Matthew 13:47-58 / Proverbs 4:7-10  from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; ⁴⁸ and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. ⁴⁹ So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, ⁵⁰ and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹ “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.”

⁵³ When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. ⁵⁴ He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? ⁵⁵ Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶ And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” ⁵⁸ And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

⁷ “The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom;
And with all your acquiring, get understanding.
⁸ “Prize her, and she will exalt you;
She will honor you if you embrace her.
⁹ “She will place on your head a garland of grace;
She will present you with a crown of beauty.”

¹⁰ Hear, my son, and accept my sayings
And the years of your life will be many.

I was struck by the importance of the simple truth from Proverbs 4:7   “The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; And with all your acquiring, get understanding.    Have you ever known someone who was extremely intelligent or well educated, but had little common sense?  This proverb is true, a person can be well educated, they can know all sorts of facts, figures and formulas, but if they have no understanding, it is of little value. The same thing holds true regarding the wisdom which comes from scripture. It is a good thing to know scripture, to memorize and to be able to quote chapter and verse, but if there is no understanding, it does little to benefit anyone. The writer of proverbs says of wisdom: “Prize her, and she will exalt you;
She will honor you if you embrace her. “She will place on your head a garland of grace.”   It is better that we understand a few things in scripture than that we know all of it. The Pharisees, the Sadducees and the scribes, in Jesus time, knew scripture, if they had truly understood it though they would not have missed the coming of Christ. If we understand: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16), we have eternal life, salvation and redemption; as much as any Biblical scholar. Yet the write of Proverbs encourages us to acquire wisdom, so we should seek more wisdom and with it more understanding. The final piece, for us as believers, is to know, to understand and then to apply that wisdom and understanding to our daily lives. The application is sometimes the most difficult part of all. I often say, regarding things I have learned; “What I have learned and I am learning…”   The understanding of the depths of God’s truth is not something we will probably ever know in its fullness, in this finite physical realm. It is an ongoing learning and understanding, and so it is also an ongoing application. We are responsible for all that we have been given understanding. James 4:17 says:  To one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.

In today’s text in Matthew 13:47-52, Jesus tells another parable regarding the kingdom of heaven and the eternal destiny of the redeemed, those who are righteous in Christ, and the wicked, those who are not redeemed.      “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous,  and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”       Jesus wants to make sure that the disciples understand what He is saying. He continues:    “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.”    The scribes, who were experts in knowing scripture, if by understanding became disciples of the kingdom of heaven through Christ and the application of the wisdom and understanding to their lives, had treasure, both from the old, the written word and the new, what Christ revealed. We too have more understanding when we see and understand God’s purpose and plan in both the Old Testament and the New. From Genesis to Revelation, all of scripture is meant for us to know, to understand and to apply God’s wisdom, His plan and His purpose for us. Romans 5:8 says: God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  We should understand that the foundation of all that God plans for us is based in love. Again as Jesus says in John 3:16:     “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”      Yet it is equally important that we know and understand what He continues to say in verses 17-21: “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”   There will be a judgment for those who reject the love of God, for those who fail to understand and apply His wisdom by believing in Christ.

Today’s text ends saying:  When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.    The people of Jesus hometown knew who Jesus was, but they we not willing to acquire more wisdom and understanding. They remained fixed on what was old. The text says:  He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.    I believe sometimes we misunderstand the wisdom of this. We tend to think that Jesus miraculous power requires our faith. We tend to blame our lack of faith when we don’t see many miracles. The power of God is not limited by our faith. God created the heavens and the earth, the seas and the sky; every living thing, plants and animals and man, without our faith to believe. God’s miraculous power is not limited by our faith or our unbelief. What is limited by our unbelief is our ability to receive all of the treasure of the kingdom of heaven. When Jesus was on the cross, He said:  “It is finished!” (John 19:30) All of the treasure of the kingdom of heaven is finished, accomplished in Christ and the cross. What is left is for us to believe, to acquire the wisdom, to understand and to apply all that is ours.

‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven. ‘Give us this day our daily bread. ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’