You cannot read the Gospel stories without seeing that there came a time in our Lord's ministry when he began to change his message and turn away from the proclamation that the kingdom of heaven was at hand, that he was there in their midst. And the nations of earth will never learn this righteousness finally, until Israel stands once again as a nation before God, recognizing the presence of God in their midst and providing a working model of how every nation ultimately shall be run by the provision and power of God. God has not forgotten Israel. The main idea is that the disciples who had just claimed to understand what Jesus taught are now responsible to bring forth their understanding to others, as if they were distributing from the storehouse of their wisdom and understanding. If our country forgets that, it will lose its ability to stand as a nation among the other nations of the world. This is a dream and a vision that men have long held. The story of a God who wanted to rescue you and me so badly that he left the royal courts of heaven, and lived on this earth as a humble human being. Now, what is it? They concern things which are not quite as easily seen in the historical process. Was this a big hidden treasure? We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website. And as we go through life we are the people who some day discover him. Around us the storms may gather, but let us not shut out the hope that the burdens of fear and want may be lifted for a glorious era from the bruised and weary shoulders of mankind. One pearl of great price: It seems crazy for a merchant to sell all that he had for one pearl, but for this merchant it was well worth it. If you belong to the kingdom, you have the greatest treasure! 44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. Read the Scripture: Matthew 13:44 In the great series of parables in Matthew 13 our Lord gave us, as he said, "The secrets of the kingdom of heaven." The kingdom of heaven is God's work among men, God's rule and authority in the midst of human affairs. Then it is up to us to sell all that we have, give it all up, and buy him at any cost. It always reminds me immediately of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, of Long John Silver, and doubloons and pieces-of-eight, pegleg pirates, and all the exciting things usually associated with the idea of buried treasure. God has gathered this nation together again, brought in the people from the outlying countries of the world, gathered his dispersed from the four corners of the earth, and brought them back into the land. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls. I have this beautiful fruit. This powerfully shows how Jesus gave everything to redeem the whole world to preserve a treasure in it, and the treasure is His people. It is recorded in the motto of that fiftieth state. With a view of obtaining this, Jesus says that a man would go and sell his property and buy the field. What would it be? After you have been instructed by me, you have the knowledge, not only of the things you used to know, but of things you never knew before, and even the knowledge which you had before is illuminated by what I have told to you. (Barclay), iv. Notice that there are two things in this story which are immediately recognizable because we have had them before. i. Just as in the first parable, the valuable pearl was a symbol of the kingdom of God. There is an honest cry from the harassed heart of a statesman who is desperately trying to find the treasure that is hidden in man, the secret of world peace. b. Otherwise you will be prompted again when opening a new browser window or new a tab. As long as God chooses to work in concert with human agency, developing our ability to partner with Him, our unbelief can and may hinder the work of God. But he hid it again. Their hearts receive the message of the kingdom, and the seed takes root and produces lots of spiritual fruit. c. He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief: It is truly remarkable that Jesus was, in some manner, limited by their unbelief. which is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, the truth as it is in Jesus, the glad tidings. It is hidden from most people. This is what we human beings need. God is in control. We never can understand anything until we see it demonstrated before us. You see, as our Lord indicates, it is something related to the field, to humanity. And she brought with her a great retinue bearing exotic spices, gold, silver, precious stones, beautiful cloth, an amazing array of presents for King Solomon. The fate of these ungodly ones will be fire, the most terrible of punishments; but this will not annihilate them; for they shall exhibit the surest tokens of a living woe wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Spurgeon). The parables describe how the kin (g)dom of heaven emerges from something almost invisible to the eye and grows exponentially, offering us sustenance, a treasure worthy of all our attention and resources. a. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. This insulting question seems to intimate that our Lords family was a very obscure one; and that they were of small repute among their neighbours, except for their piety. Clarke), iii. I hope that this is clear to the many of you, especially those of you who are younger, who are earnestly and zealously and quite dedicatedly trying to pursue world peace. 4. Click on the different category headings to find out more. But I submit to you that that is false, and obviously so. The first four parables, at which we have already looked, were delivered by the Sea of Galilee on a single memorable occasion when Jesus spoke to a great crowd who gathered about him. 44"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, and in his own house: We often have wrong ideas about what it means to be spiritual. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. They put their trust in Jesus. The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl. He is telling us that it is worth more than everything else. He is not weary of the old; he is not afraid of the new. (Spurgeon), i. The reference, as in the weeds, is not primarily to a mixed church, but to the division among mankind in general which the last judgment will bring to light. (France), Jesus said to them, Have you understood all these things? They said to Him, Yes, Lord. Then He said to them, Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.. When a man found it, he hid it again. This has certainly proved true in history. There is additional significance in saying, The field is the world instead of The field is Israel. This brief statement presupposes a mission beyond Israel. (Carson). Jesus is speaking in parables to describe the kingdom of heaven. i. Eventually, after several years, it ends up looking like a beautiful, shiny stone called a pearl. It seems by this parable, according to the Jewish laws, that not the finder of a treasure in a field, but the owner of the field, had the propriety in it; when it should seem rather, that it ought to be divided. This one features a merchant in search of fine pearls. Why is it that for all our professed ideals, our hopes, and our skills, peace on earth is still a distant objective seen only dimly through the storms and turmoils of our present difficulties?". But Christ does not intend to vindicate his conduct. They speak skeptically and will refer to Him only as this Man.. The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them: You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page. Kingdom life is here and now. Matthew 13, verse 44: "In his joy, he went and sold all he had and bought that field." These two short parables tell the story of the whole Bible. It is knowing the Father, the King. By that he indicated that the privilege of demonstrating the grace of God would he taken from Israel and given to the church. She reviewed all the glories of the kingdom of Solomon and was amazed and staggered by what she saw. He states a case where a man would actually "sacrifice his property," and practice diligence and watchfulness to obtain the wealth which he had discovered. When the man found the treasure, he could have covered it back up, gone about his business, and forgotten all about it. The "sea" here is clearly the world, since that is where people are gathered from by the angels (Matt. He has been at work ever since, sending men into all parts of the earth and into all levels of society, among all kinds of people, putting them there in order that there may be a testimony of the Word. But even that partial realization was a magnificent model of what God could do with any nation. A small degree of knowledge is not sufficient for a preacher of the Gospel. One of the fascinating things about studying Scripture, especially in a series of parables, is to try to answer questions like that -- to seek to fit the puzzle of the parable to the pattern of life, and see where they correspond. It is the very ordinariness of Jesus home background that causes the astonishment (cf. What does Matthew 13:44 mean? Why? Say: The hard path was a symbol for people who hear Gods word but ignore it. He himself is deeply involved in it. 'The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. This parable and the one following are different in character than the previous three. Western democracies say that they have found it. We often think that spiritual people will be much more strange than normal. But in our own time we are facing an amazing wonder, one of the most remarkable things that has ever taken place in the annals of men, and one of the most dramatic demonstrations of the truth of the Word of God! The reason he joyfully goes and sells all that he has and buys that field, is that the man understands its true value. - Matthew 13:45-46. In the days of David and Solomon there was a demonstration to the world of their day of what God would do with a nation which was in right relationship with him. He, too, knew that nothing he owned could compare to the great treasure he had finally found. Even the Jewish people themselves misunderstand it to a large degree. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. The man who finds the treasure does not simply take it. This parable powerfully teaches that it is Gods job to divide in judgment. i. The oyster creates a coating that covers the sand or shell. So it will be at the end of the age. In this little parable he reveals that he came and found this treasure, the secret of world peace and prosperity, hidden in this nation. There are banners and placards everywhere you go in America, crying out for peace. These are underwater animals that live inside of a shell. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." (Matthew 13:44) In our day, we can store treasure in the bank or in a safe deposit box. The battle is over the control of man who was created by God and was endowed by God with the power of choice. Teacher Note: These parables are not a plea for us to sell all we have in order to obtain the kingdom - for we truly have nothing to offer God (Ephesians 2:5-9). Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean! It is not full life because it is life that is separate from God (Isaiah 59:2). But we need to recognize that the parable of the treasure hidden in the field is the first of a series of three which our Lord gave in connection with the other four and on the same day, but, as Matthew is careful to tell us, he gave these to the disciples alone after they had gone back into the house. God wants ALL people to believe in Jesus and enter into His kingdom (1 Peter 2:9). These parables afford us a glimpse behind the scenes of history into factors and forces which are at work today but which we would never find reported on the pages of the newspaper. i. But you arent quite able to taste it. She was no inconsiderable monarch herself. We have nothing to offer him, nothing that we can give in return. But there would be one kind of heart in which the seed would grow up into a harvest and produce fruit. Such that have ability and leisure, may consult a controversy in Philostratus (l), between two persons, the buyer and seller of a field; in which, after the purchase, a treasure was found, when the seller claimed it as his; urging, that had he known of it, he would never have sold him the field: the buyer, on the other hand, insisted on its being his property; alleging that all was his which was contained in the land bought by him. The bigger and more perfectly round the pearl, the more valuable it is. ii. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls: Again, Jesus is the buyer and the individual believer is the pearl that He sees as so valuable that He would happily give all to have it forever. She has also spent many years mentoring Middle School and High School girls. As opposition began to mount against him and resistance to his message increased, our Lord withdrew from Jerusalem and went out into the desert. But in this parable, the man was actively looking for the treasure. The view was largely assumed by the early church fathers, and the tendency to interpret the parable that way was reinforced by the Constantinian settlement. . i. Click to enable/disable Google reCaptcha. In these actions, the power of that which has been found is seen to be at work. For more than four hundred years Israel had been an obscure, tiny little nation. And then our Lord said in the third parable that there would be an abnormal and an unnatural growth of the seed that he planted. Of greater importance in the history of the church has been the view that this actually means that the field is the church. New American Standard Version The scribes amongst the Jews were not only clerks, that were employed in writing, but teachers of the law; such a one was Ezra (Ezra 7:6). (Poole). He revealed for a brief flash of time the glory that was Israel. He was in Israel not long ago. The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field. The kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet: Jesus shows that the world will remain divided right up until the end, and the Church will not reform the world, ushering in the kingdom. 3. i. RayStedman.org/permissions. Thus, the field from which the treasure is gathered would be the world just as the sea from which fish are gathered is the world, and this also just as the wheat and weeds are gathered from the field, which is the world. And it is hidden within that human field so that Jesus had to buy the field in order to get the treasure. It would grow into an ungainly tree with many great branches, a powerful, prestigious structure that would attract birds of prey, evil men who would come into the church and build their nests there, i.e., establish their authority there, and thus would produce something entirely different than the effective, pungent, but low-profile approach to humanity that the Lord desired. 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