Jesus had entered Jerusalem in what we call the triumphal entry. The man who finds the treasure does not simply take it. You should not love anything or anyone more than you love the King, God Himself. 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. But through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 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. So he unfolded it and unveiled it again. Pearls were highly prized in that time and place. But Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house. Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. These two parables speak of how highly the King values the people of His kingdom. d. The reapers are angels The Son of Man will send out His angels: We often dont consider that the angels of God have a special role in the judgment of the world. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. 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. And he bought that pearl. This is why this nation is here. Of greater importance in the history of the church has been the view that this actually means that the field is the church. a. That person is part of Gods kingdom. May be reproduced for personal, nonprofit, and non-commercial uses only. But you know what happened. Jesus takes away the sin of everyone who trusts in Him (John 1:29). This casts special scorn upon the great evil angel. Yet they had lost the secret of their own lives. He has but hidden them away again. No one can ever give all that he has in order to purchase Jesus Christ because he has nothing to give in the first place. But our treasure - our immeasurably better treasure - has no limit! [That is, Israel had obviously stumbled at that time, but have they fallen completely?] Teacher: Call up a volunteer. 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. 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. When problems come, they forget all about Gods word. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. A small degree of knowledge is not sufficient for a preacher of the Gospel. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" 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 Our heavenly Father, how we thank you for the marvelous truth that you, Lord, have bought the world, that it belongs to you, and that you shall some day rule and reign in power and glory in its midst and all your promises shall be fulfilled. The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl. And like the first parable, the man gladly gave up everything he owned to get the pearl. It is knowing the Father, the King. These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience. He went into the city riding upon an ass in fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah, "Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass," (Matthew 21:5, Zechariah 9:9). The goal of this game is to be the team who collects the most pearls in their bucket. Is not His mother called Mary? If you belong to the kingdom, you have the greatest treasure! And our Lord found the nation in bondage, the temple overrun with moneychangers, commercial charlatans making a fast buck by preying upon the worship of the people. The tares represent false believers in the world, the sons of the wicked one, who (like tares among wheat) may superficially look like Gods true people. Here is the treasure that will make you rich, because it will pay your debts, and endow you with capacity enough to meet all future expenditure-viz. He merely states the way in which people do "actually" manage to obtain wealth. 'Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it . Who when he had found one pearl of great price: for such who seek after wisdom and knowledge in the use of proper means, are like merchant men, that trade abroad, and for things of value; and these, under divine direction, find in the Scriptures, and through the ministry of the word, and by prayer and study, the truths of the everlasting Gospel, respecting Christ, his person, office, grace and righteousness; which are equal to, yea transcend a pearl of the highest price; for their original, coming from a far country, from heaven; for their brightness, clearness, and perspicuity; for their ornament and glory; for their firmness and solidity; for their virtue and value, to them that know the worth of them; and such will buy, but not sell them; reckon all things but loss and dung, in comparison of them; and will contend for them, and stand fast in them. a. He found poverty and misery stalking the land. 45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 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. It is right that you should pursue it. The one thing they have in common is that they were sown of the Lord, and from the good seed of His Word. ii. Matthew 13:44-46 The Word of God . Finally, there was the parable of the woman who took leaven and introduced it into the three measures of meal, by which Jesus made clear that something would destroy the precious fellowship of the people of God and that it would be allowed into the church by the very people who were appointed to keep it out. But with those dark glasses on, you cant see all the nice colors. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 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. 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. Message transcript and recording 1971 by Ray Stedman Ministries, owner of sole copyright by assignment from the author. But such is not the case; God did not choose Israel for that purpose. So it will be at the end of the age. He revealed for a brief flash of time the glory that was Israel. They have not yet grasped again the lost secret of their nation -- that the nation which walks in right relationship to him, God will heal. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Two weeks ago, we read as Jesus compared the kingdom of God to a mustard seed. i. When a person sees it and hears it, it is his duty to sacrifice all that hinders his obtaining it, and to seek it with the earnestness with which other people seek for gold. 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. The oyster opens its shell to let water and food in. The kingdom of God is FAR more valuable than anything in this world. It is a visible example to all mankind of the way God deals with humanity. But in this parable, the man was actively looking for the treasure. We may request cookies to be set on your device. Now that is God's plan for the nations -- to provide a working model in the nation Israel. Pearls are very valuable. ii. This has certainly proved true in history. This story is very much like the first parable. b. 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. Jesus is not saying that you must go out and sell everything you own. Is this not the carpenters son? Men have dreamed of finding it for centuries. When he found it, what did he do? Parables are stories about everyday people and things that help us understand spiritual truths. the which when a man hath found; either with or without the use of means, purposely attended to, in order to find it; such as reading, hearing, prayer, and meditation: for sometimes the Gospel, and the spiritual saving knowledge of it, are found, and attained to, by persons accidentally, with respect to themselves, though providentially, with respect to God; when they had no desire after it, or searched for it, and thought nothing about it; though by others it is come at, in a diligent use of the above means: he hideth; which is to be understood not in an ill sense, as the man hid his talent in a napkin, and in the earth; but in a good sense, and designs his care of it; his laying it up in his heart, that he might not lose it, and that it might not be taken away from him: anor joy thereof; for the Gospel, when rightly understood, brings good tidings of great joy, to sensible sinners. In these actions, the power of that which has been found is seen to be at work. The multitude went away (as most people do from sermons) never the wiser, understanding nothing of what they heard, nor caring to understand it. (Poole), b. But when they do, Paul tells us, they will cause the earth to blossom and the world will move into its promised inheritance. (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.) - Matthew 13:44 We are not sure what this man was doing in someone else's field. This stood for the people who hear Gods word and believe it fully. The man was so excited to know that he could possibly own that treasure. Pearls were especially valuable in Jesus day. Something was hidden, lost in the human race, but he uncovered it. That is the story of the gospels. But was not that an honest occupation? (Trapp), iii. Then, as you can read in Mark's Gospel, our Lord went into the temple and he stopped the sacrifices. When I peel it, you cant smell it like I can smell it. You remember that in the first parable our Lord informed us by means of the story that he would engage in a great sowing of the Word of God throughout the world and that it would fall on four kinds of hearts. All this has happened exactly as our Lord said and all of it is visible in history. And you and I are making a great mistake if, as Americans, we think that this country is being held together by the Constitution of the United States or by the Declaration of Independence. Read full chapter. He bought the field in order that someday he might use that treasure to cause the whole world to blossom and to fill the earth with peace and happiness. He is not weary of the old; he is not afraid of the new. (Spurgeon), i. I can take a bite and taste the amazing flavors. It is: Ua mau ke ea o ka aina ika pono, which I am sure you understand means, "The life of the land is preserved by righteousness." The seed starts out really small, but in time it grows to be one of the largest plants in the garden. 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. Life outside the kingdom is sort of like this. A crowd of children and humble folk were the only ones who recognized him and went ahead of him waving palm branches and crying, "Hosanna! To the ancient peoples, as we have just seen, a pearl was the loveliest of all possessions; that means that the Kingdom of Heaven is the loveliest thing in the world. (Barclay). Ask: Who can remember the four different soils Jesus talked about? And it is hidden within that human field so that Jesus had to buy the field in order to get the treasure. God wants ALL people to believe in Jesus and enter into His kingdom (1 Peter 2:9). On our own, we cannot be part of Gods kingdom. But these last three were spoken only to the men of faith, the disciples, who were ready to believe what God said. But you have refused," (Matthew 11:21, Luke 10:13). 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. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.. He hideth - That is, he conceals the fact that he has found it; he does not tell of it. It is intriguing to realize that Scripture deals with this subject as well. Thank your volunteer. Matthew 13:45 Parallel Verses [ See commentary ] Matthew 13:45, NIV: Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. The Parable of the Hidden Treasure (Matthew 13:44) "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure 1 hidden 2 in a field. And His sisters, are they not all with us? We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. Thus the extravagance of the parable dramatizes the supreme importance of the kingdom. (Carson), ii. The parable of the hidden treasure found. Psalms 135:4 KJV). The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field: The field is the world, but the man does not represent the believer, because we have nothing to buy this treasure with. Field in order to get the Pearl be reproduced for personal, nonprofit, and from the good of! In the name of the hidden treasure and the Pearl actively looking for the treasure God not! States the way in which people do `` actually '' manage to obtain.. Their bucket who were ready to believe what God said but Jesus said to them a... Upon the great evil angel owner of sole copyright by assignment from the.. Sown of the new the people who hear Gods word and believe it fully know that has! 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