At the end of this chapter the Lord spoke an additional parable. Verse 52 says, “And He said to them, Therefore, every scribe discipled to the kingdom of the heavens is like a man that is a householder, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.” After giving the seven parables concerning the mysteries of the kingdom, the Lord likened the discipled scribe to a householder who has a treasure, a rich store, of things new and old, signifying not only the new and old knowledge of the Scriptures, but also the new and old experiences of life in the kingdom.
This added parable concerns a scribe who has been discipled into the kingdom of the heavens. A scribe was a scholar in the Old Testament, one who knew the books of Moses and the prophets. In this parable the Lord does not use the word “believed,” but the word “discipled.” Such a learned one has been discipled into the kingdom of the heavens. Formerly he was a scholar of the Old Testament dispensation, but now he has been discipled into the kingdom of the heavens. This means that he has been discipled into God’s new economy. He knew God’s old economy, but now he has been discipled into God’s new economy. For this reason he is likened to a householder who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old. When the new things are put with the old things, we have the precious things. The Apostle Paul was such a person. He was an Old Testament scribe who one day was discipled into God’s New Testament economy. Hence, Paul could bring forth the old things and the new things. This qualified him to write the book of Hebrews. In this book Paul brings forth many of the old things, with the new things as the interpretation.
In giving this parable the Lord was expecting that some of His listeners would be scribes, not all fishermen like Peter, John, James, and Andrew. The Lord Jesus is wise. At the turn of the new economy, He had to go to Galilee to find the unlearned fishermen. But after the turn had taken place, there would be the need of some learned ones to carry out all the mysteries. Although those Galileans heard the Lord speak all the mysteries, they were not scribes. In his writing, Peter did not refer to many things from the Old Testament; neither did John. But Paul was not a Galilean fisherman. He was a scribe who had been discipled into the kingdom. Therefore, he had a rich store, a rich treasure.
The Lord’s recovery needs not only the unlearned Galileans, but also the scribes. After the Lord spoke the parables of the kingdom to the Galilean fishermen, He spoke another parable regarding the scribe discipled into the kingdom of the heavens. The Lord seemed to be saying, “You Galilean fishermen must listen to this. You are not adequate to carry out God’s New Testament economy. I can use you to make the turn, but after the turn has been made, you will not be adequate. I need some scribes. I need one like Saul of Tarsus who studied at the feet of Gamaliel.” In this matter we see the Lord’s wisdom. Young people, you need to go to the best colleges and earn a degree. Then you will be scribes. Today the Lord needs not only the Galilean fishermen to make the turn; He also needs the scribes.
When the disciples heard the parables concerning the mysteries of the kingdom, they might have been very happy and said, “Hallelujah, we, the Galilean fishermen, know all the mysteries of the kingdom!” But the Lord might have said, “You are happy, but I still need some scribes. Sorry, none of you is a scribe. Peter, you will be good for the day of Pentecost, good for throwing the net and catching a large number of people. But after so many have been brought into the church, how will you deal with them? You Galilean fishermen do not have the ability for this. I need some scribes full of knowledge, some scribes discipled into My economy. These scribes will pull out the things new and old both from their knowledge and from their experience.” Because Paul had advanced in religion, he could write the book of Galatians. Peter, however, could not write such a book. This is proved by Peter’s word in his second book (2 Pet. 3:15-16). Perhaps he was the leading fisherman in casting the net, but he was not advanced in the Jewish religion. He did not know the books of Leviticus and Psalms as well as Saul of Tarsus did. Thus, all the Galilean fishermen were subdued by the parable of the scribe. If we apply this parable to Paul, we see what a rich treasure he had. Out of his treasure he could bring forth new doctrines and old doctrines, new experiences and old experiences. I hope that some of the young people will become scribes. For the Lord’s recovery today we need both the fishermen and the scribes.