OLD AND NEW

Part of the promise of Jesus was to “send prophets, sages (wise men) and scribes” to proclaim the gospel and to help us understand the process of being disciples. The scribe was one who could write; take down dictation for letters and legal proceedings. In the New Testament, a scribe was a lawyer, one who was expert in the requirements and meaning of Jewish law, especially the Torah. By sending out his prophets, sages and scribes, we have men and women who are experts in the teaching of the Old Testament and the New, and through conversion to Christ become experts in the teachings of Jesus. This is why Jesus said, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

The prophets, sages and scribes who follow Jesus and his teachings are expected to “bring out of their treasure” what is new, which is the teaching of Jesus and the Kingdom, and something old, which is the Torah and the rest of the Old Testament. To contrast and follow the scriptures, both old and new, is to see the plan of God through the ages and how that plan is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. We still need prophets, sages and scribes who are trained for the Kingdom to explain Jesus out of a treasure of something old and something new.

“Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” Jesus