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NASB | Matthew 13:52 And Jesus said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 13:52 He said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things that are new and fresh and things that are old and familiar." |
Bible Question:
Hello. Please help me with that verse. I know it is a conclusion of all the parables Jesus told of the Kingdom of Heaven in chapter 13 and of verses 11 and 12. Wesley says here: "Every scribe instructed unto the kingdom of heaven - That is, every duly prepared preacher of the Gospel has a treasure of Divine knowledge, out of which he is able to bring forth all sorts of instructions." But are these the famous scribes of Jesus' time who "Sat in the seat of Moses"? Is this about some of them who will believe that Jesus is the Messiah? "Things new and old" in the NLT is translated: "new teachings as well as the old". What are those teachings? Jesus did amplify some of the teachings of the law and his death made others useless, such as the clean and unclean animals and the sacrifices. Or is he referring to the time when some of the Jewish Christians insisted that the gentiles be surcumcised? In that case the scribe should not bring out both old and new teachings out of his storehouse. Only the new. Thanks in advance |
Bible Answer: There is no easy answer to the meaning of this passage. It is unusual, indeed unique, in that it is the only verse in the New Testament that links the word "scribe" with the Kingdom of Heaven and it occurs only here in Matthew's gospel, where more critical remarks of Jesus are recorded about Scribes and Pharisees than in any other gospel. The simple fact is that scribes are people who write things down and the New Testament was written down by such people, indeed, Matthew himself, as a gospel-writer is serving as a scribe for the Kingdom of God. It seems probable that most of Jesus' earliest ministry would have been among rural villagers who probably could not read or write very well, but soon after Jesus' death and resurrection the gospel story becomes written down and collections of sayings and stories circulate among the churches. Hence there were certainly Christian scribes because we have Christian scriptures. You are right to notice that this verse concludes all the Kingdom of Heaven parables in chapters 13 and 14. There are five groups of teachings in Matthew, probably to mirror the five books of the Torah or Decalogue. This verse concludes the third set of these teachings, parables of sorting and of seeking treasure. The householder (oikodespotes) from the treasury of his household (thesaurus) brings forth (ekballo, really this is casts forth) what is old and what is new. The "casting forth" is similar both to the casting out of demons and to the "casting forth" of seed on the land in the parable of the sower. I used to relate to it as a sorting out of influences and teachings, like we do when we sort out a closet overstuffed with clothes. If it's worn out (too old) throw it away. If it never worked (brand new, unworn) give it away too. In this interpretation, we should be wary of brand-new theology and also of ideas that no longer communicate eternal truth to the present day. This would be like the parable of the Weeds among the Wheat (Mat. 13.24-30) I now interpret this passage in the light of the way the gospel writer has combined new and old in his organization of the gospel story. Jesus always comes "to fulfill what has been spoken by the Lord through the prophets," but he also adds a new covenant, a new transformation to the Law and the prophets as you can see in the Sermon on the Mount (Mat. 5.21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43,) where Jesus teaches "you have heard it said . . but I say unto you." In the end, the one who reads and interprets God's word, needs both new and old from the treasury of scripture, and it is only by listening to Jesus that we can proclaim (ekballo) that old and new treasure in such a way that it might bear great fruit of faith and love. (Mat. 13.23, Mat. 13.31-32) Incidentally, the Greek for Old and New Testament (kaine is new and diatheke is old) is the same as the words for old and new used in Matthew 13.52. |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Matt 13:52 | Author | ||
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Makarios | ||
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SparedByMercy | ||
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Pastor Dayton | ||
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SparedByMercy | ||
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DocTrinsograce | ||
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DocTrinsograce |