Master Of The House
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Introduction
Introduction
English Standard Version Chapter 13
51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
Good morning, so we’ve been going through the parables since pretty much the beginning. I know for some this may seem taxing but I have enjoyed having to go slowly through the Gospel’s (mostly Matthew) and having to take a step back and analyze each parable. I’ve always loved parables and love the fact that the author of the universe found it fitting to reveal so much wisdom in this form.
Just to recap a bit: we’ve been talking a lot about the Kingdom of God and this is also fitting because as a church plant/or just a church in general, we get to usher people into the Kingdom. I had a conversation with one of the football players on Tuesday, I gave him a ride to practice (I saw him walking down Hamilton). He hops into my car, I have Ollie in the back, and he sees my Bible on my front seat… I want to pause the story here: this wasn’t my passive attempt to start a conversation about the Gospel. I should also fill you all into a little secret, I’ve told you guys about fighting between this place of doing for the Lord and being with him. I decided to not rely on my cell phone so much for my ‘daily reading plans’ but to start using my Bible again (which Sarah can tell you I have many of). So this week I decided to keep a Bible in my car so that when I got to school early I could spend a few minutes in silence reading and praying. This is the backdrop.
Moses hops into my car and picks up the Bible and says, “Oh this looks like my Bible. The outside is all cracked.” He thumbed through the pages and probably saw a bunch of pen marks and annotations and then he said, “It’s very old but the inside is still clean.” He went on to tell me that his uncle is a pastor and that his family was kind of religious but he doesn’t consider himself religious. He stated that he still partially believes…and his last comment took me aback. He said: I don’t believe that church attendance is mandatory and that he didn’t believe the church played a major part in the Bible.
I literally had from La Cucina Italiana to North High School (which is a minute car ride) to explain the importance of the church and how the church is Jesus’ bride and we are his hands and feet in this broken world… and my friends I didn’t quite get there. I said: well Moses if by ‘Church’ you mean the buildings that you think you were forced to go to, or if this is part of what you would call ‘religious’ then yes the ‘Church’ can be seen as unnecessary. I told him the greek word for church is koinania which means ‘fellowship.’ I told him the building isn’t the church and that it’s the people and the community of believers. [And scene].
Practice was already underway and I dropped him off at the school and I turned around and headed to the practice field with Ollie.
We continue our day and practice finished, I ran home and Sarah and I changed and went to the Coulombe’s for dinner. The next day I saw this group go and pack them up and love on them (and the next day). It’s funny because that was the church in action. The Lord found it fitting to have this couple spend the first year of our plant with us. We were given an opportunity to love on them, challenge them, and hopefully, point them closer to Jesus. I also see this you all going into parks and going into buildings and serving food to 40 football players and fellowshipping with them.
We continue our day and practice finished, I ran home and Sarah and I changed and went to the Coulombe’s for dinner. The next day I saw this group go and pack them up and love on them (and the next day). It’s funny because that was the church in action. The Lord found it fitting to have this couple spend the first year of our plant with us. We were given an opportunity to love on them, challenge them, and hopefully, point them closer to Jesus. I also see this group going into parks and going into buildings and serving food to 40 football players and fellowshipping with them.
So…once again, why am I rambling about this? This is the church of God on mission and moving throughout the city. We are doing all we can to help move people one step closer to the Kingdom of heaven.
Verse again:
Matthew 13:51
51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.”
52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
This is a tricky verse to understand at face value and we have to take a step back to understand the placement of this verse. has predominantly been about the Kingdom of God. We’ve just finished a little journey about the kingdom of heaven being like a treasure. We see that this kingdom is worth all that we have and all that we are. This section from v.36-52 is Jesus and his disciples. He explains the parables of the weeds to them and then goes on this multi-parable gauntlet. He asks them if they understood all these things and the disciples answered like we would, in front of Jesus, Yes. (Except my answer would’ve been a nuanced “yes!?” with a slight question at the end).
Every scribe that been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house....
In other words: The idea of "a master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old" communicates the idea of someone well-supplied with whatever their treasure is. The master of the house has old and new treasure.
In the context of this parable, because this master of a household is being compared to a scribe who is trained in the word of God, the "treasure" would be knowledge and understanding of God's kingdom.
So, as masters of the house those who have an understanding of God’s kingdom (which comes through knowledge of his Word) we are those that can bring out the new and old treasure. Still confused?
Jesus is telling his disciples that those who study and know the word of God are rich with knowledge and understanding of God's kingdom. I would take this a step further and state that a deeper understanding of God’s kingdom is as we delve into his Word we are capable of understanding the complexities of Scripture and the deeper of meanings of what Christ has done for us.
The further we walk with Christ the more we understand (yet we realize how much we lack in knowledge).... the more we understand the deeper our gratitude for Jesus…the deeper our gratitude the deeper our roots go and the harder it is for this world to blow us to and from.
The further we walk with Christ the more we understand (yet we realize how much we lack in knowledge).
Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 13
new things and old things The disciples were beginning to understand the new things Jesus was teaching in conjunction with the traditions from the Scriptures they already knew.
There is this movie called Inside The Life Of Llewyn Davis and it follows this struggling folk musician named Llewyn Davis
1961
New York City
Folk singer Llewyn Davis
In 1961 New York City, folk singer Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) is at a crossroads. Guitar in hand, he struggles against seemingly insurmountable obstacles to make a name for himself in the music world, but so far, success remains elusive. Relying on the kindness of both friends and strangers, Llewyn embarks on an odyssey that takes him from the streets of Greenwich Village to a Chicago club, where awaits a music mogul who could give him the big break that he desperately needs.
He goes from NYC /Greenwich Village and Chicago trying to make it…
Anyways at the end of all of his travels he performs after Bob Dylan (he doesn’t know it at the time). Bob Dylan goes on to be famous while Llewyn continues this cycle of barely scrapping by and following his ‘dreams’ which includes coach surfing and a lot of near misses at stardom.
Why am I telling you about Llewyn? Well there is this one powerful quote from this movie and it goes as follows:
“If it was never new, and it never gets old, then it’s a folk song”
The scribe is constantly balancing this idea of the Kingdom being ancient but new at the same time. His Word being ancient and new. Just like the inception of the Kingdom being present and futuristic.
5. The True Scribe.—The expression manifestly applies to Christian teachers, or else to genuine disciples who follow the example of the Lord. The true scribe must bring forth out of his treasure not only things old and dead, but also things new and living—the one along with the other; the new in the garb and in the light of the old, and the old in its fulfillment and development as the new.
5. The True Scribe.—The expression manifestly applies to Christian teachers, or else to genuine disciples who follow the example of the Lord. The true scribe must bring forth out of his treasure not only things old and dead, but also things new and living—the one along with the other; the new in the garb and in the light of the old, and the old in its fulfillment and development as the new.
Jesus was ushering in the new but was fulfilling the old. We must not forget this as we delve into Scripture and walk with others throughout the wonderful pages of Scripture.
13:53–58 Following His teaching in parables, Jesus travels to His hometown. Because of their familiarity with Jesus, the people of Nazareth reject Him as a prophet.
13:53–58 Following His teaching in parables, Jesus travels to His hometown. Because of their familiarity with Jesus, the people of Nazareth reject Him as a prophet.
This idea of defects and dangers pops into mind when we are delving into Scripture and walking with others:
Present the old without the new
Present the new without the old
Fail to present the relationship between the old and the new
(1) When we present the old without the new we miss out on the fulfillment of Jesus Christ and the freedom that is brought forth through Jesus. Jesus came to fulfill the old covenant and states that not an iota will pass until it is accomplished. The law was meant to be a spotlight on our inability to follow the Lord the way we were intended to. Jesus lives the life we couldn’t and lives his life within this system.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”
13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
(2) Present the new without the old…
I’ve heard many Christians express the following sentiment: “If Jesus is in the NT and we are under the new covenant why bother studying the OT?” The OT as a whole doesn’t merely point forward to Jesus but it reveals him as the Messiah to come () … we’ve lost a bit of this as 21st century Christians. The angst… the waiting for the messiah…the one to make things right. We begin to see some of this as we yearn for Christ to come back. We celebrate this angst and yearning every year when we celebrate Advent.
a. The OT points to Christ and reveals him
b. The OT is the backdrop of the NT. The NT was written primarily to a Jewish audience that would’ve been saturated in the OT. It’s like me reading the return of the king in the LOTR without you having an understanding of the Fellowship of the ring/ and the two towers…
c. Moral principles in the OT are continued in the NT and affirmed by Christ
d. The OT comforts and encourages us (think of the psalms or stories of great faith)
e. The OT saves souls....
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
This sounds weird to us… Paul didn’t have the NT when he wrote these words to Timothy…
f. The OT makes you appreciate the NT more
(3) We need to do a better job at connecting the old with the new
In his book Gospel Reset Ken Ham talks about the fact that 10-20 years ago America was very different. We had a Christian atmosphere…and could assume a lot about our fellow Americans (as far as familiarity with Jesus or a lot of Bible stories).... he states that in many ways we, as believers, we addressing a Jewish-like context similar to that of .
Ken Ham urges believers to start adopting an … we live in a post christian part of our nation. We say you need salvation and the people respond: from who? For what? We say: have you found Jesus? They say: I didn’t know he was lost.
I say this last one in jest…obviously the Lord’s timing and wisdom is far better than my own and he prepares the hearts. We are his vessels ready to be poured out for him. BUT since being back this past year i’ve had to do a lot of pre-evangelism where I pray and attempt to get people to the point where they actually see a need for a savior. I’m not selling them Jesus but I am helping them get out of the me-centric world that they live in.
The Gospel reset doesn’t mean we change the Gospel....but it does mean we have to adjust our starting point sometimes.
So, don’t give the old without the new, don’t give the new without the old…and don’t forget the relationship between them.
My prayer is that we continue to fall in love with Jesus and continue to value the story of Scripture. I pray that we, like the scribes Jesus alludes to, learn to bring out the old and new treasure as we seek to usher in the Kingdom that Jesus gave his life and laid the cornerstone for.
16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.
17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.
18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.
19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?
20 For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.”
21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.
22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.
23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,
25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,
27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,
28 for “ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.”
33 So Paul went out from their midst.
34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.
Let’s pray.
A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Matthew Homiletical and Practical
4. THE TRUE SCRIBE.—“Have ye understood all these things?”—The parable about the parable.—The scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven.—The living treasury containing old, and ever sending forth new treasures.—Defects and dangers of common religious instruction: 1. It presents the old without the new; 2. or the new without the old; or, 3. fails to exhibit the proper relationship between them.—The ministerial office a constant “bringing forth:“ 1. Presupposing a continual receiving from on high; as, 2. again manifesting itself by a right “bringing forth” (of wise, fresh, and rich instruction).
Starke:—Let teachers frequently examine their pupils.—The kingdom of heaven must form the central-point of all theological learning. Nov. Bibl. Tub.—Majus: Approved teachers are only trained in the school of Christ and of the Holy Spirit.
Lisco:—The ability and the activity of a true teacher.
Gerlach:—Everything connected with the kingdom of heaven is at the same time old and new.
Heubner:—Jesus the model for all preachers.—Love the secret of true popularity.—Rhetorical figures and worldly oratory is what many hearers most admire.—Authentic definition here given of what constitutes a good divine: his inspirations are drawn from Scripture (he is instructed in the kingdom of heaven, and bound to extend it. All science and learning which do not tend to the furtherance of Christ’s kingdom cannot be divine); his treasure (things new and old. He learns from others and draws from his own resources, finding in his meditation and spiritual experience things both new and old).—On the danger of preaching oneself empty [by neglecting and despising the old, or by ceasing to produce new thoughts and sermons].