Well, most of my writing time in the last four weeks has been taken up with prep for the Greek tools class I taught at church. It was a lot of fun to teach, and I think those who took the class really enjoyed it, too. I'm glad my husband hounded me into teaching this one and the class last fall. After staying at home with the kids for so long, I think I'd forgotten how much I love to teach. Maybe all those gifts assessments weren't wrong, after all! Seriously, though, teaching is addicting for me . . . in a good way, that is.
But the downside is that my writing fell so far by the wayside you couldn't find it if you tried. Drat. I suppose I'll have to work on that.
Seriously, I wanted to finally wrap up some of my thoughts on Matthew 13.52.
The analogy in the verse compares the expert in the Law to the owner of a house who brings out his treasures in front of his guests. What does that mean? Well, the person who owns the home is legally responsible for the building and has significant influence over what activities are allowed and encouraged, and those that are forbidden. There are a lot of other things involved in home ownership, even back in the first century, but these two will suffice for now.
So if it is my goal to study God's Word and be trained for God's kingdom, what is my house? The simplest answer is that my house is the area, or sphere, over which I have influence and responsibility. It's my privilege and responsibility to continually move myself and those within that sphere toward kingdom-building and God-glorifying activities. That most definitely includes my mind and my heart. What do I think about throughout the day? How do I spend my down time? What do I take for granted or assume I'm entitled to? All of these fall within my sphere, my house, and must be submitted to the overarching purpose of obedience and kingdom-building.
What about my treasures? Besides being the physical things that I value, my treasures as someone studying God's Word are my knowledge and skills. These, in turn, must be expanded and honed consistently, continually, and--not least--strategically in order that I might be transformed into a disciple trained for and useful to God's kingdom.
Finally, what does it mean to bring out of my treasures--my knowledge and skills--things both old and new? Well, if you look at the preceding chapter, you can see Jesus doing just that. He sets out an example in his parables and explanations. It's brilliant, profound, and--not least--intimidating. The new that Jesus teaches is the kingdom of God. The kingdom ways of God, to be exact.
God's ways in the kingdom are surprising and puzzling when you're used to the world's ways. Like James says (3.13-18), God's wisdom is frequently not the cleverness or common sense of "well, that's just how the world works." His ways often don't make sense until hindsight explains them--and sometimes not even then! But now I'm getting sidetracked.
What's important is that Jesus taught about the kingdom of God in a way that his listeners identified with, understood, and that invited them to think deeply and investigate the mystery (the puzzle?) that the kingdom and the God of the kingdom are.
Yet Jesus also drew heavily from the OT in his teaching, and drew from strong traditions within the OT that would attract attention and cue big ideas about God's ways, his promises, and the hopes and fears of Jesus' listeners. As Christians and students of God's Word, we are not just part of the last 50 or 100 years of the church, but we are privileged to join at least 4,000 years of history of God drawing his people toward him and teaching us bit by bit about himself, his ways, and his plan for his creation. It's our responsibility to know our history well and to draw on the wealth of experience, imagery, and wisdom within that. And as we teach the "new" of God's kingdom, the "old" stands as a backdrop to a vast drama, adding depth and power and a sense of the profound that calls us out of today into the timelessness of God's love, calling, and purpose in his kingdom.
So as disciples of God's Word, we must devote ourselves to its study, to seeing clearly where the New draws out the Old and adds that depth of experience and wisdom. And we must use our knowledge and skills to their utmost to communicate God and his kingdom in ways that are new, yet rooted in the old, and that invite our listeners to come with us and explore the mysteries of kingdom, and calling, and the joy of obedience.
And that, I think, is at least a beginning, a step toward understanding what it might mean to be an expert in the Law who has been trained for the kingdom.
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