Matthew 13: Kingdom Extravaganza (6)
Pray Psalm 5.11, 12.
But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;
Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them;
Let those also who love Your name
Be joyful in You.
For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous;
With favor You will surround him as with a shield.
Sing Psalm 5.11, 12.
Angel’s Story: O Jesus, I Have Promised
Let those rejoice who seek You and shelter ’neath Your wing.
Their tongues shall rise to speak to Your praise; Your grace they sing.
Your people You will bless, LORD, all those who to You yield.
Preserve them with Your best Word, and guard them like a shield.
Read Matthew 13.1-58; meditate on verses 51-58.
What does Jesus want us to “understand”? How well do you understand this?
Prepare.
1. If we understand Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom, what should we be like?
2. How did the people of Jesus’ “own country” respond to His teaching?
Meditate.
Having finished this teaching segment, Jesus asked His disciples whether they understood “all these things” (v. 51). They indicated they did. And, at one level, I’m sure they were being honest. But understanding a teaching is one thing; learning it is another. The disciples had not yet learned the Kingdom, but they would, in time. And they would come to treasure it, even to the point of giving their lives for it.
As we learn the Kingdom, we bring out its bounty (Greek: θησαυρός, thesaurus—treasury) to enjoy and share. The Kingdom is not just an idea. It’s a reality that brings blessing to all who participate in it. The phrase “things new and old” may have connoted wine to the disciples, or other precious items. We may understand Jesus as referring to old and new aspects of the Kingdom, or even Old and New Testaments (though there was no New Testament in Jesus’ day, except for His teaching). We are to enjoy, experience, proclaim, and share all aspects of the Kingdom from throughout God’s Word.
In Jesus home town of Nazareth, His teaching was not well received (vv. 53-57; cf. Lk. 4.16-30). The people were astonished at His teaching, but mainly because they didn’t expect it to come from Him. He was, after all, just the local carpenter’s son, wasn’t He? Well, no. And their failure to believe in Him when He applied the prophecies of Scripture to Himself deprived them of the greater blessing of His ministry (v. 58). Jesus withholds blessing where faith is not in evidence.
Rather than their astonishment leading to wonder, and wonder to faith, the people of Nazareth became “offended at Him” (v. 57). People will always be offended at the teaching of Jesus, but that didn’t stop Him from teaching, and it shouldn’t stop us from talking about Him.
Have we understood all these things?
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“Jesus said to them, ‘Have you understood all these things?’” (Matt. 13.51).
Jesus cares to ask us the very same question: Have we understood?
We are far more blessed with the opportunity to understand, than even the disciples, because we hold the entire counsel of God in our hands. We have it on our nightstands, in our bookcases, on our coffee tables, in our pew racks, it is available to everyone who might seek to understand what Jesus is teaching us about His Kingdom. We need only to pick up and read, whilst imploring the Holy Spirit to give us the wisdom to understand all the teachings of the Scriptures—Old and New.
Jesus was named as “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Is. 9.6).
And He has given us ways in His Word to find His wisdom and counsel. For:
“Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety” (Prov. 11.14).
“You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory” (Ps. 73.24).
“Have I not written to you excellent things of counsels and knowledge,
that I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth,
that you may answer words of truth to those who send to you?” (Prov. 22.20, 21).
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor stands in the path of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and in His law he meditates day and night” (Ps. 1.1, 2).
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3.16, 17).
For understanding.
And that is the point of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament for us—His children.
Thus, we must view the Scriptures in the same way Jesus did:
“I rejoice at Your Word as one who finds great treasure” (Ps. 119.162). And,
“Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like
a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old” (Matt. 13.52).
“For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow,
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
And there is no creature hidden from His sight,
but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to Whom we must give account” (Heb. 4.12, 13).
“Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your Word” (Ps. 119.17).
Understanding the Kingdom—the purpose and point of all our lives.
Reflect.
1. How would you explain to a new believer what it means to understand the teaching of Jesus?
2. What can we do to make sure that what we have come to understand will be worked out in our lives?
3. How can believers help one another to grow in understanding of God’s Word, Old and New Testaments?
A scribe is one who, through continual reading of the Old and New Testaments, has laid up for himself a storehouse of knowledge. Thus Christ blesses those who have gathered in themselves the education both of the law and of the gospel, so as to “bring forth from their treasure things both new and old.” Cyril of Alexandria (375-444), Fragment 172
Pray Psalm 5.1-8.
What will you bring of the Kingdom—old things and new—in working your Personal Mission Field today?
Sing Psalm 5.1-8.
Angel’s Story: O Jesus, I Have Promised
O LORD, attend and hear me, consider how I groan.
Receive my cries and near be, great King and God my own.
By morning, LORD You hear me, I pray, LORD fill my cup!
I long to see You clearly, as to You I look up.!
In sin You take no pleasure; no evil dwells with You.
Vain boasts earn Your displeasure, and those who boasting do.
Sin kindles Your hot anger, You crush all those who lie;
Deceivers live in danger of Your all-searching eye.
O LORD, Your lovingkindness escorts me in this place.
I bow before Your Highness and praise Your glorious grace!
In righteous ways You guide me; Your pathway I will know.
No good will be denied me as I with You, LORD, go.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
We invite you to join us in ReThinking Church. We explain further at our ReThinking Church page, here.
Other columns of interest: This week: The Read Moore podcast is turning into the home stretch of our book, The Kingdom Turn.Our Crosfigell teaching letter presses ahead in a series on the state of the Church in Europe at the time of the Celtic Revival. TheReVision column continues our examination of the hope for the church, especially struggling churches. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter
