The wheat comes into Gods barn from all over the world, from all ranks of society, from all ages of Gods church. When our Lord covered the treasure over it was hidden completely in the field of humanity again. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. This casts special scorn upon the great evil angel. Then she asked him for the secret and Solomon took her to the temple and there he showed her the worship of Jehovah, showed her how this nation was related to the God of glory and that it was their understanding of God which produced the magnificence she had seen. He hideth - That is, he conceals the fact that he has found it; he does not tell of it. This parable likely also fired the imaginations of Jesus' listeners, because it pictures unexpected good fortune. A great misinterpretation of these parables has developed, quite without any basis in the systematic interpretation of symbols in Scripture, which has hidden their true meaning. Then, as you can read in Mark's Gospel, our Lord went into the temple and he stopped the sacrifices. Because each of us sins, none of us can do the perfect will of God. Earlier he had pronounced judgment on the outlying cities: "Woe to you, Chorazin! Jesus said, "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. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.. i. "Many turned back," the record says, "and no longer walked with him," (John 6:66). The Lord Jesus says that he came and uncovered for a brief time the secret of world peace and prosperity. For Israel, even in rejection, even in failure, is still an example to the people of the world. You should not love anything or anyone more than you love the King, God Himself. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the spirit forces that are in high places." 5. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.. The field is the world: Significantly, this parable illustrates not necessarily that there will be false believers among true believers in the church (though that is also true to some extent); otherwise Jesus would have explained that the field is thechurch. Under rabbinic law if a workman came on a treasure in a field and lifted it out, it would belong to his master, the fields owner; but here the man is careful not to lift the treasure out till he has bought the field. (Carson). ii. He has previously identified himself as the central figure. 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 then he did an amazing thing. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Jesus takes away the sin of everyone who trusts in Him (John 1:29). he said (Matthew 23:13, et al). Or we can see Gods kingdom, full of peace, love, forgiveness, freedom, and joy, and want that more than anything else. If you have that, you are rich; if you do not possess it, you are poor. It is right that you should pursue it. God wants ALL people to believe in Jesus and enter into His kingdom (1 Peter 2:9). I hope you never open your Bibles without the sense that here is a book which gives you vital, inside information which you can get from no other source and which will help you to understand yourself, and life, and the mystery of history, more than you possibly could in any other way. And he was telling me how divided among themselves the Israelis are and how they are separating into squabbling bickering groups, fighting each other, and into many political parties vying for power. He was in Israel not long ago. The crowd was large that he moved out from shore in a boat to be able to speak to them and teach them these parables. Say: Jesus continued by telling another, similar parable. b. The one thing they have in common is that they were sown of the Lord, and from the good seed of His Word. He lamented over this recalcitrant city and said, "O Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! i. She was no inconsiderable monarch herself. The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field. Of greater importance in the history of the church has been the view that this actually means that the field is the church. Put dark glasses on her and tie the handkerchief LOOSELY to cover her nose and mouth (bandit style). Just as in the first parable, the valuable pearl was a symbol of the kingdom of God. He was left with nothing. Even though these people had been looking for Gods kingdom, when they found it, it was far greater than what they had expected. He ended them, and then he said to the people, "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation that will bring forth the fruits of it," (Matthew 21:43). We never can understand anything until we see it demonstrated before us. But thats not what he did. He himself is deeply involved in it. The oyster creates a coating that covers the sand or shell. (As we saw last time, the parable of the leaven also has been misconstrued to mean something quite different from what our Lord ever intended.) And the crowds who had followed him, the multitudes who had hung upon his words faded away. What a beautiful dream. Is this not the carpenters son: This question was asked out of ignorant prejudice. Finally, there was good soil. 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. 45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. If there is anyone here in that condition, remember that this is God's promise to you, and that he has given a visible demonstration in the life of this nation. he hideth, and for joy thereofon perceiving what a treasure he had lighted on, surpassing the worth of all he possessed. The shell has two parts that are hinged together like this. Both men GLADLY, JOYFULLY gave up everything else to claim their new found treasure. They are intended to demonstrate how any nation can be blessed and fulfilled and find prosperity and peace and harmony and happiness if they discover the secret of their relationship to God. He merely states the way in which people do "actually" manage to obtain wealth. Though they are surrounded and ringed by enemies armed to the teeth who are vowing to wipe every Jew off the face of the earth, Nevertheless, as is obvious, they do not understand the secret of their own life and are trying to produce peace and stability by democratic methods and consensus and compromise. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls. This is like the kingdom of God because it grows in the hearts of believers, and it grows throughout the world as more and more people enter the kingdom. When the man found the treasure, he could have covered it back up, gone about his business, and forgotten all about it. This week, well look at a parable in which Jesus told how much the kingdom of God is worth. Julian the apostate, as he is called, once asked a certain Christian, What do you think the carpenters son is doing now? Making coffins for you and for all his enemies, was the prompt reply. (Spurgeon). The life of this land, like that of any other land, is preserved by righteousness. What is it that inhibits us from going forward together to enjoy the fruits of human endeavor and to reap the harvest of human experience? (Matthew 13:44-46 RSV). (Romans 11:11-14 RSV), For if their rejection means the reconciIiation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? I can take a bite and taste the amazing flavors. But then they let greed and worry take over their heart and mind, and that chokes out the truth that they know. That is what keeps a nation strong. And then he went and gave all that he had and bought the field in which it is hidden. The best pearls were worth extraordinary sums of money. But you arent quite able to taste it. They are part of the whole series of seven, but they were given only to the disciples, and there is something significant about that. That treasure is the lost secret of how to get along with other nations, how to discover peace and prosperity and happiness and all the many results of peace that men have been seeking after for centuries. 44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. For permission to use this content, please review Last week, we read Jesus parable about the four soils. 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. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Jesus had entered Jerusalem in what we call the triumphal entry. If you want to put that treasure into one word, as revealed by the Scriptures, that word is Israel, the nation of Israel. The total weight of the emeralds was about 3,300 carats. 36-43 This parable represents the present and future state of the gospel church; Christ's care of it, the devil's enmity against it, the mixture there is in it of good and bad in this world, and the separation between them in the other world. He uncovered it but buried it again, and now it is hidden once more. They said to Him, Yes, Lord. We wonder if the disciples really did understand Jesus here. b. This parable powerfully teaches that it is Gods job to divide in judgment. But was not that an honest occupation? (Trapp), iii. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer. He sows the tares, and tries to destroy the harvest; and, therefore, the good angels are brought in to celebrate his defeat, and to rejoice together with their Lord in the success of the divine husbandry. (Spurgeon). And sometimes a piece of sand or shell gets in. So he unfolded it and unveiled it again. The Communists claim that they have found it. Is this not the carpenters son: Because these villagers were familiar with Jesus as a boy and accustomed to unspectacular things from Him, we may conclude that Jesus must have grown up a very normal boy unlike the fantastic stories told in apocryphal books like The Infancy of Jesus. Click to enable/disable _gat_* - Google Analytics Cookie. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." Explanation and Commentary of Matthew 13:44 So, if there are some among us here, who, like Israel, have temporarily turned away from God and have been walking away from him, who may, like Israel, once have had sweet fellowship with the Lord but lately have been resisting, have turned aside and gone back, have lost faith and now are wandering in perplexity, puzzlement, and bewilderment, in obscurity, weakness, and defeat, nevertheless God's promises to you are just as sure as they are to Israel. These were men of the Word, and when our Lord spoke this parable, they would clearly remember the words of Exodus19. You can check these in your browser security settings. Instead, Jesus is the man who gave all that He had to buy the field. 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. Ultimately it is not the job of the church to weed out those who appear to be Christians but actually are not; that is Gods job at the end of this age. That is the story of the gospels. So they were offended at Him: When we think of how strongly Jesus is identified with Nazareth (see at Matthew 2:23), it is even more surprising to note that the people of Nazareth did not appreciate it. If our country forgets that, it will lose its ability to stand as a nation among the other nations of the world. They speak skeptically and will refer to Him only as this Man.. Matthew 13:45 "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. So he went and sold everything he had. Say: Jesus began His story with the words, The kingdom of heaven is like Lets talk about the kingdom of heaven for a minute. This storehouse contains things new and old. He entered into all of that. c. The enemy who sowed them is the devil: Clearly, the enemy plants counterfeits in the world and in the kingdom community, and this is why merely being a member of the Christian community isnt enough. goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth the field: which is not to be interpreted literally and properly; though a man that knows the worth and value of the Bible, rather than be without one, would part with all his worldly substance for one; but figuratively, and denotes the willingness of such souls, who are led into the glory, fulness, and excellency of the word of God, the scriptures of truth, and of the immense treasure of the Gospel therein, to part with all that has been, or is dear unto them; with their sins, and self-righteousness; with their good names and characters; their worldly substance, and life itself, for the sake of the Gospel, and their profession of it: and may also design the use of all means, to gain a larger degree of light and knowledge in the Gospel. That is why it is not enough to preach the gospel to people; you must also live it. The oyster opens its shell to let water and food in. He declared it in great messages like the Sermon on the Mount. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" Nations are right to try to solve their problems and reconcile their differences. The kingdom of God is wherever the will of God is done. It is knowing the Father, the King. a. Some time ago, in addressing a crowd of 2,500 delegates from 57 countries of the world who were trying to find some way to world peace, he said these remarkable words: "What element is lacking so that with all our skill and all our knowledge we still find ourselves in the dark valley of discord and enmity? There they stand ready, being prepared right now to discover again, finally, the secret of their life. So it will be at the end of the age: There will be both the wicked and the just until the end of the age (as also demonstrated in the previous parable of the wheat and the tares). The treasure was too great to forget about! But in that same parable he said that an enemy would come and sow tares, or weeds, are that these would grow up right alongside the wheat. 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. III. Jesus makes it clear that we should not let anything keep us from entering the kingdom of God. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure that was hidden in a field. We often think that spiritual people will be much more strange than normal. The conduct of the man would be dishonest. Why? I want them to have it in the fullest possible way. (John 10:10). We need 2 cookies to store this setting. b. i. III. Special thanks to John R. 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