Things Old and New
In Matthew 13, Jesus is speaking to His disciples, describing what the kingdom of heaven is like. After giving several parables, He asks them, “Have ye understood these things?” and they answer, “yea, Lord.” (v. 51)
His response to them was yet another parable:
“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.” (v.52)
As I read these verses recently, the Holy Spirit pointed out the important principle they contain: That as Christians, we are stewards of God’s Word, and are to be studying it, bringing forth things new (to us) and old.
Of course, God’s Word is unchanging, (Psalm 119:89) and complete, not to be added to or taken away from (Revelation 22:18-19) so we know that Jesus’ words in Matthew 13:52 do not mean we are to somehow come up with something actually new, never before heard or thought.
Instead, we are to be continually learning things from God’s Word that have been there all along, but maybe we hadn’t noticed or paid attention or connected the dots.
I have just begun reading through the Bible in a year, after spending last year in slower, more in-depth journaling that only took me through the first half of the Old Testament. Reading through the Bible in a year isn’t new to me, I have probably used the one-year schedule at least ten different years, maybe more. So I have become very familiar with the Bible over the years.
The amazing thing is, when I read each day, the Holy Spirit brings to my attention “old” truths—things I had already learned but needed a reminder—and “new” things I had simply never noticed before.
You and I need both the old and the new as we live our daily lives with the Lord. I can’t begin to count the number of times I have run across a familiar verse which held a needful reminder. But we can’t just hang on to one spiritual lesson learned; we need to keep learning and growing.
The Christian life is like Bible memorization: We don’t just learn one passage, and then expect that to be enough. Nor do we memorize a verse, then move on to another, never going back to review. No, we need to review the old even as we are learning the new.
As Jesus said, we are like householders, or masters of a house whose treasury is filled with precious things. We each need to be rummaging around in the treasure chamber of God’s Word, bringing out truths for ourselves as well as for those around us to whom God wants us to minister.
There is a world of lost souls around us who need the “old” truth of the Gospel, and there are brothers and sisters in Christ around us who need that “new” verse you just noticed as you read your Bible today.
What treasure is the Holy Spirit bringing out of His Word for you today? How does He want you to share it?
“How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!” Psalm 139:17