Matthew 13:44-52 as a Parable of ‘Expulsion’

The parables of Matt 13.44-52 are unique to Matthew’s gospel and their interpretation has been subject to much debate. They conclude with the teaching of the ‘old and new treasures’. This teaching is the climax of the parables, the last revelation in the discourse on the kingdom of heaven. This column (and the next two) will use Peter Phillips’ recent interpretation of 13.52 as a parable of ‘expulsion’ to approach 13.44-52 in a new light.

By paying particular attention to the narrative progression of 13.44-52, its role in the overarching narrative, its genres of imagery and its effect on its intended audience, this essay intends to show that, having established a setting of an insider/outsider dichotomy, Matt 13.43-52 challenges its audience with the understanding that true allegiance to the kingdom of heaven demands radical discipleship.

It is important to acknowledge the kind of text we have in Matt 13.44-52. Redaction Criticism approaches the text with a focus on the editorial decisions made in the text’s hypothetical collation. It works to distinguish the traditions of the editor from the original text. Two of the relevant assumptions that redaction criticism makes are that there is an original form of the text and that stylistic traits of the editor reveal the origin of text.[1]

The parables in Matthew’s gospel do seem to be deliberately grouped and arranged (Matthew 13, 18, 20-22, 24-25)[2] and in Matthew 13 they are grouped thematically. Scholars such as Jack Kingsbury view Matthew as entirely redactional. Others view it as an expansion of Mark 4, blended with Matthew’s source and it is suggested to be influenced by the Gospel of Thomas.[3] However, the parables of Matthew 13 are set within a narrative sequence, and without paying sufficient notice to the narrative development, the parables are in danger of becoming just a series of ‘points’.[4] In approaching Matthew 13, it is necessary to consider whether ‘the context given by the Evangelist is the proper framework’ for parable interpretation. However, this is not the aim of this series of columns. We will approach the ‘final form’ of Matt 13.44-52 and examine its impact on its intended audience.

Within 13.44-52 there are some key issues that require discussion. In interpreting 13.52, scholars have historically followed the Vulgate tradition which translates the Greek ἐκβάλλω as ‘bring out from’.

Then he said to them,

‘Therefore every expert in the law who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure what is new and old.’ (Matt 13:52 NET)

The passage is most frequently interpreted as a teaching about the continuity and discontinuity of the old and new, as a teaching about Christian scribes wielding the gospel from both the Old and the New Testaments.

Ulrich Luz argues that the passage is ‘almost entirely redactional’[5] but 13.52 may contain a ‘kernel of tradition’ present in the non-Matthean καινὰ καὶ παλαιά (new and old things), that may originate from a proverb about scribes since turned into a parable.[6] John Nolland argues that 13.51-52 is largely a pastiche of the previous material in chapter 13 because of the repetition of its use of similar vocabulary and therefore shouldn’t be understood as a final parable.[7] Donald Hagner reads the passage as an allegory that sheds light on the nature of the seven previous parables and their tension between the continuity and discontinuity of new and old.[8]

However, in “Casting out the Treasure: A New Reading of Matthew 13.52” Peter Phillips’ reinterpretation of ἐκβάλλω significantly changes the meaning of the passage from a teaching about ‘selection’ to one about ‘expulsion’.  Phillips argues that, “traditional interpretations have ignored how words are used in context of the chapter, instead looking to wider usage.”^[9] By applying the normal translation of ἐκβάλλω in biblical and non-biblical Greek literature, Phillips argues compellingly for a translation that renders 13.52 in its original form as a parable in which

‘every scribe trained in the kingdom of heaven is like a householder, who casts out of his treasure new and old.’^[10]

This semantic move from ‘selection’ to ‘expulsion’ conforms the passage to the theme of ‘sacrificial disposal’ common to other treasure parables in the latter part of chapter 13.^[11] Philips’ translation also makes sense of the less common word order of ‘new and old’ as it depicts a person clearing out their storehouse, working from the outside in ‘to make way for something else.’^[12] Phillips’ translation offers a vivid picture that compliments the previous parables of the Treasure and the Pearl.

Another issue is the meaning of ‘parable’. The word comes from the Greek παραβολή which is to ‘juxtaposition’, or to ‘throw alongside’, thus denoting comparison.^[13] However, the Greek usage of παραβολή is broader than English usage. In Greek it is used for riddles, proverbs, making comparisons and allegory. Snodgrass’ definition of a parable is broad enough to encompass most variants, as he describes it as ‘an expanded analogy used to convince and persuade. This is the way Ancient Greeks used the term and is broad enough to see how the Evangelists used them.’[14]

Matthew 13.44-52 is arguably the third and final pericope in this discourse and by now much of the insider/outsider dichotomy has been introduced. The pericope is framed by formulas which affirm the insider/outsider dichotomy. The previous pericope ends with the formula: ‘Let anyone with ears listen!’ This functions to remind the intended audience of the insider/disciple is one who listens. That 13.44 starts a new pericope is indicated by the renewed formula ‘The kingdom of heaven is like […]’ and announces a new sequence of three parables. The pericope ends at 13.52 with a question of understanding, thus affirming the insider/disciple as one who understands. The end of the pericope is followed by 13.53 which repeats the narrative formula: ‘After these things […]’, marking chapter 13 as one of the five main discourses of Jesus.^[15]