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 Just because we have an Old Testament, it does not mean that we call it the 'Outdated Testament'.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

July 15th, 2017

7/15/2017

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On this Sunday, the gospel text is the famous 'Parable of the Sower' from the Gospel according to Matthew. It is very well known. 

At the heart of the issue is the wide variety of results in the seeds that were sown. Some multiplied a hundredfold. Others did not grow at all. At the heart of THAT issue is the person responsible for throwing all those seeds around. One could say that the sower is pretty careless with his seeds. He lets them fall along the path, along rocky ground, and near some thorns. 

These seeds are the words of the kingdom, not words connected to God's power, but words connected to his love. Jesus is described as proclaiming the gospel (the good news) of the kingdom at two different times within this account (Matthew 4:23, 9:35).

How those wonderful seeds grow is an interesting topic to see synoptically, as you compare it with the other, similar gospel accounts.

This is so special a story that this parable is in the Gospel according to Matthew, the Gospel according to Mark, and the Gospel according to Luke. In each account, the growing seed is explained as one who hears the word, but then something else happens.

In Matthew 13:23, a person hears the word and understands it. In Mark 4:20, a person hears the word and accepts it. In Luke 8:15, a person hears the word and holds it fast in an honest and good heart.

If you are asking what ACTUALLY happened regarding Jesus and this parable and these differences, I cannot answer that question. The Bible does not answer that question. It looks like Jesus said all three differences at one time or another. The important thing to remember is that each account is designed to give a divine perspective of Jesus as God's authoritative messenger on earth. All three are from Jesus, God's ultimate messenger, and all three are most certainly true.

In Matthew, Jesus has authority as a man, a prophet. And a man is someone who hears God's word and understands it. In Mark, Jesus has authority like a lion, and a lion has a significant amount of authority in the animal kingdom. As a king has to 'accept' someone into his presence, someone who hears God's word has to accept it. In Luke, Jesus has authority like on ox, and an ox is a hard-working creature. You could say that an ox has to have an honest and good heart to be so helpful around the farm. And a person needs an honest and good heart for God's word to bear fruit.

I hope you can see that these characteristics of those who bear fruit are shown to have been given by God throughout the New Testament--and sometimes even in the Old! We need God's help to understand his words, we need help to accept his words, and we definitely need his help to have an honest and good heart.

This parable is a good reminder that we needed a Savior. And we have one who likes to overflow with the gospel, the good news!
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