important issue of Jesus’ main purpose on earth:

5:15     Jesus just healed the man who had a ‘legion’ of demons. The demons went into some nearby pigs, and those pigs died. Those who were watching the pigs told what happened in the nearby town, and then there is this verse: ‘And they come toward Jesus, and they behold the one having been demon-possessed, sitting, and having been robed, and being in his senses, the one having the legion, and they feared.’

5:33     A woman who had a flow of blood was just healed by Jesus, because she believed that she will be healed if only she touches his clothes, but Jesus wants her to say something about it. Then there is this verse: ‘And the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell before him, and she told him all the truth.’

6:50     Jesus is walking on the water, and the disciples think that he is a ghost, and they cry out. Then there is this verse: ‘For all saw him and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and he says to them, ‘Have courage; I AM; do not fear.’

10:32   Jesus has already predicted twice before that he will be going to Jerusalem to die, and he is about to predict this one more time. Then there is this verse: ‘And they were in the way, going up into Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed, and, those following were afraid; and taking again the twelve, he began to tell them the things about to happen to him.’

11:18   Jesus just cleansed the temple, and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. He was being so strict! And he was saying that people have made ‘his house’ a ‘den of robbers’. And then there is this verse: ‘And the scribes and the chief priests heard, and they sought how they might destroy him, for they feared him, for all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.’

Another positive connection can also be made by comparing this account to the other gospel accounts—this is something that is difficult to do when studying a biblical text from just one gospel account or when studying a commentary. But such a study can be very helpful. And such a study can be easy since these accounts are not in four large scrolls, but they are in a ‘codex’, a book, so that comparisons can easily be made. If taken with the other gospel accounts, to see this in light of a fourfold gospel, then the ramifications are much more positive.

There is a somewhat similar resurrection account in the Gospel according to Matthew, and the women are running from the empty tomb, but then these words are included, and this is, again, in a somewhat-literal translation [28:9-10]:

And, behold, Jesus met them saying, ‘Hail!’ And those approaching him held his feet, and they worshipped him. Then Jesus says to them, ‘Do not fear; go, announce to my brothers that they may go away into Galilee, and there they will see me.’

In the Gospel according to Matthew, this message is set up in strong contrast to the message that the soldiers passed on to others, that Jesus really did not rise from the dead, but that his disciples came and stole his body. The Jewish leaders are trying to calm the soldier’s fears, assuring them that they will not get into trouble.
This is such a strong contrast to the positive fear within those five texts above. This fear is within the context of something very good happening, something that was strongly connected to Jesus’ role on earth of savior from sin.

This ending may have been this short to remind people that, when we look at what we see, it is not always good. Within a larger context, this fear is a positive one, especially in light of what the Lord has already promised and done.

The Lord appeared to those women who were afraid. The Lord will return again at a time in which some Christians may be afraid. There will always be interruptions in our lives, both good ones and bad ones. But no matter what happens, the Lord always keeps his promises.
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May 10th, 2021

5/10/2021

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The First Reading for the Sixth Sunday of Easter is again from the book of Acts, and we get to the farthest point in that book during this ‘B-series’ season of Easter. We are at Peter’s speech to Gentiles and its great results in Acts 10[:34-48]. Within the text (see verse 44), there is this great interruption, and then there is this great ‘Gentile Pentecost’.
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Whether or not Peter’s first Pentecost speech in Acts 2 was interrupted by the hearers being ‘cut to the heart’ (verse 37) and responding (‘What shall we do?’) is unclear. But there is a clear interruption in the second speech of Peter, in Acts 3, and this time, it is a terrible interruption. The authorities come upon Peter and John while they were still speaking, and they are arrested (see Acts 4:1).

Many things can be interrupted, and interruptions can seem either good or bad. I thought it would be nice to look at other interruptions of one or more persons talking, but especially in the Gospel according to Luke. If there are significant interruptions in Acts, there might be a hint of why they appear in the gospel account by the same writer.
Sometimes there are interruptions in more than one account, and this heightens their importance. Interruptions appear in Matthew 9:18, Mark 5:35, and Luke 8:49, and all three deal with the raising of Jairus’ daughter, but they appear at two different points in the story. What is the same in all three stories is that, at the point of the interruption, the news that the daughter has just died has just been shared. The news of a death is definitely worth an interruption.

Another interruption that appears in the Gospel according to Luke deals with the so-called transfiguration of Jesus (Luke 9:34), and this one also appears in the Gospel according to Matthew (17:5). Peter has some ideas of what should be done with this Jesus who looks so brilliantly white, and who is with Moses and Elijah, and Peter is interrupted by God the Father with some more important information. It seems like interruptions have to do with some important death and life issues.

The importance of interruptions continues as Jesus gets closer to the cross and the empty tomb. In all of the three most-similar accounts (Matthew 26:47, Mark 14:43, and Luke 22:47), Jesus, of all people, is interrupted this time, as the religious leaders are coming to arrest him.

It is interesting that, at this point in the Gospel according to John, there is not an interruption, but there is Judas who KNOWS the place where Jesus was and Jesus who KNOWS literally all the things that are about to happen (18:2 & 4). There is essentially no interruption when it comes to the Lord’s perspective. Interruptions are things that are unexpected, but that is not an issue when it comes to the Creator of the universe. All interruptions, whether they seem good or bad, have been brilliantly planned.

The great contrast between Jesus and us is seen in the last interruption of simple speech in the Gospel according to Luke. In Luke 22:60, Peter is interrupted by the rooster crowing, and this worked out exactly as Jesus said it would happen—with only seconds away from him being wrong! While Peter was still speaking and denying that he knew Jesus for the third time, that rooster crowed, and Jesus was in the right.

That leaves Jesus with the potential for ‘showing off’ and for us of only being reminded of how sinful and selfish we are. But the final interruption changes all of that. In Luke 24:51, Jesus is interrupted and is taken up into heaven while he is not simply speaking, but when he is blessing the disciples. That cannot be a mistake. There is no better occasion for Jesus’ ascension into heaven than that of being in the midst of blessing his followers, his disciples, his witnesses, his martyrs (that is the Greek word for ‘witness’). And the great thing is that he did not have to stop what he was doing.

Interruptions are not always bad. No interruptions happen without the Lord’s knowledge. Until that Final Interruption, the Lord continues to bless his people.

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May 1st, 2021

5/1/2021

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The Fifth Sunday of Easter continues with the First Reading from the book of Acts, this time from chapter 8[:26-40]; and the texts will continue to move toward the end, until the last Sunday of Easter, when we will go back to chapter 1 to prepare for Pentecost. The gospel text is again from the Gospel according to John; this time it also progresses farther along in Jesus’ life [15:1-8], and Jesus is about to be arrested.

The differences between the first three gospel accounts and the Gospel according to John have, for a long time, been the source of some long discussions. Questions related to this issue are difficult to answer because the issue has recently been framed with a chronological question, rather than a theological, literary, or even a general historical one. Usually the question is asked, ‘Which account was written first?’ Unless there is some exceedingly strong evidence, it will always be hard to answer that question.

It is also very hard to say when the writing of the four accounts started. Perhaps just one or two of Jesus’ disciples were adept at writing. Jesus certainly was! (See John 8:6 & 8.) And since he was literally the ‘perfect teacher’, he certainly could have taught ALL of his disciples how to write. But that is not in ANY text.

There MAY be a hint of something being written down in Acts 6. William Farmer writes about this ‘principle’ in his book, The Formation of the New Testament Canon:

The first evident need for writing down the words of the Lord may have been in connection with the need for the oral tradition to be translated in a reliable way into languages other than that spoken by Jesus, or other than that spoken by Christian prophets speaking in the spirit and name of Jesus [William R. Farmer and Denis M. Farkasfalvy, The Formation of the New Testament Canon: An Ecumenical Approach, New York: Paulist Press, 1983; page 50].

The first thing to note is that the author writes that the words of the Lord MAY have been written down at this particular point. There is no guarantee of this. But, within Acts 6, it looks like there is a desire for the words of the Lord in the Greek language.

This is the start of talking about the ‘seven’ who helped the twelve. From the names of the seven, it looks like they were Greek, or at least they had some Greek connections. How these ‘seven’ got started is given in the following verses [6:1-4], and this is in a somewhat-literal translation:

And in these days, the disciples being multiplied, there was a murmuring of the Hellenists toward the Hebrews, because the widows of them were overlooked in the service, the daily one. And the twelve, having called the multitude of the disciples, said, ‘Not pleasing it is for us, leaving the word of God to serve tables. But look out, brothers, for men from you, being witnesses to seven full of Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint over this office. But we, ourselves, will keep to the prayer and to the service of the word.

Usually it is thought that these Hellenistic widows were overlooked in terms of receiving food. While that was probably the case, the way in which they were overlooked could have been more multifaceted.

The twelve said that they did not want to be leaving the word of God to serve tables. The phrase ‘word of God’ is used here and tends to appear more in the first part of Acts; it also has more of a Jewish connection; the phrase ‘word of the Lord’ will become more popular in the latter part of the book of Acts, and that phrase has a more Gentile connection. (You might wish to note a gradual transition from the use of the word ‘God’ to ‘Lord’ in Acts 8.)

With all that in mind, perhaps you can imagine what it might have been like for one of the twelve to visit a Greek widow. While at the Jewish widow’s house, this man who followed Jesus around for three years may have related a lot of things that Jesus did, but for the Greek widow, that person may have basically just dropped the food and left; he may not have even stepped inside of the house. Very little was probably said, especially if it was spoken in Greek. Very little COULD be said, especially since the numbers of followers were increasing dramatically. There was very little time to do anything. So this may be what was meant by ‘to serve tables’.

A Greek widow who was a follower of Christ would no longer have a man as the spiritual leader of her household, and these Greek men could have been placed into that role. And these seven may have been asked by these widows for some of the things that Jesus said and did. These men would want to get the details correct, and so, some of these events and words of Jesus MAY have been written down in Greek.

The false witnesses that speak against Stephen, later in the chapter [6:13-14], say this about him; this, again, is a somewhat-literal translation:

This man does not cease speaking words against the place, the holy one, and the law. For we have heard him saying that this Jesus, the Nazarene, will destroy this place and will change the customs which Moses delivered to us.

It seems that the message he was preaching was about Jesus. If he had just continued to deliver the food and kept his mouth shut, it seems like there would have not have been any trouble. But there will always be trouble for the Lord's Church ... until the Final Day.​
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April 24th, 2021

4/24/2021

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On this, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, with this Sunday also having the name of ‘Good Shepherd Sunday’, you might think that all the texts have something to do with sheep. But that is not the case when it comes to the text from Acts. In the text from Acts for this week, in chapter 4[:1-12], Peter is coming down hard on some of the religious leaders of the day [for a detailed list of them, see 4:5-6]. Perhaps it was because they were not being very good shepherds of the people.​

Peter basically told them that ‘you crucified … Jesus Christ, the Nazarene … [verse 10].’ And he basically has made this same statement before. In his first two sermons in Acts 2 and 3, both are to the Jews in Jerusalem, and he covers the same point. But he describes the crucifixion somewhat differently.

It might be helpful to compare those sermons in the book of Acts to other similar speeches that show up later. I think that something particularly interesting is the description of the crucifixion in each of those sermons, as the speaker lays out some of the immense ramifications of what this God-man, Jesus, did with that relatively small piece of wood. What follows are somewhat-literal translations of the crucifixion sections of those four ‘sermons’:

Acts 2:23         …this man, in the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, was given up through the hands of lawless men, fastening, you did away with him….

Acts 3:14-15a  But you, yourselves, denied the holy and righteous one, and you asked for a man, a murderer, to be granted to you, and the originator of life you killed….

Acts 10:39       And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the country of the Jews and Jerusalem; whom also they did away with, hanging him on a tree.

Acts 13:28-29  And no cause of death finding, they asked Pilate for him to be done away with; and as they finished all the things concerning him having been written, taking down from the tree, they placed him into a tomb.

In essence, here are some of the basic crucifixion statements within each of the above quotations:

You did away with him, fastening … you killed the originator of life … they did away with him, hanging on a tree … they finished all the things concerning him having been written.

Obviously, there is a significant amount of variety in those statements. The greatest variety is within the statements of ‘you’ or ‘they’, who actually did the crucifying. As was said before, in the first two, the words are being spoken to the people in Jerusalem, quite soon after the crucifixion. In the last two, the words are spoken to others. In the third one, Peter is speaking within the house of Cornelius. (And it certainly took a while for Peter to feel comfortable in the house of a Gentile.) But the end result of Peter’s talk is quite similar to the day of Pentecost [see 10:44-45]. In the fourth one, Paul is in a synagogue in Pisidian Antioch—quite a distance from Jerusalem—and he is giving those gathered there a word of exhortation.

I like the variety within these four summaries of Jesus on the cross, and this variety even reminds me of the variety within the four gospel accounts, especially when it comes to the crucifixion and the progression to that event within the gospel accounts. Here are some of the connections that I have found that connect these four sermons to the normal order of the four accounts. Perhaps you may come up with even more:

In Acts 2, there is an emphasis on God’s knowing beforehand, and the Gospel according to Matthew has a strong connection to the Old Testament and what God did in the past among his people, Israel. Also, when describing the crucifixion, the word ‘fastening’ is used, and this is an extremely rare word. At the base of this word is the word ‘to build’, and even this word is rare in the New Testament! It is something that a person usually constructs or puts together (but see Hebrew 8:2). Also connected to this word is the idea of being firm. And after the soldiers are described as crucifying Jesus, they are uniquely described as ‘sitting’ and guarding him there [Matthew 27:36]. One may see a few references to people within this particular crucifixion-description, and that happens in the Gospel according to Matthew with all the teaching that is happening.

In Acts 3, a different word for the crucifixion is used, a much stronger word, a word clearly connected to killing. And regarding the person of Jesus, the first definition in the dictionary for that word here is ‘one who has a preeminent position’ [A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Christian Literature, third edition, University of Chicago Press, 2000; page 138]. One can see this ‘preeminent’ position given to Jesus within the Gospel according to Mark in some different ways. The disciples of Jesus are not portrayed very positively here, especially when compared to other accounts, and Jesus therefore tends to stand out more. For a good example of this, see Mark 10:32.

In Acts 10, the word ‘hanging’ is used, and this is also used in Acts 5:30 in the speech of Peter and the apostles to the Sanhedrin. But it only appears in the four gospel accounts to describe a crucifixion in Luke 23:39, when it describes those who were ‘hanged’ with Jesus. And the fact that Jesus was hanging is within a larger statement that Peter is one of the witnesses to what Jesus did, and such a statement is quite clearly made in Luke 24:48.

Acts 13 has by far the most unusual description of the crucifixion. To ‘finish’ all the things having been written concerning him does not clearly mention death. Here, again, seems to be an oblique reference to the Old Testament, and the Gospel according to John does go back to the very beginning at its start.

The closest mention of death in this section of Acts 13 is that the people asked for Pilate literally to ‘take away’ Jesus, and it is the same word used in the other cases. In the same way, Jesus’ trial is described in a somewhat similar fashion in this account to the way it is described in the other accounts.

Another thing to note is that the word ‘finish’ comes up in some surprising ways near the very end of Jesus’ life in the Gospel according to John. Here is a somewhat-literal translation of this interesting section:

After this, Jesus knowing that now all things have been finished, that the scripture might be finished [usually this phrase uses the verb ‘to fulfill’], says, “I thirst.” A jar of vinegar, full, was set; a sponge, therefore, full of the vinegar, putting around a hyssop, they brought it to his mouth. When, therefore, he took the vinegar, Jesus said, “It has been finished,” and bowing his head, he delivered up the spirit [John 19:29-30].

Even if there were no connections between these statements and the four gospel accounts, there is still a significant amount of variety within those above four statements. And why is that? The easy way that this question was answered was that the different writers wrote at different times in different places in different situations. While that could be true, it also could be true that the thing written about is so important that it takes a few different perspectives to explain adequately what is happening and what are the huge ramifications of such an all-important thing.

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April 17th, 2021

4/17/2021

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On this, the Third Sunday of Easter, the pattern continues of looking at the so-called ‘Acts of the Apostles’ for the First Reading. Last week the text was from Acts 4. This time the text is from Acts 3[:11-21]. On the Day of Pentecost, we will obviously be looking at chapter 2. The book itself has a chronology, a progression, but that is not always followed in the readings.

It might be helpful to go back to the very beginning. The title of this book is ‘The Acts of the Apostles’, and apostles are those who are sent out. The work starts with Jesus essentially sending out the apostles in Jerusalem, and it ends with Paul, also one of the apostles, who just made it to Rome.

Paul is essentially called an apostle in Acts 14:4 and 14, and some would say that this chapter is near the transition between the focus of those apostles talking to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. In a way, this is most certainly true, but in the very last chapter of the book, Paul is still speaking to the Jews in Rome. There is a more theological (God’s word) emphasis at this middle point within the book. And one way to find that emphasis may be to look at the words that people are speaking.

One thing that many people have commented on is the large number of speeches within this book. When someone speaks, those words could all be written down, or those words could be summarized. There is a large number of speeches that are laid out within the text, and they make that text significantly longer.

Although this may take a little while (a little longer than my usual length), it might be helpful to look at some of the ‘reactions’ (and perhaps it would be good to lay out that word in this way: re-Act-ions) within this book. What follows is a list of the words that occur after some of the longer sections of essentially quoted words in this book. Looking at these may help to see what is most important. To be somewhat consistent, groups of words that made up three or more verses were chosen, and these texts are somewhat-literal translations.

At the end of Peter’s speech to the ‘brothers’ in Acts 1:

(verse 23-26) ‘So they set two: Joseph, the one called Barsabbas, who was also named Justus, and Matthias. And praying … and they cast lots for them, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was added to the eleven apostles.

At the end of Peter’s speech to the Jews who had gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost in Acts 2:

(verses 37-41) And hearing this, they were stung in the heart, and they said to Peter and the remaining apostles, ‘What may we do, men, brothers?’ And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized, each one of you ….’ …and there were added in that day about 3000 souls.

At the end of Peter’s speech (while he was with John) to the people in the porch of Solomon in Acts 3:

(chapter 4, verses 1-4) And while they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people … and the number of men became about 5000.

At the end of Peter’s speech (while he was with John) in Acts 4 to the Jewish leaders:

(verse 13-14) And beholding the boldness of Peter and John, and perceiving that they were unlettered men and laymen, they marveled and … they had nothing to say against them.

At the end of the believers’ prayer in Acts 4:

(verse 31) And as they were making their request, the place in which they were gathered was shaken, and all were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.

At the end of Peter’s speech (with the apostles) to the Sanhedrin in Acts 5:

(verse 33-35) And those hearing this were cut and intended to kill them. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel … said to them….

At the end of Gamaliel’s speech to the Sanhedrin in Acts 5:

(verse 39-41) And they obeyed him. And having called the apostles, they were beating them and they commanded them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and they released them. And they went rejoicing from the face of the Sanhedrin….

At the end of Stephen’s speech to the Sanhedrin in Acts 7:

(verse 54) And hearing these things, they were cut to their hearts, and they gnashed their teeth at him.

At the end of Peter’s speech in Acts 10:

(verse 44-45) While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all the ones hearing the word. The circumcised believers who came with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out also on the Gentiles.

At the end of Peter’s speech to the circumcised believers in Acts 11:

(verse 18) When they heard this, they were silent and glorified God saying, ‘Then also to the nations God gives repentance into life.’

At the end of Paul’s word of exhortation (with Barnabas) at the synagogue in Acts 13:

(verse 42) As they were going out, they exhorted them that these words be spoken on the next Sabbath….

At the end of Paul’s speech (with Barnabas) in Lystra in Acts 14:

(verse 18) And saying these things, they barely restrained the crowds not to sacrifice to them.

At the end of Peter’s speech at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:

(verse 12) And all the multitude was silent, and they heard Barnabas and Paul relating the signs and wonders that God did among the nations through them.

At the end of James’ speech at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:

(verse 22) Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with all the church, to send to Antioch chosen men of them with Paul and Barnabas, Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers….

At the end of Paul’s speech in Athens in Acts 17:

(verse 32) And hearing of the resurrection of the dead, some, on the one hand, scoffed, but some, on the other hand, said, ‘We will hear you also again concerning this.’

At the end of the city clerk’s speech at Ephesus in Acts 19:

(verse 41-chapter 20, verse 1) After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly. And after the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples, and, after exhorting and leaving them, he went out to go into Macedonia.

At the end Paul’s speech to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:

(verse 36) And having said these things, placing his knees with all of them, he prayed.

At the end of Paul’s speech to the crowd in Jerusalem in Acts 22:

(verse 22) And they heard him as far as this word, and they lifted up their voices saying, ‘Take this man from the earth, for it is not fitting for him to live!’

At the end of Tertullus’ presentation of the case against Paul before Felix in Acts 24:

(verse 9) And also the Jews joined in asserting these things to be thus.

At the end of Paul’s reply to Felix in Acts 24:

(verse 22) And Felix postponed the things, knowing more exactly the things concerning the Way....

At the end of Festus’ discussion with the king regarding Paul’s case in Acts 25:

(verse 22) And Agrippa said to Festus, ‘I would like to hear the man myself.’

At the end of Paul’s speech to the leaders of the Jews in Acts 28:

(verse 21-22) And they said to him, ‘We ourselves have not received letters about you from Judea, nor has arrived any of the brothers who have told or spoke anything evil about you. But we think it is worthy to hear what things you think from you, concerning this sect, known to us; it is everywhere spoken against.’

At the end of Paul’s ‘final statement’ in Acts 28:

(verse 29 is only in some manuscripts and 30-31) After having said these things, the Jews left, having a large argument among themselves. And he remained a whole two years in his own rented place, and he welcomed all the ones coming to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, unhindered.

It could be said that there is a lot of Act-ivity after these speeches. There are some very significant actions—some people were significantly changed, for better or worse; some are stung, some are cut to the heart, some are ready to kill. At the end of a very long speech, if it took a lot of room—and a lot of money to get it on the papyrus—then you might expect a big reaction. Perhaps you have heard of this saying: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. A big action USUALLY has a big reaction.

Our Lord, though, does not have to prove himself. His words always do what they say, but not always in a big way. A big reaction may draw more attention, but that is usually the way of power and not the way of love.

I think it is significant that there is some ‘silence’ after two of these speeches, in Acts 11 and 15—although at the end of that first speech, there ends up being some talking by glorifying God. (And it seems significant that the Acts 15 crowd is described as a ‘multitude’.) I also think that it is significant that these two speeches are more theological ones. They are speeches dealing with the salvation going to the Gentiles as well. And that, I think, should interest you.
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April 10th, 2021

4/10/2021

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You probably know that the season of Easter continues after Easter Sunday, and perhaps you also already know that, during the Easter season, the first of the three readings for each Sunday comes from the book of Acts instead of the Old Testament. This will continue until the Day of Pentecost, when the second reading, instead of coming from the Epistles, will come from the second chapter of Acts.

The Old Testament is certainly an important part of the Bible, but the book of Acts is also important. The title of this blog, ‘A Sabbath Day’s Journey’, meaning a short ‘journey’ with a few words of scripture, is a phrase that comes from the book of Acts. And that description, in a way, connects both testaments together.

The decision for the early church to start writing the New Testament was certainly a significant one. They just experienced the One who, as promised, would crush the serpent’s head [Genesis 3:15]. This was also the One who would follow the messenger, John the Baptist, the ‘way-preparer’ [Malachi 3:1]. The entire Old Testament, basically from beginning to end, spoke of this Jesus, this Savior. How could they NOT write something down?

Imagine, though, if one chapter in Acts would have the following description:

And the remaining apostles all got together and decided that Matthew should write one account about Jesus, that Mark—with the help of Peter—should write another, etc.

I think that, with such a text, there would be too much of a focus on both the apostles and the writers. And the texts would end up becoming history lessons.

There is, instead, a lot of focus on action in Acts. That point should be clearly made, despite how obvious that may be from the title. But, along with that, there is a correspondingly small focus on writing. And the combination of both those things, working together, may help the reader or listener to focus ultimately on Jesus.

The book of Acts, actually called the Acts of the Apostles, may also be thought of the Acts of the risen and ascended Lord among his people. To be more specific, the final words of the book describe this happening in Rome through the mouth of Saint Paul: He was…

proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness unhindered [Acts 28:31].

The way in which the Acts of the Apostles has a small focus on writing may be an interesting aspect upon which to contemplate. In today’s society, communication by actions is seen as more important than communication by words. It may be helpful to see the great value in words once again, and, in this case, the value of written words. You may have a lot of thoughts in your brain, but when there’s a thought that you are willing to take the time and write it down, that action makes that thought quite important. And although there are a few written words in front of you, they are important, and all words are very important. They were very important, literally, from day one.

The book of Acts starts out with an interesting focus, not on writing, but definitely on Jesus. Here is a somewhat-literal translation:
​
The first word I made concerning all things, O Theophilus, which the Jesus began both to do and to teach, until which the day having given orders to the apostles, whom he chose, through Holy Spirit, he was taken up…[Acts 1:1-2].

The Gospel according to Luke, according to the above statement, is only a word that describes what Jesus BEGAN to do. This is similar to the Gospel according to Mark with its description at the start of the ‘beginning of the gospel’. This two-fold emphasis on Jesus and the beginning of his work may be the reason that there are so many emphases on various actions and so few on writing within Acts.

Here is a very brief overview of written things in Acts (but perhaps you would like to study this more on your own):

There, of course, is an obvious emphasis on the writings of the Old Testament. This is seen almost immediately in Acts 1[:16] with a fulfillment of something in the Old Testament. In 1:20, Peter says that something is WRITTEN in the Psalms. (A lot of the other quotations from the Old Testament are described in SPOKEN terms. See Acts 2:16, 25, 31, 34; 3:18, 22; 4:25, etc.) Again, with the speech of Stephen to the Sanhedrin, there is talk about what was written in the prophets, specifically Amos [Acts 7:42], and Saint Paul makes the same point in his word of exhortation, the first of his quotations, this time also from the Psalms [Acts 13:33]. The next time a written Old Testament passage is given is during the Jerusalem Council, and James is quoting from the prophets, again from Amos [Acts 15:15].
​
Another obvious emphasis is when letters are included within the text of this book. This happens twice within this book. The second time this happens is at Acts 23:25, and it is interesting that, right before the letter, there is this phrase: ‘…writing a letter, having this pattern….’ I would suggest you not trust the content of THAT letter! The first time is the most famous time, at the Jerusalem Council, and there is no indication there this is a pattern or type [see Acts 15:23]. At the Jerusalem Council is where they are dealing with the gospel, and that is a most-important topic.
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