Conclusion of the Mat. 13 Parables (Mat. 13:51-53)
51 “Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” 53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place.
At first reading, v. 51 seems almost comical. Jesus asks, “Have you understood all this?” We have read the Gospels. We know that the disciples continued to not understand much at all until the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came and began leading them into all truth. And yet the disciples answered, “Yes. We have understood everything you said.” At first reading it seems so naively silly. But in fact a more careful reading shows that this verse is not included for comic relief but is actually the first step in a sort of commissioning service. The word, “yes” (nai) is a strong yes. It’s not, “Well, yeah, I think I understand.” Neither is it, “Sure, I get it; it’s making sense.” Given Jesus’ next words, the sense of that Greek term used for “yes” (nai) could almost be given the sense of “I do.” It is a formal and emphatic affirmation of acceptance. Based on their acceptance, Jesus goes on with a charge of sorts, but in parable form. “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
This seems to hearken back to the Jesus’ explanation of parables in the first part of the chapter. A parable is not a new teaching, but rather a repetition of what is already known, but told to reveal a deeper meaning, a mystery, to those who have ears to hear, but to hide that same mystery from those who are not attentive and prepared. Scribes (or teachers) of the kingdom of heaven can’t just repeat the same old truths that have been handed down for generations. Neither can they abandon those old truths because scribes, by definition, are the caretakers of the tradition. They must teach them and discern the implications of the kingdom of heaven that are hidden within them. In other words, they must bring out that which is old and that which is new, or that which is new must be drawn forth from that which is old.
This is also the only place to my knowledge that Jesus uses the term “scribes” in a positive sense. He levels extensive criticism at the Scribes and Pharisees, or teachers of the Law. But while their interpretations, extrapolations, embellishments, and definitive guidance serve to mislead their followers (Mat. 23:15, etc.), the office of scribe is part of the tradition, and the kingdom of heaven is not a radical break from the past but rather a continuation of the past with a new and deeper meaning.
Thus, Jesus and the disciples use language that sounds very similar to a formal commissioning service and Jesus commissions them as the scribes of the kingdom of heaven, giving them the authority to teach both the old and the new. It is a precursor to the Apostles’ formal commissioning in Mat. 28:18ff. It is a commissioning into the mysteries of the kingdom that the parables reveal. It is a commissioning into the continuity of leadership of God’s people stretching back through the many pages of time.
And with that, this initiation into the mysteries of the kingdom is finished. “When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place.” There is an ethereal character to the kingdom of heaven. It is real life; it is, in a sense, far more real than our average existence, and yet when these teachings are done, it is necessary to go on with life as we know it. And this is the final word about the kingdom of heaven that we find in Mat. 13. The kingdom of heaven is not an escape from this world (although it is a flight into God). The kingdom of heaven only makes sense in the context of a life lived in this world. Once the disciples are inducted into the mysteries of the kingdom they immediately return to their everyday life. That everyday life will never be the same, for now they have the tools to see deeper and to perceive the divine (that is, the kingdom) in the everyday. But this new vision is no reason to flee the world, it is all the more reason to engage the world. As glorious and comforting as these words might be, the final task is always to walk out the door and back into the world so that others might too begin to discern these mysteries, sell all that they have and gladly buy the treasure of surpassing value.
Copyright © 2006 James E. Nelson (Just Another Jim). All Rights Reserved.
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