Last week we began a message entitled “Valuing the Valuable.” That teaching led us to the Parable of the Treasure in Matthew 13:44. That is our text for today. There Jesus said, “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.”i
First, we talked about the fact that this treasure was hidden. Most people do not perceive the kingdom of heaven. Their minds are occupied with the material, natural things of this world. They have not found this treasure, so they go their way as if it didn’t exist. Jesus taught this truth to Nicodemus in John 3:3. “Most assuredly,” Jesus said to him, “I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Have you been born again? Have you found something beyond this material world—something in the spiritual realm that Jesus calls the kingdom of God? If so, you can identify with the man in this parable.
Then we talked about the excitement and joy this man experienced when he found this treasure. Do you remember the day you knew Jesus had forgiven your sins and come into your life as your Savior? If so, you know the joyful sound of salvation. You discovered the treasure our text is pointing to. In the 18th century a song was written that was made popular in 1969 by the Hawkins Singers. It begins with these words: “Oh happy day, Oh happy day, when Jesus washed, Oh when he washed, Oh when he washed, he washed my sins away, Oh happy day.”ii It does us good to celebrate the discovery.
Many people think Christianity is a drab set of rules and restrictions that take all the joy out of life. The opposite is true. It fills our hearts with joy unspeakable and full of glory. “The way of the transgressor is hard” (Prov. 13:15 KJV). Living life out of harmony with God produces all kinds of unnecessary problems. All humans encounter difficulties. Christianity does not take us out of the human experience. We do encounter trials and hardships at times. But so do people who do not know God.iii All of humanity live in a fallen world, and even Christians do some groaning (Rom. 8:23) at times. But we have the comfort of the Holy Spirit. We have an eternal hope that sustains us through life’s journey. And we enjoy the refreshing presence of the Lord. David said to God, “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Ps. 16:11). The promise in Isaiah 12:3 is: “Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation.” Do you know what it is to be worshipping God and feel his approval on your life? Have you experienced joy in his presence? Has his word quickened you with renewed strength and courage for your journey? The ungodly do not enjoy those privileges.
The man in this parable was filled with excitement and joy when he discovered this treasure. And many of us can testify of the joy we experienced and continue to experience in Christ. Today we look further into this Parable of the Treasure.
Notice, the treasure was VALUABLE, and the man recognized its value.
It’s a sad day when people are offered the kingdom of heaven, but they don’t see its value. They set it aside as a common thing and go their way. Image going to an antique store and finding a priceless antique there. The seller has priced it as a common item. But it is worth many times more than the price being asked. It could be bought for pennies, but like many others you passed it up. You thought it was as common as the other articles in the store. A few days later you read in the local news that someone has bought that item at the antique store. He paid the rock bottom price being asked. But unlike you, he perceived its value to be much greater than the asking price. He had it appraised by experts and learned it is worth millions of dollars. You look at the picture of that item in the news article. It is the one you picked up and examined a few days earlier. It was in your hand. It could have been yours. But you passed it up. If only you had perceived the true value of that treasure. You could have bought it and become rich.
How many people have heard the gospel of Christ but passed it up? They put no more value on it than Plato’s Republic. To them it was worth no more than Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The message did not transform their lives, not being mixed with faith (Heb. 4:2), Imagine the eternal grief of passing up such a treasure—eternal life for the asking. But they chose not to have it.
The man in this parable perceived the value of this treasure. He hid it so he could raise the money to buy the whole field and own the treasure. Some have questioned whether this man’s actions were ethical. Jesus is not addressing that issue at all. Remember, parables are given to make one point. The point of this parable is that the man placed so much value on the treasure that he sold everything he had to have it.
But let’s put the story in its historical context. In ancient days banks were not what they are today. People often hid valuables to keep others from stealing them. The person who buried this treasure never came back to get it. He may have died before he could go back and retrieve it. In that case, the treasure would have been long forgotten.iv The owner of that treasure was not the owner of the field. If the owner of the field had buried it, he would not sell the field or he would dig up the treasure before selling it. In that culture the behavior of this man who found the treasure may have been ethical. The laws and customs of the day may have justified the action in the story. But it doesn’t really matter because Jesus is not justifying the details of the story. He is simply using that as background to make his point about the value of God’s kingdom and how we should respond to it.
The point Jesus is making in this parable is the man’s COMMITMENT to have the treasure once he discovered it. This point is made again it the Parable of the Pearl that immediately follows. Matthew 13:45-46: “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.” In this parable Jesus is teaching the same lesson about the value that we should place on the kingdom of heaven.
There is one key difference between the two stories. In the Parable of the Treasure the man is not searching for treasure. He seems to have discovered it while doing something else. In contrast, the person in Parable of the Pearl is searching for pearls. He finds the pearl of great price while searching for quality pearls. And so it is with the kingdom of heaven. Some are searching for truth. They are seeking pearls of value. They don’t know about the one pearl of great price, but they appreciate the value of quality pearls. It is during their search that they discover the kingdom of heaven and sell all to have it. Some people discover the kingdom of heaven while searching for truth. Others are doing other things but encounter the gospel message and sell all to have the kingdom of heaven.v God works both ways.vi
In each story the person sees the value of his discovery and sells all to have it. They discern the surpassing value of what they have found. They gladly sacrifice everything to have it.
The missionary Jim Elliot put it this way: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”vii When you pass from this life, all the things you have accumulated, all the passing accolades and glories of this world will be left behind.viii You will stand naked before God. and he will pass judgment on you. Either you have eternal life through Jesus Christ, or you don’t. If you have eternal life, then you inherit all things in him.ix If you don’t have eternal life, then all is lost forever. At that moment, the value you placed on the kingdom of heaven means everything.
This is how the kingdom of heaven works. The person who discovers it is willing to sacrifice everything to have it. If a person does not respond to the discovery in that way, one must question whether that person has actually discovered the kingdom.x Many people take the name of the Lord in vain. It’s an empty profession that has not changed their value system. They live for the same things the world lives for. They love the world and the things in the world.xi They use God for their own agenda, but they do not surrender to him and follow his agenda. This parable shines a bright light on the true quality of our profession of faith.
Christianity is not a little add on to one’s busy, selfish life. It is an all-consuming commitment to the Lord of life (Cf. Phil. 3:7 NLT). Jesus made this clear in Luke 14:25-33.
“Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, 26 ‘If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it — 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.” Notice how that last statement corresponds to the twin parables we have studied this morning. “So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”
We began with the question: What do you value most? The answer to that question is not found in the words we say. It is found in the way we invest our time, energy, and money.
Life has a way of pressing us with the urgent. “'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'” (Matt. 6:31). Will my retirement be enough? Am I adequately covered by insurance? Will I still have my job tomorrow? Those things are not to dominate our thinking or drive our decisions about life. There is an appropriate prudence in those matters. But we must not let the natural demands of life rob us of God’s best.
In Matthew 6:24 Jesus said, “You cannot serve both God and Money” (NIV). That simple statement has protected me from many errors during my journey as a Christian. Many decisions come down to money versus the right thing to do or the will of God for our lives. Many people make all their decisions based on money. It can easily rob them of things more valuable than money.
From your value system you will set your PRIORITIES. And when it’s all said and done, only one thing gets done in life: priorities! That’s why Jesus said, “. . . seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matt. 6:33). If it’s not a priority, it will likely not get done. We tithe the first ten percent. We make it a priority, rather than give God the left overs. There is never too much time. We must make time for God and his kingdom. We do that by making him and his righteousness the priority.
Last week we laid a foundation for our study of the Parable of the Treasure by examining Psalm 90:12. There Moses prayed, “So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Is it your life objective to “gain a heart of wisdom”? In Scripture the heart usually refers to the core of our being. To have a heart of wisdom equates to being a wise person. But what is wisdom according to the Bible?
The Hebrew concept of wisdom goes beyond the way we think. It includes that, but it extends it to the way we live. It’s more than just mental capacity and IQ. It’s more than education and logic. Biblical wisdom is godliness which is expressed in a godly lifestyle. Of course, our thought life is important to living godly. Everything we do comes out of the thought life. You and I will either walk in the flesh or walk in the Spirit depending on our thought life—what we set our minds on. Paul tells us that in Romans 8:5. “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” When a Christian sets his mind on the things of the flesh, he values those things; he invests time and energy to have those things, his mind is occupied with having them. As a result, he lives according to the flesh. In Romans Paul is writing to Christians. The alternative is that we would value the kingdom of God; we would set our affection on the things of the Spirit; we would make that our priority. As a result, we would live according to the Spirit.
If we value something, we make it a priority. “. . . seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” Notice Jesus does not just say, “seek first the kingdom of God.” That is a broad, inclusive statement that is equivalent to seeking God. But Jesus adds “and His righteousness.” Make it your goal to live rightly before God and others. The righteousness Jesus is talking about begins with the imputed righteousness we receive when we are born again.xii But it does not end there. Throughout the New Testament we are exhorted to express that righteousness by the way we live. We are to cultivate righteousness in our thought life and in all that we do. And it is to be
a priority. “. . . seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” This is very similar to what Moses means when he prays, “. . . teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
What does God do when we make him the priority? In Matthew 6:33 Jesus added this promise: “and all these things shall be added to you.” God will see to it that you have everything you need. He will take care of you.xiii
I want to conclude by reading from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. Here Jesus is teaching us to sell out to God like the man in our parable. As we read it, allow the assurance of God’s care and provision strengthen your resolve to give him your all: All-out commitment and all-out trust! I am reading Matthew 6:19-34.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Your treasure is that which you value most. You will put heart and soul into that. Your mind will be occupied with it. You will invest your time and energy into pursuing it. That’s why it’s so important to value things that are truly valuable.
Following this statement Jesus immediately talks about having a healthy, single eye that is focused on the right thing. Then he says, “No man can serve two masters.” This issue of focusing on the right treasure, then being single-minded about it parallels the point being taught in the Parable of the Treasure.
Verse 22: “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good [the Greek can mean single, sincere, healthy, or wholehearted], your whole body will be full of light.xiv 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” The “ultimate disaster” is to be filled with darkness and think it is light.xv That was the case for the Jewish leaders who rejected Jesus. Their treasure was their own self-righteousness, rather than the true kingdom. Verses 22-23 are easier to interpret if we keep them in the context of what is said in verse 21 and verse 24.
Verse 24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. 25 Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28 So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Three times in that passage Jesus says, “Therefore do not worry.” Worry and anxiety can rob us of the joy and peace that is ours as God’s children. If the cares of life are weighing you down, now is a good time to cast those cares on the Lord. “Give all your worries and cares to God,” 1 Peter 5:7 says, “for he cares about you” (NLT).xvi
ENDNOTES:
i All Scripture quotes are from the New King James Version unless indicated otherwise.
ii “Oh Happy Day,” Wikipedia. Accessed at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oh_Happy_Day#:~:text=%22%20Oh%20Happy%20Day%20%22%20is%20a%201967,Chart%2C%20UK%20Singles%20Chart%2C%20and%20Irish%20Singles%20Chart. “Oh Happy Day – Edwin Hawkins Singers,” YouTube. Accessed at https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=oh+happy+day+hawkins+youtube&refig=03ed12965cc9458a950cc463ccb24fbb&pc=U531&sp=3&qs=LS&pq=oh+happy&sk=PRES1LS1AS1&sc=8-8&cvid=03ed12965cc9458a950cc463ccb24fbb&ru=%2fsearch%3fq%3doh%2bhappy%2bday%2bhawkins%2byoutube%26form%3dANSPH1%26refig%3d03ed12965cc9458a950cc463ccb24fbb%26pc%3dU531%26sp%3d3%26qs%3dLS%26pq%3doh%2bhappy%26sk%3dPRES1LS1AS1%26sc%3d8-8%26cvid%3d03ed12965cc9458a950cc463ccb24fbb&view=detail&mmscn=vwrc&mid=EB856368AEC5FA1ED1D5EB856368AEC5FA1ED1D5&FORM=WRVORC.
iii First Cor. 10:13; 1 Pet. 5:9.
iv Cf. James M. Freeman, Manners and Customs of the Bible (Plainfield, NJ: Logos International, 1972) 350-351.
v Cf. Isa. 65:1.
vi Cf. Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Book III (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing, 1984 [1971]) 596.
vii Jim Elliot, Goodreads. Accessed at ttps://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/2125255.Jim_Elliot.
viii Cf. Luke 12:20.
ix Cf. Rev. 21:7.
x Sanctification is a progressive process, and new believers don’t necessarily sell out immediately. But the discovery of the kingdom should impact us in such a way that we willingly give up sins and make personal sacrifices. No change in values and lifestyle may indicate no internal transformation has occurred.
xi Cf. 1 John 2:15-17; Richard W. Tow, Authentic Christianity: Studies in 1 John (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2019) 95-110.
xii Cf. Rom. 4:1-25.
xiii Cf. 2 Pet. 1:3.
xiv TDNT I, 386. I. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary on the Greek Text (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978) 489; BDAG, 104. Moody Commentary (p. 1464) says, “The clear eye probably parallels the heart set on heavenly treasure. Just as a healthy eye gives light to the body, so wholehearted fidelity to God gives meaning and light to one’s life.”
xv Leon Morris, The Gospel According to St. Luke: An Introduction and Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980) 202.
xvi Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
