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 Just because we have an Old Testament, it does not mean that we call it the 'Outdated Testament'.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

September 02nd, 2017

9/2/2017

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​There is an incredible turn-around in the gospel text for this Sunday (Matthew 16:21-28). In last week's text, Jesus said to Peter, 'Blessed are you....' This week, in the text which follows immediately, he says to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan.'

To call someone blessed, and then to call someone 'Satan', now THAT is a significant change. It seems as if Jesus is employing 'hate speech', that he is attacking someone. I am pretty sure he made Peter feel quite badly.

I also think it was important that Jesus made sure that he was clearly understood. Part of his role as Son of Man ... Son of David ... Son of God is to be a judge. A judge has the job of being a judge, making judgments. Sometimes another vocation carries that responsibility of judge as well.

The writer of this account brings out that some religious leaders were saying that Jesus was basically Satan because he was able to cast out demons. Jesus makes a good point when he says that, if Satan casts out Satan, his kingdom will not last for long. And he adds, 'And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul (i.e., Satan), by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges (Matt 12:27).'

Jesus lets other people be judges as well. He helps others to understand the situation more clearly. He helps others to understand why he is there, in the midst of all this trouble and turmoil.

I would like to make the point that Jesus does not say to Satan, 'Go away.' He said that to him at the beginning of the account (Matt 4:10). In the Gospel according to Luke, the clarifying point is made, that Satan leaves 'until an opportune time' (Luke 4:13b). In the Gospel according to Matthew, when Jesus is getting closer to the cross, he says to Satan, 'Get behind me.' Although the name Satan does not show up any more in this account, he will be present in many of the coming events.

Jesus is, quite clearly, the leader. Satan has to get behind; and he does not like that position at all. We, on the other hand, do not mind it.

Jesus, you see, is headed in a wonderful direction. It is for our benefit.
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