When Jesus questioned his disciples whether they had understood his parables, they replied, “Yes.” He then continued, “Every scribe, having been taught about the kingdom of the heavens, is like a man, [the] master of the house, who brings out new and old things from his [stored] treasure.” (Matthew 13:51, 52)

A scribe or learned person came to be such upon first being instructed, preparing him to teach others. Jesus’ disciples, having been taught by him about the kingdom of the heavens, came into possession of a precious treasure. Like the master of a house, they could bring both new and old things out of this depository. The new things would have related to Jesus and his teaching, whereas the old things would be the law, the psalms, proverbs or wise sayings, and the words of the ancient Hebrew prophets contained in the accepted collection of sacred writings. In their teaching, the disciples would make use of the “holy writings” and the words of Jesus.