When they were cut and polished, they were worth millions of dollars. Click to enable/disable _gid - Google Analytics Cookie. He declared it in great messages like the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus takes away the sin of everyone who trusts in Him (John 1:29). It is a visible example to all mankind of the way God deals with humanity. There was no voice of God in their midst, no prophet speaking forth from God. For Israel, even in rejection, even in failure, is still an example to the people of the world. (7) Few men understand how great the riches of the kingdom of heaven are, and that no man can be a partaker of them but he that redeems them with the loss of all his goods. This powerfully shows how Jesus gave everything to redeem the whole world to preserve a treasure in it, and the treasure is His people. But Jesus came to make the kingdom available to everyone (Mark 1:15). Life outside the kingdom is sort of like this. Jesus is speaking in parables to describe the kingdom of heaven. Where then did this Man get all these things?. Both men GLADLY, JOYFULLY gave up everything else to claim their new found treasure. Years ago I was struck by the closing words of a great address that Winston Churchill gave at Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1950: What prizes lie before all the people if they are worthy of them: peace, food, happiness, leisure, wealth for the masses never known nor dreamed of, the glorious advance into a period of rest and safety for all the hundreds of millions of homes where little children play by the fire, and girls grow up in all their beauty, and young men strive and win in the free enterprise of life. As we learned two weeks ago, the kingdom of God will grow and grow! That means a recognition of his healing power, and of the fact forgiveness is available for all the injuries and mistakes and wrong doings of our past. But our treasure - our immeasurably better treasure - has no limit! THE PARABLE OF THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls" (v. 45). When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 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. To follow knowledge, like a sinking star. 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). iv. Say: Pearls come from oysters. In the parable of the soils, the seed represented the Word of God; here it represents true believers. 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. The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field. Then it is up to us to sell all that we have, give it all up, and buy him at any cost. 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 He revealed for a brief flash of time the glory that was Israel. 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). Therefore, we will not spend any more time on that misinterpretation, but will come right to the heart of what the story of the treasure hidden in the field really means. In a land as frequently ravaged as Palestine, many people doubtless buried their treasures; butto actually find a treasure would happen once in a thousand lifetimes. Jodi has a passion for Biblical ac More, The Net Pastors Journal, Eng. This man was like the people who had listened to Gods promises of long ago, and were waiting for the Messiah, the Savior, to come. 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. (Just as a comparison, the diamond on a womans wedding ring may be about one-quarter or one-half of a carat.) 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. And Congress is trying to put its finger on where you begin and how you relate peace of heart in an individual to peace among men. The first four stories were given to the unbelieving seaside crowd. Then, building on that, in the second parable the Lord said that he would take the sons of the kingdom, who are produced by the seed of the Word, and sow them like wheat throughout the world. 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. The previous three parables (the wheat and the tares, the mustard seed, and the leaven) each spoke of corruption in the kingdom community. No! Teacher: Show your pearls. She reviewed all the glories of the kingdom of Solomon and was amazed and staggered by what she saw. Something is hidden in the world. Through the pages of the Word of God we are afforded tremendous insights into life. The seed starts out really small, but in time it grows to be one of the largest plants in the garden. Is this not the carpenters son: This question was asked out of ignorant prejudice. b. But the exciting thing about Scripture is that in it we are always dealing with fact, not fancy. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site. Ask: Does anyone know where pearls come from? The life of this land, like that of any other land, is preserved by righteousness. But I submit to you that that is false, and obviously so. It sure was, and it was right in the mans own backyard! Eventually he came again into the city and there he pronounced solemn and serious words of judgment against the nation. The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl. And the queen's heart melted and she said, "I didn't believe the reports until I had seen all this with my own eyes, but the half has never been told me," (1Kings 10:7). It was now subject to the Romans, crushed under the heel of an iron-hearted oppressor. [That is, Israel had obviously stumbled at that time, but have they fallen completely?] Now we turn to these three private parables given to the disciples: The parable of the hidden treasure, the parable of the pearl of great price, and the parable of the dragnet. a. Clearly, the treasure in that field was worth more than everything else that the man owned. Augustine made the interpretation official struggling against the DonatistsMost Reformers followed the same line. (Carson). Maybe he was a hired helper for the man who owned the field, or maybe he was just passing through. a. In Verses44 and45 Jesus says. Treasure seekers searched the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the Indian Ocean to find oysters with pearls inside. God has not forgotten Israel. They concern those aspects of the kingdom of heaven at work among men which are readily recognizable and visible in history. That is what keeps a nation strong. This one features a merchant in search of fine pearls. And he bought that pearl. Or we can see Gods kingdom, full of peace, love, forgiveness, freedom, and joy, and want that more than anything else. the possession of the forgiving and cleansing grace of God which is in Jesus Christ. And he bought that field. Everyone who chooses to trust in Him has kingdom life - life to the fullest! '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 . God has said that if you will turn back to him, as Israel will some day, he stands ready to heal, ready to forgive, ready to wipe out all the failures, all the transgressions, and to begin in your experience to cause your life to blossom and to come into abundance. The person has a change of heart, and he or she truly wants to do Gods will. 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. 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. However, Jesus did not deny their claim to understand. Next week we will go on to see how this parable ties very closely with the next one, the parable of the pearl of great price. Is not His mother called Mary? But there would be one kind of heart in which the seed would grow up into a harvest and produce fruit. 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. You remember the story of the Queen of Sheba who, as Jesus had said earlier this very day, came "from the ends of the earth" Matthew 12:42) because she had heard of Solomon's glory and she wanted to find the secret of this man's prestige and power and wisdom and majesty. They each have the element of a man who discovers something valuable and sells all that he has and buys it. This congressman said that Congress is really wrestling with this issue. He has previously identified himself as the central figure. 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. The pearl is different than the treasure, and yet for both the Lord gave all that he had. So he went away and sold everything he had. RayStedman.org/permissions. 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. He was left with nothing. 13:49). "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the spirit forces that are in high places." 5. Finding the treasure appears to be by chance. 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. Pearls were highly prized in that time and place. And then he did an amazing thing. The problem with his emerald treasure was that there was a limited supply. And in those words, "he gave all that he had," the mystery of the darkness of the cross of Jesus Christ is implied. All rights reserved. But Christ does not intend to vindicate his conduct. 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. Yesterday I spent a few hours with Dr.Billy Graham. Changes will take effect once you reload the page. These two would grow up together and sometimes would be difficult to distinguish, especially at the beginning, but eventually would make their real nature known. 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! a. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 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. Justin Martyr, an ancient writer, testifieth, that our Saviour, ere he entered upon the ministry, made ploughs, yokes, and so forth. By proceeding, you consent to our cookie usage. May be reproduced for personal, nonprofit, and non-commercial uses only. i. 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. The bigger and more perfectly round the pearl, the more valuable it is. 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: and for joy thereof; 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). In these actions, the power of that which has been found is seen to be at work. (Matthew uses the phrase kingdom of heaven while the other authors use kingdom of God, but they are one and the same.) They said to Him, Yes, Lord. We wonder if the disciples really did understand Jesus here. Whatever the reason he was there, he found an amazing treasure, maybe similar to the emeralds. In these two parables our Lord is telling us the reasons for the cross. He hideth - That is, he conceals the fact that he has found it; he does not tell of it. The Communists claim that they have found it. which is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, the truth as it is in Jesus, the glad tidings. He knew that the treasure was better than his home and his belongings. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" He went home and sold everything he owned: his house, his furniture, his jewelry, his sheep and goats. (Matthew 21:9, Mark 11:9, John 12:13). Something was hidden, lost in the human race, but he uncovered it. i. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. When the man found the treasure, he could have covered it back up, gone about his business, and forgotten all about it. The word peace is on everyone's lips today. 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. These were men of the Word, and when our Lord spoke this parable, they would clearly remember the words of Exodus19. Yet it can also be asked out of deep appreciation of the fact that the Son of God took such a noble, lowly place. In this little parable he reveals that he came and found this treasure, the secret of world peace and prosperity, hidden in this nation. Magistrates and churches may remove the openly wicked from their society; the outwardly good who are inwardly worthless they must leave; for the judging of hearts is beyond their sphere. (Spurgeon), iv. Even the Jewish people themselves misunderstand it to a large degree. What a beautiful dream. Jesus is not saying that you must go out and sell everything you own. The shell has two parts that are hinged together like this. In the great series of parables in Matthew13 our Lord gave us, as he said, "The secrets of the kingdom of heaven." Copyright 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society / Used by permission of IBS-STL. So it will be at the end of the age. This is what Paul tells us in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh chapters of Romans. The Indian Ocean to find oysters with pearls inside fact, not fancy the Indian Ocean to oysters. Tremendous insights into life kingdom available to everyone ( Mark 1:15 ) there he pronounced solemn and words... 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