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 Just because we have an Old Testament, it does not mean that we call it the 'Outdated Testament'.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

May 06th, 2017

5/6/2017

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This Sunday is known to many as Good Shepherd Sunday, and the Gospel text is usually from a part of John 10. This gospel account is probably the best to have when you run out of resurrection accounts from a particular gospel (because the season of Easter is usually seven weeks long).

The perspective of the Gospel according to John is significantly different from the beginning. Right away we hear confessions of faith from John the Baptist and from some of the disciples as well.

We eventually hear statements of faith from some Samaritans of all people! And the man who was born blind ends up defending Jesus rather well. And I would imagine that Lazarus had some stories to tell after he had been dead for four days; the enemies of Jesus decided that they needed to get rid of him as well.

The struggles that are seen in the book of Acts are somewhat reflected in this gospel account, and that is a healthy repetition. Often we think of the gospel accounts as just having stories that tell some more of what Jesus did while he was on earth. But they were picked with a purpose.

The writer clearly states that purpose near the end of his work: 'These things were written that YOU may believe....' The writer dares to get personal, and that is because eternal lives are ultimately at stake.

And the beginning of the text from John 10 is a reminder of the importance of simple words. The sheep hear the voice of their shepherd and follow him. His words are different from the words of others. The text specifically points out the thieves and robbers. Both thieves and robbers try to take things; Jesus does the opposite and tries to give things out.

The way of salvation in any made-up religion has you doing something; Christianity has God, in Christ, doing something for you. Now that is something worth following.


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