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 Just because we have an Old Testament, it does not mean that we call it the 'Outdated Testament'.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

June 03rd, 2017

6/3/2017

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​This Sunday happens to be Pentecost. It changes every year because Easter changes every year, and it is essentially fifty days after Easter.

The first thing most Christians think about on this Sunday is the Pentecost experience in Acts 2. But that is an easy way to get distracted from what is important.

The writer of Acts starts the book by noting that the first volume (the Gospel according to Luke) describes what Jesus began to do and to teach. By implication this volume is what Jesus CONTINUES to do and to teach.

Those who have heard me preach for a while know that I usually preach on the Gospel text, and there is a good reason for that. The focus is usually Jesus. It is difficult to have the focus be anything else.

The Gospel text for this year, from John 7, only verses 37-39. And the first part of the ESV text reads in this way (and most translations follow): "On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, "Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."'"

But there is a footnote which has the translation as follows, and I think this option helps to keep the focus on Jesus:  "On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me, and let him who believes in me drink. As the Scripture has said, "Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."'" With this second option, the heart with the rivers of living water is Jesus' heart.

This second option also fits with the important action of Jesus' crucifixion, that when he was pierced, out came blood and water. John was there. He saw the details. He may have not seen the big picture right away. But when it came later, I am quite sure he was impressed.

In Acts 2 the disciples are telling 'the mighty works of God.' I would imagine that they are not talking about creation. The whole story that God has chosen to reveal is about something infinitely more important.
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