The Kingdom and the Household (Matthew 13:51-58)
Matthew ends this segment on the stories of the Kingdom with two, seemingly disconnected events.
First, Jesus asks His disciples if they understand the stories. Can they make the connections? They say they do, and whether they do or don’t really yet, Jesus commends them. It is the scribe, or the person who studies and learns from Scripture, who is the head of the household of faith. The Kingdom of God is elsewhere compared to a family or household. In the Kingdom we are a part of the family of God. And those who study and learn from Scripture are those who are able and prepared to care for the family units in the Kingdom. We need people who keep us connected to the Word of God. Hopefully, all of us in the Kingdom are connected to, reading, and learning from God’s Word all the time. But our elders and leaders certainly need to be.
After this, Jesus attempts to teach and preach in His hometown. But the people there can’t see past the little boy they knew. While the Kingdom of God is a household of faith, it is not necessarily related to the families we have in the world. Sure, there are plenty of churches that are made up of earthly families, but that isn’t always the case. In fact, the message of the Kingdom often divides families. We do want to reach our loved ones with the Gospel message, but we can’t count on them responding.
First, Jesus asks His disciples if they understand the stories. Can they make the connections? They say they do, and whether they do or don’t really yet, Jesus commends them. It is the scribe, or the person who studies and learns from Scripture, who is the head of the household of faith. The Kingdom of God is elsewhere compared to a family or household. In the Kingdom we are a part of the family of God. And those who study and learn from Scripture are those who are able and prepared to care for the family units in the Kingdom. We need people who keep us connected to the Word of God. Hopefully, all of us in the Kingdom are connected to, reading, and learning from God’s Word all the time. But our elders and leaders certainly need to be.
After this, Jesus attempts to teach and preach in His hometown. But the people there can’t see past the little boy they knew. While the Kingdom of God is a household of faith, it is not necessarily related to the families we have in the world. Sure, there are plenty of churches that are made up of earthly families, but that isn’t always the case. In fact, the message of the Kingdom often divides families. We do want to reach our loved ones with the Gospel message, but we can’t count on them responding.
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