A Study Of The Book of Matthew Sermon # 51 111030 1Bt Sm The Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price Matthew 13:44-46 (Hebrews 12:1-2) We noted as we began looking at chapter thir-teen that Matthew begins to record seven classic parables about the Kingdom of Heaven. These parables are called parables of the Kingdom because they use the phrase the kingdom of Heaven is like These parables describe the Kingdom Age which began when Christ came to earth and will carry through until He returns and sets up His Millennial Kingdom. The first four parables were delivered by the Sea of Galilee. The crowds following Jesus had become so large it made it necessary for the Lord to get into a boat and speak to the people gathered along the shore. The next three parables where given on the same day but given to His disciples alone after they had gone back into the house. There seems to be some signi-ficance in the fact that these were given only to the disciples. The two that we are going to examine today The Parable of the Treasure and The Parable of the Pearl are twin parables with essentially the same message and so we will be examining them together. Jesus tells us about two men who stumble upon a treasure. The Parable of the Hidden Treasure (12:44) "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. This is barely a parable it is only one verse in length. In this short parable Jesus tells a treasure story and everyone loves a treasure story. Burying your values in the ground sounds stran-ge to us. While most of us don t bury our treasures in fields, it was very common to do so at that time. Since there were no banks for the common man, it was not unusual for a man to bury his money or his valuables. Because of the frequent warfare, especially in Palestine, burying their valuables protected them against enemies who might raid their homes and steal everything they had. But when an owner of a buried treasure died or was forcefully removed from the land his treasure would be lost, unless someone discovered it. Over the years, the ground of Palestine became a veritable treasure house. So in those days it was not uncommon for a man to be digging or plowing in a field to acci-dently unearth a treasure. 1
The word treasure here is the Greek word thesauros, which refers to a treasury of words. In the original the word referred to a treasure chest or store-house where a great treasure was kept. It s the same word used in Hebrews 11:26 to describe Moses turning his back on the treasures of Egypt in order to follow God. In other words, this not just a coin found in the dirt (or on the carpet) but a huge treasure chest. Over time, either because this person died or was forced from his land by war, this buried treasure was unclaimed. At first glance the man in the parable does not seem quite ethical to us. We feel the honest thing would be for the man to tell the owner of the field about the treasure. Since it was on his property and rightfully belonged to him. Right, No, not according to ethical standard of the times. According to Jewish Rabbinic law, If a man finds scattered fruit or money, it belongs to the finder. So the people listening to this parable would not have perceived the man s actions unethical at all. In fact a man came across money or valuables that were obviously lost and whose owner was unknown, the finder had the right to keep what was found even if it was found on someone else s property. So really, in buying the land, the man was honest to the extreme. He did not have to buy the land he could have just taken the treasure, but he didn t. He liquidated everything he had to purchase the land. But we need to make sure we do not lose sight of the primary point of this parable: A man found some-thing so valuable that he immediately, and joyfully, sold all he had in order to make the field his own. The Parable of the Pearl (12:45-46) "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, (46) who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Here s a man who was a merchant. The Greek word is "emporos", from which we get the English word "emporium". The merchant was a man who would buy things wholesale and sell them to a retailer. In the parable, he is looking specifically for beautiful pearls. It was common for entrepreneurs in that day to look for pearls to sell and at the same time look for high-quality pearls for themselves. In those days, people would invest in pearls. Pearls were perceived in the first century in much the same way we view diamonds today. They were the most valuable gem in the world at that time. If you owned a pearl, you owned a fortune. Pearls were so valuable because they were extremely difficult to come by. One reason they were so valuable is because divers would literally die trying to find them. They didn t have any of our modern tech-niques or equipment so they would find a rock and tie it to their body with a rope in order to sink quickly to the bottom. Since pearl oysters thrived at an average depth of 40 feet it was hard work to find just one of them. As they went down they hoped they didn t go too deep or stay underwater too long while they scoured through the 2
murky mud looking for an opulent oyster. A second reason that they were so valuable is that on top of the difficulty in reaching them, an average of only one oyster in a thousand contained a pearl. This merchant is on a mission to find the biggest and brightest pearl. When he finally finds it, he can barely contain himself. The phrase of great price literally means, Priceless. This man is so eager to obtain this priceless pearl that he doesn t even care what it costs. He too liquidates all that he has so he can possess the pearl. Want to ask and answer two questions! First, What Does This Reveal About the Kingdom? It seems to me that Jesus is making some simple points in these two brief stories. Let me point out what I see in these accounts and let you decide what Jesus was trying to teach us. The Most Valuable Discovery In The World Is Knowing Christ. What is being described is the value of the King-dom of Heaven. The two men in the parables recogn-ized the value of what they had found. We are inclined to say that a person who discovers a treasure anywhere and in any form and then walks away is a fool. But that is exactly what many do when presented with the Gospel. The Gospel is the good news that the Kingdom of Heaven is available. The Gospel is the ultimate answer to man s every need both individually and as a society. Jesus Is The Only Way Into The Kingdom But People Discover Him In Different Ways. I want you notice that the two men in the para-bles discovered the treasure differently. The two parables we ve just read are very similar. Each parable has a man. Both men found something of great value. In both cases, they recognized that great value and were willing to pay any price to obtain what they had found. Their sacrifice was made joyfully. But there s one big difference, though. In the parable of the treasure, the man made his find by accident, he stumbled across his treasure. In the parable of the pearl, the man was searching for pearls when he found one. The first man found the treasure by surprise. You could say that he stumbled upon the treasure by acci-dent. Isaiah 65:1 states, "I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, 'Here I am, here I am,' To a nation that was not called by My name. The Apostle Paul is an example of this. He discovered the treasure unexpectedly as he was on the road to Damascus to persecute Christians (Acts 9:1-2). Although it was unexpected he found something worth giving up everything for. Paul refers to this knowledge of Christ as a treasure (2 Cor. 4:7). 3
The second man in the parable was searching for his treasure. The Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8:26-28) is an example of this truth. His journey to Jerusalem to worship and his reading the Scripture while returning indicate that he was searching spiritually. When Philip spoke to him of Christ, he was ready...in fact he had been searching spiritually. Some people search for God. They examine the facts, they try different groups, and they engage in religious disciplines in the hope of finding God. Other people seem to be overtaken by God s grace. Like the Apostle Paul, salvation almost sneaks up on them. All of sudden these people feel like someone turned on a light. I don t know which experience is closer to what has happened in your life. But I want you to realize that it doesn t matter how you find the treasure, it is that you lay hold of that treasure once you find it. It doesn t matter if you grew up in the Sunday School or your family never darken the door of a church. It doesn t matter if you had a dramatic conversion experience or whether you came gradually to faith. What matters is realizing that living in God s Kingdom, possessing eter-nal life, and walking with Jesus is the greatest treasure you will ever find. The Benefits Of Knowing Christ Are Worth Any Sacrifice. Before he discovered the treasure of knowing Jesus, Paul was a high educated, respected Jew. He was proud of his heritage; that he was of the tribe of Benjamin, a Pharisee and religiously perfect. But he gladly surrendered each of his personal advantages and personal accomplishments in to order to know Christ, He wrote, Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ (9) and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; (10) that I may know Him and the power of His resur-rection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, (11) if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:8-11) As Paul came to understand we should count everything else secondary to our pursuit of a relation-ship with God. But Paul s words are convicting to us, for we are all somewhat half-hearted when it comes to our commitment to Christ. The natural application is that if a person who is part of the Kingdom of God views a relationship with God much like the man who found treasure in the field, or like the man who found an unblemished pearl. Jesus wants us to understand that having a relationship with God should be the highest priority. In Matthew 6:33 Jesus tells his followers, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all the other things will be added to you." Living In Relationship With Jesus Produces Real Joy. 4
Jesus said that the man in the parables who finds the treasure (v. 44) for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has. The phrase (apo tes charas autou) literally means from the joy of it. This man doesn t just sell everything he has, but he does so with joy. He doesn t regret it. He doesn t complain about the sacrifice he has to make. In fact, he probably doesn t even consider it to be a sacrifice. He gives a lot for the field, but he gets so much more in return. At the end of The Parable of the Coin in Luke 15:10, we are told, Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." I think it worthy of note that this verse does not say there is joy among the angels but rather joy in the presence of the angels. I believe the source of the joy is the LORD himself. The Lord rejoices over every single person who places their faith in Him and as He rejoices so also does all the host of Heaven. The wonder of salvation is that not only brings joy to the giver but it also brings joy to the receiver. Peter wrote of the indescribable joy of knowing Christ in 1 Peter 1:8, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory. Joy comes those who know Jesus as Lord and Savior. The response of the Ethiopian Eunuch is classic. In Acts 8:39, after being saved it says, but he went on his way rejoicing. Secondly, How Do I Move In The Right Direction? The author of Hebrew provides us with an answer, Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, (2) looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2) Notice the steps outlined in these verses. We Must Lay Aside Every Hindrance (v. 1) let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us Lay aside every weight. Let us lay aside every weight When it speaks of laying aside every weight the weight (onkos) is not bad or evil in itself it is simply something which weighs us down, diverts our attention, saps our strength or dampens our enthusiasm for the things of God. Wilbur Chapman said, The rule of my life is this: Anything that dims my vision of Christ, or takes away my taste for Bible study, or cramps my prayer life or makes Christian work difficult, it is wrong for me, and as a Christian I must turn from it! 5
Lay aside every sin. and the sin which so easily ensnares us. An even more significant hindrance to Christian living is sin. Since the writer uses a definite article the sin he seems to be referring to the specific sin(s) each of us, individually is most likely to commit. What is the sin that so easily entangles you or me? Is it that we are jealous of what someone else has? Is it envy? It is a criti-cal spirit? Is it hatred? Is it lust? Is it pride? Whatever sin it is, it must be stripped off and left behind! In other words, we are to eliminate the things that keep us from pursuing this relationship with God. We must eliminate the things in our life that are sinful and the things that are distracting. You can quickly see that this list will be different for everyone. We Must Run With Endurance (v. 1) let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. The writer compares the Christian life to a foot race, but it is a marathon not a sprint! The word race used here (agon) is the word we get our English word agonize from. Hebrews 12:1 tells us to run with endurance the race set before us. There are times in the Christian life when we must keep going even though we don t see any results. There are times when we will feel like quitting. Endurance (hupomone) is the steady determination to keep going. It means continuing when everything in you wants to slow down or give up! So the writer is telling us, it is time to run! Some of you today, may be coasting or panting on the side-lines. It is time to run! Some of you may be complaining about the condition of the race. It is time to run! Some of you are out of shape spiritually and ready to offer excuses for your sluggishness. But it is time to get up and run! The writer is saying, If you are not a Christian, get in the race, because you cannot win if you don t enter you can t win! If you re a Christian, run with endurance and don t give up! We Must Shift Our Focus (v.2) This is the how of perseverance. We are to deliberately lift our eyes from those things which might distract us and focus with utter concentration on Jesus. The word looking comes from a Greek word (aphorao) that has the idea of concentrating your gaze. It means to look away from other things so that you can focus all your attention on one object. We need to focus on the facts, That He loves us He died for us He rose opening the door of life to us He wants the best for us He waits for us He is preparing for our arrival 6
He will take us to be where He is He is coming again someday to rule the world Conclusion In both parables the men found something of great value. They did whatever was necessary to obtain that item of value. We must do the same thing. What are you willing to sacrifice? to establish a relationship with Christ to deepen your relationship with Christ Are you willing to lay aside every hindrance? Are you willing to run with endurance? Are you willing to shift your focus? The Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price Matthew 13:44-46 The Parable of the Hidden Treasure (12:44) The Parable of the Pearl (12:45-46) First, What Does This Reveal About the Kingdom? The Most Valuable Discovery In The World Is Knowing. Jesus Is The Only Way Into The Kingdom But People Discover Him In Different. The Benefits Of Knowing Christ Are Worth Any. (Philippians 3:8-11) Living In Relationship With Jesus Produces Real.(v. 44) (1Pet. 1:8, Phil. 3:7-8, Rev. 21:21) In Matthew 6:33 Jesus tells his followers, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all the other things will be added to you." Secondly, How Do I Move In The Right Direction? (Heb. 12:1-2) We Must Lay Aside Every (v. 1) Lay aside every weight. Lay aside every sin. We Must Run With (v. 1) We Must Shift Our (v.2) 7