Matthew 13:51-52

Matthew 13:51-52

Did you all understand these things?  They said to Him, “Yes.”  And He said to them, “Because of this, every scribe – after being discipled for the kingdom of heaven – is similar to the master of the house, who casts out of his treasury both new and old.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

When Jesus finished teaching, He asked His disciples if they understood.  This is a moment of accountability.  It is a moment of responsibility.  It is also a call to response.  Jesus wants the disciples to evaluate what they’ve heard and discern for themselves if there were any gaps.  The disciples are the only ones who can know for sure if they understand or if they have some gaps in their education.  The disciple-maker cannot know for sure; they can only teach the best they can.  At some point the disciple needs to take responsibility and determine for themselves if they genuinely understand or if they need some sort of continued education on a particular topic.

What do you understand about your faith and relationship with God?  Where could you use some continued education?

Second Thought:

Once the disciples affirm that they have understood Jesus, He gives them one final parable.  He reminds them that people come to Jesus already with knowledge of the Law.  These are the scribes.  But then Jesus teaches them about the kingdom of heaven.  In other words, Jesus puts the Law in perspective.  Jesus takes the Law and gives it a context in grace, mercy, and hope.  In this light, we all come to Jesus with an understanding of the world around us.  We also come to Him with some understanding of what our culture teaches us about right and wrong.  Jesus takes that inherent understand of God’s creation around us and molds it and shapes it into a genuine faith that comes from God.  That’s the process of discipleship in a nutshell.

How has Jesus taken your natural understanding of the world around you and used it to shape your faith and relationship with Him?

Third Thought:

Furthermore, notice how Jesus ends the parable.  Jesus doesn’t say that after the scribe learns about the kingdom of heaven that he only talks about what is new.  No, the one who is discipled is like the master of the house that brings out the new and the old.  We aren’t just a people of grace and more grace.  We are a people of a balance between law and grace.  We are a people who speak about God’s love and mercy in addition to speaking about the need to change and reform our life to Christ.  We are a people who speak about both forgiveness as well as the need to try and live according to God’s ways.

Where do you fall on the law-grace spectrum?  Do you tend to be more focused on the grace of God?  Do you tend to focus on the Law of God?  Why are you this way?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 13:53-58