Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.
This verse closes a long chapter in Matthew where Jesus has been teaching large crowds in parables — short, vivid stories about the kingdom of heaven. After the crowd leaves, Jesus asks his disciples whether they have understood everything he's been saying, and they say yes. He responds with this final image. A "teacher of the law" (also called a scribe) was a person in Jewish society trained to study, copy, and interpret the scriptures. Jesus says that when such a person also receives instruction about the kingdom of heaven — meaning they truly grasp what Jesus is teaching — they become like a homeowner who has a storeroom full of both old treasures and new ones. Understanding Jesus doesn't erase the old scriptures; it adds to them, and the two together become richer than either alone.
Lord, thank you for the storeroom you've been quietly filling in my life — the old things that still hold and the new things that keep surprising me. Make me a generous homeowner, someone who brings things out and shares them freely rather than hoarding what you've given. Amen.
There's a certain kind of reader who dog-ears books, underlines the same passage three times, and still finds something new on the fourth read. That person knows that returning to something old doesn't mean you haven't grown — it means you've grown enough to see what wasn't visible before. That's the person Jesus is describing here. The scribe who has learned the kingdom of heaven doesn't throw out Moses; they see Moses differently. They pull something from the storeroom and realize it was always a treasure — it just needed the right light. Jesus isn't asking his followers to choose between the ancient and the new. He's describing what happens when someone holds them both. This is a verse for anyone who has ever felt quietly guilty that their faith has changed — that you believe things now you didn't used to believe, or that some old certainties have gotten more complicated. Growth isn't betrayal. But Jesus does ask one thing: that you're actually bringing things *out* of that storeroom, not just hoarding them. A room full of treasures that never gets opened isn't generosity — it's just storage. What are you doing with what you know?
What does the image of a storeroom holding both old and new treasures tell you about how Jesus sees the relationship between the Old Testament scriptures and his own teaching?
What "old treasures" from your faith history — a childhood lesson, a verse your grandmother quoted, a long-held belief — have taken on unexpected new meaning as you've grown?
Is there a tension in your own life between honoring tradition and remaining open to new understanding? How do you navigate that without losing either?
How might the richness of your own storeroom — everything you've learned and experienced — be used to serve or encourage someone else who is earlier in their own journey?
What is one truth, old or new, that you've been sitting on privately — and what would it look like to actively bring it out and offer it to someone this week?
Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.
Titus 1:9
Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
2 Corinthians 3:6
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
2 Timothy 3:17
Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
1 John 2:7
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2 Timothy 3:16
And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Matthew 3:2
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Matthew 28:19
He said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things that are new and fresh and things that are old and familiar."
AMP
And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
ESV
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.'
NASB
He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”
NIV
Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”
NKJV
Then he added, “Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old.”
NLT
He said, "Then you see how every student well-trained in God's kingdom is like the owner of a general store who can put his hands on anything you need, old or new, exactly when you need it."
MSG