PILGRIM LUTHERAN CHURCH
  • Home
  • About Us
    • What We Believe
    • History
  • Pastor's Blog
  • Bulletin
  • Contact

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 Just because we have an Old Testament, it does not mean that we call it the 'Outdated Testament'.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

April 1st, 2023

4/1/2023

0 Comments

 
This Sunday is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week, and this Sunday is also called the Sunday of the Passion. And the Gospel text usually read this Sunday is by far the longest of the year, Matthew 26:1 to Matthew 27:66. That text has one hundred and thirty-six verses. Last week, with the writing for a “A Sabbath Day’s Journey,” that was a long one as well, and Matthew 8:1 to Matthew 9:13 was translated, but that text was only a mere forty-seven verses. And this week will be much shorter.

Previously, all the historical presents within the last two chapters of this gospel account were ‘he says’. But at the beginning of Matthew 9:14, there is a different historical present. Here is that verse and the rest of the text (9:14-17, in a somewhat-literal translation) which relates to that very interesting occurrence:

Then they approach him, the disciples of John, saying, “Why we and the Pharisees fast much, now the disciples of you not fast?” And he said to them, Jesus, “Not can the sons of the bridegroom to mourn, so long as with them is the bridegroom? Now they will come, days, when it is taken away from them, the bridegroom, and then they will fast. Now no one throws upon a patch, cloth, of unfulled, on an old garment; for it takes away, the fullness of it, from the garment, and a worse schism it becomes. Neither they throw wine, new, into wineskins, old; now if they do, they are burst, the wineskins, and the wine pours out, and the wineskins are destroyed. But on the contrary, they throw wine, young, into wineskins, new, and both are preserved.

A lot of people have been approaching Jesus. The verb can also be broken up into two words, ‘coming toward’. In Matthew 8:2, a leper not only comes toward him but worships him, and he wants Jesus to heal him. Just a little later than that, in verse 5, a centurion comes toward him and also implores him to heal his ‘boy’ (verse 6). In verse 19 of that same chapter, one scribe comes toward him and says that he will follow him wherever he goes. Then, after the above text, one ruler comes toward Jesus, and he also worships him, and he would like his dead daughter to be raised (9:18). And while Jesus is dealing with that issue, a woman who wants to be healed comes toward him as well (9:20f). And later in the chapter, two blind men come toward Jesus, and they also want to be healed (9:27f).

Matthew 9:14 is the first time that the word is given in the historical present. And the rest of the historical presents in this section of the gospel account will go back to using ‘he says’ (although they are not all connected to Jesus saying the words).

There have been a lot of people coming and going—but especially coming. Previously, though, this action of coming toward or approaching has not been emphasized with a historical present. Why now?

First of all, it may be helpful to remember that there were no chapter and verse divisions within the original text. The reader (and listener) had to rely on grammatical clues to hear a division and ascertain a new direction in the text.

What is this new direction? Before this, the historical presents in the last two chapters were not only ‘he says’, but they are were only Jesus talking. Now this changes. Now our attention turns toward the disciples of John, and they want to know why Jesus’ disciples do not fast. And Jesus references a time when the bridegroom will not longer be with them. Our attention turns to what will happen to Jesus, due to the people who will be coming to him at the end of his life.

These ‘days’ that are mentioned in the text above are important. And these special days will be mentioned more frequently as Jesus gets closer and closer to them. There happen to be two important phrases within this gospel account which also use the word ‘then’. The phrase ‘from then’ appears in Matthew 4:16 and Matthew 16:21. The latter verse starts to get the disciples ready for his death and resurrection. And the historical present of ‘coming toward’ starts to get people ready to hear that Jesus will be killed and, on the third day, be raised.

We do not want to get too far ahead of ourselves though. But these are some hints as to what is ahead, and hearing that in advance reminds us that this is all part of the plan. And that plan is certainly a good one, one far better than we could ever imagine.​

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • About Us
    • What We Believe
    • History
  • Pastor's Blog
  • Bulletin
  • Contact