We can see the treasure and we can just go back to our old way of life. But you know what happened. And then he did an amazing thing. It was now subject to the Romans, crushed under the heel of an iron-hearted oppressor. 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. Subject to permissions policy, all rights reserved. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. Psalms 135:4 KJV). Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. a. And it is hidden within that human field so that Jesus had to buy the field in order to get the treasure. 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. We need 2 cookies to store this setting. 45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. Or maybe the field was for sale and the man was looking it over before deciding whether to buy it. When the world sees again a visible manifestation of what God intends a nation to do, then the nations will learn world peace. Say: This summer we have been studying the parables that Jesus taught. 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 nation's glory was gone. It turns out that Mr. Hills emeralds were some of the best quality emeralds in North America. We have nothing to offer him, nothing that we can give in return. Justin Martyr, an ancient writer, testifieth, that our Saviour, ere he entered upon the ministry, made ploughs, yokes, and so forth. The passage for this lection offers a counter-image to this destructive force. Something was hidden, lost in the human race, but he uncovered it. i. God has his buried treasures and he is speaking of them in this parable. b. 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! 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 . He is telling us that it is worth more than everything else. Pearls were highly prized in that time and place. 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. They are part of the whole series of seven, but they were given only to the disciples, and there is something significant about that. (Romans 11:15 RSV). For Israel, even in rejection, even in failure, is still an example to the people of the world. Jesus had entered Jerusalem in what we call the triumphal entry. Nederlandstalige Bijbelstudies door Stan Marinussen, Copyright - Enduring Word       |      . But Jesus came to make the kingdom available to everyone (Mark 1:15). And sometimes a piece of sand or shell gets in. It is having His peace, His joy, His love, and His power. Then it is up to us to sell all that we have, give it all up, and buy him at any cost. 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. The "sea" here is clearly the world, since that is where people are gathered from by the angels (Matt. Say: Jesus often used parables to teach what the kingdom of God is like. It would be his duty to inform the owner of the field of the discovery. Finally Jesus left the city once more and went out to his death. This parable powerfully teaches that it is Gods job to divide in judgment. It is recorded in the motto of that fiftieth state. 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. 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. Jodi has over 20 years experience teaching children in large and small group settings. Where then did this Man get all these things?. He merely states the way in which people do "actually" manage to obtain wealth. The goal of this game is to be the team who collects the most pearls in their bucket. (You see, congressmen don't spend all their time smoking cigars and kissing babies.) Notice that there are two things in this story which are immediately recognizable because we have had them before. His conscience is uneasy. ii. He himself is deeply involved in it. What does Matthew 13:44 mean? It is right that you should pursue it. He understands that even though he is selling everything to buy that field he is becoming exponentially richer because of the unseen treasure that will belong to whomever owns the field. But, nevertheless, the Scriptures tell us that the secret is hidden from men until it be revealed through Israel. This week, well look at a parable in which Jesus told how much the kingdom of God is worth. He found poverty and misery stalking the land. It is the best life possible. If you want to see how God will act with you as an individual then look at the way he has been acting with Israel as a nation. 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. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. -- for if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon [which were pagan communities], they would have repented long ago. Jesus takes away the sin of everyone who trusts in Him (John 1:29). And for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field: The treasure so wonderful that Jesus would give all to purchase is the individual believer. Click to enable/disable _ga - Google Analytics Cookie. - Matthew 13:45-46. Last week, we read Jesus parable about the four soils. In the interpretation of the parable, the case described is that of a man who, not having started in the pursuit of holiness or truth, is brought by the seeming accidents of lifea chance meeting, a word spoken in season, the example of a living holinessto the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, i.e., to Christ Himself, and who, finding in Him a peace and joy above all earthly treasure, is ready to sacrifice the lower wealth in order to obtain the higher. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. The conduct of the man would be dishonest. I hope that this is clear to the many of you, especially those of you who are younger, who are earnestly and zealously and quite dedicatedly trying to pursue world peace. These two parables speak of how highly the King values the people of His kingdom. The success and glory of Jesus seemed only to make them more resentful towards Him. A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, and in his own house: We often have wrong ideas about what it means to be spiritual. Divide your class into at least two relay race teams. Instead, he leaves it there, sells everything he has, and buys the field in order to get the treasure it contains. The person has a change of heart, and he or she truly wants to do Gods will. Now notice, secondly, the concealment of the treasure. God has gathered this nation together again, brought in the people from the outlying countries of the world, gathered his dispersed from the four corners of the earth, and brought them back into the land. b. This casts special scorn upon the great evil angel. a. He would never have called it that. Website 2023 by Ray Stedman Ministries. Usually people take it to mean that God has chosen the Jews for a special destiny, to mean that they are to have special and uniquely privileged treatment, different than any other nation enjoys. God wants ALL people to believe in Jesus and enter into His kingdom (1 Peter 2:9). These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features. (Matthew 21:9, Mark 11:9, John 12:13). You can also change some of your preferences. The oyster opens its shell to let water and food in. And he bought that pearl. That means a change of mind, repentance, turning again to God and recognizing his presence in our midst. The bigger and more perfectly round the pearl, the more valuable it is. Listen for answers. 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. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. The gospel is more valuable than such a treasure, Psalm 19:10; Proverbs 3:13-15. 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. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. The parables describe how the kin (g)dom of heaven emerges from something almost invisible to the eye and grows exponentially, offering us sustenance, a treasure worthy of all our attention and resources. Click to enable/disable Google Analytics tracking. He hideth - That is, he conceals the fact that he has found it; he does not tell of it. However, Jesus did not deny their claim to understand. That is why it is not enough to preach the gospel to people; you must also live it. 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. Let me ask you to think that the true treasure for a man lies in the kingdom of God. On our own, we cannot be part of Gods kingdom. When he found it, what did he do? He is saying that NOTHING compares in value to the new life that the King wants to give you. Because each of us sins, none of us can do the perfect will of God. Nations are right to try to solve their problems and reconcile their differences. Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers. 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. As opposition began to mount against him and resistance to his message increased, our Lord withdrew from Jerusalem and went out into the desert. So he unfolded it and unveiled it again. But such is not the case; God did not choose Israel for that purpose. (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. 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. 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. Yet it can also be asked out of deep appreciation of the fact that the Son of God took such a noble, lowly place. . 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. All this has happened exactly as our Lord said and all of it is visible in history. In the great series of parables in Matthew13 our Lord gave us, as he said, "The secrets of the kingdom of heaven." 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. he said (Matthew 23:13, et al). Ask: Who can remember the four different soils Jesus talked about? Clearly, the treasure in that field was worth more than everything else that the man owned. The Word of God. I was reminded by that conversation of the words of the Secretary General of the United Nations, UThant. As we learned two weeks ago, the kingdom of God will grow and grow! The first four stories were given to the unbelieving seaside crowd. III. Of greater importance in the history of the church has been the view that this actually means that the field is the church. It represents the experience, not of a careless or a profane man, who stumbles suddenly upon the Gospel when he was in in search of other things, but of one who is awakened, and has begun to seek the true religion, endeavouring to add attainment to attainment sincerely, according to his light. Augustine made the interpretation official struggling against the DonatistsMost Reformers followed the same line. (Carson). The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field. It seems by this parable, according to the Jewish laws, that not the finder of a treasure in a field, but the owner of the field, had the propriety in it; when it should seem rather, that it ought to be divided. For 1900 years Israel was utterly lost among the nations, dispersed. But it is very evident that neither has found this secret. He declared it in great messages like the Sermon on the Mount. ii. Before we read the parable, I want to tell you another true story. 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. Yet He carefully said that the field is the world. If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here: We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. The man was so excited to know that he could possibly own that treasure. The one thing they have in common is that they were sown of the Lord, and from the good seed of His Word. We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. 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