09.03.24 Mt. 13:51-53
PARABLE OF TREASURES
51 “Have you understood all these things?”
“Yes,” they told Him.
52 “Therefore,” He said to them, “every student of Scripture instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who brings out of his storeroom what is new and what is old.” 53 When Jesus had finished these parables, He left there.
A landowner, or in today’s terminology, a homeowner goes to the pantry to get some food. The implication is that sometimes old food must be thrown out first. Likewise Jesus said that one must cling to the good and discard the bad.
“When Jesus had finished these parables.” Matthew placed this quotation in his gospel as an indicator to the end of this particular teaching. It is a literary tool. The apostle wrote his gospel as a textbook for Jews to study the Messiahship of Jesus and His Kingdom of God in five teaching sections. Since chapter divisions were unknown at that time (these divisions were added about the year 1250) he used this phrase as a literary device to end one of these sections. Another literary device is the phrase, “When Jesus had finished saying all these things …” found in 11:1; 19:1; and 26:1.[1]
[1]. Ladd, “Matthew.” 29.