12/2 Matthew 13:52

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 what is new and what is old."


A scribe in Jesus day was also called a "rabbi." They gave their life to the study of the laws of Moses. Though they made their living from another occupation, their main concern was the law and teaching it to others. Jesus often spoke against the scribes, but here He spoke of a scribe trained for the kingdom of heaven. One such scribe was the Apostle Paul.

When you read the writings of Paul you will find he exemplifies this verse. He always backs his statements with Old Testament passages. He has new applications from the life and teaching of Jesus as well as divine revelation, but he always confirms them with quotations from the ancient Scriptures.

The Christian today should have the same balance of Old and New Testament treasures. We often find an overemphasis on the New Testament to the exclusion of the Old. If we don't study the Old, we will not understand all the references to it in the New. We can easily misinterpret a passage because we don't know the context of the quote from the Old. The authors of the New Testament knew that the Old was inspired, and that is why they applied it as the proof of what they were writing. Don't neglect your study of the Old Testament or you will never understand the depth of the New Testament.

Consider: The Old Testament is the New concealed, while the New Testament is the Old revealed. The message is the same.