1 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:14,240 Hey everyone, welcome back to the Daily Gospel Exegesis 2 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:16,920 Podcast. We're giving you the tools every 3 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:20,680 single day to better understand the gospel reading from today's 4 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:23,000 Mass. So as always, we're going to do 5 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:28,560 a dive into today's text, which is Matthew Chapter 13, verses 44 6 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:32,470 to 52. So you're going to hear 3 7 00:00:32,470 --> 00:00:36,150 parables here, 3 short parables, and there's some of Jesus lesser 8 00:00:36,150 --> 00:00:40,150 known parables, but they're quite rich in meaning and 9 00:00:40,470 --> 00:00:42,630 there's some quite difficult teachings in here as well. 10 00:00:42,630 --> 00:00:49,150 So Matthew chapter 13, verses 44 to 52, Jesus said to the crowds, 11 00:00:49,670 --> 00:00:53,550 the Kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which 12 00:00:53,550 --> 00:00:57,450 someone has found. He hides it again, goes off 13 00:00:57,450 --> 00:01:02,130 happy, sells everything he owns, and buys the field again. 14 00:01:02,130 --> 00:01:05,250 The Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant looking for fine 15 00:01:05,250 --> 00:01:07,610 pearls. When he finds one of great 16 00:01:07,610 --> 00:01:11,570 value, he goes and sells everything he owns and buys it 17 00:01:12,770 --> 00:01:14,570 again. The Kingdom of Heaven is like a 18 00:01:14,570 --> 00:01:19,330 dragnet cast into this into the sea that brings in a hall of all 19 00:01:19,330 --> 00:01:22,250 kinds. When it is full, the fishermen 20 00:01:22,250 --> 00:01:25,930 haul it ashore. Then, sitting down, they collect 21 00:01:25,930 --> 00:01:29,370 the good ones in a basket and throw away those that are no 22 00:01:29,370 --> 00:01:32,250 use. This is how it will be at the 23 00:01:32,290 --> 00:01:35,210 end of time. The angels will appear and 24 00:01:35,210 --> 00:01:38,410 separate the wicked from the just to throw them into the 25 00:01:38,410 --> 00:01:42,170 blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of 26 00:01:42,170 --> 00:01:45,450 teeth. Have you understood all this? 27 00:01:46,610 --> 00:01:52,900 They said yes, and he said to them well then every scribe who 28 00:01:52,900 --> 00:01:56,340 becomes a disciple of the Kingdom is like a householder 29 00:01:56,540 --> 00:02:00,700 who brings out from his storeroom things both new and 30 00:02:00,700 --> 00:02:04,940 old. So in Matthew chapter 13 often 31 00:02:04,940 --> 00:02:07,980 called the Parables chapter in Matthew or the Kingdom Parables 32 00:02:07,980 --> 00:02:10,940 chapter. So here Matthew has assembled 7 33 00:02:10,940 --> 00:02:14,600 Kingdom parables that Jesus speaks throughout his ministry. 34 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:17,320 So it's possible that the parables we have here in Matthew 35 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:19,560 13 were not said on one occasion. 36 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:21,920 Maybe Matthew has just combined them together in the one 37 00:02:21,920 --> 00:02:23,960 chapter, and that would certainly make sense. 38 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:26,760 But what's interesting about some of these parables is that a 39 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:30,760 couple of them appear only in the Gospel of Matthew, and that 40 00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:33,760 is the case today. We have here 2 short parables 41 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:37,480 which are the 5th and the 6th of the seven parables in this 42 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:41,360 chapter, and both of these are unique to the Gospel of Matthew. 43 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:46,320 So when we're interpreting parables, exegesis is very 44 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:48,360 useful. We really need to do a verse by 45 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:51,600 verse exegesis, really thinking about what the words would have 46 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:55,600 meant in their original context. It's probably true that parables 47 00:02:55,600 --> 00:03:00,200 have lots of hidden meanings, but Jesus usually in general has 48 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,360 one specific point about the Kingdom of God that he's trying 49 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:05,280 to make, and that's where we should start. 50 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:07,080 That's what we want to get at in this podcast. 51 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:10,240 What's Jesus main point? He's trying to communicate with 52 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:12,670 these parables. So let's start here with the 53 00:03:12,670 --> 00:03:15,350 fifth of the seven parables, which is the parable of the 54 00:03:15,350 --> 00:03:18,910 hidden treasure. Verse 44, Jesus said to the 55 00:03:18,910 --> 00:03:20,830 crowds. Now the original text in your 56 00:03:20,830 --> 00:03:23,270 Bible doesn't have this. The lectionary has just added it 57 00:03:23,270 --> 00:03:25,070 in. So keep in mind that it's 58 00:03:25,070 --> 00:03:27,470 possible Jesus is not speaking to the crowds. 59 00:03:27,470 --> 00:03:29,790 Maybe he's just speaking to the disciples. 60 00:03:30,070 --> 00:03:34,070 You could go either way with it. And he says the Kingdom of 61 00:03:34,070 --> 00:03:36,350 heaven. So here already we know this is 62 00:03:36,350 --> 00:03:39,070 a parable about the Kingdom. The Kingdom of heaven is 63 00:03:39,070 --> 00:03:40,590 synonymous with the Kingdom of God. 64 00:03:40,590 --> 00:03:42,790 They're the same thing. And basically, if you've been 65 00:03:42,790 --> 00:03:46,030 following these Matthew podcasts through, you'll know that the 66 00:03:46,030 --> 00:03:49,390 Kingdom of God means God's will and reign on earth, and Jesus 67 00:03:49,390 --> 00:03:51,030 invites people to be part of the Kingdom. 68 00:03:51,350 --> 00:03:54,110 When you become a Christian, you become a part of the Kingdom 69 00:03:54,110 --> 00:03:57,110 you're part of, where God's will is done on earth. 70 00:03:58,310 --> 00:04:01,550 The Kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. 71 00:04:02,630 --> 00:04:06,100 Now this seems a bit odd to us, but in that culture it was quite 72 00:04:06,100 --> 00:04:07,860 common to hide treasure in a field. 73 00:04:07,860 --> 00:04:12,020 If you found something valuable, like gold or something in that 74 00:04:12,020 --> 00:04:14,540 culture, you're probably not going to keep it in your house, 75 00:04:14,540 --> 00:04:16,700 because houses were very easy to break into. 76 00:04:16,779 --> 00:04:20,420 So thieves could break in during night time and take any 77 00:04:20,420 --> 00:04:21,899 valuables that were lying around. 78 00:04:22,380 --> 00:04:25,060 So instead, if a person genuinely had something quite 79 00:04:25,060 --> 00:04:28,660 valuable, that would usually just find a random field and 80 00:04:28,660 --> 00:04:30,700 bury it there. That would bury it in a field. 81 00:04:32,710 --> 00:04:35,030 And that's a good arrangement because there's no, there's no 82 00:04:35,030 --> 00:04:37,070 banks in that culture. So really you're going to have 83 00:04:37,070 --> 00:04:38,670 to hide it in somewhere like a field. 84 00:04:38,670 --> 00:04:40,390 As long as you know where it is, it's safe. 85 00:04:40,870 --> 00:04:43,430 Of course, the problem with that is if you don't own the field, 86 00:04:43,430 --> 00:04:46,270 it's just a random field, then technically anyone can come 87 00:04:46,270 --> 00:04:50,190 along and claim the treasure. Now, some scholars think there 88 00:04:50,190 --> 00:04:51,630 might be an additional element here. 89 00:04:51,630 --> 00:04:54,950 Some think that possibly during Israel's history there were 90 00:04:54,950 --> 00:04:58,420 certain wars and certain activities where Israel had to 91 00:04:59,180 --> 00:05:02,140 Israelites had to flee quickly and then maybe actually did 92 00:05:02,140 --> 00:05:04,580 historically bury their treasure in fields because they were 93 00:05:04,580 --> 00:05:06,980 leaving quickly. And that's certainly possible. 94 00:05:06,980 --> 00:05:11,060 But it seems more reasonable to take this as just people. 95 00:05:11,060 --> 00:05:15,020 In Jesus time, General people would just sometimes bury their 96 00:05:15,020 --> 00:05:18,820 treasure in the field if they had nowhere else to put it. 97 00:05:19,260 --> 00:05:22,460 So Jesus here says it's like treasure hidden in the field 98 00:05:22,460 --> 00:05:26,260 which someone has found. So here we have someone who 99 00:05:26,790 --> 00:05:28,510 somehow finds the treasure in the field. 100 00:05:28,830 --> 00:05:30,750 Maybe they're digging for treasure and they're lucky 101 00:05:30,750 --> 00:05:34,070 enough to find some. And Jesus says when he finds the 102 00:05:34,070 --> 00:05:37,350 treasure, he hides it again or literally covers it up. 103 00:05:38,190 --> 00:05:40,790 So if someone found treasure in the field, that would be 104 00:05:40,790 --> 00:05:43,390 overjoyed, because they're incredibly lucky to find this 105 00:05:43,390 --> 00:05:45,510 treasure, this wealthy amount of gold. 106 00:05:46,270 --> 00:05:48,990 The first thing they'll do is bury it again so that no one 107 00:05:48,990 --> 00:05:51,790 else can get it. But then he's going to have to 108 00:05:51,790 --> 00:05:54,430 do something else in order to claim the treasure for himself. 109 00:05:54,430 --> 00:05:58,880 So Jesus says after he hides it, he goes off happy, or what it 110 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:01,760 literally says is in his joy because the person is going to 111 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:04,960 be overjoyed if you find treasure worth this much. 112 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:08,440 He sells everything he owns and buys the field. 113 00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:12,360 So in order for the person to claim this treasure as his own, 114 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:15,560 he actually has to buy the field that the treasure is buried in. 115 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:18,480 Once he owns the field, then no one else is allowed to come 116 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:20,800 along and take the treasure because it's it's literally his 117 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:23,580 treasure at that point. But of course, to buy the field 118 00:06:23,580 --> 00:06:26,260 he needs money. So the person here who's found 119 00:06:26,260 --> 00:06:29,380 the treasure sells everything he owns in order to have a bit of 120 00:06:29,380 --> 00:06:31,700 money. Then he can buy the field. 121 00:06:31,860 --> 00:06:33,460 So that's the order of events here. 122 00:06:33,460 --> 00:06:36,380 He sells everything he owns so that he has money to buy the 123 00:06:36,380 --> 00:06:38,980 field, and then he can lay claim to the treasure. 124 00:06:39,580 --> 00:06:43,180 The key thing to understanding this is that the treasure is 125 00:06:43,180 --> 00:06:47,780 numerically worth way more than all the possessions and money 126 00:06:47,940 --> 00:06:50,700 that were lost in the process of acquiring the treasure. 127 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,520 So certainly he has to give up some money and give up all his 128 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:57,280 possessions in the process. But the treasure is worth far 129 00:06:57,280 --> 00:06:59,920 more than that. So this person here who finds a 130 00:06:59,920 --> 00:07:03,160 treasure in the parable sees this as a once in a lifetime 131 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:06,560 opportunity and takes it. So that's the end of the 132 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:08,240 parable. How is the Kingdom of heaven 133 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:10,360 like that? What is Jesus trying to teach? 134 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:14,160 It seems that the idea is something like this. 135 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:17,920 Entering the Kingdom of God will require sacrifice and in 136 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:21,280 particular money and possessions and we know that because of 137 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:24,040 Jesus other teachings. But of course gaining the 138 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:28,280 Kingdom is worth far more than the things the person has lost 139 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:31,400 in the process of making sacrifices for the Kingdom. 140 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:33,320 So the Kingdom of God is worth far more than that. 141 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:37,320 Basically this is a teaching about putting earthly things in 142 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:41,200 perspective of the Kingdom. Earthly things are not worth 143 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:44,520 anywhere near as much as the Kingdom of God is, and in many 144 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:48,100 cases they need to be sacrificed in order to obtain the Kingdom 145 00:07:48,100 --> 00:07:50,540 of God, which of course fits very well with other things 146 00:07:50,620 --> 00:07:54,020 Jesus teaches. Jesus is now going to teach 147 00:07:54,060 --> 00:07:57,060 another parable with the same basic meaning, and this one is 148 00:07:57,060 --> 00:07:59,980 often called the parable of the Pearl of great price. 149 00:08:01,540 --> 00:08:04,940 Verse 45 Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant 150 00:08:05,380 --> 00:08:09,060 looking for fine pearls. In that culture, pearls were 151 00:08:09,060 --> 00:08:11,220 considered far more valuable than gold. 152 00:08:11,700 --> 00:08:14,540 So apparently here we have a merchant, someone who roams 153 00:08:14,540 --> 00:08:18,850 through towns looking for pearls in marketplaces and things. 154 00:08:19,650 --> 00:08:22,370 He's looking in particular for pearls that he knows are worth a 155 00:08:22,370 --> 00:08:25,570 lot. So this is a merchant who's well 156 00:08:25,570 --> 00:08:28,930 trained at spotting valuable pearls, and he's hoping he can 157 00:08:28,930 --> 00:08:31,330 find one for sale that he can buy. 158 00:08:32,010 --> 00:08:35,530 Maybe he can find someone selling it who themself don't 159 00:08:35,530 --> 00:08:39,289 appreciate the value of it, but this man has an eye for fine 160 00:08:39,289 --> 00:08:41,730 pearls and he's hoping he can find one and buy it. 161 00:08:42,429 --> 00:08:46,150 In verse 46, when he finds one of great value, he goes and 162 00:08:46,150 --> 00:08:48,190 sells everything he owns and buys it. 163 00:08:49,310 --> 00:08:51,990 It seems that the key to understanding this little 164 00:08:51,990 --> 00:08:55,550 parable is that pearls gain in value over time. 165 00:08:55,550 --> 00:09:00,590 So in order for this to work, it has to be that when the man buys 166 00:09:00,590 --> 00:09:05,310 the Pearl, he gets more than the amount he paid for it. 167 00:09:05,310 --> 00:09:09,390 So it must be that pearls gain in value over time, so buying a 168 00:09:09,390 --> 00:09:13,370 Pearl is a good investment. So in this case, the merchant in 169 00:09:13,370 --> 00:09:16,530 the parable would be willing to part with all of his money and 170 00:09:16,530 --> 00:09:18,290 possessions in order to get the Pearl. 171 00:09:18,290 --> 00:09:21,730 Basically, buying the Pearl in the long term is going to 172 00:09:21,810 --> 00:09:24,690 outweigh everything he's lost in the process of buying the Pearl. 173 00:09:24,890 --> 00:09:26,850 So it's very similar to the previous parable. 174 00:09:27,730 --> 00:09:30,810 Both of these two parables stress that the Kingdom of God's 175 00:09:30,810 --> 00:09:35,210 value is inestimable. It's worth far more more value 176 00:09:35,210 --> 00:09:38,600 than anything in this life. And on top of that, surrendering 177 00:09:38,680 --> 00:09:42,000 earthly attachments is going to be required in order to obtain 178 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:44,400 it. In fact, the disciples 179 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:45,520 themselves have already done that. 180 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:48,240 They've already sacrificed. They've already given up all 181 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:51,400 their possessions basically in order to get the Kingdom, and we 182 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:55,280 see that in chapter 4, verses 20 to 22 of Matthew. 183 00:09:56,160 --> 00:09:58,560 Now on top of this, you could say that both of the parables 184 00:09:58,560 --> 00:10:03,080 emphasize that the Kingdom of God can only be found by 185 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:06,490 diligently seeking. And basically, those who don't 186 00:10:06,490 --> 00:10:08,770 go looking for the Kingdom, they're not going to find it. 187 00:10:08,850 --> 00:10:11,050 Only those who is seeking the Kingdom will find it. 188 00:10:11,410 --> 00:10:14,170 Certainly this fits in with Jesus, earlier teachings about 189 00:10:14,170 --> 00:10:17,010 the point of the parables and how the Kingdom of God works. 190 00:10:17,610 --> 00:10:20,210 Jesus has been suggesting that the Kingdom of God is hidden in 191 00:10:20,210 --> 00:10:23,450 a sense for certain people. It's only revealed to those who 192 00:10:23,450 --> 00:10:26,610 are genuinely seeking. So these parables build on those 193 00:10:26,610 --> 00:10:29,370 things. So he starts the parable. 194 00:10:29,370 --> 00:10:33,130 The Kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea. 195 00:10:34,030 --> 00:10:36,590 This is a parable we're not all that familiar with, but it's a 196 00:10:36,590 --> 00:10:39,590 pretty short and simple one. So what's a dragnet? 197 00:10:39,590 --> 00:10:41,910 Well, that would be quite familiar to his Jewish hearers 198 00:10:41,910 --> 00:10:43,630 in Galilee. When Jesus is giving this 199 00:10:43,630 --> 00:10:46,830 sermon, he's probably actually standing at the edge of the Sea 200 00:10:46,830 --> 00:10:49,110 of Galilee as he speaks his parable. 201 00:10:49,110 --> 00:10:51,590 They're probably watching dragnets in action. 202 00:10:51,750 --> 00:10:55,110 As he says this, A dragnet was essentially A Fisher's net, 203 00:10:55,310 --> 00:10:58,510 which is pulled between two boats, or it's thrown into the 204 00:10:58,510 --> 00:11:00,990 sea, and then it's pulled to shore with ropes. 205 00:11:00,990 --> 00:11:05,780 It's one of those big Nets. It's like a dragnet cast into 206 00:11:05,780 --> 00:11:07,940 the sea. And Jesus says it brings in a 207 00:11:07,940 --> 00:11:10,940 hall of all kinds, which is exactly what would happen when 208 00:11:10,940 --> 00:11:12,540 you use one of these big dragnets. 209 00:11:12,940 --> 00:11:15,780 All sorts of fish would get in there, some which are good and 210 00:11:15,780 --> 00:11:18,180 edible and some which are not much good at all. 211 00:11:18,620 --> 00:11:21,260 But in the initial catch, you get all sorts caught in there. 212 00:11:22,180 --> 00:11:24,740 Verse 48. When it is full, the fishermen 213 00:11:24,740 --> 00:11:28,140 haul it ashore, then sitting down that they collect the good 214 00:11:28,140 --> 00:11:31,300 ones in a basket and throw away those that are no use. 215 00:11:32,860 --> 00:11:34,660 So in that culture, that's exactly what would happen. 216 00:11:34,660 --> 00:11:36,940 While they're on the boat, they don't do any sorting. 217 00:11:36,940 --> 00:11:40,300 It's only later that the fisherman sits down and sorts 218 00:11:40,300 --> 00:11:43,140 out the ones that he wants, and the ones that he wants are the 219 00:11:43,140 --> 00:11:45,980 useful ones, the ones that he can sell that are edible. 220 00:11:47,180 --> 00:11:50,260 Notice that this parable is making the same basic point 221 00:11:50,260 --> 00:11:54,460 already as the parable of the wheat and the weeds which Jesus 222 00:11:54,460 --> 00:11:56,260 had given just a few verses earlier. 223 00:11:56,700 --> 00:11:59,740 The main point so far is something like this. 224 00:11:59,820 --> 00:12:03,620 Good and evil people will coexist for a time, but there 225 00:12:03,620 --> 00:12:06,700 will come a day of sorting at the Judgment Day. 226 00:12:07,260 --> 00:12:09,540 So the parable of the weeds and the wheat and the parable of the 227 00:12:09,540 --> 00:12:12,900 dragnet make that same point. It appears, in fact, that Jesus 228 00:12:12,900 --> 00:12:16,540 has given this parable, the parable of the dragnet, to his 229 00:12:16,540 --> 00:12:20,060 disciples to help them understand this basic point that 230 00:12:20,060 --> 00:12:22,940 the Kingdom of God is not going to come instantly in the way 231 00:12:22,940 --> 00:12:25,860 that they think it will, but one day there will be a day of 232 00:12:25,860 --> 00:12:29,250 judgment. Now Jesus is going to give us 233 00:12:29,250 --> 00:12:30,810 his interpretation of the parable. 234 00:12:30,810 --> 00:12:35,450 Now verse 49, this is how it will be at the end of time. 235 00:12:36,650 --> 00:12:39,370 Now, what it literally says there in Greek is close of the 236 00:12:39,410 --> 00:12:41,770 age, and this is something we've talked about in the previous 237 00:12:41,770 --> 00:12:44,210 days. That close of the age might 238 00:12:44,210 --> 00:12:47,610 refer to 70 AD rather than the end of the world. 239 00:12:47,610 --> 00:12:50,370 And there's some theological reasons to think that because of 240 00:12:50,810 --> 00:12:54,290 what the Jews believed about the two great ages that God had set 241 00:12:54,290 --> 00:12:56,710 up on earth. But I think there's some 242 00:12:56,710 --> 00:12:59,790 features of this particular parable that point more towards 243 00:12:59,790 --> 00:13:02,190 the final judgment. So we'll stick with that 244 00:13:02,190 --> 00:13:04,670 interpretation. But just so you know that there 245 00:13:04,670 --> 00:13:08,270 is a view out there that pretty much all these parables about 246 00:13:08,270 --> 00:13:10,470 the final judgment. Some scholars think it's 247 00:13:10,470 --> 00:13:13,390 actually talking about everything that happens in 70AD. 248 00:13:14,510 --> 00:13:17,550 So Jesus goes on, the angels will appear and separate the 249 00:13:17,550 --> 00:13:21,710 wicked from the just. So just is in the parable of the 250 00:13:21,710 --> 00:13:25,020 weeds among the wheat that angels are said to have a role 251 00:13:25,020 --> 00:13:27,300 in judging and sorting on judgment day. 252 00:13:28,540 --> 00:13:31,540 So in that parable, the parable of the weeds, Jesus specifically 253 00:13:31,540 --> 00:13:35,140 says the Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather 254 00:13:35,180 --> 00:13:38,820 out of his Kingdom all things that provoke offenses and all 255 00:13:38,820 --> 00:13:41,500 who do evil. And it's the same basic idea 256 00:13:41,500 --> 00:13:42,980 here. The angels are going to be the 257 00:13:42,980 --> 00:13:47,020 ones that do the sorting. At the end of time, Jesus will 258 00:13:47,020 --> 00:13:50,540 remove all causes of sin and those who persist in evil. 259 00:13:51,330 --> 00:13:53,970 And the idea here is that before the Kingdom can be consummated 260 00:13:53,970 --> 00:13:57,090 in its fullness, which will happen one day, those who are 261 00:13:57,090 --> 00:14:00,090 evil and do not follow God's will must be taken out of the 262 00:14:00,090 --> 00:14:03,290 Kingdom. So just like bad fish, these 263 00:14:03,290 --> 00:14:04,930 evil people are useless in the Kingdom. 264 00:14:04,930 --> 00:14:06,650 In fact, they're harmful to the Kingdom. 265 00:14:07,450 --> 00:14:10,890 And Jesus says that we're thrown into the blazing furnace where 266 00:14:10,890 --> 00:14:13,090 they will be weeping and grinding of teeth. 267 00:14:13,690 --> 00:14:16,490 Scary imagery here. So of course, the Greek word 268 00:14:16,490 --> 00:14:20,010 that Jesus uses here for blazing furnace is gahenna. 269 00:14:20,540 --> 00:14:23,900 And Gehenna was a real place. It was a burning trash dump 270 00:14:23,900 --> 00:14:27,620 outside of Jerusalem. Jesus often chooses to use this 271 00:14:27,780 --> 00:14:32,380 place as the best approximation of what hell is like. 272 00:14:32,380 --> 00:14:36,340 He wants to tell his heroes what is hell like he directs them 273 00:14:36,340 --> 00:14:38,340 towards Gehenna, this burning trash dump. 274 00:14:39,780 --> 00:14:43,550 So those outside the Kingdom will go to Gehenna, the evil 275 00:14:43,550 --> 00:14:45,790 doers, on judgment day. They'll be sent there and 276 00:14:45,790 --> 00:14:48,470 they're going to experience weeping and grinding of teeth, 277 00:14:48,510 --> 00:14:50,350 which is like extreme frustration. 278 00:14:51,150 --> 00:14:53,870 Jesus has made this point several times in chapter 8, and 279 00:14:53,870 --> 00:14:56,350 John the Baptist said very similar things about fiery 280 00:14:56,350 --> 00:15:00,750 judgment as well. So that's Jesus interpretation, 281 00:15:01,580 --> 00:15:03,260 Short parable short interpretation. 282 00:15:03,260 --> 00:15:05,940 It's about the final judgment day, basically, and in 283 00:15:05,940 --> 00:15:08,380 particular he wants his disciples to understand that 284 00:15:08,380 --> 00:15:10,980 there is a judgment day coming, but it's not going to come 285 00:15:10,980 --> 00:15:12,940 straight away as they thought it was going to. 286 00:15:15,020 --> 00:15:18,340 So verse 51, Jesus now asks his audience a question. 287 00:15:18,540 --> 00:15:21,860 Have you understood all this? Now, the fact that he even asked 288 00:15:21,860 --> 00:15:25,180 that question suggests that he's talking to the disciples, not 289 00:15:25,180 --> 00:15:28,220 the crowds, because he, Jesus doesn't expect the crowds to 290 00:15:28,220 --> 00:15:30,830 understand parables. He said that at the start of 291 00:15:30,830 --> 00:15:33,870 chapter or in verse 31 to 35 of chapter 13. 292 00:15:33,870 --> 00:15:37,270 He said that he expects the crowds to not understand 293 00:15:37,270 --> 00:15:40,430 parables, so he's probably talking to the disciples here if 294 00:15:40,430 --> 00:15:42,310 he wants to check that they've understood it. 295 00:15:42,990 --> 00:15:45,790 He wants his disciples to understand what these parables 296 00:15:45,790 --> 00:15:49,470 are about because his disciples are going to lead the church, 297 00:15:49,470 --> 00:15:52,750 particularly the apostles, and they're going to teach the 298 00:15:52,750 --> 00:15:54,470 mysteries of the Kingdom to people. 299 00:15:54,470 --> 00:15:58,670 So Jesus wants to make sure that they understand it, and his 300 00:15:58,670 --> 00:16:02,430 audience says yes. Now that's quite significant, 301 00:16:02,430 --> 00:16:04,470 isn't it? Because the parables can really 302 00:16:04,470 --> 00:16:07,510 only be understood with illumination from God's grace. 303 00:16:07,790 --> 00:16:10,550 So here we learned that the disciples, when they say yes, we 304 00:16:10,550 --> 00:16:14,350 understand they must have at least an understanding, a basic 305 00:16:14,350 --> 00:16:17,510 understanding of the kingdom's mysteries, which sets them apart 306 00:16:17,510 --> 00:16:20,550 from the crowds as a whole. So the disciples don't fully 307 00:16:20,550 --> 00:16:23,510 grasp everything about God and about Jesus and Messiah, but 308 00:16:23,510 --> 00:16:26,710 they do seem to be cooperating with God's grace here to get the 309 00:16:26,710 --> 00:16:29,800 point that Jesus he's trying to make with the parable. 310 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:33,240 Now many scholars have said about this. 311 00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:35,400 When the disciples say yes, we understand. 312 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:38,440 Many scholars have said, I wish they would have said no, so that 313 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:41,880 then Jesus would have given us more explanation and that 314 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:43,280 Matthew could have recorded for us. 315 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:46,200 And that's quite true, isn't it? It's always good to have more 316 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:48,760 information, but here the disciples say yes. 317 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:52,120 So Jesus stops there, but he then he leaves us with this 318 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:54,720 enigmatic statement. It's a strange one, he says. 319 00:16:56,190 --> 00:16:59,190 Well then every scribe who becomes a disciple of the 320 00:16:59,190 --> 00:17:02,710 Kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out from 321 00:17:02,710 --> 00:17:05,829 his storeroom things both old and new. 322 00:17:07,430 --> 00:17:10,470 So why does Jesus mention scribes here, every scribe who 323 00:17:10,470 --> 00:17:12,310 becomes a disciple of the Kingdom of heaven? 324 00:17:12,670 --> 00:17:15,790 There's two views about who is Jesus thinking of when he 325 00:17:15,790 --> 00:17:18,190 mentioned scribes? So he could be referring to 326 00:17:18,190 --> 00:17:21,510 actual literal Jewish scribes. At the time they were the legal 327 00:17:21,510 --> 00:17:25,310 experts in Judaism, highly theologically trained. 328 00:17:25,819 --> 00:17:28,980 So maybe Jesus mentions it here because he's using them as an 329 00:17:28,980 --> 00:17:34,260 example of the most Jewish of Jewish leaders, much as Paul 330 00:17:34,260 --> 00:17:36,700 calls himself a Pharisee of Pharisees. 331 00:17:36,700 --> 00:17:39,140 Well, maybe this is a similar thing where the scribes are like 332 00:17:39,140 --> 00:17:42,380 the most Jewish of the Jews, so Jesus is using them as the most 333 00:17:42,380 --> 00:17:46,300 extreme example because they're the most theologically trained. 334 00:17:46,500 --> 00:17:49,380 So if this is the right interpretation, the idea here 335 00:17:49,380 --> 00:17:51,860 that Jesus is getting across would be something like this. 336 00:17:52,470 --> 00:17:55,150 Even scribes can become disciples of the Kingdom of 337 00:17:55,150 --> 00:17:59,470 heaven if you disciples of mine teach the scribes and lead them 338 00:17:59,470 --> 00:18:01,910 to it. So he's telling his disciples 339 00:18:01,910 --> 00:18:04,990 that hey, even scribes can become members of the Kingdom if 340 00:18:04,990 --> 00:18:06,750 you help them understand these mysteries. 341 00:18:07,230 --> 00:18:10,270 That kind of works. But most scholars think he's 342 00:18:10,270 --> 00:18:13,510 using scribe in a different way. He's not referring to literal 343 00:18:13,510 --> 00:18:16,910 scribes at the time. In the Old Testament, 344 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:21,000 particularly the book of Cirac, it describes A scribe as someone 345 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:24,000 who can. And here's what Cirac chapter 39 346 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:25,680 says. A scribe is someone who can 347 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:28,240 penetrate the subtleties of parables. 348 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:31,200 It's actually what it says. And so in that sense, he's 349 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:34,600 calling his disciples scribes because they're the ones who can 350 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:36,440 understand the mysteries of parables. 351 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:40,480 And in that case, Jesus is basically saying that his 352 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:43,360 disciples are like the new scribes of the Kingdom. 353 00:18:45,100 --> 00:18:46,420 That's an interesting interpretation. 354 00:18:46,420 --> 00:18:49,900 So maybe he's talking about his disciples as scribes. 355 00:18:50,420 --> 00:18:53,420 Now what it actually says here in the Greek, our translation 356 00:18:53,420 --> 00:18:56,220 says who becomes a disciple of the Kingdom of heaven. 357 00:18:56,220 --> 00:19:00,060 What it actually says is who has been trained for the Kingdom of 358 00:19:00,060 --> 00:19:01,820 heaven. Whenever you see that word, 359 00:19:01,940 --> 00:19:04,500 disciple, it basically means discipline, teach. 360 00:19:04,820 --> 00:19:06,100 And so that's what it means here. 361 00:19:06,100 --> 00:19:09,020 It's talking about people who have been trained, taught the 362 00:19:09,020 --> 00:19:11,640 ways of the Kingdom that's important. 363 00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:15,080 Jesus envisages that the way a person becomes a Christian 364 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:18,440 becomes part of the Kingdom requires ongoing training. 365 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:22,280 It's not a one time event, It requires ongoing training about 366 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:27,120 the ways of God and his Messiah. So he says a scribe who has been 367 00:19:27,120 --> 00:19:30,760 trained for the Kingdom of heaven is like a householder who 368 00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:34,440 brings out from his storeroom things both old and new. 369 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:37,960 Interesting phrase. So a household would be usually 370 00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:42,160 the man who owns the house. The imagery here in that culture 371 00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:45,160 is of a man who owns the house and he's bringing out things 372 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:47,960 from his storeroom that have always been there, but they 373 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:51,520 haven't been used for a while. So he's bringing out these 374 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:53,920 really cool things that have been just sort of sitting there 375 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:57,520 unused. So the message here, if we take 376 00:19:57,520 --> 00:20:01,200 this to be his Jesus is talking about literal scribes would be 377 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:03,280 something like this. Scribes who convert to the 378 00:20:03,280 --> 00:20:06,600 Kingdom of God will display attributes that they have always 379 00:20:06,600 --> 00:20:09,360 had, but not used for a long time. 380 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:13,480 Now that would match well with Jesus teaching in other places. 381 00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:15,440 He says the Kingdom of God is within you. 382 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:18,520 He says that about people. And so here the teaching could 383 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:20,520 be something like this. When you become a disciple of 384 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:23,800 the Kingdom, the Kingdom will be drawn out of you and it will be 385 00:20:23,800 --> 00:20:26,480 manifested in your life. When you choose to become a 386 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:30,400 disciple, that would be if He's talking about literal scribes. 387 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:33,320 If he's talking about spiritual scribes being his disciples, 388 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:37,280 well, then it could just be people who follow Jesus in the 389 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:40,520 Kingdom will produce more and more good things in their life. 390 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:43,480 Something like that. But there's even more to this 391 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:46,520 because he uses the phrase brings out things from his 392 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:50,120 storeroom, both old and new. What does it mean to say things 393 00:20:50,120 --> 00:20:51,920 both old and new from the storeroom? 394 00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:56,280 Well firstly it could be a colloquial way of saying all 395 00:20:56,280 --> 00:20:59,800 sorts of things, like just a phrase that means all sorts of 396 00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:02,420 things. Some have thought there's more 397 00:21:02,420 --> 00:21:06,540 theological significance to this though, old and new and this 398 00:21:06,540 --> 00:21:09,460 would match with other things Jesus says about you don't put 399 00:21:10,860 --> 00:21:14,100 new wine into old wine skin, so this old and new language is 400 00:21:14,100 --> 00:21:17,580 something Jesus uses a bit. So what could old and new things 401 00:21:17,580 --> 00:21:20,180 mean here? It could be a reference to the 402 00:21:20,180 --> 00:21:22,780 old and new covenants, or maybe the Old and New Testament. 403 00:21:23,820 --> 00:21:27,580 So in this case, Jesus would be saying something like the scribe 404 00:21:27,580 --> 00:21:31,240 or the disciple will be able to add the riches of the new 405 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:33,760 covenant to those of the old covenant which he already 406 00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:36,560 possesses. And that would apply to either 407 00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:40,600 literal scribes or Jewish disciples that Jesus is making. 408 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:43,600 So if this is the right interpretation, Jesus is saying 409 00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:46,800 that the disciples, those who join the Kingdom, will be much 410 00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:50,640 better interpreters of Scripture and therefore better scribes 411 00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:54,530 than the old covenant scribes. And Matthew is a good example of 412 00:21:54,530 --> 00:21:57,770 this because he is really good at bringing out the riches of 413 00:21:57,770 --> 00:22:01,690 the old covenant in his writing. He's truly a new covenant 414 00:22:01,690 --> 00:22:05,810 scribe. Now this interpretation of old 415 00:22:05,810 --> 00:22:08,690 and new, referring to old and new covenants, It could be 416 00:22:08,690 --> 00:22:11,850 right, but it might not fit entirely though, because think 417 00:22:11,850 --> 00:22:14,530 about the storeroom analogy. It's about a man bringing things 418 00:22:14,530 --> 00:22:17,130 out of his storeroom that were always there. 419 00:22:17,900 --> 00:22:21,540 So is it really correct to say that the new covenant was always 420 00:22:21,540 --> 00:22:24,220 there in the storeroom and when people join the Kingdom, they're 421 00:22:24,220 --> 00:22:25,740 able to bring it out of their storeroom? 422 00:22:26,180 --> 00:22:29,100 I'm not sure that that's right, but it depends on how literal we 423 00:22:29,100 --> 00:22:32,740 we take the imagery here. So this is one of these phrases 424 00:22:32,740 --> 00:22:35,380 of Jesus that is a bit mysterious and that's discussed 425 00:22:35,380 --> 00:22:37,780 by parables. The Catechism of the Catholic 426 00:22:37,780 --> 00:22:40,700 Church uses an interesting application of this old and new 427 00:22:40,700 --> 00:22:44,800 phrase as well as we'll see. So that's the end of verse 52. 428 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:48,000 Now there's a verse 53. Interestingly, it's not included 429 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:51,560 in the text of the general Electionary, though it probably 430 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:55,200 should be because it says that today's electionary reading 431 00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:57,960 should be from verse 47 to verse 53. 432 00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:01,080 But for some reason verse 53 is not actually included in the 433 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:03,560 reading. That could just be a typo when 434 00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:05,200 they were putting the electionary together. 435 00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:09,080 Here's what verse 53 says. When Jesus finished these 436 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:11,200 parables, he went away from there. 437 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:15,480 So that phrase when Jesus finished these parables, that's 438 00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:18,800 Matthew's typical way of signaling the end of a section. 439 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:22,080 He often does that at the end of his major parts of his gospel. 440 00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:24,280 So that's the end of the parable section. 441 00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:28,400 And at this point, Jesus went away from there. 442 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:30,520 So he leaves the lakeside at Capernaum. 443 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:34,120 And we learned in the next verse that he goes to Nazareth. 444 00:23:36,040 --> 00:23:39,930 So we've looked at all the King and parables in chapter 13. 445 00:23:39,930 --> 00:23:42,450 There are seven Kingdom parables, and they're all quite 446 00:23:42,450 --> 00:23:43,970 fascinating. I'm sure you'll agree. 447 00:23:44,170 --> 00:23:46,610 And they're well worth revisiting and meditating on. 448 00:23:47,690 --> 00:23:50,130 Let's now turn to the Catechism and see what the Catholic Church 449 00:23:50,130 --> 00:23:53,570 teaches based on what we have in the passage today. 450 00:23:53,850 --> 00:23:58,370 So paragraph 1034 is about hell. Here's what it says. 451 00:23:58,610 --> 00:24:01,730 Jesus often speaks of Gehenna, of the unquenchable fire 452 00:24:01,730 --> 00:24:05,130 reserved for those who to the end of their lives refuse to 453 00:24:05,130 --> 00:24:08,850 believe and be converted where both soul and body can be lost. 454 00:24:09,660 --> 00:24:13,060 Jesus solemnly proclaims that he will send his angels, and they 455 00:24:13,060 --> 00:24:16,660 will gather all evildoers and throw them into the furnace of 456 00:24:16,660 --> 00:24:19,500 fire, and that he will pronounce the condemnation. 457 00:24:19,860 --> 00:24:22,660 Depart from me you cursed into the eternal fire. 458 00:24:23,540 --> 00:24:25,340 So scary language there from the Catechism. 459 00:24:25,340 --> 00:24:28,380 But it is indeed a teaching of the Catholic Church that hell is 460 00:24:28,380 --> 00:24:32,020 a real place, and Jesus speaks of it as an unquenchable fire, 461 00:24:32,020 --> 00:24:34,620 as he does here in today's passage. 462 00:24:35,380 --> 00:24:38,860 And then in paragraph 1117, there's an interesting 463 00:24:38,860 --> 00:24:42,100 application of that phrase, things old and new. 464 00:24:42,260 --> 00:24:44,620 So this is in the section about the sacraments and how the 465 00:24:44,620 --> 00:24:48,740 sacraments of the Church have been developed over time, as she 466 00:24:48,740 --> 00:24:51,660 has done for the Canon of Sacred Scripture and for the doctrine 467 00:24:51,660 --> 00:24:54,300 of the faith. The Church, by the power of the 468 00:24:54,300 --> 00:24:58,300 Spirit who guides her into all truth, has gradually recognized 469 00:24:58,340 --> 00:25:01,780 this treasure received from Christ, and, as the faithful 470 00:25:01,780 --> 00:25:05,460 steward of God's mysteries, has determined its dispensation. 471 00:25:06,210 --> 00:25:09,770 Thus the Church has discerned over the centuries that among 472 00:25:09,810 --> 00:25:13,530 the turgical celebrations there are seven that are, in the 473 00:25:13,530 --> 00:25:16,970 strict sense of the term sacraments instituted by the 474 00:25:16,970 --> 00:25:20,970 Lord. Now that paragraph doesn't 475 00:25:20,970 --> 00:25:24,530 directly quote the old and new phrase, but it does reference 476 00:25:24,530 --> 00:25:27,670 it. So the Church sees in here when 477 00:25:27,710 --> 00:25:30,710 Jesus talks about someone who comes into the Kingdom is able 478 00:25:30,710 --> 00:25:34,550 to bring out things old and new, well, the Church says that the 479 00:25:34,550 --> 00:25:38,590 Church kind of does that as well as it deepens its understanding 480 00:25:38,590 --> 00:25:40,350 of the Kingdom. It brings out old things and 481 00:25:40,350 --> 00:25:43,630 brings out new things, develops its teachings further. 482 00:25:43,990 --> 00:25:46,350 It has certainly done that with the sacraments because it did 483 00:25:46,350 --> 00:25:49,190 take a while for the Church to settle on that. 484 00:25:49,190 --> 00:25:52,110 There are only 7 sacraments. That was actually defined quite 485 00:25:52,110 --> 00:25:55,730 late in Church history, but it was always there in seed form. 486 00:25:55,730 --> 00:25:57,570 It just took them a while to flesh it out. 487 00:25:57,770 --> 00:26:00,450 And so that's an interesting application of that phrase. 488 00:26:01,810 --> 00:26:03,090 So we'll leave it there for today. 489 00:26:03,090 --> 00:26:06,090 Thank you for tuning in to logical Bible study. 490 00:26:06,130 --> 00:26:09,490 Hopefully you enjoyed these exegesis of the parables of 491 00:26:09,490 --> 00:26:12,570 chapter 13 of Matthew. If you have, then please share 492 00:26:12,570 --> 00:26:14,770 it with other people so that they can benefit from hearing a 493 00:26:14,770 --> 00:26:18,690 really solid Catholic academic exegesis of Scripture. 494 00:26:19,180 --> 00:26:21,420 And if you're learning a lot from this podcast and you 495 00:26:21,420 --> 00:26:24,180 believe it's worth investing in, then please consider becoming a 496 00:26:24,180 --> 00:26:27,100 Patreon supporter. If you're willing to give $10 a 497 00:26:27,100 --> 00:26:30,340 month or more to the ministry, then you can get access to 498 00:26:30,540 --> 00:26:34,220 exclusive bonus episodes where we go through gospel texts that 499 00:26:34,220 --> 00:26:38,460 are never ready out at mass. And if you do that, then 500 00:26:38,940 --> 00:26:41,700 eventually you will have an audio recording of a proper 501 00:26:41,700 --> 00:26:44,900 exegesis of every single phrase in the Gospels. 502 00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:47,880 So if you're interested in that, then please have a look at the 503 00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:50,720 Patreon page. And that's a link for that in 504 00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:52,600 the show notes. Thank you. 505 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:55,240 We'll continue to look at more of the Gospel of Matthew 506 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:55,840 tomorrow.