Matthew 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. THEN SAID HE UNTO THEM, THEREFORE - or as we should say, Well, then, EVERY SCRIBE - or Christian teacher; here so called from that well-known class among the Jews. (See Matthew 23:34.) WHICH IS INSTRUCTED UNTO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN - himself taught in the mysteries of the Gospel which he WHICH IS INSTRUCTED UNTO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN - himself taught in the mysteries of the Gospel which he has to teach to others, IS LIKE UNTO A MAN THAT IS AN HOUSEHOLDER WHICH BRINGETH FORTH - `turneth' or 'dealeth out' [ ekballei...

44-52 Here are four parables. 1. That of the treasure hid in the field. Many slight the gospel, because they look only upon the surface of the field. But all who search the Scriptures, so as in them to find Christ and eternal life, John 5:39, will discover such treasure in this field as makes it unspeakably valuable; they make it their own upon any terms. Though nothing can be given as a price for this salvation, yet much must be given up for the sake of it. 2. All the children of men are busy; one would be rich, another would be honourable, another would be learned; but most are deceived, and take up with counterfeits for pearls. Jesus Christ is a Pearl of great price; in having him, we have enough to make us happy here and for ever. A man may buy gold too dear, but not this Pearl of great price. When the convinced sinner sees Christ as the gracious Saviour, all things else become wort...

Verse 52. _EVERY SCRIBE_] Minister of Christ: _who is_ _instructed _- taught of God; _in the kingdom of heaven _- in the mysteries of the Gospel of Christ: _out of his treasury _- his granary or store-house; _things new and old _- a Jewish phrase for _great_ _plenty_. A small degree of knowledge is not sufficient for a preacher of the Gospel. The sacred writings should be his _treasure_, and he should properly understand them. His knowledge does not consist in being furnished with a great variety of human learning, (though of this he should acquire as much as he can;) but his knowledge consists in being _well instructed_ in the things concerning the kingdom of heaven, and the art of conducting men thither. Again, it is not enough for a man to have these advantages in possession: he must _bring them forth_, and distribute them abroad. A good pastor will not, like a _miser_, keep these th...

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 nece

EXPOSITION A few remarks by way of introduction to the characteristic portion of this chapter (Matthew 13:1). (1) We have here a collection of the Lord's parables, all spoken, as it would appear, at an early period in his ministry, descriptive of the principles of the kingdom of heaven as they make themselves felt in history, and of the way in which those who are brought into contact with the kingdom ought to act. As the chapter stands, it consists of three chief parts, which probably roughly correspond to three stages of development in its composition. (A) Matthew 13:1, also in Mark and Luke, except some characteristic enlargements in verses 10-17. The section contains the parable of the sower and its interpretation, together with a statemen

THEN SAID HE UNTO THEM,.... Since the disciples had such a clear understanding of the above parables, and were by them, and by other things, so well furnished to preach the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven to others, Christ stirs them up by the following parable, to a diligent exercise of their gifts, and to a large, free, and cheerful communication of their knowledge to others. THEREFORE EVERY SCRIBE; meaning not legal ones, Scribes in the law of Moses, a sort of letter men, often mentioned by the evangelists, and the same with the lawyers, who were conversant with the letter of the law, and only understood that; as for the kingdom of heaven, they were so far from being instructed unto it, that they shut it up, and would neither go in themselves, nor suffer others; but evangelical Scribes are here meant, see Matthew 23:34 the preachers of the everlasting Gospel, now

Matthew 13:24. _Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:_ Jesus never sowed any other kind of seed. The truth which he taught is pure and unadulterated. It is good seed, good and only good, the very best of seed. Matthew 13:25. _But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way._ Wherever Christ is active the enemy is sure to be active too. If you have a sleeping church, you may have a sleeping devil; but as soon as ever Christ is in the congregation sowing the good seed, the devil wakes up, and by night, when men are off their guard, the bad seed the mock wheat here translated «tares» is sown among the true wheat....

II. THE REJECTED KINGDOM AND THE REJECTED KING. CHAPTER S 13-28. 1. The King at the Seaside. The Mysteries of the Kingdom. CHAPTER 13 1. The King at the Seaside. (Matthew 13:1 .) 2. The Parable of the Sower. (Matthew 13:3 .) 3. The Question of the Disciples and His Answer. (Matthew 13:10 .) 4. The Parable of the Sower Explained. (Matthew 13:18 .) 5. The Parable of the Good Seed and the Tares. (Matthew 13:24 .) 6. The Parable of the Mustard Seed....

FURTHER PARABLES OF THE KINGDOM. The treasure and the pearl (Matthew 13:44) are one, and have one point everything must be sacrificed for the highest good, the Kingdom. This urgent, intense wholeheartedness is characteristic of Jesus. The question of concealment, the conflict between individual salvation and social duty, is not to be pressed here. Yet note that, while one man attains the _summum bonum,_ as it were, by accident, another does so by quest. For the pearl as a metaphor of spiritual treasure _cf. Matthew 7:6_, Revelation 21:19, and the Syriac Hymn of the Soul. The parable of the net is like that of the wheat and the tares, except that the sifting follows hard on the discovery. Not all who h

Jesus said, "Have you understood an these things?" They said to him: "Yes." He said to them: "That is why every scribe, who has been instructed in the Kingdom of Heaven, is like a householder who brings out of his treasure-house things new and old." When Jesus had finished speaking about the Kingdom, he asked his disciples if they had understood. And they had understood, at least in part. Then Jesus goes on to speak about the scribe, instructed in the Kingdom of Heaven, bringing out of his treasure-house things old and new. What Jesus is in effect saying is this: "You are able to understand, because you came to me with a fine heritage. You came with all the teaching of the law and the prophets. A scribe comes to me with a lifetime of study of the law and of all its commandments. That background helps you to understand. But after you have been instructed by me, you have the knowledge, no...