PILGRIM LUTHERAN CHURCH
  • Home
  • About Us
    • What We Believe
    • History
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Photo Gallery
  • 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 Just because we have an Old Testament, it does not mean that we call it the 'Outdated Testament'.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!

January 22nd, 2017

1/22/2017

0 Comments

 
"He's got a list, and he's checking it twice." That's a relatively well-known quote (regarding Santa Claus). It should also describe a good biblical scholar.

When we have a biblical text with a list in it, it would be good to check it twice--at least! Actually ALL the words of the text could be understood as sort of a list; thousands of years ago it took a lot to make a list of words of ANY length! But even more important is an actual list of things described, and the order of the things may be critical.

There are a few lists in the Gospel according to Matthew that are worth mentioning. I am especially thinking about the three lists near the end of chapter 4, right before the Sermon on the Mount. That sermon is the start of a significant theme for the entire work--five sermons which only appear somewhat within the other accounts. And these lists are a significant summary of the situation up to this point. 

The first list contains three main actions of Jesus: teaching, proclaiming and healing. The second list are those who were sick and whom Jesus healed. I consider there to be five in this list: the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics. The third list contains the areas from which people came to follow him. I also consider this list to have five in it: Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and the area beyond the Jordan.

Often with a list--and this is so true today in the 21st century--the first thing on it catches the most attention. Sometimes, when the author wants to create some action within the reader or listener, he or she will put something important at the end of the list. (There are top ten lists that start at number ten and work towards the all-important number one thing.) But a more restrained author may put something important in the middle. He doesn't want to hide the point. Perhaps he simply wants the reader or listener to know that this is important. Not everyone will get it, and that's okay; it's still important.

The middle items of the three lists--in an expanded way--are as follows: Jesus is preaching and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom. That word, gospel, is arguably the most significant of the New Testament. Jesus is healing those oppressed by demons. When Jesus heals in this way, there is a noticeably negative response, and in chapter 12 Jesus finally responds by saying that it must be God behind this power (if he were casting out demons because he was the prince of demons, that wouldn't make any sense). People are following him from Jerusalem, and not all those following him are his disciples. Jesus will get into trouble because of those who are from Jerusalem.

By the end of the fifth sermon, Jesus will be very near his death. These lists help to make that transition not only possible, but desirable. At the end of it all, it is still very good news/gospel.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    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
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Photo Gallery
  • Pastor's Blog
  • Bulletin
  • Contact