Matthew 13:52 He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

I have liked this verse for many years, because my grandfather W. O. Carver’s memoir was published, after his death, under the title, Out of His Treasure, referencing this verse. However, reading it just now in the Japanese, I got a fresh revelation. Imagine my surprise to discover that the latest version of the NIV uses the same terminology: “become a disciple of the Kingdom of Heaven.” Discipleship is far more than scholarship, acquiring information. The kind of person referenced here is rendered in English as “scribe,” or “teacher of the law.” The Japanese simply says, “scholar.” Such people are noted for their head knowledge, but if they don’t put that knowledge into practice, it is essentially meaningless. In a sense, it can be compared to faith, as James describes it: “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” (James 2:26) I keep coming back to the fact that in Japanese, the word for “disciple” is the same as that for “apprentice,” one who learns by doing. You can watch a craftsman at work and admire his perception and his skill, but until you put your hand to it and attempt it yourself, you can hardly be called an apprentice. Sometimes we have the blessed privilege of human mentors in the faith, and sometimes we can even be those mentors, just as Paul said, “Therefore I urge you to imitate me,” (1 Corinthians 4:16) and “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1) However, even if we don’t have a human mentor, we can indeed follow the example of Christ, as Paul did. Jesus didn’t hold anything back in His complete obedience to the Father, and neither should we. We are to give our lives totally to Christ, whether it is in a moment, like James the son of Zebedee, or over 90+ years, like his brother John. That is what discipleship is all about. All of that said, what Jesus says in this verse totally settles the question of whether Christian churches should use the Old Testament as well as the New, and the answer is a very emphatic YES. A true disciple/apprentice doesn’t discard the things he learned first, just because he learned more on top of that. If we want to know the Bible, and we certainly should, then we need to read the whole Bible, and not just a few favorite verses.

I had the privilege of being raised in a family of Bible scholars. Not only did my maternal grandfather found the oldest surviving Department of Missions of any Protestant seminary in the world, my father got his Master’s degree in Hebrew and his PhD in Greek, teaching both those languages in a seminary in Japan. I was given a full Bible after my baptism at age 7, and had read it through by the time I was 10. However, I sadly learned that head knowledge doesn’t equal discipleship. The Lord had to deal with my spiritual and intellectual pride when I was 24, showing me how far I was from being a disciple. In the 50+ years since then I have had my ups and downs, but at least I know what my goal is! I do want to know the Bible, inside and out, but I also want to put it into practice fully, not as an academic discipline but as the Word of the Lord. Only then will I be the mentor God wants me to be, able to tell people to imitate me, just as Paul did.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me keep learning from You, never thinking I’ve “arrived,” but pressing in for more of Christ just as Paul did, (Philippians 3:13-14) for the blessing of those around me and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!