Treasures New and Old
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Matthew ended his collection of parables in chapter 13 with the story of a householder. This parable follows a conversation between Jesus and his disciples. He asked them, “Have you understood all these things?”
They said, “Yes, Lord.”
He then said, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old” (Matthew 13:51-52 NASB).
Jesus was calling the disciples to become scribes. He encouraged them to write about and to teach what they had learned from Him as well as what they knew from the Scriptures.
Matthew, a former Jewish tax collector, was a trained scribe too. When he wrote his gospel, he interpreted the words and actions of Jesus in light of messianic expectations from Hebrew Scriptures—what we call the Old Testament. He wanted to persuade his fellow Jews that Jesus was their long-awaited Messiah. Matthew also wrote as a Christian who recognized Jesus as the prophesied fulfillment of God’s promise of salvation for both Jew and Gentile, that is, for all nations.
In telling the parable about the householder, Jesus was saying, “Don’t forget what you know. Let it be illumined by what I’ve taught you. Treasure both what you already know and what you’re learning from me.”
The disciples weren’t too proud to say to Jesus, “I don’t know. Please explain.” He reviewed and taught until they were able to understand, until their hearts were touched as well as their heads.
Many Christians don’t know what’s in the Old Testament, or they only know isolated stories in it. The Bible is one connected book. A Bible with cross references in the margin shows all the related passages both before and after the current one. These references often illuminate the meaning of the current passage. Study Bibles that contain notes, along with resources such as www.Blueletterbible.com, can also be helpful when we need further explanation.
Does your treasure of Scripture knowledge help you see both Old and New Testaments as one connected book? Are you adding to your spiritual treasure by daily studying God’s Word?
DIG DEEPER:
The role of a scribe is described in Ezra 7:6, 10. To what had the scribe Ezra devoted himself?
Read 2 Timothy 3:14-17 and explain the importance of teaching children the full Scriptures.
Read Matthew’s collection of parables in chapter 13 of his gospel. Can you see how the parables connect to one another? What are they all depicting? How is this parable of a householder a fit way to end the collection?
Nancy J. Baker
This devotion is part of a series, The Parables.