Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
51, 52. The Scribes of the Kingdom of Heaven
52. instructed unto the kingdom of heaven ] The new law requires a new order of Scribes who shall be instructed unto the kingdom of heaven instructed in its mysteries, its laws, its future as the Jewish Scribes are instructed in the observances of the Mosaic law.
things new and old ] (1) Just as the householder brings from his stores or treasury precious things which have been heir-looms for generations, as well as newly acquired treasures; the disciples following their Master’s example will exhibit the true teaching of the old law, and add thereto the new lessons of Christianity. (2) Another interpretation finds a reference to Jewish sacrificial usage by which sometimes the newly-gathered fruit or corn, sometimes the produce of a former year furnished the offering. The wise householder was ready for all emergencies. So the Christian teacher will have an apt lesson on each occasion.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Jesus kindly asked them whether they had understood these things. If not, he was still willing to teach them. He enjoined on them their duty to make a proper use of this knowledge by speaking another parable.
Every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven – That is, every man that is acquainted with the gospel or with the truth. As the disciples had said that they had understood the truth, he says that it should not be unemployed. They should bring it forth in due time, like a householder bringing out of his treasury, or place of deposit, what had been laid up there at any time, as it was needed.
Bringeth forth – As occasion demands; as sickness, or calamity, or the wants of his family, or the poor require.
Treasure – The word treasure here means a place of deposit, not for money merely, but for anything necessary for the comfort of a family. It is the same as treasury or a place of deposit.
New and old – Things lately acquired, or things that had been laid up for a long time. So, said Christ, you, my disciples, are to be. The truth, new or old, which you have gained, keep it not laid up and hid, but bring it forth, in due season and on proper occasions, to benefit others. Every preacher should be properly instructed. Christ for three years gave instructions to the apostles; and they who preach should be able to understand the gospel, to defend it, and to communicate it to others. Human learning alone is indeed of no value to a minister; but all learning that will enable a man better to understand the Bible and communicate its truths is valuable, and should, if possible, be gained. A minister should be like the father of a family – distributing to the church as it needs; and out of his treasures bringing forth truth to confirm the feeble, to enlighten the ignorant, and to recover and guide those who are in danger of straying away.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Mat 13:51
Have ye understood all these things?
A clear understanding
I fear there are hundreds of religionists in this country who never think of understanding that which they attend to under the name of religion. It can never be a sanctifying word to any except so far as they receive it into their understanding. To realize by experience a doctrine is the only way of knowing it. Those men never forget a truth who have had it burned into them as with a hot iron.
I. Let us consider this searching question, Have ye understood all these things? as spoken to those who can humbly, but yet confidently, say, yes, i have understood these things. We can say, One thing I know; whereas I was blind, now I see. If we have understood these things, what then?
1. Let us be thankful to God, for this understanding of Divine truth is not due to any natural intelligence we possess.
2. If you have been led to understand these things, ought not this to encourage you to seek to understand more?
3. You should not be backward to tell them to others. We are to be pupil teachers; pupils always, but teachers too.
II. But some who think they understand all these things do not understand them. Is your life in accordance with what you know? It is a solemn thing to have an understanding of Divine truth, but not to be affected by it to repent of sin. Many professors with big heads and small hearts.
III. Are there not some who would hardly know how to answer this question? They understand, and yet they do not: theoretically but not spiritually. You know Jesus Christ; but have you accepted Him? (C. H. Spurgeon.)
God will perfect the knowledge of the humble believer
If I find myself growing in Gods garden, though I be the tiniest plant in all the bed, yet it is such a mercy to be in the garden at all-I who was a wild rank weed out in the wilderness before-that I will not doubt but what He will water me when I need it, and that He will tend and care for me till I shall come to perfection. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Knowledge to be communicated to others
Let other candles be lit from thy candle, and thy candle shall burn none the less brightly; but the rather in this it may be said, that to enrich yourselves in all knowledge you must enrich others with the knowledge that you have. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The responsibility of knowledge
I charge thee, knowing professor, to remember thy solemn responsibility. I beseech thee, as thou lovest thine own soul, not to make a downy bed out of thy knowledge, for it shall be a thorn in thy dying pillow. I charge thee, man, not to make hell hotter to thyself than it need be by taking all this knowledge in, and punting after more, while you forget that to obey is better than sacrifice, to trust is better than to boast, to love is better than to rival, and to serve out of simple affection is better than to prate, and to discuss, and to criticize, and to censure. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 51. Have ye understood all these things?] Divine truths must not be lightly passed over. – Our Lord’s question here shows them to be matters of the utmost weight and importance; and that they should be considered again and again, till they be thoroughly understood.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
A conscientious teacher will have a respect to the profit of his hearers. Christ here setteth us an example, asking his disciples if they had
understood all these things; as well those parables of which he had given them no particular explication, as those he had explained.
They say unto him, Yea, Lord, we have understood them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
51. Jesus saith unto themthatis, to the Twelve. He had spoken the first four in the hearingof the mixed multitude: the last three He reserved till, onthe dismissal of the mixed audience, He and the Twelve were alone (Mt13:36, &c.).
Have ye understood all thesethings? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Jesus saith unto them,…. This is left out in the Vulgate Latin, and Ethiopic versions, and in Munster’s Hebrew Gospel, and in some Greek exemplars; though it is necessary to the connection and sense of the words:
have ye understood all these things? All the parables Christ had delivered, besides those he had given a particular explanation of; as of the mustard seed, and leaven, of the treasure hid in the field, the pearl of great price, and the net cast into the sea: Christ’s putting this question to the disciples, shows that the things delivered, had some difficulty in them; that they were of moment and importance to be understood; and how concerned he was, that they should understand them; and how ready he was to communicate the knowledge of them, which he knew would be useful to them in their after ministrations:
they say unto him, yea, Lord. This answer, which was truly and faithfully made, is a proof of their close and strict attention to the words of Christ; the quickness of their understandings, at that time, being in a very special manner opened and illuminated by Christ; and which he knew, when he put the question to them; but was willing to have it owned and expressed by themselves, that he might have the opportunity of saying what follows.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
1) “Jesus saith unto them, have ye understood all these things?” (suneksate touta panta) “Do you all understand all these parabolic things?” about the kingdom of heaven, the New-Covenant church? This inquiry was directed to His disciples (His church), to whom He had just completed speaking the last three short parables, in the residence where He was resting in Capernaum, Mat 13:10-11; Mat 13:36.
2) “They say unto him, Yea, Lord.” (legousin auto vai) “They replied to him, yes, we do,” to the Lord. They were spiritual and could comprehend what the general masses and formal Judaizers could not understand, Mat 13:10-11; 1Co 2:12; 1Co 2:14.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
51. Have you understood all these things? We must keep in recollection what we have formerly seen, that all the parables of Christ were explained in private. And now the Lord, after having taught them in this kind and familiar manner, warns them at the same time, that his object, in taking so much pains to instruct them, was not merely that they might be well informed, (234) but that they might communicate to others what they had received. In this way he whets and excites their minds more and more to desire instruction. He says that teachers are like householders, who are not only careful about their own food, but have a store laid up for the nourishment of others; and who do not live at ease as to the passing day, but make provision for a future and distant period. The meaning, therefore, is, that the teachers of the Church ought to be prepared by long study for giving to the people, as out of a storehouse, (235) a variety of instruction concerning the word of God, as the necessity of the case may require. Many of the ancient expositors understand by things new and old the Law and the Gospel; but this appears to me to be forced. I understand them simply to mean a varied and manifold distribution, wisely and properly adapted to the capacity of every individual.
(234) “ Qu’ils gardent ceste cognoissance pour eux-mesmes seulement;” — “that they may keep that knowledge for themselves only.”
(235) “ Commoe nous voyons que le pere de famille tire de son cellier ou grenier toutes sortes de provisions;” — “as we see that the master of a family draws from his cellar or granary all kinds of provisions.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
C. THE APPRECIATION FOR AND USE OF ALL TRUTH
TEXT: 13:5153
51 Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea. 52 And he said unto them, Therefore every scribe who hath been made a disciple to the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.
53 And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS
a.
Why would Jesus ask His disciples whether they understood everything He had preached that day?
b.
Do you think they really did understand? Perfectly or partially? If you think they only partially understood what He had been driving at, how would you explain their answer?
c.
If you are convinced that they understood only partially, how would you explain Jesus immediate reaction to their affirmative answer? That is, He goes ahead with His discussion as if their answer were in some way representative of their actual situation.
d.
Have you ever heard of a scribe who ever became a disciple to the Kingdom of God? Practically every scribe in the New Testament was hostile to Jesus. Is Jesus picturing a practical impossibility, as if He were speaking humorously of a Jewish rabbis eating a ham sandwich on the wedding day of a Catholic priest? What is there about a scribe that makes Jesus illustration live for the disciples, and, at the same time, urges them to achieve everything implied in the images here presented?
e.
What peculiar treasure possessed uniquely by a Christian scribe would so enrich him that he could share things old and new?
PARAPHRASE
Have you understood all these stories?
They answered Him, Yes, we have.
Then He continued, This is why every theologian who has trained in the disciplines of Gods Kingdom, like the master of the house who can provide out of his stores what is new as well as what is old, can teach old, long-known truth as well as the most recent revelations.
SUMMARY
Before concluding the private session with His disciples, Jesus checks the disciples own comprehension of the lessons. Since they affirm some understanding of His meaning, He can set before them the advantages possessed by a Christian scholar and teacher.
NOTES
Mat. 13:51 Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea. Earlier (Mat. 13:10), the puzzled disciples had questioned the propriety of His parabolic procedure, since it tended to obscure, rather than reveal, truth. Here the Lord pushes them to re-examine their own previous evaluation, because of their now greater understanding both of His methodology and the message thus relayed to them. They confess the effectiveness of the method, The highest theological truths have just been imparted impartially to everyone by means of the simple, accessible story. These disciples must see that high-sounding theological jargon and dry, uninteresting lectures cannot stimulate the imagination nor fire the will nor challenge the mind nor smite the conscience like well-planned, pointed illustrations.
The explanations Jesus gave of some of the parables doubtless provided insight into the meaning and application of the others. (Cf. on Mar. 4:13 before Mat. 13:18 notes.) Thus, in this limited sense, the disciples could honestly answer affirmatively. Naturally, fuller perception of the deeper significance of all the parables awaited the disciples personal experience of the truths taught. Looking back on their positive answer that day, they must have smiled at how little they had really comprehended, so inadequate had been their ability to fathom their meaning or project into the future any clear outline of what the Kingdom might be or accomplish.
Mat. 13:52 Therefore (di toto), On the basis of your answer, i.e., because you have understood these truths presented in parabolic form, I can now take you one step further. As conceded before, the disciples subjective understanding was probably far below Jesus objective intentions. Nevertheless, the Lord does not bother at this point to chide any overconfidence evident in their words, because He wants them to arrive at another, higher point in their growth. And, if He succeeds in bringing them to that point, they will themselves fill in any gaps in their knowledge. He sets before them an ideal that, whether He ever inspired them with supernatural guidance or not, would make these men avid students of Gods Word and lead them to heights of growth in holiness and wisdom they had probably hitherto imagined inaccessible except to the well-born or especially gifted.
The phrase, every scribe who has been made a disciple to the kingdom of heaven, must have seemed to the disciples almost itself a contradiction, since at practically every point at which they came into contact with Jesus ministry, the scribes as a class had done everything in their power to hamper Jesus progress, and logically so, because His theological position so often collided with their own. (See notes on Mat. 2:4; Mat. 5:20; Mat. 7:29; Mat. 8:19; Mat. 9:2-3; Mat. 12:38 for a description both of their origin, position and relation to Jesus.) Despite their foibles, the scribes walked in the long shadow cast by one skilled scribe whose godliness and scholarship established a high, noble tradition: Ezra! (Cf. Ezr. 7:6; Ezr. 7:10)
1.
He set his heart to study (what an engrossing, lifetime job!)
2.
the law of the Lord (not merely oriental wisdom)
3.
and to do it (how often a rare quality in theologians?)
4.
and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel. (He labored not for his own good and glory, but for others.)
Other men whose gifts differ may serve God with their hands, but the ideal scribe loves and serves God specifically with his mind. (Jewish rabbis knew that the pursuit of the Law and earning a living and practical helpfulness are not mutually exclusive, the question being one of emphasis, of zeal to study and of preparedness to teach.)
Every scribe that amounts to anything in Jesus service must have been made a disciple. The scholar who, because of his relative achievements in the disciplines of the Kingdom of God, somehow forgets his parallel role as a DISCIPLE of Jesus, is a positive danger for all under his influence: he must never get to the point where he ceases to learn from the Lord! The disciple can become a scribe, but the scribe must never cease being a disciple with all the obedience and teachability that that word implies.
But when Jesus spoke of scribes, did He mean them as a class existent in His day, or is He speaking more generally?
1.
A scribe specifically? If so, He means the typical Jewish rabbi already educated in the Law, when converted to Jesus view of the Kingdom, could make a tremendous contribution. Look at the excellent work of that budding rabbi Saul of Tarsus when once he became a disciple trained in the spirit and power of Gods Kingdom! What a wealth of experience and knowledge of OT religion he brought to his service as a Christian Apostle!
2.
A scribe generically? Any disciple, well-read in the Word of the Kingdom, would be able to function as a theological teacher, expounding the Word with understanding, clarity and authority. Is Jesus, because of the disciples theological training in His school, describing His men as Gods servants at the level of rabbis? Does He mean that what the scribes were to the OT, the disciples would become to the Gospel? (Cf. Mat. 23:34)
If He intended the former, He could hope for very few applicants from that group (however, see Mat. 8:19!), but just to mention them fixes in the disciples mind an ideal of zealous students and defenders of Gods Word and teachers of the people.
Even as a provident master of the house keeps a larder well stocked with vintage wines and cheeses, heirloom lace and silver, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables and freshly-slaughtered meat, to be served on recently acquired table service, so it is with the Christian scholar. His treasure is his own personal repository of information and experience, his mind and memory. (See on Mat. 12:35 for fuller notes on this psychological reality.) Any learning, acquired by special studies or gained through experience, which helps the Christian better to understand God, His Word and His creatures, is his treasure. Consider, then, how rich indeed must have been the experience, how thorough the education, of these very Apostles. Despite their lowly beginnings, their day-by-day experiences in the constant company of Jesus of Nazareth while learning at His feet were beginning to qualify them as scribes discipled for the Kingdom. Only the most spiritually insensitive could have shared what these Twelve experienced with Jesus without becoming zealous scholars and no mean teachers of the Word.
The bringing forth out of his treasure speaks of the altruistic and effective use of what is there, distributing according to the need. There can be no ever learning and never coming to the USE of the truth for the good of others. What, then, are the things new and old which this Christian OT scholar and teacher is to share?
1.
Is Jesus still on the subject of parables considered as a didactic method? If so, the old refers to any previous knowledge of nature or human affairs or divine revelation that could be brought forth in the service of the Kingdom. Good parables require not only an observant eye, but also an intuitive discernment that sees in the old, familiar facts parallels with which to illustrate and communicate the new, unfamiliar ideas to be taught. As an educational methodology, the Lords principle functions marvelously as it takes the mind of the hearer from the known to the unknown.
2.
If, on the other hand, Jesus intends some more specific knowledge, then by old He points to the rich, many-sided revelations of God already given through patriarchs, Moses, the prophets, poets, kings and priests, precepts and statues, miracles and signs, which, taken together, were all intended to prepare Israel for her King, Jesus. The new, accordingly, is the Saviors teaching which leads to the proper understanding of the old and completes it. (Cf. Luk. 24:25-27; Luk. 24:32; Luk. 24:44-48; 2Ti. 3:15) In this sense, then, the Christian OT scholar not only appreciates the ancient Scriptures, because he reads them in a new light, that of Christ, but also because he grasps clearly the new revelations now unveiled by Jesus, he can share his bountiful treasure in a way that does honor to the Kingdom and enriches all whom he teaches. (Study 2Ti. 3:14-17 in this connection; 1Co. 10:11; Rom. 15:4.)
So, the new and old are truths, as Lenski words it, not known or taught before or long known and often taught. Many conservatives in Jesus audience would have rejected the new, preferring the old. (Cf. Mat. 9:16-17; Luk. 5:39) Other doctrinaire zealots of modernity would be tempted to despise the old in favor of the most recently revealed truth. But either choice would be equally folly, since it would involve severing ties with all the rich preparations for Christianity that old, long-known truth had made. While there was no more vigorous exponent of Christs triumph over the Law than Paul, this scribe now a disciple for the Kingdom of God, like a wise householder, could bring forth the old, long-cherished, now priceless heirlooms of understanding, knowledge and experience out of the OT for the eternal enrichment of Christianity. The so-called Jewish Gospel of our author, Matthew, is another superb illustration of this tasteful, harmonious blending of the best of ancient Judaism in the service of NT revelation. The Epistles to the Romans, the Galatians and the Hebrews, as well as numerous sections in others, point up the glorious realization, in Christ and the Kingdom, of all the truly essential concepts not only of Mosaic religion, but of the patriarchal faith as well. This merely underscores again the fact that all that is really truth is of necessity old as well as new. Truth is ancient, because, being reality itself, it dates back to the foundation of reality, however long it had been overlooked by man because of his ignorance, neglect and sin. (Cf. Mat. 13:35) This is why it seems new when called to his attention. (Example: 1Jn. 2:7-8; 1Jn. 3:11; 2Jn. 1:6) Since the things old, here, are the things of Gods Spirit, they never become obsolete, breathing forth a new freshness and vitality with each generation of new minds that sets itself to understand them.
Woe be to the Christian preacher or teacher whose life is so full of busy-work that he has no time to study the Old Testament! Those who have a grasp of Christs message will be able, out of both new and old revelations of Gods will, to treasure rightly all that is of value and utility and to share its treasures with others. Granted, the New Testament is the will of Christ for the Church, but who can pretend to be qualified to expound even this document, who is an ignoramus of the great 39-stone pyramidal foundation upon which the New Testament is built and of which it is the glorious capstone? Who can read with intelligence Romans, Galatians, Hebrews, Revelation, even Matthew, with a view to understand just these superb volumes, who has no time for Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel and a host of others? Will we ever grow to be able adequately to appreciate and properly use every truth, old or new, that God puts into our store?
Mat. 13:53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence. For the trusting reader, unoverburdened with scholarly prejudices, this sentence obviously signals the final conclusion of Jesus great discourse, especially for the disciples listening in private to His explanations. But some modern scholars (e.g. of the Redaktions-geschichte school) suppose that this verse just cannot be a simple declaration of fact that Jesus simply finished this series of parables and left. They see it as a literary device of Matthew (whoever HE was!) whereby the five major sections of this Gospeli.e., Mat. 7:28; Mat. 11:1; Mat. 13:53; Mat. 19:1; Mat. 26:1are brought to an end. (See R.V.G. Tasker, The Nature and Purpose of the Gospels, 35.) But granted for sake of argument that Matthew, for theological purposes, includes some such sentence at the conclusion of the five major sections as asserted, what would that prove about their authentic historicity, i.e., about the objective reality that Jesus really concluded the particular message in question and left the scene for another destination? It is a false dichotomy to demand that such sentences be read EITHER historically OR theologically, when it is intellectually honest and possible to have it both ways. The deliberate bias that forces such a choice is the conclusion of some that the Gospel cannot be read as a simple, forthright historical statement where it makes historical declarations. Despite any supposed theological overtones in this verse (Mat. 13:53), the evidence for its probable authenticity as history is seen in these factors:
1.
its naturalness as the conclusion of the event narrated, which, without it, would have been left suspended;
2.
its true chronological relationship to the subsequent events recorded by Mar. 4:35;
3.
and in the greater incredibility of deception by Matthew. That is, if our author has deceived us about a simple conclusion to a sermon, upon what grounds would or could we trust him to speak truly about the resurrection, since they stand upon the same grounds for us; i.e., his testimony?
FACT QUESTIONS
1.
What is a scribe? What was the relation of the scribal class to the nation of Israel? What was their usual response to Jesus?
2.
In what does the scribes position and preparation consist that makes him an especially valuable asset to the Kingdom once he has become a disciple of Jesus?
3.
Identify the things new and old which the provident master of the house could bring forth from his treasure.
4.
Now that you have seen the entire sermon in parables, discuss what Jesus taught about the Kingdom, its nature and its various aspects. When did it come, or when will it arrive? Who is to be in it? Who were called the sons of the Kingdom? Should we pray for it to come today? What importance did Jesus attach to the Kingdom in His teaching? How important did He say it should be to His listeners? In answering each of these questions, cite key words, or, if possible, the entire texts that illustrate your answers.
5.
List as many parabolic figures as you can, that demonstrate the fact that the Bible does NOT necessarily mean the same thing every time it uses the same figurative expressions. To start you out, remember that the lion can be a symbol either for Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, or of Satan who walks around as a roaring lion. Sheep are symbols both of Jesus, Gods Lamb, as well as the errant people of God. Now make your own list. Why? Because a lot of bad theology is built on mechanical use of Bible figures of speech: parables, allegories and similes.
6.
When and in what way are some of the features of Gods Kingdom, predicted in any of these parables, already in the process of being fulfilled, or are already complete?
7.
What is proved about Jesus in this sermon?
THE GLORIOUS LORDSHIP OF JESUS CHRIST
As seen in the great Sermon in Parables, Matthew 13
While one of the distinguishing characteristics of Jesus message is His absolute respect for human free-will, it should be equally clear to all that only He who is a true Lord can permit Himself this luxury! Only He who enjoys a position of true power could permit the following situations to exist:
1.
In the Parable of the Sower and varying types of terrain, the great truth everywhere noticed is the absolute freedom of the individual who can actually accept or reject the Word of the Kingdom. This freedom to choose is also the freedom to become a rebel against Gods good government, but Jesus knows that this is a worthwhile risk in view of the end He has in mind.
2.
In the explanation of His own methodology (Mat. 13:10-17) to whom does Jesus entrust the tremendous truths that would bring about far-reaching revolutions in the world? To a Peter, or a Matthew! But who are they? Rustic peasants from the provinces! many would have sneered, A minimum of good sense would have dictated greater seriousness in choosing more qualified personnel, perhaps from the nobility, in order to propagate a message of such consequence! Nevertheless, only a truly powerful Lord can permit Himself to use weak men do His bidding, to show that the greatness of the power is not of them, but in His own majesty and might.
3.
In the Parable of the Weeds, the Lord of the field confidently orders His servants regarding the Wheat and the Tares: Let them both grow together until the harvest; and at the time of the harvest I will say to the harvesters . . . Evil can remain in the world clear up to the judgment, and Jesus does not feel Himself at all menaced by this fact! He will have the last word. (Mat. 13:41)
4.
In the Parables of the Mustard Seed and of the Leaven, Jesus promises that the Kingdom of the great God of heaven, Creator of the heavens and the earth, will have an insignificant beginning! We usually judge the success of a thing by the auspiciousness of its beginning. Therefore, how is it born? great and powerful? or weak and hidden off in a corner somewhere? One can measure the stellar distance that divided Jesus from the politicians of this world, on the basis of His brothers pushy advice; Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples may see the works you are doing. For no man works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world. (Joh. 7:3-4) Jesus, however, did not hesitate to describe His Kingdom as having a disappointingly unpromising birth. Further, He affirmed that its growth would be gradual, almost imperceptible, however sure. This was bad news for the public relations men who needed exciting material to make a sensational proclamation of the Kingdom; But this great Lord believes in truth in advertising, even if many customers refuse to buy, because He is a true Lord who can well afford to tell people just how it is and still expect them to respond.
5.
In the Parables of the Hid Treasure and the Precious Pearl, Jesus even pictures His precious Kingdom and His priceless truth as being discovered by chance, quite accidentally, by a fortunate person. Worse yet, He permits His truth to be freely evaluated along with all the other truth and so-called realities of this world! How confident He is that the supreme value of His Kingdom will not only be apparent, but especially desirable above everything else!
6.
Jesus teaches, further, so as to hide certain truths from people, and, paradoxically, this fact demonstrates His Lordship. It is easy to feel a tender compassion for those few dear ones bound to us sentimentally. Sometimes this causes us to express an impulsive kindness toward them which actually frustrate our intentions to help them and results in positive damage to their highest good later. But Jesus was not that way: seeing the true need of every single hearer in His audience, and because of His profound love for each one, He composed a message that met their need by hiding under the parabolic form those truths that would have only been distorted by them to their ruin.
It is obvious that, in hiding these truths from people, Jesus feels Himself in a strong enough position to be able to run the risk that they would never have discovered them later when the Apostles would have revealed them in their preaching.
And so it is that Jesus does not impose His regime on anyone-yet. However, only He who enjoys a strong position can permit Himself this luxury, in the sense that He is sure to have the last word and that His truth is the only definitive reality to be reckoned with. The humanist must ask himself at this point, What is the basis of this confidence of Jesusuncanny, political astuteness alone? Even an unbeliever could admit that Jesus acted in character as Lord, because only a true Lord could be patient enough to permit everyone the possibility to accept, or else reject, His Gospel.
WHAT DOES THIS GREAT SERMON REVEAL ABOUT JESUS?
1.
JESUS WAS NO CHILD OF HIS TIMES, gathering up into one message the aspirations and philosophy of the Jewish people! Eder-sheim (Life, I, 597) reminds how un-Jewisheven anti-Jewishis Jesus teaching concerning the Kingdom. This point becomes immediately clear when we remember what Jesus did NOT say in this sermon, quite as much as what He did, A.B. Bruce (Training, 43) indicated that
The kingdom whereof Jesus was both King and Lawgiver was not to be a kingdom of this world; it was not to be here or there in space, but within the heart of man; it was not to be the monopoly of any class or nation, but open to all possessed of the requisite spiritual endowments on equal terms. It is nowhere said, indeed, in the sermon, that ritual qualifications, such as circumcision, were not indispensable for admission into the kingdom. But circumcision is ignored here, as it was ignored throughout the teaching of Jesus. It is treated as something simply out of place that cannot be dovetailed into the scheme of doctrine set forth; an incongruity the very mention of which would create a sense of the grotesque How truly it was so anyone can satisfy himself by just imagining for a moment that among the Beatitudes had been found one running thus: Blessed are the circumcised, for no uncircumcised ones shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. This significant silence concerning the seal of the national covenant could not fail to have its effect on the minds of the disciples, as a hint at eventual antiquation.
If Bruces observation regarding the Sermon on the Mount be proper, how much more is it true regarding the Sermon in Parables, where Jesus had every opportunity to sanction His favorite current in Jewish apocalyptic writing! In the light of His further declarations is it conceivable that He should ever have told the following parable? The Kingdom of heaven is like a great king who organized his followers into a strong army. Together they marched against a great city to destroy the wicked and establish there the throne of David. Having established the Kingdom by the overthrow of all his enemies, the king ordered the conquest of all surrounding countries until his vast empire covered the earth, guaranteeing thereby to himself and all Israel great wealth and happiness. All the uncircumcised were destroyed and their property was confiscated and distributed among the children of Abraham. If such an illustration seems out of place, if not inconceivable, then, with Edersheim (ibid.) we may ask: Whence this un-Jewish and anti-Jewish teaching concerning the Kingdom on the part of Jesus of Nazareth?
2.
JESUS IS A GREAT PROPHET. In each of the parables some prediction is made relative to the (then) future character of the Kingdom:
a.
In the parable of the Sower and Soils the varying responses to the Gospel is foreseen and explained.
b.
In that of the Weeds the presence of evil in the Messianic Kingdom is accounted for and its final removal predicted.
c.
In that of the Mustard Seed the extensive growth of the Kingdom from a small beginning is foreseen.
d.
In that of the Yeast the intensive expansion of the Kingdom by the power of its inner vitality is fore pictured.
e.
In that of the Hidden Treasure we see the prediction that the Kingdoms great value would be hidden from all but the fortunate ones who stumble onto it and sacrifice all to acquire it.
f.
In that of the Pearl Merchant the presentation of the Kingdom-idea on the world market of ideas is predicted as well as its superlative value for those who diligently seek it to acquire it.
g.
In that of the Dragnet the final separation of good and evil is promised.
Edersheim (Life, I, 597f) feels the force of this argument too:
Our second question goes still farther. For, if Jesus was not a Prophet,and, if a Prophet, then also the Son of Godyet no more strangely unexpected prophecy, minutely true in all its details, could be conceived, than that concerning His Kingdom which His parabolic description of it conveyed. Has not History, in the strange, unexpected fulfilling of that which no human ingenuity at the time could have forecast, and no pen have described with more minute accuracy of detail, proved Him to be more than a mere manOne sent from God, the Divine King of the Divine Kingdom, in all the vicissitudes which such a Divine Kingdom must experience when set up on earth?
Even if, as was suggested in the notes, an unbeliever who had taken Jesus earlier teaching seriously and studied its implications could have predicted that sooner or later Jesus would have arrived at some of these predictions implied in the parables, nevertheless the ring of divine certainty that we hear in Jesus voice would be absent from the merely astute political sage. A mere human would have to hedge his predictions with expressions qualifying their likelihood, like: If things turn out in a given way, then the following may be expected, etc. If not, then perhaps we will see some other phenomenon come to pass . . . Since Jesus just tells it like it is going to be, we must pronounce Him either mad, or an imposter, or a great prophet worthy of our deepest respect!
3.
JESUS IS DIVINE LORD. It is especially fitting that, in the very parable dealing with the thorny problem of continued evil in the world despite the establishment of Christs Kingdom in it, Jesus divinity also comes to the fore with a clarity equal to the seriousness of the evil.
a.
The Son of man owns the field which is the world! (Mat. 13:24; Mat. 13:37)
b.
Jesus is Lord of the judgment who can afford to wait until both good and evil are fully mature! (Mat. 13:30; Mat. 13:41)
c.
My barn into which the righteous are gathered is none other than the Kingdom of God (Mat. 13:30; Mat. 13:43), but it was out of His (i.e., of the Son of man) Kingdom, that the evil-doers will have been cast! (Mat. 13:41)
d.
The ministers of justice directly responsible for the final separation of the souls of men are His angels, i.e., of the Son of man. (Mat. 13:41)
Plummer (Matthew, 197) asks: Who is it that makes these enormous claims upon all mankind? Who is it that offers, to those who respond to the claims, such enormous rewards? Indeed, who?
SPECIAL STUDY: THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Perhaps the most important question affecting the interpretation of Matthew 13, is, To what aspect of the Kingdom of God does Jesus refer?. Unless this problem receives a proper answer, unnatural interpretations will be forced upon the stories He told to describe the Kingdom. The essential aspects of a kingdom are themselves multiple, consisting of a king, a territory over which he rules, his subjects, the constitutional expression of the kings will, and the boundaries, or limits, of citizenship in his kingdom. There may be other essentials perhaps, however this multiplicity of essentials forewarns us that, in order to reveal the full nature of His Kingdom, Jesus might make use of various parabolic illustrations to clarify the various features. A system so many-sided as Gods Kingdom is just incapable of exhaustive treatment by a single illustration or symbol! If this were untrue, Jesus could have told one, all-inclusive parable and dismissed the crowds that day! (Matthew 13) Let us, therefore, begin by examining the concepts of the Kingdom of God which God had taught Israel to understand, because this instruction served as background for Jesus use of the same terminology.
GODS UNIVERSAL RULE
It would be instructive here to recall that Gods Sovereignty over heaven and earth proceeds in an orderly manner since before the creation of the earth and man upon it. (Deu. 4:32; Deu. 4:39; Psa. 47:2; Psa. 47:7-8; Psalms 93; Psalms 95-97, 99; Isa. 66:1-2) As Ruler, Judge, Sustainer and Creator of the universe, His Lordship is an eternal Sovereignty which He will surrender to none. (2Ki. 19:15-19; Psa. 83:18; Isa. 54:5; Jer. 23:24; Zec. 4:14; Zec. 6:5; Zec. 14:9; Mat. 11:25; 1Co. 10:26; Rev. 11:4) In this sense, then, God has always reigned and always will. The Kingdom of God in this sense is nothing less than His eternal sovereignty over the universe and all it contains.
GODS KINGDOM OF ISRAEL
Nevertheless, there is also a sense in which God began to reveal a new expression of His rule on earth among men. This He initiated by establishing a convenantal agreement with Israel when He freed that nation from Egyptian slavery. (Exo. 19:6) Whereas in the civil legislation God had foreseen the desire for a human king for the orderly exercise of kingdom (Deu. 17:14-20), God Himself remained tacitly the real Ruler of Israel, as also of the rest of the world. (1Sa. 8:7-8; 1Sa. 10:19; 2Sa. 23:3) The political principle is true even here: the king-maker is really king, for God remained Sovereign over the monarchs of Israel. (Deu. 17:15 : You may indeed set as king over you him whom the Lord your God will choose.) And every time those kings forgot the sovereignty of God, they and the whole nation of Israel paid the price of their insubordination.
Nevertheless, all the development of the Kingdom of God in Israel has as its final purpose the readying of a people through whom the coming of Gods Anointed might enlarge the bounds of Gods earthly rule so as to embrace all men, Predictions picturing this new expression of Gods rule began to fork out in two directions:
1.
God Himself is coming to earth to rule over Israel. (Zec. 2:10-11; Zec. 8:3; Zec. 9:9; Zec. 11:12-13; Zec. 12:10; Zec. 14:3-4; Zec. 14:9) He will do this through His suffering Servant and Shepherd. (Zec. 13:7; Mal. 2:17 to Mal. 3:2, Mal. 3:5; Mal. 4:3) He would be born as a child upon whose shoulders the government would rest and whose titles, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace, identify him as truly Immanuel, God with us (Isa. 7:14; Isa. 9:6; Isa. 40:9-11; Isa. 42:1-4)
2.
During the last of the great world empires, God, who continues to rule in the affairs of men, would set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor its sovereignty be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand for ever. (Dan. 2:44) The Anointed King over the Kingdom of God would be one
coming with the clouds of heaven like a son of man to the Ancient of Days . . . and to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall never pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed, . . . and the time came when the saints received the kingdom. . . . And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High . . . (Dan. 7:13-14; Dan. 7:22; Dan. 7:28)
This Kingdom of God, thus, is to be an empire that would surpass the glory of all preceding ones, and, whereas the Kingdom of God in Jewish thought had been limited to Israel, it now becomes increasingly clear that Gods design includes the whole world in its scope. (Dan. 2:35)
So, within Israel and beyond it, among the nations of the world, Gods Kingdom would grow, wherever His rule be acknowledged or makes itself effectively felt. A Son of David, yet Davids Lord (Psa. 110:1; 2Sa. 7:11-16) would reign over Gods Kingdom, yet not over Israel alone, but growing out of Israel, His authority would extend over the last man on earth. (Cf. Psa. 18:50; Psa. 117:1; Isa. 11:1; Isa. 11:10; Isa. 49:6)
As is evident from this briefest of sketches, the Kingdom of God is an expression which was already a complex subject before Jesus ever used it with the original hearers of this great sermon in parables. If any simplistic application of that expression to a limited phase of Gods rule would have missed Jesus meaning, i.e., were a Jewish listener to have applied the message of Jesus in any given parable to, say, the nation of Israel exclusively, he would have totally misunderstood the Lord, to what extent would we blunder, were we to assume that the Kingdom of God must always refer exclusively to the Church?
EVIDENCES THAT THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND THE CHURCH ARE NOT STRICTLY SYNONYMOUS NOT TO BE STRICTLY IDENTIFIED
In the overall picture presented by the parables it must be admitted that in the Parables of the Mustard Seed and of the Leaven, of the Hid Treasure and of the Precious Pearl, Jesus seems to be talking about the effective growth of the Church in the world, as well as about her surpassing value because of the truth she proclaims. Nevertheless, even this much precision of identification is modified by emphases evident in other parables:
1.
THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER AND SOILS. If it be legitimately assumed that this entire parable pictures the inauguration of the Kingdom of God in the world as well as its continued progress through the proclamation of the Gospel throughout the world, then it may be said that the true Church is represented by the good soil alone; those who fall from grace, by the rocky and thorny soil. But the way-side soilor the indifferent individual,is also part of the total picture of Gods Kingdom, in the sense that the Gospel of grace was offered to him too, but he turned it down, not really caring to understand it. In the final judgment, not specifically mentioned by this parable, he will be among the evil who will not be saved (Luk. 8:12), a detail that is, however, covered by other parables. Nevertheless, this non-church member was ever under Gods control or Kingdom.
2.
THE PARABLE OF THE WEEDS. The Kingdom is compared to the whole picture of a man who sowed good seed in his field, in which also his enemy sowed weeds. (Mat. 13:24)
a.
The good seed are the sons of the Kingdom, the true Church, the saints. But they are only a portion of the total picture of Gods government which includes the field, the sower(s), the reapers, the concerned servants, the harvest. God reigns over the whole situation, not permitting anyone the right of precipitate and final judgment. His Kingship is over more than just the sons of the Kingdom, since His Word governs also those who would destroy the wicked. His gracious and sagacious determination to let them grow together until the harvest permits time for the wicked to become sons of the Kingdom, and for the sons of the Kingdom to mature.
b.
The harvest is intended not merely to destroy non-church members, but to gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evil-doers. Since Gods Kingdom includes the Church, wicked men will be removed from the Church too, but since the Kingdom is larger than the Church and includes the world also, the final separation will snatch all the sons of the devil from every quarter, be they in the world or in the Church.
c.
Should we interpret the Kingdom as precisely equal to the Church, this parable could not but forbid church discipline, inasmuch as the order to let them grow together until the harvest would effectively prohibit any congregation of the Church to drive out the wicked person from among you. (Cf. 1Co. 5:13) It would also force the saints to associate with immoral men . . . who bear the name of brother. (1Co. 5:9; 1Co. 5:11; Mat. 18:15-18; 2Th. 3:6 ff, 2Th. 3:14-15)
3.
THE PARABLE OF THE DRAGNET The Kingdom is again compared to an instrument which gathers together men of every moral condition, the righteous and evil alike. Again, as in the Parable of the Weeds, the separation of the good and bad is pictured as the work of Gods angels. The impression is left by the parable, although not specifically stated, that the net made one great sweep of the sea, inexorably taking with it all the fish therein, leaving none unnetted. Then, after the fishermen had separated the catch, there is no mention of further fishing to bring in those fish not previously caught. If this be important, then the implication is that the Kingdom of God includes the whole world in its scope, ruling over both Christians and non-Christians alike. The final judgment will distinguish them. Again, the Kingdom-net is greater in scope that either the Church-fish or the world-fish.
4.
THE PARABLE OF THE POUNDS (Luk. 19:11-27). The kingly authority of the nobleman included even those citizens who hated him, who proved to be his enemies, because they did not want him to reign over them.
There could be other Kingdom-parables, but let us now examine . . .
THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST
As promised in the prophecies, in the days of the Roman empire there arose in Israel in the person of Jesus of Nazareth a royal heir to Davids throne who set in motion the very principles which would guarantee the success of Gods government on earth. Eventually, the message He proclaimed and the movement He inaugurated developed into a reasonably well-trained corps of genuine disciples ready to evangelize the world. But this is not yet the Church, for that will be OFFICIALLY inaugurated on Pentecost. But first we must see . . .
THE EVIDENCES OF THE PRESENCE OF THE KINGDOM BEFORE PENTECOST:
1.
The announcement: Repent for the Kingdom of God has arrived, when made either by John the Baptist, Jesus or His disciples preaching, is always expressed in the perfect tense, i.e., expressed as a fact that has taken place in the more or less recent past and its effect continues until the present time, It is always expressed by ngiken: Mar. 1:15; Mat. 3:2; Mat. 4:17; Mat. 10:7; [cf. Luk. 9:2] Luk. 10:9; Luk. 10:11; [cf. Luk. 9:60].
2.
Jesus continually announced the good news of the Kingdom of God from the very outset of His earthly ministry. (Mat. 4:23; Mat. 9:35; Mat. 13:19; Luk. 8:1)
3.
Since the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and men of violence take it by force. (bizetai, see on Mat. 11:12; Luk. 16:16) There must be some sense in which, even in the days of Jesus ministry before the cross, that these words are true.
4.
Jesus miracles evidence the reality of the Kingdom of God come upon you. (Mat. 12:28; Luk. 11:20; fthasen ef hums: arrived clear up to you, overtook you, has already reached you, cfr. Rocci, 1952; Arndt-Gingrich, 864) The defeat of Satan and his demons is evidence, says Jesus, that the Kingdom of God is not merely on its way, but, rather, evidence in every demoniacs deliverance, that Gods royal government has already arrived. In fact, the defeat of Satan must actually precede the plundering of his house in the sense that Gods Kingdom must have already been manifest before the demonized could be freed as Jesus Himself was liberating them. (Mat. 12:29)
5.
To hear with understanding the message of Jesus preached in Galilee is to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven. (Mat. 13:11; Mat. 13:19; Luk. 8:10) Although such explanations could well be given before the actual inception of the Kingdom, the disciples themselves were even then witnesses to the actual functioning of the Word of the Kingdom, the Word of God in mens hearts. (Cf. Mat. 13:16; Mat. 13:19; Luk. 8:11)
6.
The Kingdom consists of such as are like children in Jesus day. (Mat. 18:1-4; Mat. 19:14; contrast Mar. 10:14-15 with Mar. 10:23-25) Publicans and harlots precede you (Pharisees and lawyers) into the kingdom of God, because John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and harlots believed him . . . (Mat. 21:31-32; cfr. Luk. 7:28-30) The Kingdom is the possession, says Jesus, of those who grasped its fundamental message. (Cf. Mar. 12:34; Luk. 6:20; Mat. 5:3; Mat. 5:10; Luk. 12:31-32; Luk. 18:16-17) Is it conceivable that some people understood this and so entered into this new relationship with God before Pentecost?
7.
The scribes and Pharisees before Pentecost shut the Kingdom of heaven in mens faces, not entering yourselves, you forbid the ones who are entering to do so. (oud tos eiserchomnous afiete eiselthen) Were there some actually in the process of entering the Kingdom before the cross? (tos eiserchomnous)
8.
The Kingdom is not coming with observation, i.e., in such a way that its rise can be observed, because, Take note, the Kingdom of God is:
a.
within you, i.e., inward or spiritual, not material, in nature;
b.
or, among you, i.e., already present in the personal presence of Gods Messianic King Jesus, standing in front of the Pharisees. (Luk. 17:20-21; cf. Joh. 18:36 : My Kingdom is not of this world.)
9.
Sons of the Kingdom existed before Pentecost, because they had already left (afken) possessions and loved ones for the sake of the Kingdom of God. (Luk. 18:29; cf. Mat. 19:29; Mar. 10:29 for my names sake, for my sake and for the gospel)
None of the foregoing statements, of course, must ever be thrown into conflict with the even clearer descriptions of the external and formal realization of the Kingdom of God on earth in the Church. In fact, until the King is on His throne, there can be no formal Kingdom, however many are the loyal supporters who swear and prove their loyalty to Him by acts of service rendered even before His coronation. Further, whatever special problems arose in Jesus earthly ministry and found their solution in the on-the-spot decisions of the King-designate, these solutions must be interpreted in the light of the Kings constitutional law, once His will is ratified at His formal ascension to the throne and that will is now expressed through His new covenant with His people.
A mistaken application arising out of a misunderstanding of this evidence for the real existence of the Kingdom during, and expressed by, the personal ministry of Jesus, is that fostered by the faith-only branch of Christendom which urges, on the basis of examples of salvation of single individuals simply pronounced by Jesus, that such examples remain normative for the Church also after the personal ministry of Jesus, after Pentecost. They deny, thus, to baptism any relationship to salvation, simply because Jesus did not apparently require it for the salvation of any of these personal converts. (This is, of course, arguing from silence, since no faith-only teacher can prove that even one of these people had never been immersed by Jesus disciples,) This rite, however, being a term of pardon expressed in the ratified will of the King upon the formal establishment of His Kingdom at Pentecost, is normative and universally to be required of believers to express their obedience, on the basis of which they too will be saved, It should be noted that, even thus, the terms of pardon in the Kingdom are unchanged, ever the same in every age since the time of Abels offering: faith and obedience to whatever God requiresfirstfruits, an ark, blood on the doorposts, the offering up of Isaac, looking at a serpent on a pole, being baptized, whatever God requires. This is why Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets and righteous men from the four corners of earths geography and history are in the Kingdom of God, because they faithfully obeyed what was required of them in their historic situation. (Mat. 8:11-12; Luk. 13:28-29) And THIS is the Kingdom.
THE INAUGURATION DATE OF THE KINGDOM
In very precise language, Jesus established the date for the inauguration of Gods Kingdom on earth:
1.
The preparation for the Kingdom was made by John the Baptist, Jesus and His Apostles. (Mat. 3:2; Mat. 9:35; Mat. 10:7; Mat. 11:11-12; Mat. 12:28; Mat. 21:31; Luk. 4:43; Luk. 10:9; Luk. 10:11;
2.
The Kingdom was to begin during the personal absence of Jesus. (Mat. 26:29; Luk. 22:16; Luk. 22:18 all in connection with Joh. 14:16-18; Joh. 14:25-28; Joh. 16:4 b-7; Act. 1:3; cf. Luk. 19:11-12; Luk. 19:15)
3.
The Kingdom was to begin during the lifetime of the Apostles themselves. (Mat. 16:19; Mat. 16:28; Mar. 9:1; Luk. 9:27)
4.
The Kingdom was to begin just a few days after the suffering, resurrection and ascension of Jesus into heaven. (Cf. Mat. 17:9; Luk. 19:11-12; Luk. 24:46-49; Act. 1:6; cf. Luk. 22:16; Luk. 22:18? Mat. 26:29?)
5.
The Kingdom was preached throughout the world during the apostolic ministry as a realized fact even then in existence. (Mat. 24:14 [= Col. 1:6; Col. 1:23]; Act. 8:12; Act. 19:8 ff; Act. 20:25; Act. 28:23; Act. 28:31; 2Th. 1:4-5?)
6.
Christ now reigns in His Kingdom. (Mat. 28:18-20; Mat. 13:37-43; 1Co. 15:24-25; Col. 1:13; 1Th. 2:12?; Rev. 1:6; Rev. 1:9; Heb. 1:8) He shall reign until The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever. (Rev. 11:15; Rev. 12:10)
HARMONIZATION OF THE TWO CONCEPTS
Thus far, we have the Kingdom of God as manifested in His universal government, and we have the Church sometimes thought of as an expression of His Kingdom. Someone might object: But if the Kingdom of God is everything, what is the use for the Church then? Edersheim (Life, I, 269) answers:
The Kingdom of God, or Kingly Rule of God, is an objective fact. The visible Church can only be the subjective attempt at its outward realization, of which the invisible Church is the true counterpart.
Ideally, then, the Church of Jesus Christ is nothing less than a colony of the Kingdom of God on earth. (Cf. Php. 3:20) Christs true congregation (ekklesa) consists of those who submit to the rule of the King. Anyone else is a rebel against our Sovereigns government while camping on His land and taking ungrateful advantage of His benevolence. Also, because of the prevalence of evil in the world and its corruption even of people who have formally sworn allegiance to become subjects of the King, the boundary lines of the Kingdom are only imperfectly represented by the church-membership rolls.
The definition, which harmonizes these concepts, then, and explains how the great Kingdom of God is to be found in the heart of the Church and how anyone in the Church is a citizen of the Kingdom, is included in the following observations: The Kingdom is the total replacing of self with the will of God, even to the point of losing our lives in the service of God, losing all that matters of our lives. All that we could amass is bound up in our life, so Jesus urges us to give up our lives to receive what God would give us in its place. While our faith is important because it does things for God, it finds its highest value in what it is willing to receive from God. (Luk. 12:32 in its context!) This is a blow to mans pride, but the Kingdom is entered by self-renunciation and is often resisted by self-assertion. Asceticism, per se, is not submission to the King, because it may be nothing but a willful abuse of the gifts intended to be pressed into His service, and becomes but another form of self-assertion. Finally, the ultimate rebellion against the Kingdom is the demand for self-rule, motivated by self-interest, to arrive at self-complacency. But Gods Kingdom is not His power over the material world manipulated for our advantage, but primarily Gods control over our wills for His advantage. This is the Kingdom, and the reason why many Church members are not in it.
SUMMARY
Edersheims helpful summary bears restudy. (Life, I, 269ff; see his work also for Jewish views of the Kingdom.) His analysis of 119 passages in the NT where the expression Kingdom occursto which have been added eight more, shows that it means:
1.
THE RULE OF GOD: Mat. 6:33; Mat. 12:28; Mat. 13:38; Mat. 19:24; Mat. 21:31; (Mat. 22:1); Mar. 1:14; Mar. 10:15; Mar. 10:23-25; Mar. 12:34; Luk. 1:33; Luk. 4:43; Luk. 9:11; Luk. 10:9-10; Luk. 11:20; Luk. 12:31; Luk. 17:20-21; Luk. 18:17; Luk. 18:24-25; Luk. 18:29; Joh. 3:3; (Joh. 18:36); Act. 1:3; Act. 8:12; Act. 20:25; Act. 28:31; Rom. 14:17; 1Co. 4:20; Col. 4:11; 1Th. 2:12; Rev. 1:6; Rev. 1:9.
2.
WHICH WAS MANIFESTED IN AND THROUGH CHRIST: Mat. 3:2; Mat. 4:17; Mat. 4:23; Mat. 5:3; Mat. 5:10; Mat. 9:35; Mat. 10:7; Mar. 1:15; Mar. 11:10; Luk. 8:1; Luk. 9:2; Luk. 16:16; Luk. 19:12; Luk. 19:15; (Joh. 18:36); Act. 1:3; Act. 28:23; Heb. 1:8; Rev. 1:9.
3.
IS APPARENT IN THE CHURCH: Mat. 11:1; Mat. 13:41; Mat. 16:19; Mat. 18:1; Mat. 21:43; Mat. 23:13; (Mat. 26:29?); (Mar. 14:25?); Luk. 7:28; (Luk. 22:16; Luk. 22:18?); Joh. 3:5; (Joh. 18:36); Act. 1:3; Col. 1:13; Rev. 1:6; Rev. 1:9.
4.
GRADUALLY DEVELOPS AMIDST HINDRANCES: Mat. 11:12; Mat. 13:11; Mat. 13:19; Mat. 13:24; Mat. 13:31; Mat. 13:33; Mat. 13:44-45; Mat. 13:47; Mat. 13:52; Mat. 18:23; Mat. 20:1; Mat. 22:2; Mat. 25:1; Mat. 25:14; Mar. 4:11; Mar. 4:26; Mar. 4:30; Luk. 8:10; Luk. 9:62; Luk. 13:18; Luk. 13:20; (Joh. 18:36); Act. 1:3; Rev. 1:6; Rev. 1:9.
5.
IS TRIUMPHANT AT THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST (the end): Mat. 16:28; (sic!); Mar. 9:1 (sic!); Mar. 15:43; Luk. 9:27(sic!); Mat. 19:11; Mat. 21:31; Mat. 22:16; Mat. 22:18; (Joh. 18:36); Act. 1:3; 2Ti. 4:1; Heb. 12:28; Rev. 1:9. (See the special study The Coming of the Son of Man, Vol. II, 430ff, for my dissent from Edersheims interpretation.)
6.
AND, FINALLY, PERFECTED IN THE WORLD TO COME: (Heb. 2:5) Mat. 5:19-20; Mat. 7:21; Mat. 8:11; Mat. 13:43; Mat. 18:3; Mat. 25:34; Mat. 26:29(?); Mar. 9:47; Mar. 10:14; Mar. 14:25(?); Luk. 6:20; Luk. 12:32; Luk. 13:28-29; Luk. 14:15; Luk. 18:16; Luk. 22:29 (30); (Joh. 18:36); Act. 1:3; Act. 14:22; 1Co. 6:9-10; 1Co. 15:24; 1Co. 15:50; Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5; 2Th. 1:5; (2Ti. 4:18); Js. Mat. 2:5; 2Pe. 1:11; Rev. 1:9; Rev. 12:10; (Mat. 11:15).
These conclusions may be represented graphically in the following way:
THE KINGDOM OF GOD BEFORE CHRIST
Rom. 3:29
Gods Kingdom rules over the entire earth and all humanity, Jews and Gentiles alike. (2Ki. 19:15; Dan. 4:2; Dan. 4:17; Dan. 4:25; Dan. 4:32-35; Dan. 6:26; Jer. 10:7; Jer. 10:10; Jer. 27:5; Isa. 43:13; Psa. 22:28; Psa. 47:2; Psa. 47:7-8; Psa. 95:6; Psa. 96:10; Psa. 103:19; Mal. 1:14) However, within national Israel, there was always a remnant of believers who acknowledge Gods rule. (Cf. 1Ch. 17:14; 1Ch. 28:5; Rom. 9:6-8; Gal. 3:7-9; Gal. 3:29; Luk. 2:25; Luk. 2:38; Luk. 3:8-9; Luk. 13:16; Luk. 19:9; Luk. 23:51; Isa. 1:9; Isa. 4:3; Isa. 10:20 f; Isa. 11:11; Isa. 11:16)
THE KINGDOM OF GOD BEFORE PENTECOST
Rom. 4:16
In the time of the last world empire God set up a worldwide Kingdom under the rule of the Son of man, a Kingdom of the saints, the spiritual throne of David. (Cf. Dan. 2:35; Dan. 2:44; Dan. 7:13-14; Dan. 7:28; Joh. 18:36; Luk. 1:32-33; Act. 2:30-36) But the Messianic King arose from within Israel, not from the pagan world. (Mat. 15:24)
THE KINGDOM OF GOD AFTER PENTECOST UNTIL JUDGMENT
While God controls the entire world, yet by His permissive will men are permitted to choose good or evil. Most choose evil to remain in it, while a minority choose to enter that subjective expression of Gods Kingdom, the Church. (Mat. 13:24-30; Mat. 13:47-48; Joh. 3:3-5; 1Co. 1:18 to 1Co. 2:16; 1Co. 3:18-23; Col. 1:13)
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN ETERNITY AFTER JUDGMENT
1Co. 15:24-28
(Zec. 14:9; Dan. 7:22; Dan. 7:27; Mat. 13:40-43; Mat. 13:49-50; Rev. 1:5; Rev. 11:15; Rev. 15:3)
The first thing to notice about each of these diagrams is the solid line of the Kingdom of God around every single diagram: God is ALWAYS on the throne! The next thing to observe in the first three diagrams is the broken line surrounding the world within the Kingdom of God, the dotted line of evil, because the whole world lies in the evil one, but only by the permissive will of a sovereign God who has the last word. (1Jn. 5:19) But the third thing to notice is crucial: within the evil world God has established a beachhead: spiritual Israel = the Church today. The fourth detail is the final and permanent separation of all evil doers into one place reserved for them: even Hell is positive proof of the power and reality of Gods government. Note, contemporaneously, the glorious revelation of the people of God enjoying the perfect rule of the eternal Kingdom of God.
For further notes on the Kingdom and the great sermon in parables, see especially Seth Wilsons Special Study, Mark (Bible Study Textbook Series, pp. 499506: What the Kingdom is Like and Treasures of the Kingdom) and R.C. Fosters Middle Period, pp. 79ff.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(51) Have ye understood all these things?The verb is the same as that used in the parable of the Sower. An intellectual apprehension of the truth, which is also spiritual, is the condition of the growth in wisdom which enables the disciple to become in due course a teacher. There was doubtless in the answer of the disciples a grateful consciousness of a rapid increase in knowledge and insight. There was also a certain child-like navet in the readiness with which they declared their conviction that they had mastered all the mysteries of the kingdom which had been veiled beneath the symbolism of these earthly similitudes.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
51. Jesus saith The master has wisely taught his pupils, and wisely he now ascertains how well they have learned. A parable, unless its solution be understood, is but a petty story. Understood Understood not merely the narrative as a tale, but its second and deeper meaning. Yea, Lord They said they did, and they believed they did, and no doubt they did dimly understand him. But these parables foretold the destinies of the kingdom of God through coming ages, and dimly do we even yet comprehend the future, however well predicted.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“Have you understood all these things?” They say to him, “Yes.”
Jesus’ first concern is that His disciples have understood what He has been talking about. And when their reply is ‘yes’ He points out what will now be their future responsibility. But He knows full well that their understanding is still primitive. It will take His death and resurrection to transform their thinking, and even then they will have much to learn.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Final Challenge (13:51-53).
This final challenge by Jesus is often overlooked. Like the initial parable it is not directly ‘likened to the Kingly Rule of Heaven’. Nevertheless it is very pertinent to it, for it demonstrates what the responsibility is of those who have come under the Kingly Rule of Heaven.
Analysis.
a
b And He said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been made a disciple to the kingly rule of heaven is like to a man who is a householder, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old” (Mat 13:52).
a And it came about that when Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from that place’ (Mat 13:53).
Note that in ‘a’ Jesus is summing up the situation, and in the parallel He then moves on, while centrally in ‘b’ He sums up the position of all who have become disciples.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Conclusion to the Parables In Mat 13:51-53 Jesus concludes His discourse by asking His disciples if they have now understood the meaning of these parables. After they acknowledge their understanding Jesus likens His disciples to scribes who must take these new concepts regarding the Kingdom of Heaven and reconcile them with the Old Testament with which they are so familiar.
Mat 13:51 Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
Mat 13:51
Mat 13:52 Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.
Mat 13:52
We are to keep our godly heritage, but embrace new applications in today’s world. For example, although our dress style or what kind of car we drive constantly change, prayer and a passion for God will always be fundamental to our faith.
Mat 13:52 Comments (2) – The reference to a scribe instructing people about the kingdom of God reflects the third theme of the Gospel of Matthew, which is the call to make disciples of all nations through the office and ministry of the teacher.
Mat 13:53 Conclusion Mat 13:53 serves as a transitional statement for the next major section of the Gospel of Matthew.
Mat 13:53 And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.
Mat 13:53
Mat 7:28-29, “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”
Mat 11:1, “And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.”
Mat 13:53, “And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.”
Mat 19:1, “And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan;”
Mat 26:1, “And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples,”
Thus, each of these five discourses is separated with large sections of narrative material, with the discourses being interwoven between the narratives. Each section of narrative material relates to and prepares us for the next discourse.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Conclusion of the parables:
v. 51. Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto Him, Yea, Lord.
v. 52. Then said He unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old. With the aid of the instruction which Christ had previously given them, the disciples were able to some extent to follow His parabolic sayings and draw the right conclusions, to realize the importance of their proper application. Pleased with this evidence of understanding on their part, He gives them some more instruction pertaining especially to their future work. Every transcriber and interpreter of the sacred Scriptures, in this connection every Christian teacher, taught of God in the mysteries of the Gospel of Christ, because he is a pupil of the kingdom of heaven and a disciple of Jesus, is able freely to distribute from the treasure entrusted to him. He will be able to use old, familiar facts, types, and doctrines to illustrate the truths of the Kingdom. He will present the old Gospel in a new dress, applying it to the conditions and times in which he is working, throwing the spotlight of a new understanding, of a more thorough interpretation on passages which may have become familiar by constant repetition. As he himself grows in knowledge, so he aids his hearers to grow in the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ, their Savior.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 13:51-52. Have ye understood, &c. When Jesus had finished his parables, he asked his disciples if they understood them; and upon their answering in the affirmative, he told them, that every teacher of the Jewish religion, who was converted to Christianity, and made a preacher of the Gospel, might, by reason of the variety of his knowledge and his ability, be compared to a prudent master of a family, who nourishes them with the fruits both of the present and of the preceding years, as their need requires. Our Saviour has given the pattern and example of such a teacher in his discoursecontained in this chapter; and by the similitude of the householder, he shews his disciples the use that they were to make of the knowledge they had acquired, whether from the old revelation transmitted to them by the prophets, or from the new revelation, of which Jesus was, in a more peculiar sense, the author and dispenser. See Macknight and Wetstein. Dr. Clarke in his Sermons, vol. 10: serm. 4 gives the following exposition of the 52nd verse: “Those thoroughly qualified to be successful preachers of the Gospel should be able on all occasions in bring forth out of their memory, as out of a copious storehouse, instructions suited to persons of all capacities.” Concerning the word treasures, see the note on ch. Mat 2:11.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
“Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. (52) Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.”
What a beautiful representation is here made of the Son of God! He calls his servants scribes, and points out how needful it must be, that those who were well instructed themselves, should be forward to instruct others.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Chapter 57
Parables Turned to Account
Mat 13:51-58
Jesus Christ uttered a gospel which was meant to be understood. Do not create more mysteries than he himself created. Jesus Christ took his disciples, so to say, into co-partnery in divine teaching: this circumstance is never to be forgotten in estimating the value and force of the Christian argument. There is to be no needless mystery. Mystery comes as a necessity, and is not to be introduced by clever persons as a merely intellectual puzzle. This kingdom of heaven was meant to be understood, to be grasped by the human mind, and to be reproduced in human speech and in human life.
Observe, the disciples did not understand the parables until they went to Jesus Christ himself for an explanation. They followed him into the house, and said, “What did that parable mean?” The Parabolist became the Expositor. He is the same yesterday, today, and for ever. In reading these parables, turn up the expectant heart after every one of them, and say, “Lord, what is the meaning?” and he will withhold from your understanding nothing that is needful to the thorough illumination of every word he has spoken and that was intended for reduction to practical life.
Keep within the truth you do understand, if you would be mighty as speakers. That is the secret of impression and of consequences of the best and most enduring kind. It is not given to every man to understand equally the whole revealed word: one man hath a gift of tongues and can speak all languages in the sanctuary; another man hath a parable, in the interpretation of which he is almost a genius; a third is a speaker of consolations, his face was meant to represent them, and his voice, itself a mystery, was intended to convey solaces to the heart with all the witchery of celestial music.
This is the rule in all life, pulpit life, market-place life, theological, commercial, literary, artistic, musical keep within the limits of your understanding; do not let the sparrow try to fly as high as the eagle, and do not let the child’s little paper-boat go far out upon the sea, if ever it is meant to be brought home again. There are portions of this Bible which none of us understand: there are whole pages and books here that I can make nothing of. To some, perhaps, it may have been given but I have not had time to inquire into their credentials to expound the mysterious prophecies of the word; to others it may have been given to follow its typology with such intelligence as to be able to write under every type exactly what it signifies. I have not been conducted into those remote schools, I cannot tell you anything about prophecies and dates, and the interpretation of beasts and vials and trumpetings and apocalyptic signs but this one thing I know, that Jesus Christ is the Saviour and Teacher and Hope of the world. Within that limit do we range here, and if we have gone in and out and found pasture abundant, the praise be his who made the pasture so luxuriant and bade us to the enjoyment of his hospitality.
Having understood these mysteries so far, what was to be done? No sooner did the disciples answer, “Yea, Lord,” than he said unto them, “Therefore——.” This man’s words come one after the other in most gracious and logical continuity. They no sooner admitted their understanding than out of that admission he struck the spark of a final parable. He was the Life, to touch him anywhere was to extract virtue from his being. The intellect that had conceived these parables, so varied, so resplendent, so exact in all their adaptations to circumstances, was not tired. Omnipotence cannot be tired, omniscience cannot be exhausted. So when the disciples said, “Yea, Lord,” their very admission was turned into another parable. “Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder,” a parable after the parables, a sermon after the sermons, There was no ending to this man’s teaching, the word was not its measure: after every word there followed an infinite ghostliness of possibility and suggestion. Let us look at this final parable.
“Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.” A householder who has treasure: Jesus Christ claims for all the scribes of his following substantial truth. They do not utter mere phrases of their own making or utter sentiments which are the measure of their own sighing and desire only. In the Church of God there is a positive quantity, a subjective truth, a content that, so to say, can be seen, handled, felt, known, as a personal possession, an individual inheritance. Look at this circumstance most carefully, those of you who are anxious to know what Christianity really comprehends and purports to be. It is not a sigh, it is not a sentiment, it is not a rhapsody there is nothing of the nature of mere fantasy in it. It has solid doctrines, grand conceptions of the divine being, broad and luminous revelations respecting human nature, great, solid, massive gospels as to the redemption of the race from the presence, power, tyranny, and torment of sin, and infinite hope which it can only indicate by words not earthly, but which fall infinitely short of the reality as God himself understands it. But a word has been given us which overpasses earth, time, death, tomb, shadow, and shines yonder as heaven.
So there is range enough in this divine revelation. If viewed poetically only, it is a grand and complete conception. It is not a broken arc, it is not a segment that mourns a loss which it can neither define nor fill up it is a great complete circle, equally strong, and equally luminous at every point of its infinite circumference. So the Word of God is called bread: it is known amongst men as the water of life, of which, if a man drink, he shall thirst no more. The result of the appropriation of Christian truth and blessing is rest rest in the soul, peace in the mind, calm in the heart, and no man within my knowledge has ever tasted the value of this treasure, and entered with conscious joy into its proprietorship, that has owned to one pang of disappointment. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and as for your hunger, let your soul delight itself in fatness.
Not only is the scribe like unto a man that is a householder, with treasure in his possession, but he is a householder who dispenses his treasure. He brings forth out of his treasure things new and old. The wise man holds nothing for himself alone: we are trustees, we are stewards, who act on behalf and in the interest of others. Every idea which I may have is yours, every idea which you may have is mine. We help one another by the friction of mind, the communion of heart, the mutual reciprocation of life, idea, thought, and purpose. The Church is a commonwealth no one man is lord or king in it, except by natural rights and proofs which no other would for a moment dispute; but the humblest has a right to the ideas of the wisest.
This is the difficulty of the Christian Church throughout the world today. The door of the church is open, the front door and the back door and the side door, and above every open door is written “Welcome” to the humblest, poorest, meanest of the population. If any Church is acting upon other lines than these, that Church seems to me to fall below its high vocation in Christ Jesus. I know nothing of your narrow exclusiveness, I know nothing of what is known as your close communion; I would not be a party to any communion that is close, I believe in the infinite breadth, height, depth of these divine gospels and all their practical meaning. This is my Father’s house, and no man has a right to label it, or number it, so that it shall exclude the very poorest human creature that crawls upon the earth this day.
Understand that you cannot grasp the whole measure. It is not within your power to consume the whole banquet, that is no reason why you should not satisfy your hunger at this table. To one man is given five talents, to another two, and to another one to every man according to his several ability, and every man has it in his power to lay hold of Christ somewhere. Know where your fingers were meant to lay their loving grip, and hold fast according to the divine purpose.
As for those of you who have the divine treasure, do not keep it to yourselves. Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. In proportion as power is given unto you go ye and teach all nations. That is the only true and most beneficent use of power. How is this to be done? Why, this householder showed genius in the distribution of his treasure he brought forth out of his treasure things new and old. Surely this was a proof of his instruction. I would not listen to one sermon that was all new; in every discourse concerning the gospel which I hear there must be the boom, the infinite sounding of eternity; then may come the new parable, the bright suggestion, the flash of immediate wit, the kindling of sudden lights and the inbreaking of subtle and surprising music. But underneath every flower of human genius I must find the rocks of divine wisdom.
This is the true method, as it is also the true purpose of all teaching. In the school, in the nursery, at the fireside, in the church to give everybody to feel the venerableness, the indestructibleness of truth, and to lure them to its study and love and appropriation, by new hints, by novel adaptations, it may be sometimes even by eccentric uses of facts and thoughts things new and old old time new summers old light new mornings; old eternities new-born time; everlasting duration transient days. So must things be intermingled and allied in any utterance that is philosophical, profound, sympathetic, and immediately useful in this kingdom of heaven.
Now Jesus seems to come down from the mountain once more, as he did after his great sermon. In its own way this sermon is as great as the first: the sermon so strong in doctrine was followed by the sermon so brilliant in imagination. Over the wheat-field is spread the glory of a gleaming and many-coloured sky: out of that sky indeed the wheat-field came, and without it the wheat-field could neither be sown nor reaped. We must not exclude Imagination from the treasure of the Church: it is the highest faculty which can be used, it is the inner eye, it is that divine vision which sees more than is penetrable by scholarship. This is the difference between one man and another. One man knows the letter, is absolutely faultless in all the uses of grammar, yet there may never come one syllable of fire or one drop of dew from his philological lips. People listen, but are never thrilled with glad responses. Another man holds the divine secret and breathes it over our life at his will, and makes the heart leap with sudden joy and cry out because of glad surprise.
Some do not know what imagination is: they think if they are good at description they are strong in imagination: this is the absurdity, this the mischievous sophism when you have mentioned all the seven colours you have painted nothing: if you were to paint a tree exactly as it is, you would not have painted it at all. That is a mystery and a fact; the trunk is the same height, the branches are the same in number, and all the dimensions are exact, all the leaves have been counted, and you tell me that the tree upon the canvas is not the same as the tree in the wood? Certainly, they have no connection with one another; you had not the eye that saw the inner tree that is not the tree standing in the wood, that is the body; the spiritual tree is inside that, and you must get it out and translate it, idealize it. So the man standing there is not the man: that is his house of clay, his tabernacle of dust the man is inside; you must see that inner light and describe that mysterious man. So the letter of the gospel is before me, and it may be a letter only unless I have that vision and faculty divine which can penetrate the inner sanctuary of the thought and bring forth things new and old with the honesty of a steward and the energy of a genius.
Have ye understood these things? Not have ye heard the letter? Not can you recite the parables one by one? Not have they fallen upon your outer ear and made a noise there? Have ye understood these things, have they entered into the very tissue and substance of your brain, do they fall into musical accord with all the springs and issues of your purest and noblest thinking? When you relate them, will you recite them as lessons which you have learned, or will you breathe them as part of the very life that is in you? When we can answer “Yes” to Jesus Christ’s questions, he will follow our admission with a pungent and practical exhortation.
Now comes the inevitable criticism, the mean and low-minded attack which even the Son of God could not escape. “Whence hath this man this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s Son? Is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren James and Joses and Simon and Judas? and his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?” The inevitable criticism, the inevitable sneer, the inevitable profanation of every sanctuary God has built upon the earth! How is this? how can it be that men can say these things, acknowledging their reality, power, and splendour, and can in the same breath say “This man,” with a covert sneer? This impossibility we are performing ourselves every day! Instead of fixing our attention upon these mighty works and all this wisdom, and availing ourselves of the substantial revelation, we fall foul upon the poor instrument through whom the revelation was granted, we hurl at him every reminiscence we can gather up, and we disparage his personality that we may blunt the force of his appeal. Do not mourn such ingratitude and baseness, as if it were the Jewish property only: Jesus Christ was not hated and crucified by the Jews, he was despised and rejected of men.
I was recently rebuked upon this point with a rare piquancy and most pathetic simplicity. A learned man followed me after the discourse, and, speaking with a strong German accent, he assured himself and me in the same breath that what he was about to say was well intended. Then said he, “I was with you on the occasion of your five hundredth noonday service. I am the preacher in such and such London synagogue, and,” said he, “if you will excuse me, there was one line in the carol which gave me pain.” Bringing the carol under my eyes, he said, “See ‘the wicked Jews’ why did you sing that in your church about the wicked Jews?” Within the lines of a narrow history the carol was right, but within the true boundary the carol was wrong. They were not the Jews that killed him, mocked him, spurned him, threw his earthly ancestry in his face; it was man, every man. We crucified the Son of God, we Gentiles had our share in that foul tragedy. Do not teach your children in the school and at the fireside that some wicked people called Jews did this to Jesus Christ, and express yourselves in horror about the Jews as if you had nothing to do with it. The truth is this we were all there, we all cut the accursed tree out of the forest and planted it and nailed to it the Son of God, and as he hangs there tell all the world that this was not a geographical incident or a mere point in passing history that this crucifixion was the work of the whole race, and that every eye must look upon it and every heart mourn it as its own cruel deed.
This is the worst they can say about the Son of God. Let us read it again. “Whence hath this man” covert sneer “this wisdom and these mighty works? We cannot deny either the one or the other, but is not this the carpenter’s son?” What an awful accusation. “Is not his mother called Mary?” What a distressing indictment against any man! “And his brethren, James and Joses and Simon and Judas? and his sisters, are they not all with us?” Well, suppose we say, “Yes, they are”; now what then? I am glad they say this; there was nothing more to be said, they would have said it if they could, yea, they would have dreamed a lie and imagined it true if they could.
Christian man, Christian inquirer, hear me. This is the indictment brought against him in whose name you were baptized does it alarm, does it frighten you, does it bring with it any sense of oppressive humiliation? He was the carpenter’s son, he was the carpenter, his mother’s name was Mary, such and such were his social surroundings now, when the little tale has been told, what remains? Hear the great thunder-burst of music and eloquence rolling down the mountain, and then listen to this little piping scorn, and tell me on which side do you stand? I would stand with Christ, the carpenter’s Son, the Son of Mary.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
51 Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
Ver. 51. Have ye understood all these things? ] See here the ancient use of catechising in the Christian Church. So afterwards, Credis Credo. Abrenuncias? Abrenuneio, were the primitive questions and answer. Origen and Cyril were catechists. In the Reformation, catechising of youth was one main means of propagating the gospel. And the Jesuits, observing as much, have taken the same course for the propagating of their superstition, and have set forth various catechisms. I remember, saith Melancthon, that Eberhard, the good Duke of Wittemburg, would constantly hear the young gentlemen about the Court once a week rehearsing their catechisms; which if any did not well, he was well whipped in the presence of the Duke and his courtiers. Bishop Ridley, in a letter of his to the brethren; “I hear,” saith he, “that the catechism in English is now (after Queen Mary came in) condemned in every pulpit. O devilish malice, and most spitefully injurious to the salvation of mankind! Indeed Satan could not long suffer that so great light should be spread abroad in the world. He saw well enough that nothing was able to overthrow his kingdom so much, as if children being godly instructed in religion should learn to know Christ, while they are yet young. Whereby, not only children, but the elder sort also and aged, that before were not taught in their childhood to know Christ, should now even with children and babes be forced to know him.”
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
51, 52. ] SOLEMN CONCLUSION OF THE PARABLES. When our Lord asks, ‘Have ye understood all these things?’ and they answer, ‘Yea, Lord,’ the reply must be taken as spoken from their then standing-point , from which but little could be seen of that inner and deeper meaning which the Holy Spirit has since unfolded. And this circumstance explains the following parabolic remark of our Lord: that every ( they , in their study of the Lord’s sayings, answering to the then in their study of the Law) who is , enrolled as a disciple and taught as such, is like an householder (the Great Householder being the Lord Himself, compare ch. Mat 24:45 ), who puts forth from his store new things and old; i.e. ‘ye yourselves, scribes of the Kingdom of Heaven, instructed as ye shall fully be in the meaning of these sayings, are (shall be) like householders, from your own stores of knowledge respecting them hereafter bringing out, not only your present understanding of them, but ever new and deeper meanings.’
And this is true of . . . . Every real spiritually-learned scribe of the Kingdom of Heaven is able, from the increasing stores of his genuine experimental knowledge of the word (not merely from books or learning, or the Bible itself, but . ), to bring forth things new and old.
The is an expression of consequence , but not a strong one: answering nearly to our Well, then.
This is perhaps the fittest place to make a few general remarks on this wonderful cycle of Parables. We observe, (1) How naturally they are evolved from the objects and associations surrounding our Lord at the time (see on this the very interesting section of Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, ch. xiii. 2, p. 420 ff., “On the Parables”). He sat in a boat in the sea, teaching the people who were on the land. His eye wandered over the rich plain of Gennesareth (where , Jos. B. J. iii. 10. 8, and Robinson, iii. 290): the field-paths, the stony places, the neglected spots choked with wild vegetation ( , ib.), the plots of rich and deep soil, were all before him. The same imagery prevails in the parable of the tares of the field, and in that of the mustard seed; and the result of the tilling of the land is associated with the leaven in the lump. Then He quits the sea-shore and enters the house with the disciples. There the link to the former parable is the exposition of the tares of the field. From the working of the land for seed to finding a treasure in a field the transition is easy from the finding without seeking to seeking earnestly and finding, easy again: from the seed to the buried treasure, from the treasure to the pearl, the treasure of the deep, again simple and natural. The pearl recalls the sea; the sea the fishermen with their net; the mixed throng lining the beach, the great day of separation on the further bank of Time. (2) The seven Parables compose in their inner depth of connexion, a great united whole, beginning with the first sowing of the Church, and ending with the consummation. We must not, as Stier well remarks, seek with Bengel, a [129] ., minutely to apportion the series prophetically, to various historical periods: those who have done so (see Trench, p. 142, edn. 4) have shewn caprice and inconsistency; and the parable , though in its manifold depths the light of prophecy sometimes glimmers, has for its main object to teach , not to foretell. More than a general outline, shewn by the prominence of those points to which the respective parables refer, in the successive periods of the Church, we can hardly expect to find. But as much we unquestionably do find. The apostolic age was (1) the greatest of all the seed times of the Church: then (2) sprang up the tares, heresies manifold, and the attempts to root them out, almost as pernicious as the heresies themselves: nay the so-called Church Catholic was for ages employed in rooting up the wheat also. Notwithstanding this (3) the little seed waxed onward the kingdoms of the earth came gradually in (4) the leaven was secretly penetrating and assimilating. Then is it, (5) during the period of dissensions, and sects, and denominations, that here and there by this man and that man the treasure shall be found: then is it, (6) during the increase of secular knowledge, and cultivation of the powers of the intellect, that merchantmen shall seek goodly pearls up and down the world, and many shall find, each for himself, the Pearl of Price. And thus we are carried on (7) through all the ages during which the great net has been gathering of every kind, to the solemn day of inspection and separation, which will conclude the present state.
[129] alii = some cursive mss.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 13:51-52 . Conclusion of the parabolic collection .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat 13:51-52
51″Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes.” 52And 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 things new and old.”
Mat 13:52 “every scribe who has become a disciple” A scribe was a legal expert in the oral and written Law (see Special Topic at Mat 12:38). A believing scribe will be able to draw truths from the Old Testament as well as see the fulfillments in Jesus’ teachings (cf. Rom 4:23-24; Rom 15:4; 1Co 10:6; 1Co 10:11; 2Ti 3:16). It is possible Matthew is characterizing himself!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Jesus saith unto them. All the texts omit this clause.
Lord. All the texts omit “Lord” here.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
51, 52.] SOLEMN CONCLUSION OF THE PARABLES. When our Lord asks, Have ye understood all these things? and they answer, Yea, Lord, the reply must be taken as spoken from their then standing-point, from which but little could be seen of that inner and deeper meaning which the Holy Spirit has since unfolded. And this circumstance explains the following parabolic remark of our Lord: that every (they, in their study of the Lords sayings, answering to the then in their study of the Law) who is , enrolled as a disciple and taught as such, is like an householder (the Great Householder being the Lord Himself, compare ch. Mat 24:45), who puts forth from his store new things and old; i.e. ye yourselves, scribes of the Kingdom of Heaven, instructed as ye shall fully be in the meaning of these sayings, are (shall be) like householders, from your own stores of knowledge respecting them hereafter bringing out, not only your present understanding of them, but ever new and deeper meanings.
And this is true of . … Every real spiritually-learned scribe of the Kingdom of Heaven is able, from the increasing stores of his genuine experimental knowledge of the word (not merely from books or learning, or the Bible itself, but . ), to bring forth things new and old.
The is an expression of consequence, but not a strong one: answering nearly to our Well, then.
This is perhaps the fittest place to make a few general remarks on this wonderful cycle of Parables. We observe, (1) How naturally they are evolved from the objects and associations surrounding our Lord at the time (see on this the very interesting section of Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, ch. xiii. 2, p. 420 ff., On the Parables). He sat in a boat in the sea, teaching the people who were on the land. His eye wandered over the rich plain of Gennesareth (where , Jos. B. J. iii. 10. 8, and Robinson, iii. 290):-the field-paths, the stony places, the neglected spots choked with wild vegetation ( , ib.), the plots of rich and deep soil, were all before him. The same imagery prevails in the parable of the tares of the field, and in that of the mustard seed; and the result of the tilling of the land is associated with the leaven in the lump. Then He quits the sea-shore and enters the house with the disciples. There the link to the former parable is the exposition of the tares of the field. From the working of the land for seed to finding a treasure in a field the transition is easy-from the finding without seeking to seeking earnestly and finding, easy again: from the seed to the buried treasure, from the treasure to the pearl,-the treasure of the deep,-again simple and natural. The pearl recalls the sea; the sea the fishermen with their net; the mixed throng lining the beach, the great day of separation on the further bank of Time. (2) The seven Parables compose in their inner depth of connexion, a great united whole, beginning with the first sowing of the Church, and ending with the consummation. We must not, as Stier well remarks, seek with Bengel, a[129]., minutely to apportion the series prophetically, to various historical periods: those who have done so (see Trench, p. 142, edn. 4) have shewn caprice and inconsistency; and the parable, though in its manifold depths the light of prophecy sometimes glimmers, has for its main object to teach, not to foretell. More than a general outline, shewn by the prominence of those points to which the respective parables refer, in the successive periods of the Church, we can hardly expect to find. But as much we unquestionably do find. The apostolic age was (1) the greatest of all the seed times of the Church: then (2) sprang up the tares, heresies manifold, and the attempts to root them out, almost as pernicious as the heresies themselves: nay the so-called Church Catholic was for ages employed in rooting up the wheat also. Notwithstanding this (3) the little seed waxed onward-the kingdoms of the earth came gradually in-(4) the leaven was secretly penetrating and assimilating. Then is it, (5) during the period of dissensions, and sects, and denominations, that here and there by this man and that man the treasure shall be found: then is it, (6) during the increase of secular knowledge, and cultivation of the powers of the intellect, that merchantmen shall seek goodly pearls up and down the world, and many shall find, each for himself, the Pearl of Price. And thus we are carried on (7) through all the ages during which the great net has been gathering of every kind, to the solemn day of inspection and separation, which will conclude the present state.
[129] alii = some cursive mss.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 13:51. , all things) Our Lord was ready to explain the other parables also to His disciples; but they understood them, if not perfectly, yet truly.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
How Unbelief Hinders
Mat 13:51-58
Gods truth is always new and always old. It is as fresh as the morning breeze for each coming generation. But however stated, the fundamental facts are invariable. Let us store our minds and hearts with holy and helpful thoughts, so as to deal them out as the occasions serve.
Compare Mat 13:53 with Luk 4:16-30. The question His townspeople put is stated a little differently in Mar 6:3. Till He left home, at the age of thirty, for His baptism, our Lord evidently worked with His hands. Perhaps the full wonder of His nature was not realized even by Himself. But surely none can despise manual toil when the Son of man wrought at the bench, making, according to the old tradition, implements of husbandry.
Sons and daughters were born to Joseph and Mary, whose names are here given. Alas, that we do not see the glory in common, familiar people and circumstances! Never forget that the absence of expectant faith does more to limit the progress of the gospel than the lack of funds!
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Have: Mat 13:11, Mat 13:19, Mat 15:17, Mat 16:11, Mat 24:15, Mar 4:34, Mar 7:18, Mar 8:17, Mar 8:18, Luk 9:44, Luk 9:45, Act 8:30, Act 8:31, 1Jo 5:20
Reciprocal: Pro 1:6 – a proverb Eze 17:12 – Know Eze 40:4 – behold Eze 47:6 – hast thou Dan 11:33 – understand Mat 15:16 – General Mar 4:13 – Know Mar 13:14 – let him Joh 10:6 – they understood not Joh 13:12 – Know 1Ti 4:13 – to reading
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
3:51
Jesus was still talking to his disciples, the multitudes having been dismissed (verse 36), hence it was appropriate for him to ask them if they understood what had been said. We recall that the disciples who were following Jesus had shown enough sincere attention to the things that had been recorded to have formed a commendable idea of the matters, which entitled them to the explanation of the “mysteries” of the kingdom. But some of the teaching of Jesus was more literal or direct so that honest minds like these would be able to grasp it without special explanation. Hence we are not surprised that they answered his question with yea Lord.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
THE first thing which we ought to notice in these verses, is the striking question with which our Lord winds up the seven wonderful parables of this chapter. He said, “Have ye understood all these things?”
Personal application has been called the “soul” of preaching. A sermon without application is like a letter posted without an address. It may be well-written, rightly dated, and duly signed. But it is useless, because it never reaches its destination. Our Lord’s inquiry is an admirable example of real heart-searching application, “Have ye understood?”
The mere form of hearing a sermon can profit no man, unless he comprehends what it means. He might just as well listen to the blowing of a trumpet, or the beating of a drum. He might just as well attend a Roman Catholic service in Latin. His intellect must be set in motion, and his heart impressed. Ideas must be received into his mind. He must carry off the seeds of new thoughts. Without this he hears in vain.
It is of great importance to see this point clearly. There is a vast amount of ignorance about it. There are thousands who go regularly to places of worship, and think they have done their religious duty, but never carry away an idea, or receive an impression. Ask them, when they return home on a Sunday evening, what they have learned, and they cannot tell you a word. Examine them at the end of a year, as to the religious knowledge they have attained, and you will find them as ignorant as the heathen.
Let us watch our souls in this matter. Let us take with us to Church, not only our bodies, but our minds, our reason, our hearts, and our consciences. Let us often ask ourselves, “What have I got from this sermon? what have I learned? what truths have been impressed on my mind?” Intellect, no doubt, is not everything in religion. But it does not therefore follow that it is nothing at all.-The heart is unquestionably the main point. But we must never forget that the Holy Ghost generally reaches the heart through the mind.-Sleepy, idle, inattentive hearers, are never likely to be converted.
The second thing which we ought to notice in these verses, is the strange treatment which our Lord received in His own country.
He came to the town of Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and “taught in their synagogue.” His teaching, no doubt, was the same as it always was. “Never man spake like this man.” But it had no effect on the people of Nazareth. They were “astonished,” but their hearts were unmoved. They said, “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary?” They despised Him, because they were so familiar with Him. “They were offended in him.” And they drew from our Lord the solemn remark, “A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house.”
Let us see, in this history, a melancholy page of human nature unfolded to our view. We are all apt to despise mercies, if we are accustomed to them, and have them cheap. The Bibles and religious books, which are so plentiful in England, the means of grace of which we have so abundant a supply, the preaching of the Gospel which we hear every week,-all, all are liable to be undervalued. It is mournfully true that in religion, more than in anything else, “familiarity breeds contempt.” Men forget that truth is truth, however old and hackneyed it may sound, and despise it because it is old. Alas! by so doing, they provoke God to take it away.
Do we wonder that the relations, servants, and neighbors of godly people are not always converted? Do we wonder that the parishioners of eminent ministers of the Gospel are often their hardest and most impenitent hearers? Let us wonder no more. Let us mark the experience of our Lord at Nazareth, and learn wisdom.
Do we ever fancy that if we had only seen and heard Jesus Christ, we should have been His faithful disciples? Do we think that if we had only lived near Him, and been eyewitnesses of His ways, we should not have been undecided, wavering, and half-hearted about religion? If we do, let us think so no longer. Let us observe the people of Nazareth, and learn wisdom.
The last thing which we ought to notice in these verses is the ruinous nature of unbelief. The chapter ends with the fearful words, “He did not many works there, because of their unbelief.”
Behold in this single word the secret of the everlasting ruin of multitudes of souls! They perish for ever, because they will not believe. There is nothing beside in earth or heaven that prevents their salvation. Their sins, however many, might all be forgiven. The Father’s love is ready to receive them. The blood of Christ is ready to cleanse them. The power of the Spirit is ready to renew them. But a great barrier interposes;-they will not believe. “Ye will not come unto me,” says Jesus, “that ye might have life.” (Joh 5:40.)
May we all be on our guard against this accursed sin. It is the old root-sin, which caused the fall of man. Cut down in the true child of God by the power of the Spirit, it is ever ready to bud and sprout again. There are three great enemies against which God’s children should daily pray,-pride, worldliness, and unbelief. Of these three, none is greater than unbelief.
Fuente: Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels
Mat 13:51. Have ye understood? A test of their progress in the art of interpretation. They answered rightly, but the next verse suggests that they did not yet fully understand.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe here, 1. The title which our Saviour puts upon gospel-ministers; they are household stewards.
2. He points out the office of those stewards; and that is, to provide for the household both with plenty and variety. He must bring forth out of his treasure in plenty; and things new and old for their variety.
There are two essential qualifications in a steward, faithfulness and prudence: he must be honest and faithful, in bringing out of his own treasure, not another’s; and he must be prudent, in bringing things new, as well as old; not new truths, but old truths in as new dress: lest the household, by always feeding upon the same dish, do nauseate it, instead of being nourished by it.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Mat 13:51-52. Jesus saith, Have ye understood all these things? As well those parables of which I have given you no particular explication, as those that I have explained? Thus a conscientious teacher will sedulously inquire concerning the profiting of his hearers. They say unto him, Yea, Lord We have understood them. Then saith he, Every scribe instructed unto the kingdom of heaven That is, every duly-prepared preacher of the gospel, is like unto a man that is a householder, &c. Has a treasure of divine knowledge, out of which he is able to bring forth all sorts of instructions. By this similitude our Lord showed his disciples the use they were to make of the knowledge they had acquired, whether from the old revelation that had been made to them by the prophets, or from the new one of which Jesus was the author and dispenser. As if he had said, As the wise master of a family, who possesses plenty of all sorts of provisions, brings them forth as the occasions of his family require, just so every able minister of the gospel, out of the stores of his knowledge, must bring forth instructions suitable to the necessities of his hearers. The word treasure signifies any collection of things whatsoever, and the places where such collections are kept.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
13:51 {9} Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
(9) They ought to be diligent, who have to be wise not only for themselves, but who have to dispense the wisdom of God to others.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The importance of understanding the parables 13:51
Jesus’ question here marks the conclusion to His explanation of the miracles that the disciples’ question in Mat 13:36 requested. "All these things" probably refers to everything that Jesus had said to the disciples. The disciples claimed to understand what Jesus had said, and presumably they did understand at least superficially (cf. Mat 15:16).
"Matthew contains a total of seven parables, the first and longest of which has to do with Jesus’ parabolic method. The rest of the parables have to do with the kingdom of heaven. Every one of the six stresses the hiddenness of the kingdom. It is like treasure hidden in a field, like yeast hidden in dough, like good seed hidden in soil. But we have become bottom-line conscious in the institutional Church and in parachurch organizations. We cannot raise money to support our ministries unless we can quote statistics concerning how successful we are. We have to be able to measure results. We want to evaluate the harvest day after day after day so that we can use the information in our fund-raising endeavors. And we forget that the real impact of the Church of Jesus Christ in the world is immeasurable. We will only know what it is at the harvest, which is the end of the age." [Note: Richard C. Halverson, "God and Caesar," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 37:1 (March 1994):127.]