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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 Just because we have an Old Testament, it does not mean that we call it the 'Outdated Testament'.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 5th, 2018

5/5/2018

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The Gospel text for this Sunday continues Jesus’ words from John 15. The text this time is the section of verses 9-17, and, as always with texts from that account, there is a LOT within that text to talk about.
 
I thought it would be nice to begin by focusing on a new word that Jesus had not mentioned for a while. Jesus brought up the ‘C’ word, ‘commandment’. That word usually has very negative connotations. How are we to understand that word?
 
It may be helpful to know that there are different words for commandments or commands, and all of them have a slightly different emphasis on that big—and important—topic.
 
Obviously one of the emphases is a focus on what is commanded. There is even a word that is used when one should pay close attention to the details of those commands. And I do not think you would be too surprised to learn that there is a word used for a command with the implication of a threat involved if the commands are not followed. (It is interesting that the text uses this word when Jesus commands the wind and the waves to be still.)
 
The emphasis that occurs within this text from John 15—and many others within the Gospel accounts—is an emphasis on the one who is giving the commands. That is something that is all too often passed by quite quickly.
 
Commands are not simply something that we do. Commands are not simply something that God says we should do. These commandments were given by the very special One who laid down his life for his friends (see verse 13). That puts things in a significantly different perspective.
 
It is a different perspective because it is essentially a new definition to the word ‘love’. Earlier within the discourse, Jesus said that this was a NEW commandment to love one another, but that command was already in the Old Testament—to love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18). Jesus is new, and so his love is new. But how will that love show or remain?
 
This point ties into the topic that I brought up last week. If Jesus is about to leave, how is it that he will remain? If the disciples keep his commands, it sounds like Jesus’ love will remain (see verse 10). But what would that look like?
 
If he is about to lay down his life, if he is eventually to be raised to life again, if he is eventually to ascend into heaven, how will he ‘abide’? In John 1:14, the writer promised that Jesus would only be here a short while, in a ‘tent’.
 
Obviously a close reading of the texts is important. Jesus, especially in this account, seems like he knows everything that is going on and is not bothered by anything. In the Gospel according to Mark, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus falls on the ground and asks his Father to find another way (Mark 14:35). In the Gospel according to John, Jesus’ enemies are the ones who are falling on the ground (John 18:6)! Jesus has this salvation stuff all under control.
 
We will stay in this gospel account for at least two more weeks, so I hope, within these writings, to bring this topic of  “Jesus’ remaining—and loving (perhaps commanding?)—presence” to an adequate resolution.
 
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