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 Just because we have an Old Testament, it does not mean that we call it the 'Outdated Testament'.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

October 14th, 2017

10/14/2017

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This week I am not going to go any farther than the second word of the text (Matthew 22:1-14; the fifth word in Greek): 'again'. Jesus is going to tell another parable. But the word 'again' is fascinating and shows a great deal of variety between the first three gospel accounts--even though they are considered to be quite similar.

Matthew uses the word over a dozen times and frequently connects it to Jesus' speaking. Mark uses the word over two dozen times and usually connects it to certain actions. Luke uses the word only three times within the entire account--although it is the longest!

There was admittedly a lot of repetition in Jesus' life. He said similar things at different times. He gave that special Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6 and then gave it some significant differences in Luke 11. People sometimes did not get what Jesus wanted them to get, and so some things have to happen a second time. When the text says that something happens AGAIN, it is probably important. (There is the old saying: 'Repetition is the mother of learning'.)

In Matthew we learn that Jesus and speaking go together. We hear that prophets are AGAIN sent to tell the people what God wants to say. Jesus repeats himself when something is important. Jesus' connection to the first living creature of God's throne, a man, is clearly made within this account (see Ezekiel 1 for a detailed description of that throne).

So what about the use of the word 'again' in Mark? The author uses it in a normal way, repeating certain actions, in Mark 2:1, 2:13, 3:1, 3:20, 4:1, 5:21, and 7:14. (But in 7:31 the word 'again' is used--but not usually translated--although the text never indicates that Jesus went to Tyre and Sidon previously. Around this part of Mark the style of the language changes, so it is probably best just to look at these initial uses.) 

We have Jesus doing things over again in these first few chapters. He is repeating his actions. I would like to suggest a connection to the second living creature of God's throne, a lion. A lion is a very territorial animal; they sometimes stay in the same area for generations. The connection to actions rather than words also fits with this connection.

Perhaps you can tell where I am going with the infrequent use of the word in Luke. The third living creature is the ox, an animal used for plowing. And, ideally, the animal should go in a straight line. He should not go in circles. He should not have to plow the same ground over again. Jesus is heading, in a straight line as it were, for Jerusalem.

It is nice to see the intricate details of a text working together, yet showing a significant amount of variety. And God loves to repeat himself when it comes to showing his love.

 
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