Loving the Kingdom like Jesus Matthew 13:44-46

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Griselda Hall
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1 1 Loving the Kingdom like Jesus Matthew 13:44-46 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. 45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. It s amazing that these two parables are so well known. The first one is two sentences and the second one is one sentence. And yet in them, Jesus captures the heart of the Bible and all that God is doing in the world. The background for these parables would have been quite familiar Jesus listeners. In the first parable, a man goes out into a field and finds a hidden treasure. It might not have been common to find a treasure in a field, but it is obvious that the people of Jesus day knew that treasure could be buried in a field. One of the Dead Sea scrolls is called the Copper Scroll. It is literally made out of copper leaf and engraved was a list of hiding places of gold and silver hidden under trees or fields or along paths under rocks. In the ancient world, it was common to bury riches. In Jesus time, there were no banks like we know them. There weren t any safe places to store your money or wealth like we have today, and so people hid their treasures. It s amazing that these two parables are so well known. The first one is two sentences and the second one is one sentence. And yet in them, Jesus captures the heart of the Bible and all that God is doing in the world. Let s take this last Sunday of the year to focus on, perhaps refocus on the heart of Scripture and what God is doing in the world. The traditional interpretation of these verses is that: a) We are the man b) Jesus is the treasure c) We are the merchant d) Jesus is the one pearl of great value This means the application is that we should a) seek Christ, b) perceive his value and c) do whatever it takes to possess him. That might make some sense, but that can t be true because it misinterprets the gospel. It makes salvation a matter of our effort and ability and removes any assurance. It also misses the true point of what Jesus is saying. Here is the correct understanding of what Jesus is saying - a) Jesus is the man b) We are the treasure c) Jesus is the merchant

2 2 d) We are the one pearl of great value As with all of Scripture, God s emphasis is on Christ and his work. This doesn t diminish the value of what we do. There is a challenge for us in these verses and I ll share it with you later. But seeing life as God sees it, reminds us that what we do is in response to what the Father has done, motivated by Jesus example and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Seeing life from that perspective changes everything. Look at the parables from the traditional but human perspective. In both parables, it is your responsibility to sell all you have and buy Jesus a) How much does salvation cost? b) Is it buyable? c) How much is enough? d) What does all that he has and all that he had mean? Everything necessary to buy it? Everything beyond what it takes to buy it? Looming at the verses from that perspective, there is no real joy and no assurance at all. It also misses the glory and love of Jesus. First: Ours is a Seeking God Matthew 18: See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my [e] Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. The emphasis in this passage is on God s love and God s searching. In the first parable, the man finds the treasure in a field. I have often read commentators say the man stumbled across the treasure and found it accidentally but there is no indication in the text of that interpretation. What we know from the text is that the treasure was hidden, and the man found it. In addition, the second parable states that the merchant was seeking fine pearls. This would imply that the first man is also looking/searching for treasure and found it in a particular field. The point is that God has sought his bride. He is seeking the church. This is the message of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. The Bible is the revelation of God and of his redemptive work in creation. This perspective identifies God as a seeking God. Our application/challenge would be to see God as the hero of his own story who is relentlessly, untiringly, passionately, unceasingly, victoriously seeking and finding. That truth/doctrine/theology should shape the way we see God.

3 3 We are often tempted to see God as uncaring, angry, forgetting Do you see yourself as God s treasure? As the costliest pearl? This places your value in God s eyes, from God s perspective. This is the only safe place for your identity, for your true worth and value. Have you seen God like that this year? When life has hurt you, have you seen God pursuing you or abandoning you? Finding you or losing you? The application here is great; a mountain moving perspective. But will you see yourself as God sees you or will you continue to let your own finite, fallen interpterion of you, define you or someone else s false interpretation of you? Ours is a seeking God who finds in you a treasure worth everything. Second: His is the Kingdom of Heaven Each parable begins, the kingdom of heaven is like. Jesus is trying to describe for us what God s kingdom is like and, in particular, its worth. For Jesus, it is like a treasure in a field or a pearl of great price. And we know what Christ has done to obtain it. He has, as each man in both parables, sold all that he had and with great joy, purchased the kingdom. For Christ, the kingdom is worth everything. Hebrews 12:2 - who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Philippians 2:6-8 - who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. What is our point of application? Philippians 2:5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus Here and in my application of these 2 parables we are challenged to think about the kingdom s worth to us. Have you, this past year, attributed equal worth to the kingdom? Let s start with something easy, easily measurable and something easy to do The KJV has 783,137 words. New KJV: 770,430 words. The ESV: 757,439 words. The NIV: 727,969 words.

4 4 Let s take the most words, the KJV at Divided by 365 days in a year, that s 2,146 words a day. The average person reads words per minute. 2,146 words per day divided by (an average of) 225 words per minute equals 9.6 minutes a day. You can read the entire Bible in a year in less than 10 minutes a day. Is the kingdom worth 10 minutes a day? Now let s move onto more difficult aspects of Christianity a) Is the kingdom worth forgiving someone or is your unforgiveness worth more to you than Jesus s death? b) Is the kingdom worth loving someone or is your hard-heartedness worth more to you than Jesus s death? c) Is the kingdom worth time spent with others or is your time alone worth more to you than Jesus s death? d) Is the kingdom worth surrendering your sin to God or is your own way of living worth more to you than Jesus s death? Remember, Jesus sees the kingdom as worth everything, so he gave everything. What are you holding back? What is worth more than the kingdom to you? You may not understand this yet, but if you keep anything, it will cost you your life now and forever. We just celebrated Christmas and have reminded ourselves of Jesus s birth. In communion this morning and in just a few months we ll celebrate Easter and remind ourselves of Jesus s death. Both events point to what Jesus thinks of the kingdom. What do you think of the kingdom? Third: Let s Define the Kingdom Every kingdom requires a king. A king establishes his kingdom. What does Jesus rule? Hebrews 2:5-8 - For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. 6 It has been testified somewhere, What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? 7 You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, 8 putting everything in subjection under his feet. Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. Colossians 1: For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. Jesus s kingdom is everything that exists. God s kingdom is what you think, what you love, what you do, what you possess, what you wear, your education, what makes you happy, what you want in life, what makes you sad, what give you hope, it s your reputation, it s everything. Oh yes. The kingdom isn t just physical stuff; that s too easy. And it doesn t just concern you. It s everything in existence.

5 5 Romans 14:17 - For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking [physical things] but of righteousness and peace and joy [immaterial things] in the Holy Spirit. Jesus is saying that anybody can change their own eating and drinking habits without God. But, righteousness, peace and joy; these are the important things only God can do. But the kingdom of heaven is both things; literally everything. It isn t because Christianity is too easy that people refuse it but because it is too hard. 1 Corinthians 1:26 - For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. Matthew 19:24 - it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. Why is it so hard for wise, powerful, noble or rich people to trust Christ? a) They falsely think they have too much to lose. b) They don t see what they can gain If we look at Col 1 and Matt 19 from another perspective, it teaches us that only foolish, weak, immoral and poor people trust Jesus. Why? They have nothing to lose. Unbelievers are cowards. Or maybe it is that one group sees the true value of everything, and the other does not. Perhaps one group can see, and the other group is blind? Have you seen the worth of Christ? Have you seen what you gain by loss? Which group are you in? In that case, we can t claim sight as a virtue, or we make salvation obtainable by works. Instead, if you don t see the value of Jesus, you should beg God for sight. John 3:3 - unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Back to our practical application? Do you see the value of the kingdom and have, following Jesus, you sold everything to own it? Conclusion: It s just three sentences but it is the heart of God and the Bible. 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. 45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

6 6 Jesus loved the kingdom everything enough to die for it and win it to himself and by winning it to himself, make everything as it ought to be. Do you see Jesus like that, worth everything? Do you live like Jesus, surrendering everything? You have a brand-new year to do so. Community Groups: 1 Have someone read the text. 2 Why would people in Jesus s day bury treasure? 3 (Were you paying attention?) What is the copper scroll? 4 Why can t the man in either parable be us? We can t buy salvation!!! 5 If you had to describe God in one word, what would it be? 6 How does seeking describe God? 7 According to these verses, how does God see us? 8 Why is it so hard to see ourselves as a treasure? 9 What is the kingdom of heaven? It is everything God has created. 10 How does Christmas and Easter remind us of what Jesus sold? 11 In 2018, what were you unwilling to sell to demonstrate your passion for him? 12 What did the pastor mean by the statement, It isn t because Christianity is too easy that people refuse it but because it is too hard. 12 Why is it so hard for wise, powerful, noble or rich people to trust Christ? 13 What will you sell this year to follow Christ in valuing the kingdom appropriately?

Meeting With Christ. THE PARABLE OF THE HIDDEN TREASURE (part two) Hidden in a field. Matthew 13:44

Meeting With Christ. THE PARABLE OF THE HIDDEN TREASURE (part two) Hidden in a field. Matthew 13:44 Meeting With Christ Practical and Exegetical Studies on the Words of Jesus Christ Yves I-Bing Cheng, M.D., M.A. Based on sermons of Pasteur Eric Chang www.meetingwithchrist.com THE PARABLE OF THE HIDDEN