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 Just because we have an Old Testament, it does not mean that we call it the 'Outdated Testament'.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

November 11th, 2023

11/11/2023

0 Comments

 
This Sunday is known as the Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost—the numbers get increasingly higher—and the gospel text appointed for this Sunday goes farther along in the Gospel according to Matthew (25:1-13)—although it is not as far along as it is on Passion Week. But we are even farther along in this gospel account as we come near to the end of the church year.

Although what happened to Jesus after the cross should be quite familiar, you may wish to look at what some other translations have and/or a study bible. This may give some insights regarding the details of the following text—which can sometimes be a bit complicated.

Sometimes a very old Greek word is similar to an English word, but the two words do not bring up the same picture in one’s mind (take, for example, the word ‘custodian’). And, of course, each of the four accounts will have some unique details when it comes to the final events of Jesus’ life—and especially after his resurrection (spoiler alert!). Each account gives a valuable and slightly different perspective. What follows is this writer’s attempt at a somewhat-literal translation of what happened after the centurion—one of the last people you would expect—confessed Jesus to be the Son of God (Matthew 27:55-66):

Now they were there, women, many, from afar, beholding, who they followed, the Jesus, from the Galilee, ministering to him; in whom was Mary, the Magdalene, and Mary, the one of the Jacob and of Joseph, mother, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
​

Now evening having happened, he came, a man, rich, from Arimathea, the name Joseph, who also himself was discipled to Jesus; this one, having approached the Pilate, he asked for himself the body of the Jesus. Then the Pilate commanded to be given over. And having taken the body, the Joseph, he wrapped it in a sheet, clean; and he placed it in the new of him, tomb, which he cut in the rock, and having rolled a stone, mega, in the door of the tomb, he went away.

Now she was there, Mary, the Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave.

Now on the next day, which is after the Preparation, they were assembled, the arch-priests and the Pharisees toward Pilate, saying, “Lord, we remembered that the deceiver, that, he said, still living, ‘After three days I am rising.’ Therefore, command to be secured the grave until the third day, lest having gone, the disciples of him may steal him, and they may say to the people, ‘He was raised from the dead,’ and it will be, the last deceit, worse of the first.”

He told to them, the Pilate, “You have a custodian; go off, secure for yourselves as you know.” Now the ones, having gone, they secured for themselves the grave, having sealed the stone with the custodian.

As was mentioned above, each account includes some unique things. There are a lot of unique things in the Gospel according to John. (It will be a while before we study that gospel account.) The last two paragraphs of the text above are what could be called unique to the Gospel according to Matthew.

It is interesting to see a contrast in how this unique section begins, especially when compared to some of the things that have happened in the past. The word ‘assembled’ is the basis of the word for ‘synagogue’. And the last time this word was used was in 27:27, where the soldiers are assembling ‘against’ Jesus to make fun of him, sort of the opposite of what is happening here. The enemies of Jesus are assembling ‘toward’ Pilate, and they call him ‘Lord’. An assembling that is ‘toward’ Jesus and that is positive happened a long time ago, in Matthew 13:2. (You may wish to look up these verses.)

People assemble a lot these days—especially when compared to the time of COVID—and they are ‘against’ certain things and ‘toward’ certain things. There also may be an ‘assembly’ of only one person who is very much against certain things and toward certain things. But this person does not need to be alone. Perhaps this person can find someone else who agrees with them on the important things.

The title ‘deceiver’ that is given to Jesus above is connected to the verb ‘to wander’. A lot of people wander a lot these days. And some can be convinced that they are headed in a good direction. But a good direction is not always that obvious.
​

There are two groups that are becoming more prominent as this gospel account comes to an end. Jesus may have wandered for a little while in Galilee. His disciples were sometimes not too good of an example to follow. But Jesus finally and most certainly made his way to the cross and the tomb—which will soon be empty (yet another spoiler alert!).
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    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
  • Pastor's Blog
  • Bulletin
  • Contact