Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“And he said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, February 21, 2023
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Jesus has just finished a long string of parables. He asks his disciples, “Have you understood all this?” and when they say yes, he makes the statement in v. 52. This is another of those delightful times when I read something in scripture that has never jumped out at me before. I love this verse and what it says to me.
Jesus’ teachings are a treasure indeed. From the beginning of his ministry he challenges long-held notions of everything from social boundaries to dietary laws to the authority of the priests and pharisees to the purpose of the temple. Everywhere he goes he is met with bewilderment, outrage, or adoration—few if any are indifferent to what he has to say.
The scribes are among Jesus’ adversaries because it was their job to maintain the integrity of scripture, meticulously copying the Torah and associated texts. They were complete and total experts of all things Hebrew Bible. Jesus challenged a lot of what was in there and many of the scribes took it as an affront to them—how dare he question their understanding of scripture?
Here, Jesus upholds the scribes, but, as always, with a twist. They are the masters of the old treasure—the beautiful Torah that records the establishment of the covenant relationship between God and God’s beloved people. These treasures are not to be denigrated or discarded. But there are yet new treasures to be had, which may or may not contradict those aspects of Torah which are less than merciful. Jesus says there is a place for the scribes in the reign of God, and that those scribes who are trained for it will have a handle on both the old treasure and the new.
This is a reminder to me (and perhaps many of us who struggle at times with the Old Testament) that there is incredible richness, value, wonder, and love in the “old treasures” and we cannot and should not disregard them in favor of the new treasures taught by Jesus. They are one story, one long, continuous narrative of God’s love for God’s creation from the beginning of time to its end. As Christians, we can find joy in both the new treasures and the old.
What is my favorite Old Testament story? What is my favorite New Testament story? How are they the same or different?
