God in Sandals: Transformational Encounters With the Word Made FleshSample

What Are We to Do?

The series of parables we have been examining ends with an exchange between the disciples and the Master. Jesus asked the disciples, “‘Have you understood all these things?’ They said to Him, ‘Yes.’

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’” (Matt. 13:51–52). What did Jesus mean? What responsibility is He leaving in the disciples’ hands?

A fundamental aspect of teaching is to ensure that the students have understood the lesson. It is easy to think that when we have taught on a certain subject, the lesson has been clear and straightforward.

Nevertheless, our pupils have the final say on our effectiveness as teachers. It is tremendously important, therefore, always to provide opportunities for them to give feedback on our presentation.

In the kingdom of heaven, the goal of instruction is never simply the transfer of information. Rather, instruction has a double purpose:

First, it calls all who hear it to adjust their lives to the truths revealed. This is precisely why the apostle James denounced so severely those who were “forgetful hearers” (1:25). Such people deceive themselves since they understand that a truth is good for their own lives but don’t do anything about it.

Second, receiving God’s truth and then applying it to our spiritual lives always brings with it the responsibility of sharing this truth with others. The Lord blesses us, but then He wants us to follow His example in doing good for others who have not yet been touched by the same blessing.

To illustrate this Jesus drew a clear picture of a scribe in the kingdom of heaven: trained disciples take on a parental responsibility toward others, just as their trainers have toward them. With this attitude of tender, loving care, they will find good things to share with others from the treasure stored up in their hearts.

This treasure that we share includes old and new elements. In other words, as disciples, we should always be growing, experiencing new things, and acquiring new knowledge that will give us an increasing impact on the lives of others. Knowledge of the Kingdom is not static but is deepened as we walk with Christ. As the years pass, we discover greater riches in Him.

Jesus’ question to His disciples helps us see that the best way for a learner to take hold of a truth is to share it with others. When we transmit what we are learning to someone else, the truths become even clearer, since we are obliged to reflect deeply on the implications of what we have heard.

EXCERPT from God in Sandals by Christopher Shaw from CLC Publications, p. 205–214. For more information, please visit https://www.clcpublications.com/shop/god-in-sandals-9781936143047/

Christopher Shaw is the director of Desarrollo Cristiano Internacional (Christian Development International) and publishing editor for the magazine Apuntes Pastorales (Pastor’s Notes). He has written multiple books, including Lift Up Your Eyes, in both English and Spanish (Alza Tus Ojos). He has extraordinary experience building leaders, including ten years as a professor at the Bible Institute of Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in theology. He later received a master’s degree and a doctor of missiology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Los Angeles, California. He lives with his family in his native country of Argentina.