At the end of seven parables, Jesus asks one question: “Have you understood all these things? They say yes. And he gives them one final image that reframes what understanding even means. The scribes of Jesus’ day knew the Law, memorized vast portions of it, and taught it faithfully. But the word had passed through them without pressing into them or changing them. Jesus is after something different.

Every scribe trained for the kingdom brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old, not someone who has studied the kingdom from a distance, but someone who has been discipled into it. The question this sermon puts to you is not whether you have understood the parables. It is whether the parables have formed you.