Parable of the House Owner

One Reply to “Parable of the House Owner”

1. Jesus asks the question, “have you understood,” for a purpose — he is willing to explain, to expand, to clarify because he’s not always going to be sitting there next to his disciples. Jesus is aware of his timeline even though his disciples have no idea how their lives will play out. The answer here is simply, “yes.” That’s not always the answer, and even though Jesus is quick to explain to them (see Matthew 16:9), in this case it seems they get the message. Perhaps it’s because the parables are short and concise. I wonder if we make things too complicated at times, confusing those who would seek Christ further if we would just stop talking and listen, ask the questions, “does this make sense?”

   In reviewing several articles I found on this passage, it seems that Jesus is teaching his disciples how to teach. For example,

   This is how Jesus says a minister should teach the people: by carefully balancing the teaching of, say, the Old and the New Testaments. That would be “old and new.” Or, old and new could be balancing traditional understanding of God’s truth with new insights and applications of how it could be used in our time and situations. theberean.org

   Perhaps the most interesting translation of this passage comes from the paraphrased edition of the Bible through The Message:

    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.” The Message

   Ah, now I can say I understand with some confidence. It is interesting to review this passage in this manner as we have studied the Old Testament carefully over the course of the last 18 months. Understanding the old makes the new much more provocative, much more real and certainly much more intriguing to those who come to church to learn.

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