Then said he to them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed to the kingdom of heaven is like to a man that is an householder, which brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.
scribe.
Matthew 23:34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
Ezra 7:6,10,21 This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him…
Luke 11:49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:
which.
Matthew 12:35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
Proverbs 10:20,21 The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth…
Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
things.
Song of Solomon 7:13 The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
1 John 2:7,8 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning…
For this reason
This phrase connects the statement to the preceding parables, suggesting that the understanding of the kingdom of heaven requires a new perspective. Jesus is emphasizing the importance of comprehending the mysteries of the kingdom, which He has been revealing through parables.
every scribe who has been discipled in the kingdom of heaven
Here, "scribe" refers to a teacher or expert in the Jewish law. In the context of the New Testament, it implies someone who is knowledgeable in the Scriptures. Being "discipled in the kingdom of heaven" suggests a transformation from merely knowing the law to understanding and living by the principles of God's kingdom. This transformation is akin to the new covenant prophesied in Jeremiah 31:31-34, where God's law is written on the hearts of His people.
is like a homeowner
The homeowner represents someone with authority and responsibility over their household. In biblical times, a homeowner would be responsible for the well-being and provision of their family and servants. This analogy implies that those who understand the kingdom of heaven have a responsibility to share and manage the spiritual truths they have received.
who brings out of his storeroom
The storeroom symbolizes a place of abundance and preparation. In ancient times, storerooms were essential for storing food and goods, ensuring the household's survival and prosperity. Spiritually, this represents the wealth of knowledge and wisdom that a disciple of the kingdom possesses.
new treasures as well as old
This phrase highlights the value of both new and old teachings. The "new treasures" can be seen as the new revelations and understandings brought by Jesus' teachings, while the "old" refers to the established truths of the Old Testament. This balance underscores the continuity and fulfillment of the Old Testament in the New Testament, as seen in Matthew 5:17, where Jesus states He came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. The integration of both old and new treasures reflects the comprehensive nature of God's revelation through Christ.
Jesus has just finished a long string of parables (Matthew 13:1-50). By saying, “Then He told them,” the Lord is personally tying this closing word to everything He has just taught. He isn’t tossing in an afterthought; He is sealing the lesson. Much like the way He concluded the Sermon on the Mount with the wise and foolish builders (Matthew 7:24-27), He now caps the parable section with an illustration aimed at the disciples’ responsibility to teach and live what they’ve received (cf. Mark 4:33-34).
The phrase points back to the disciples’ acknowledgment that they understand His teaching (Matthew 13:51). Because they grasp these kingdom truths, they are now accountable. James will echo the same idea later: “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22). Understanding is never an end in itself; it calls for stewardship.
In Jesus’ day, scribes were experts in the Law (Ezra 7:6). Here the Lord envisions a scribe who has accepted Him and His kingdom message—very different from the hostile scribes in Matthew 12:38. Rather than limiting the role to the first-century professional class, the word paints a picture of anyone entrusted with the Scriptures. Paul will later apply the idea broadly: “Consider us servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries” (1 Corinthians 4:1).
This scribe is not self-made; he has been “discipled,” literally trained as a learner under Jesus’ reign. The Great Commission spells it out clearly: “make disciples of all nations… teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). The kingdom shapes both the content and the character of the disciple. Like Timothy, who learned the sacred writings from childhood and then from Paul (2 Timothy 3:14-15), he submits his life to the King.
A homeowner (oikodespótēs) possesses authority over his household. The picture recalls Proverbs 24:3-4: “By wisdom a house is built… and by knowledge its rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.” The discipled scribe is no mere renter of truth; he manages God’s property and answers to the Owner, as Jesus illustrates in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30).
The storeroom is a treasure chest of divine revelation. Bringing items out implies intentional sharing, not hoarding. Jesus earlier warned, “No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket” (Matthew 5:15). The discipled scribe opens the doors wide, illuminating others with what God has entrusted to him (cf. 2 Corinthians 4:7).
Old treasures: the rich heritage of the Law, Psalms, and Prophets—unchanging truths fulfilled in Christ (Matthew 5:17-18).
New treasures: the fresh insights of the kingdom parables, the revelation of Messiah’s person and work, mysteries “kept secret for long ages but now revealed” (Romans 16:25-26).
Both are vital. Jesus rebuked leaders who clung only to tradition (Matthew 15:3) and others who craved novelty without roots (2 Timothy 4:3-4). A balanced steward offers the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27), weaving the promise with the fulfillment, the shadow with the substance (Colossians 2:16-17).
Matthew 13:52 pictures a disciple-scribe who has welcomed the King’s rule, mastered the Scriptures old and new, and faithfully distributes those riches to others. Understanding Christ’s parables is not the finish line; it is the starting block for a life of informed, generous stewardship—drawing from the entire storehouse of God’s word so that every listener meets the timeless and the timely truth of the kingdom.
(52) Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven.--The verse is interesting as one of the very few passages in which our Lord compares His own work and that of the Apostles after Him to that of the scribes of the Jewish schools. That He was so regarded during His ministry--that men thought of Him as a Rabbi, no less than as a Prophet, or as the Christ--is clear from the facts that He was called by that name (or its equivalent, Master, or Teacher) both by His disciples and by others; that He assumed the office of a scribe, as interpreting the scriptures in the Sabbath services (Luke 4:16); that He questioned with the scribes after their own manner ("Have ye never read?" Matthew 12:3; Matthew 19:4; Matthew 21:16, et al.) and as one of their order. And now He was training the disciples, "unlearned" as they were, to be His successors in that office. They too were sitting at the feet of a Gamaliel--of One greater than Gamaliel. But His method of training was altogether of another kind than that of the Masters of the Schools. It consisted, not in minute comments on the words of the Law, not in the subtleties of an intricate and often revolting casuistry, not in puerile and fantastic legends, but rather in the eternal laws of His Father's kingdom, and the manifold parables of those laws in the visible universe; in this way it was that He was educating them to be scribes of the kingdom of heaven.Things new and old.--Our Lord's own teaching was, of course, the highest example of this union. There were the old eternal laws of righteousness, the proclamation of the true meaning of all that every true teacher had included in the idea of duty and religion, but there were also new truths, such as His own mission as the Head of the divine kingdom and the future Judge of all men, and the work of the Spirit as regenerating and sanctifying. As the years passed, and new facts, such as the Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension, supplied the ground-work for new doctrines, these also took their place in the store-house of the well-instructed scribe. But the words applied also to the manner no less than to the substance of the teaching. Now the old familiar words of Lawgiver and Psalmist, now the gracious words such as man had never heard till then, now illustrations freely drawn, in proverbs or parable, from the world of nature or of men--these too were part of the treasure of the scribe. In that union the scribe of later times, every true teacher of the minds and hearts of men, may find the secret at once of reverence for the past and of courage for the future. So long as they bring forth out of their treasures "things new and old," we may hope that religious conservatism will be more than the "froward retention" of a custom or a formula, and religious progress more than a reckless love of novelty for the sake of its newness.
Verse 52. - Then said he unto them, Therefore (διὰ τοῦτο); i.e. because you understand, I add this. Every scribe (πᾶς γραμματεύς). The interpretation of the following clause, naturally suggested by this word in itself is that our Lord meant to indicate the possibilities that lay before a Jewish scribe if he were only converted; but for such a reference by our Lord to Jewish scribes there appears no reason in the context. The word must therefore be understood of Christian teachers, who by their study of the Gospel should hold a position in the Christian Church parallel to that of scribes among the Jews. It is possible that our Lord chose the term in order to accustom his disciples to the idea of carrying on the study of Divine things which the scribes were accustomed to make. Even if the disciples were not to follow their methods they might well imitate their devotion Dean Plumptre has an interesting note on our Lord's comparison of his own work and that of the apostles after him, to the work of the scribes of the Jewish schools. In Matthew 23:34 is found a wider application of the term than usual, hardly referring, however, to Christians, but rather to the Jewish scribes in their ideal character. Which is instructed; who hath been made a disciple (Revised Version, μαθητευθείς). Though the correction is right (cf. Matthew 28:19), the word, nevertheless, implies much more than mere admission to the circle of disciples it includes also the thought of instruction having been really received. Unto (to, Revised Version) the kingdom of heaven (τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν, dative of reference; cf. Winer, § 31:4). The kingdom is not regarded as the teacher, but as the school, with reference to which discipleship is entered upon. Is like. In the preceding parables the general principles, etc., of the kingdom of heaven have been compared; here, only certain individuals belonging to it. Unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure (cf. Matthew 2:11, note). The thing signified is his experience and spiritual understanding. Ch. 12:35 has a similar thought, but the treasure there is rather his personality as affecting his life; here, as affecting his intellect. It is curious that the thought of Matthew 12:33, 34 should also resemble our vers. 47-50. Things new and old. The thought of the saying is that as a householder brings out from his stores food recently and long ago acquired (cf. Song of Solomon 7:13), so a Christian "scribe" brings out (primarily, if not solely, for the use of others) the new truths that he learns, and also old ones that he has long since known. It is thus a promise that the disciples shall (if they use their opportunities rightly) be able to do more than understand Christ's teaching (as they have just claimed to have done); for they shall be able to teach (not merely to learn), and that not only new truths, but also old ones; they shall be able, that is to say, to understand the relation of the old to the new, and to bring out even the old in its true meaning, Hence old is mentioned after new, for it implies greater knowledge and skill. It will be observed that Irenaeus' interpretation (IV. 9:1) of new and old as the New and Old Testaments is only partially right. With the disciples, it is true, the old would naturally be, in the first place, Old Testament truths, and the new, such truths as they learned from Christ; but these also would, after a few weeks or months, in their turn become old to them, and the fresh truths taught them as their life went on would be ever the new ones. The thought of 1 John 2:7, 8 is very similar. Weiss' interpretation is different and even less right. According to him, new represents the truths about the kingdom of God, and old the long known arrangements of nature and human life, which, as the parables show, are drawn up on the same hues. Origen gives a beautiful application of Leviticus 26:10, 11 a.