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 Just because we have an Old Testament, it does not mean that we call it the 'Outdated Testament'.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

August 05th, 2017

8/5/2017

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​The gospel text continues along in the Gospel according to Matthew, and we are in chapter fourteen for the next two weeks. This week the text is usually called 'The Feeding of the Five Thousand', and the title has a nice ring to it. But there were probably many more there since the five thousand count only includes the men. I sometimes feel like I should apologize for that since some people could easily get the idea that they 'don't count'.

Even more important than studying the culture of that day is the study of the Savior who walked around on earth in those days. And what he did on some of those days is important, mainly because some of those things that he did continue on in another way.

This miracle of feeding the 5000 is so important that it is in all four gospel accounts. That essentially puts it on the level of the crucifixion and resurrection. Both the Gospel according to Matthew and the Gospel according to Mark all have another similar account, that of the so-called 'Feeding of the Four Thousand'. Again there is this nice ring to it, and, again, only the men are counted, and, once again, there is a connection to what our Savior continues to do.

In the Gospel according to Mark, Jesus makes a point that there are twelve baskets of leftover fragments with this first feeding and seven with the second. I hope it does not sound too crazy to say that the first number is more Jewish, while the second is more universal.

Another point that could be made is to see the different contexts of the various accounts as they begin. Jesus, like a man, withdraws, after he hears of the death of John the Baptist (14:13). When the text says Jesus 'withdrew', that was a nice way to say he 'retreated'. That does not sound too 'manly'.

I do not think it is a coincidence that, after Jesus' final withdrawal in 15:21, he comes upon a Canaanite woman, and Jesus ends up saying that she has a great faith.

Sometimes a retreat is a good, military move. Jesus' move to a desolate and non-Jewish place was a great move that mirrored his coming to earth. His was a serious rescue mission. He was to leave no one behind. 

Jesus continues his rescue mission by delivering his body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. Matthew 14:20a (ESV): 'And they all ate and were satisfied.' 
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