The Parables of Jesus - The Old and New Treasures

Introduction

Today we are going to look together at the end of the section of Jesus’ parables concerning the revelation of the Kingdom of Heaven. This revelation corresponds to the manifestation of Jesus as the promise given to the Jews, the fulfillment of the Word given to the people of God for centuries, and especially explained to His disciples, those who had to be taught in order to spiritually understand and then faithfully transmit everything their Master would ask them to accomplish, as a divine and ongoing pattern.

In the passage we are studying, there is one single reality composed of two elements. This reality is the treasure of God revealed in Jesus Christ, and this treasure is made of old things and new things, things past and things to come. This treasure represents the whole revelation of God, a complete and unified truth through all the Scriptures, which all testify about Jesus Christ and about the Kingdom of God.

The Old Testament, composed of the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings, was the shadow of the things to come and announced the coming of Christ, while the New Testament is the testimony of His fulfillment, the manifestation of the Scriptures, which established His Church on earth and founded Christianity through the Holy Spirit working through His disciples.

What we have to understand in this parable is that this treasure is the Word of God, revealed in the Scriptures and fully manifested in Jesus Christ. And those who have been taught by Jesus become disciples entrusted with this treasure, responsible for this treasure, to guard it, to understand it, and to faithfully transmit it, so that the Kingdom of Heaven may be revealed to men.

Reading of today’s passage:“Have you understood all these things?” They *said to Him, “Yes.” 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 new things and old.” When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there” (NASB) - “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house,“ (ESV)

Teaching

“Have you understood all these things?” v.51b

Jesus explained to His disciples everything He taught in parables concerning the coming of the Kingdom of God into the world through Him. He was revealing to them the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, that is, things hidden for generations but now revealed through His person and His work. The plan of redemption of God to save humanity would soon be accomplished at the cross of Golgotha, but His disciples and those around them could not yet fully know or understand it, as Jesus was only in the first year of His earthly ministry out of three.

By asking them if they had understood all these things, He was making sure that they understood the mysteries of the Kingdom, the full revelation: who Jesus is, why He came, what He came to do, the reality of the Kingdom, the judgment through separation, salvation, and our need for Him. This could also mean that He was testing their spiritual understanding, their understanding of the things of the heavenly Kingdom.

Sometimes we may think we understand who Jesus Christ is or what the Word of God teaches about Him, but we may actually be going in the opposite direction. This understanding is spiritual; it does not come only from our intellect. It is through the action of the Holy Spirit who lives in us that these things are revealed to us, and that we can rejoice in them in our hearts and then manifest them in our lives.

For the plan of redemption of God through the sacrificial and redeeming work of Jesus to be understood, we have to understand all these things, that is, the mysteries of the Kingdom and everything the Scriptures reveal about Him: who God is, why He came to earth, for what reason He came, and finally why we need Him in order to live on this earth and for eternity.

” They *said to Him, “Yes.”” v.51b

Do you really think that His disciples truly understood the depth of all the parables of the Kingdom of Heaven? Not even the full extent of the things to come, such as in the parable of the dragnet. How could they understand without the work of the Holy Spirit in them?

The Holy Spirit was already at work on the earth since the Old Testament, working among the people of God, but He did not yet dwell in them as He would later. For God had announced through the prophet Jeremiah: “I will put My law within them and write it on their heart” (Jeremiah 31:33).

It is only later, after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus into heaven, and with the coming of the Holy Spirit, that the disciples would fully understand and be able to preach Christ in all His fullness. For the Holy Spirit would fully reveal to them who He was, who He is, and who He will be for all those who believe in Him.

“Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household,“ v.52a

First of all, a scribe was a disciple of a rabbi, that is, a religious teacher. He was trained and then received a specific direction according to his calling. He was more than a simple copyist; he was a scholar, a teacher, and an interpreter of the Law. His influence and authority were considerable, especially in religious and legal matters.

That is why Jesus uses this example, because He, the supreme Rabbi, was telling His disciples that the instruction He was giving concerning the Kingdom of Heaven was something they would have to transmit. From the study of the Scriptures that testify about Christ and the heavenly Kingdom, to the manifestation of that written Word in Jesus Christ.

They would move from the status of scribes to that of heads of a household, those who would lead the spiritual house, having as their foundation the teachings and works of Christ revealed by Him and also revealed in the Word of God, testifying of this work of redemption for humanity.

This parable is not only for pastors or teachers, but for all the disciples of Jesus. Because Jesus says that every scribe instructed in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a head of a household. This means that every disciple is called to grow, to understand the Word of God, and to share it with others.

Not everyone is called by the Lord to be a pastor or a teacher in the church, but every Christian is called to be a believer who learns to become a disciple. The Christian life has a progression: first we believe, then we become disciples, then we grow, and then we help others grow.

And a disciple is someone who learns the Word, who grows in the Word, who lives according to the Word, and who also helps other people grow in the Word.

This can be in our family, with our children, with a new believer, with a friend, with a brother or sister in the church. The treasure we have received is not only for us, it is also for others. We are all called to learn the Word of God, to live the Word of God, and to share the Word of God, each one according to the place God has given him.

“who brings out of his treasure new things and old.” v.52b

The old things are those that were taught in the synagogues: the Abrahamic covenant, the Law of Moses and the Prophets, speaking about God as the LORD of hosts, the Almighty, who is merciful and compassionate, but unreachable for man, the thrice holy God.

The new things are the biblical truths of the Law and the Prophets that are no longer written only on parchment or scrolls, but are written on the heart of the man or woman who believes that God sent His only Son to save the souls that belong to Him.

Jesus did not come to abolish the Law nor to invent or create another one; He came to fulfill it, to manifest what the Scriptures said about Him among men, so that they would be saved not by the works of the Law, but by the saving work of faith in Christ, which justifies us before the Father.

The Old Testament is the shadow of the New. However, for the New to be accomplished in the manifestation of Jesus, the Old had to be written and taught. This is what the revelation of the Old served for: so that the plan of God would be understood in spirit and in truth when it was fulfilled by God Himself at the appointed time.

God created man, man disobeyed, God separated man from His presence. God led a people set apart, God gave the Law and the Prophets, which His people disobeyed and rejected by their behavior. Then God manifested Himself in Jesus, the Messiah of His people, confirming the Scriptures, in order to reconcile His creation with Himself.

This is what the Kingdom of Heaven came to bring to man: this wonderful reconciliation through Jesus Christ, and by extension through the Holy Spirit who lives in each of the children of God, saved by His grace.

The treasure is all the revelations of God, the old and the new, which means the whole Word of God. The entire Holy Bible is this treasure.

If this treasure is the Word of God, then we have to learn to read it, to meditate on it, and to study it. For the Word of God is not just a book; it is the truth that sets us free. Jesus said, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly My disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31–32)

It is by abiding in the Word that we know the truth, and it is this truth that sets us free and helps us grow spiritually.

That is why God also gave pastors and teachers to the Church: to explain the Word, to answer questions when we do not understand, and to help each person grow in the knowledge of God and in the truth of His Word.

However, this treasure can only have value for us if we are aware that God, through His Word and through His Word manifested in Jesus Christ, loves us. And from this conviction comes the deep desire to know this truth that has come to us: why, how, and how much God loved us, loves us, and will love us forever.

“When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there.” v.53

This verse marks the end of this teaching about the revelation of the Kingdom of Heaven given by Jesus through the parables. “Finished these parables” means that these parables had a specific function and purpose: to reveal the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven and to establish that the time of God had come to manifest Himself to man, so that His reign would come on earth as it is in heaven.

Jesus would now enter into a new phase of teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven: how the Kingdom of Heaven would act in the world, and how it would be seen through the lives of those who are redeemed by the grace of God, children of the heavenly Kingdom, and ambassadors for Christ.

This move of Jesus was deliberate, because He was now leaving the crowds around the Sea of Galilee, where He had been teaching in parables to a large and simple rural population, and He was going toward another audience, especially in the synagogues, among the religious community who knew the Scriptures and the Law, and who would openly question His authority and His identity.

Conclusion

To conclude, we can see that the Lord Jesus Christ asks us to understand what He said to His disciples, but also to us, those who belong to Him.

First, He asks us to listen to Him, and then to apply what this Word, which has been given to us in written form, teaches us, with faith and conviction. Not in a blind or religious way, but with the firm conviction that we belong to Him and that we allow ourselves to be led by His Word, knowing that it is the truth and the way that leads to Christ.

If we truly belong to Him, let us make this Word our treasure, the treasure that has the first place in our hearts and in our lives. And in this way, the Holy Spirit will lead us through green pastures, not without trials or persecutions, but with a hope that is greater than the hope that the world offers: the hope of a heavenly Kingdom which will be our final home for eternity.

So Jesus asks the same question today: “Have you understood all these things?”