Old and New Treasures
Recently, we had it in our minds here at the Scherrer household to ‘downsize.’ A nice term for getting rid of some old stuff. In our mind, not bad stuff, just old. Of course, someone would want our used furniture! Right??
Well, it turns out our daughters didn’t want it. Our extended family? Nope! Goodwill, not so much. The Arc, negative! Finally, we learned of some refugees who had nothing at all and they said ok with much gratitude! It seems like old treasures are not always appreciated and sometimes new treasures seem out of reach. Let’s sit and talk about that for a bit here in the One Hundred-Fold backyard.
Last week we closed our blog here at One Hundred Fold Ministries’ Backyard Conversations with a set of eternal conditions offered in Christ. I would call these the new treasure we all long for that seems out of reach. I’ve added a few more to our list from last time, just to raise our sense of expectation for life in Christ. That is because the blessings just keep flowing in ways that we can hardly even ask of or imagine! In the Gospel of the Kingdom, God is offering . . .
Not just Eternal Life, but also Eternal Face to Face Communion with God, and
Eternal Peace, and Eternal Hope, and Eternal Joy, and Eternal Love, and
Eternal Wonder, and Eternal Goodness, and Eternal Truth, and Eternal Family, and
Eternal Power, and Eternal Royal Status . . .
We could go on and on describing the infinite benefits of the Gospel of the Kingdom. The King is offering not mere eternal life, as wonderous as that seems. The Gospel of the Kingdom offers in a word . . . MORE!
At Backyard Conversations, we are working our way through a series of blogs that focus on the stories (read parables) that Jesus used to describe the Kingdom of God/Heaven. Matthew 13 is filled with these stories. Jesus is trying to explain that allegiance to His Kingdom demands that we both obey His commandments and that we then pursue His Kingdom priorities. He is trying to break through the well-entrenched religious paradigm of the day that the God of the Hebrews is primarily a God of do’s and don’ts. A God where you simply tick off the daily Torah Laws of ceremonial eating, ceremonial cleansing and Sabbath rest. Through the Son, the Triune Godhead is offering an intimate relationship with the Father, without fear or shame. This gives us a glorious hope that we can come boldly before the throne of Grace with boundless joy and without fear!
The Kingdom Parables offer us an inside look into the heart and mind of God and invite us in to explore and actually . . . ABIDE then in Him. Some of the parables are long stories where the listener can find several applications. But some are short and to the point, like this one:
Nevertheless, Jesus then turns his attention to the Scribes and Pharisees in the crowd and teases them with some Kingdom of God expectations that he is hoping they will take to heart. The Scribes and Pharisees at that time were Israel’s teachers of the law. They studied and interpreted the Scriptures and then relayed to the people of Israel how to live accordingly.
In this short parable, the Master of the house unpacks some things that are new, and some things old. The caveat in this story is the line which refers to the Scribes who have been “trained for the Kingdom of Heaven.” The Kingdom of God was a new paradigm in the time of Christ, and Jesus was bringing in a new covenant. The Jewish Scribes and the Pharisees of that day were keepers of old traditions and well-formed religious paradigms. For the most part, they had difficulty hearing of these new treasures Jesus was offering.
It is true that just because things are old (my furniture for example), doesn’t mean that they can’t still be useful and still very important. All the old, treasured traditions of the Jewish Law, in fact, pointed to Jesus, if you only had eyes to see. If only you were trained for the Kingdom of Heaven.
The word picture that Jesus paints here is that of a wealthy homeowner who shows off the treasures of his household. Some of those items are old family heirlooms and antiques. Some of the treasures revealed are new but are still greatly valued. Jesus is challenging the scribes in attendance to be teachers of great truths which show both God’s revelation of Himself in the Old Testament Scriptures and the new revelations of God’s treasure truths through Jesus Christ.
These old treasures are the timeless and unchangeable principles that have been true since the foundation of the world, and these continue in the Kingdom of God. While holding firm to the non-negotiable truths of old, Jesus often challenged the scribes and other religious leaders to rethink how they were enforcing their traditions in light of who Jesus was. Certainly, those scribes and lawyers held some ancient, treasured truths. However there were new treasures the Lord was giving them in the Kingdom gospel that they could treasure as well.
As was noted above in this blog, these new treasures include eternal life and all the other eternal benefits as well. Our trouble is just that we don’t see them as ours to have as a free gift of God – right now! We don’t have to wait until heaven to live into the eternal Kingdom blessings.
Sadly, the Matthew 13 account ends poorly.
This is Dave Scherrer and this is also Backyard Conversations. Thanks for checking in today!
Well, it turns out our daughters didn’t want it. Our extended family? Nope! Goodwill, not so much. The Arc, negative! Finally, we learned of some refugees who had nothing at all and they said ok with much gratitude! It seems like old treasures are not always appreciated and sometimes new treasures seem out of reach. Let’s sit and talk about that for a bit here in the One Hundred-Fold backyard.Last week we closed our blog here at One Hundred Fold Ministries’ Backyard Conversations with a set of eternal conditions offered in Christ. I would call these the new treasure we all long for that seems out of reach. I’ve added a few more to our list from last time, just to raise our sense of expectation for life in Christ. That is because the blessings just keep flowing in ways that we can hardly even ask of or imagine! In the Gospel of the Kingdom, God is offering . . .
Eternal Peace, and Eternal Hope, and Eternal Joy, and Eternal Love, and
Eternal Wonder, and Eternal Goodness, and Eternal Truth, and Eternal Family, and
Eternal Power, and Eternal Royal Status . . .
We could go on and on describing the infinite benefits of the Gospel of the Kingdom. The King is offering not mere eternal life, as wonderous as that seems. The Gospel of the Kingdom offers in a word . . . MORE!
At Backyard Conversations, we are working our way through a series of blogs that focus on the stories (read parables) that Jesus used to describe the Kingdom of God/Heaven. Matthew 13 is filled with these stories. Jesus is trying to explain that allegiance to His Kingdom demands that we both obey His commandments and that we then pursue His Kingdom priorities. He is trying to break through the well-entrenched religious paradigm of the day that the God of the Hebrews is primarily a God of do’s and don’ts. A God where you simply tick off the daily Torah Laws of ceremonial eating, ceremonial cleansing and Sabbath rest. Through the Son, the Triune Godhead is offering an intimate relationship with the Father, without fear or shame. This gives us a glorious hope that we can come boldly before the throne of Grace with boundless joy and without fear!
The Kingdom Parables offer us an inside look into the heart and mind of God and invite us in to explore and actually . . . ABIDE then in Him. Some of the parables are long stories where the listener can find several applications. But some are short and to the point, like this one:
-
Matthew 13:52
“And he said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the Kingdom of Heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure both what is new and what is old.’”
-
Matthew 13:53
“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.”
Nevertheless, Jesus then turns his attention to the Scribes and Pharisees in the crowd and teases them with some Kingdom of God expectations that he is hoping they will take to heart. The Scribes and Pharisees at that time were Israel’s teachers of the law. They studied and interpreted the Scriptures and then relayed to the people of Israel how to live accordingly.
In this short parable, the Master of the house unpacks some things that are new, and some things old. The caveat in this story is the line which refers to the Scribes who have been “trained for the Kingdom of Heaven.” The Kingdom of God was a new paradigm in the time of Christ, and Jesus was bringing in a new covenant. The Jewish Scribes and the Pharisees of that day were keepers of old traditions and well-formed religious paradigms. For the most part, they had difficulty hearing of these new treasures Jesus was offering.
It is true that just because things are old (my furniture for example), doesn’t mean that they can’t still be useful and still very important. All the old, treasured traditions of the Jewish Law, in fact, pointed to Jesus, if you only had eyes to see. If only you were trained for the Kingdom of Heaven.
The word picture that Jesus paints here is that of a wealthy homeowner who shows off the treasures of his household. Some of those items are old family heirlooms and antiques. Some of the treasures revealed are new but are still greatly valued. Jesus is challenging the scribes in attendance to be teachers of great truths which show both God’s revelation of Himself in the Old Testament Scriptures and the new revelations of God’s treasure truths through Jesus Christ.
These old treasures are the timeless and unchangeable principles that have been true since the foundation of the world, and these continue in the Kingdom of God. While holding firm to the non-negotiable truths of old, Jesus often challenged the scribes and other religious leaders to rethink how they were enforcing their traditions in light of who Jesus was. Certainly, those scribes and lawyers held some ancient, treasured truths. However there were new treasures the Lord was giving them in the Kingdom gospel that they could treasure as well.
As was noted above in this blog, these new treasures include eternal life and all the other eternal benefits as well. Our trouble is just that we don’t see them as ours to have as a free gift of God – right now! We don’t have to wait until heaven to live into the eternal Kingdom blessings.
Sadly, the Matthew 13 account ends poorly.
-
Matthew 13:53-57
53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he departed from there. 54 Coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 56 Aren’t all of his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all of these things?” 57 They were offended by him.
This is Dave Scherrer and this is also Backyard Conversations. Thanks for checking in today!