“Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes.” 52 And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.” — Matthew 13:51-52, NASB

This very brief parable outlines the responsibility of teachers in the kingdom of God and underscores the ongoing validity of Old Testament scripture.

Just after teaching the parable of the dragnet, Christ asks the disciples if they have understood His teachings. His question is rhetorical. He knows their comprehension, but takes the opportunity to emphasize the importance of the truths He has revealed to them, and the key responsibility they will soon have in the development of the early church.

As future apostles, the disciples would serve as “scribes.” Scribes as mentioned here do not refer to mere writers or the religious elites that Jesus has condemned, but scholars, teachers and interpreters of God’s word, ideally exemplified in scripture by the priest-scribe Ezra.

Jesus added His teaching to that of the Old Testament throughout His public ministry. The disciples understood well the Old Testament histories. law and wisdom, but as apostles charged with spreading the gospel message to the fledgling church, they would also need to understand and be able to convey New Testament teachings.

In keeping with the practice of using parables to illustrate His truth for believers, Jesus likens the disciples’ future instruction of Christians to an owner of a house who retrieves and distributes both old and new treasures—or resources—from his stores to provide for the welfare of those he is responsible for. Only through the wise application of both old and new provisions are the needs of his household sufficiently met.

Jesus’s intent is for the disciples to have a balanced approach in explaining the kingdom of God. Old Testament wisdom and law is not to be devalued because of the gospel of Christ. Both old and new teachings are necessary to present the whole of God’s truth. It is an approach the church today should be certain to embrace.