Introduction
In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 13, the Lord Jesus tells us parables about the kingdom of God. The main question a Christian should ask when reading this chapter is, “What is heaven for me?” Many people are drawn into the parables in this chapter, which compare heaven to their own lifestyle and beliefs. Heaven is so large but, at the same time, so small. We can’t figure out the size of heaven; it is beyond our understanding. But for us, ultimately, heaven should be the Lord Jesus Himself.
The Lord Jesus does not give us a clear definition of heaven since we need to find heaven for ourselves, as each one of us is different. All parables in this chapter give us various perspectives on how to find and serve the Lord Jesus. We will summarize here the main meaning of the first seven parables:
- The parable of the sower teaches us that if we want to be children of the kingdom of heaven, we must listen to and meditate on the Word of God, confess our sins, and receive God’s grace through the Lord Jesus (Matthew 13:3-8, Matthew 13:20-23).
- The parable of the wheat and the tares teaches us that the church is mingled until the end times, and we need to study and meditate on the Word of God to discern the difference between truth and error within the church (Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:37-43).
- The parable of the mustard seed illustrates to us that the kingdom of the heavens is so small that it can live in our hearts and so large that all believers can live in it (Matthew 13:31-32).
- The parable of the leaven illustrates that the kingdom of the heavens cannot be seen by the human eye, and the kingdom of the heavens is alive and can grow (Matthew 13:33).
- The parable of the hidden treasure teaches us that if one covers their knowledge about the kingdom of the heavens, then that person is doing the work of the evil one (Matthew 13:44).
- The parable of the pearl of great value demonstrates how a true Christian should be. We must be willing to give up all our earthly treasures for the heavenly treasures and share the knowledge of the kingdom with others (Matthew 13:45-46).
- The parable of the net shows us that the Lord has thrown His love to all mankind, and He wants everybody to become children of the kingdom of the heavens (Matthew 13:47-48).
After speaking these parables, the Lord Jesus asked His disciples, “Have you understood all these?” Then, in response to their yes, He concluded by giving them the parable of the new and old treasure, teaching them what it means to be a true disciple of the kingdom of the heavens.
The Parable of the New and Old Treasure
In this section, we examine the Bible passages Matthew 13:51-52 and Acts 15:8-11 to understand what it means to be a true disciple of the kingdom of the heavens.
Matthew 13:51 Have you understood all these? They say to Him, Yes.
52 And He said to them, Because of this, every scribe discipled into the kingdom of the heavens is like a man, a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.
Comments Matthew 13:52. This parable refers to a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is like a scribe trained for the kingdom of the heavens. A true disciple of the Lord Jesus is taught by the Bible through the Holy Spirit for a complete understanding of the link between the Old Testament law and the New Testament grace, which is in the Trinity of God (God the Father, God the Son, the Lord Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit). The blind faith of the Old Testament and the free will faith of the New Testament, the old one controlled by the obedience to the law, and the new one controlled by the grace and faith in the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is the Lord of the obedience to the point of dying on the cross. He is the last sacrificial Lamb for the Father; that is why the old law ended with the Lord Jesus’ death on the cross. At the same time, when the old law ended, the new law started through the blood of the Lord Jesus that He shed for the old law. The old law is wiped clean by the blood of the perfect sacrifice; that is the first step to the new law. Think of the feet of the Lord Jesus; one foot was in the old law, and He made a step into the new law with the other foot, so through Him, we are able to cross from sacrifice to grace (see Acts 15:8-11, Hebrews 8:6-13).
53 And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there.
We will now expand on our comment regarding Matthew 13:52, and link it to Acts 15, which highlights a significant teaching from the early church: salvation by the grace of the Lord Jesus, not by the works of the law. While we will comment on a few specific verses, we encourage all readers to meditate on the entire chapter and reflect on our comments in relation to the verses. Our focus here will be on the discourse of the Apostle Peter at the Jerusalem Council, specifically as recorded in Acts 15:7-11.
Acts 15:7 Now, much discussion having taken place, Peter, having risen up, said to them, Brothers, you know that from early days, God chose among us, by my mouth, for the Gentiles to hear the word of the gospel, and to believe.
Comments Acts 15:7. “Now, much discussion having taken place ...” Give attention, as the verse tells, many talks happened among believers, and the Lord God Almighty spoke to His faithful servant about what his reaction should be. The servant’s decision belongs to the Lord God Almighty, not to himself. This also tells every human that when you become a believer, all your decisions belong to the Lord God Almighty.
“Brothers, you know that from early days ...” The faithful servant had talked to all believers in the past regarding the plan about people, that the Lord God Almighty has the plan not only for His people but for the Gentiles as well. The ones that the Lord speaks to in their hearts will turn and become a believer as well.
8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, giving them the Holy Spirit, even as also to us;
Comments Acts 15:8. As the verse tells all readers, the Lord God Almighty gives the Holy Spirit to all true believers who give their hearts to Him, and they will truly hear His voice guiding them in the direction they should go.
9 and He made not one distinction also between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.
Comments Acts 15:9. Give attention, all readers, the Lord God Almighty did not take any side of humans, regardless of who they are, or how important they are. The love and the gift from the Lord God Almighty, all have equal opportunity to receive; if the heart truly has faith, the gift also will be available to that heart as well.
10 Now therefore, why are you testing God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers, nor we, were able to bear?
Comments Acts 15:10. “Now therefore, why are you testing God.” The human mind always thinks that they are the right one and knows all, and humans use that mind to justify that the Lord God Almighty is like them. The power of the Lord God Almighty has no limit; it remains consistent and the same across distant times, and this will be for eternity. No human can understand; humans have limited minds and cannot understand the true nature, the nature and power of the Lord God Almighty is above what humans can imagine and understand.
“To put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples ...” Now and then, the limitation is still the same. But when someone tries to put more burden on the faithful servant, which is not human ability to carry on, but the faithful servant receives strength from the Lord God Almighty to be able to finish the job in due time.
11 But we believe to be saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same manner as they also.
Comments Acts 15:11. Give attention, all believers; the verse tells clearly that by the grace of the beloved Son of God, Jesus Christ, all humans will be saved, because the beloved Son of God has done all the work for humans. Now, all humans have the duty to listen, obey, and meditate on the teachings, and all will be saved; the beloved Son of God has completed the work on the cross for all humans.
Conclusions
In conclusion, we must link the old law of the Old Testament to the new law of the New Testament to fully understand the work of salvation. The Lord Jesus is the last sacrificial Lamb who gave His life on the cross for all the sins of the world. Through His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary, as the Holy Lamb of God, the old law was fulfilled, and the new law, controlled by the grace and faith in the Lord Jesus, is now in place. The Lord God Almighty has established the new covenant for all humanity in the blood of the Lord Jesus, rendering the old covenant obsolete (Hebrews 8:13). Therefore, all believers in the Lord Jesus must understand well the meaning of the new covenant and the link between the Old Testament law (the blind faith) and the New Testament grace (free will) which is the Trinity of God: God the Father, God the Son, Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus is the beloved Son of God, God in the Trinity of God, and He is the King of the resurrection. The kingdom of heaven is the Lord Jesus Himself, and our hope must be in Him and His promised return to take His bride, the Church, to be with Him for eternity (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, 1 Peter 1:3-5). All believers are saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus, which serves as the foundation of our faith in salvation: “for the law was given through Moses; the grace and truth became because of Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).
Meditation Tasks
- We encourage all readers to meditate on the importance of the new covenant in the blood of the Lord Jesus. We also invite you to consult our blog article titled “The Importance of the New Covenant.”