Archived Daily Manna | Rejoice Fellowship | A mission to release people to rejoice in the world.

Message: In this capstone to Matthew 13, Jesus initially asks the disciples if they have understood all that has been said about the parables. It is a lot of material to absorb. Matthew 13 encompasses not only seven parables with two lengthy explanations, but also, difficult concepts of why He was teaching in parables: the concept of “those who have ears to hear,” the idea that the Hebrew priesthood has become deaf, the concept that their deafness is, at least to some degree, either imposed or foreseen by the Father, and several other shorter remarks. The disciples say simply “Yes,” they have understood. And Jesus appears to accept that they do. His trust in their understanding is sufficient that He gives them their next lesson as a parable. Dog writing on a scroll, from an illuminated Bible This parable concerns a scribe, which in the widest sense denotes a clerk. People skilled in words and writing had to write down, on stone or parchment, all the legends, laws, and history of the Hebrew people, else it would be lost. That they did the job with skill and hard work, we cannot doubt: the Bible’s very existence proves it. Gradually, because some of them spent their days and their lives reading and writing Scripture, they got to know it better than anybody else; and so, the top tier of scribes became the guardians of the law itself. They were the university professors of ancient Israel, the forerunners and progenitors of the modern Jewish rabbi. The Bible can be confusing to us when it speaks of “scribes and Pharisees” opposing Jesus, because it is talking about apples and oranges. “Pharisee” and “Sadducee” describe political parties based on religious beliefs (or religious sects that exercised political power, if you prefer). “Scribe” and “priest”, on the other hand, describe jobs. There were scribes and priests who were members of every political party, and many were unaffiliated. (That said, the scribes we encounter in the early part of Matthew do tend to be Pharisees, simply because they were predominant in Galilee. But this is not true later on; the events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion involve many Sadducees, including Caiphas himself.) But to the point of today’s Scripture: Jesus is saying that some scribes are trained for the kingdom of heaven, and some are not. It seems that a scribe trained for the kingdom of heaven would have to be one of His followers, because they are the only teachers trained in what is “new” — the Gospel of Christ. The scribes who opposed Jesus could hardly bring out “what is new,” because they were dead set against it. Jesus requires that the disciples (and we) accept that there is a new covenant and that we will find the kingdom of heaven only through him. And yet, similar to his teaching in Chapter 5, the old, meaning the law of Moses, is still with them. “[U]ntil heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:18) In summary, the parable means that those who seek heaven will have to accept both the Old and New Testaments. Entire books have been written on the subject, as they can be difficult to reconcile; but that issue is for another day.