Householders of Nazareth

Scripture: Matthew 13:52-58

Song: Who Will Follow Jesus?

The householder of the parable stands in contrast to the Nazarenes who were offended at the teaching of Jesus. Their stumbling is a lesson to us.

We are all scribes of the Book—or we should be. That is we should be students of the word. Not professors, but students. And not merely book learners. Bible study should be more like shop or, still better, lab where Book learning is tested with litmus paper, the crucible, or Bunsen burner. After all, Bible study is not a literary, but a Life Science.

The scribe who is a student of the kingdom has his house in order. That follows necessarily since the kingdom has to do with order. Namely, the order of the king. When a man’s life is ordered by heaven’s reign everything is in its rightful place.

The kingdom follower’s treasure consists of those truths which have become his prized trinkets. He has adorned his life with them. He is conversant about them. And his treasure continues to accrue. New discoveries are added to the old. At times he even discards myths he once held to be true.

Behold the folly of the Nazarenes. They were not scribes but parrots of their culture. They were not kingdom students—they didn’t like taking orders. They had no room for new learning. They were content with the shag carpet and beads of the old era. You see, there’s more to housekeeping in the kingdom than keeping house. Learn the difference.

Jason Moore