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 Just because we have an Old Testament, it does not mean that we call it the 'Outdated Testament'.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

April 28th, 2018

4/28/2018

1 Comment

 
The Gospel text for this week (John 15:1-8) contains another ‘I am’ statement of Jesus. It happens to be the last ‘I am’ statement in the Gospel according to John. And that is saying something significant.
 
It is significant, perhaps, because people have counted a total of seven ‘I am’ statements in this gospel account. That number should not surprise you. It might be helpful to see the progression within the statements, especially since last week I wrote about the structure of the gospel account’s connection to the Jewish liturgical year rather than to seven so-called ‘signs’.
 
I have the seven ‘I am’ statements to be as follows: In John 6:35, Jesus is ‘the bread of life’. In John 8:12 and 9:5, Jesus is ‘the light of the world’. In John 10:7 and 9, Jesus is ‘the door of the sheep’. In John 10:11 and 14, Jesus is ‘the good shepherd’. In John 11:25, Jesus is ‘the resurrection and the life’. In John 14:6, Jesus is ‘the way, the truth, and the life’. And, in part of our text for this Sunday, in John 15:1 and 5, Jesus is ‘the true vine’.
 
To support a coherent structure throughout the work, I think it is important to see, within these seven statements, a connection to the previously mentioned structure of the Jewish liturgical year. The festival of Passover included a special meal to remember Israel’s ‘exodus’ from Egypt, and Jesus talks about being the bread of life. The feast of Tabernacles or Booths reminded Israel of a time of wandering in the wilderness, when they were following Yahweh’s pillar of cloud/fire. And the comparison of Israel to wandering sheep during this time is not unreasonable, and so there is a connection to Jesus being the gate and good shepherd, as well as the light to lead them.
 
Starting in John 11, Jesus seems to take the ‘I am’ statements to a new level. And the connections to the Jewish year are at an end in the previous chapter (with the Feast of Dedication--of that special temple). So, as Jesus gets closer to his own death and resurrection, it is appropriate to see it in these statements.
 
So why is his last ‘I am’ statement about him being the true vine? This seems almost as if he takes a step back, that it is something less than him being the resurrection, way, truth, and life.
 
Reading through the whole of the ‘discourse’, from John 13 to 17, there is a significant emphasis on Jesus’ going away. How he goes away and how he comes back is critical to understanding this text and, I believe, the entire gospel account. And I think that this is at the heart of what this 'I am' statement is getting at.

Jesus' going away was a significant blow to his followers. But we do not remember that by going to church on Thursday, the day of his ascension. We celebrate what he did by usually going to church on Sunday. His death/resurrection was his most important task. And it is important that we not lose our focus.

Jesus as the vine, the true one, is as important a comparison as the rest. He is THAT close to his present-day followers, giving away his gifts to his branches. The giving out of those gifts is as important as the gifts being won.

Anyone who thinks that the Gospel according to John does not reference Holy Baptism or Holy Communion has not done a close reading of the text.
1 Comment
Yeah Digimon link
9/1/2023 12:46:07 pm

Great blog I enjoyed reeading

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