#DailyDevotion Are You Student Of The Bible?
Matt. 1351“Did you understand all this?” “Yes,” they answered. 52“And so every Bible student trained for the kingdom of heaven,” He told them, “is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new things and old.”
In chapter thirteen Jesus tells three parables and the disciples ask him to explain one of them. He tells another three parables and Jesus ask his disciples if they understood all this. This text is their response. They say, “Yes.” Well do they really? Perhaps. I believe Jesus gave them and us a hermeneutical (a way to interpret) tool in explaining the parable of the weeds and the wheat. So they are to use the way Jesus interpreted that parable with interpreting the other parables in this chapter. What might that be? God is the actor in the parables. He works under the radar. He is letting things be for now. There is a judgment at the end. He delivers his people.
Jesus’ response to their yes with, “And so every Bible student trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new things and old.” So what does this mean? Is the bible student the disciples? Is it Jesus? Is it the disciples in Jesus? How are students trained for the kingdom of heaven?
Certainly we are trained for the kingdom of heaven. We are trained by hearing the word taught by Jesus. We are trained through trials and tribulations. Jesus was taught directly by the Father. He gives to us what the Father revealed to him. He disciples us.
What is this bringing out of his storeroom things new and old? On the one hand, everything Jesus teaches us if from the Torah, the covenant between God and Israel. He teaches us the meaning of that and teaches us the writings and the prophets. Such is what we see when he gives us the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon on the Plain. On the other hand, Jesus reveals new things to in particular when he explains how all these things are fulfilled in him. He is the manifestation of the reign and rule of heaven. He reveals to us that the kingdom of heaven brings in not only the Jews or Israelites but people of every tongue, tribe, race and nation. He reveals to us he does and accomplished the work of salvation.
As those student who have been trained in Jesus’ word, we too bring out these things to the nations, the things old, the Old Testament and the things new, the New Testament which tells us how Jesus has fulfilled the Old and established the New. We get this rule of faith to which we judge our understanding of the Scriptures: Jesus is the LORD of Israel in the flesh who has accomplished the salvation for the world by fulfilling as that was told of him in the Old Testament. If you interpretation of the parable goes against that, you’re wrong. If it brings that out to be seen, you’re probably on the right track.
Heavenly Father, as those who are being trained as disciples of the kingdom of your Son Jesus Christ, grant us your Holy Spirit that we may understand your teaching, be made your disciples and we witnesses of your great love for us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.