A lot of people today struggle with the vast differences between the Old Testament and New Testament texts. Even in Jesus’s time, many people thought He was going back on or retracting the written Scriptures and replacing them with new concepts. Jesus wasn’t removing any value from the written Scriptures; He was building on top of them, showing what God was doing for us and altering the course of our futures. Although there is a definite shift between the two testaments, it’s because Jesus came to earth to make that shift. None of it discounts what previously happened, though—the established Scriptures and the voices of the early prophets are still valid. Jesus introduced new perspectives that originated from the Old Testament writings because His work on earth did change our relationship with God. He is the change. The way His coming happened in real time, the way He fulfilled the Scriptures, was drastically different from what many people expected. The people of God—whether they were disciples of Jesus, religious teachers, or average Israelites—had to reset their expectations for what the coming of God’s kingdom looked like. And it was a hard reset. They had to figure out how to accept both the old Scriptures and the new teachings. Becoming a disciple of Jesus enables us to see new value in what is written in both Testaments. It is one thing to know and teach what is in the Bible. But being a disciple of Jesus requires an open recognition and acceptance of the life adjustments that are needed in everything we think, say, and do in response to His teachings. Likewise, it is one thing to merely read the Scriptures; it’s quite another to mine the treasures of truth within them and live according to those truths.

Consider these questions as you reflect on today’s reading:

In today’s Scripture reading, why does Jesus call the truths of the kingdom of heaven “treasures”?

Have Jesus’s words shown you anything new about the Old Testament or changed your understanding of anything in it?

How have you had to reset your expectations of what it means to be a follower of Jesus as you have progressed in your journey with Him?