THE HIDDEN TREASURE—Matt 13-44
TEXT
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
In our study on "The Parables Of Jesus", we have seen different ways in which the message of the kingdom would be received ("The Sower9’). We have seen the efforts of Satan to corrupt the character of the kingdom, and then seen its future in purity and splendour being assured ("The Wheat And Tares") we have also seen the growth and development of the kingdom ("The Mustard Seed" & "The Leaven"). Each of these parables is found in Matthew 13, and as we continue to examine that chapter we find that there are more to come. In Mt 13:44-46 ’The Parable Of The Hidden Treasure’ and ’The Parable Of The Pearl Of Great Price’. We found similarities in "The Mustard Seed" and "The Leaven", in which there was a common theme, which was the growth and development of the kingdom, and the theme in the next two appears to be preciousness and value of the kingdom
THE PARABLE EXPLAINED
A man finds a treasure hidden in a field, which he hides in the field; he then proceeds to buy the field. He then sells everything he has in order to buy the field, but does so gladly in anticipation of the treasure that will then be rightfully his.
So what is the meaning of the parable, D A Carson explanation is. "The kingdom of heaven is worth infinitely more than the cost of discipleship, and those who know where the treasure lies joyfully abandon everything else to secure it." And William Hendriksen says "the kingdom of heaven, the glad recognition of God’s rule over heart and life, including salvation for the present and for the future, for soul and ultimately also for the body, the great privilege of being thereby made a blessing to others to the glory of God, all this, is a treasure so inestimably precious that one who obtains it is willing to surrender for it whatever could interfere with having it."
What distinguishes this parable from the one following is that it describes the value of the kingdom to one who accidentally finds it though not purposely looking for it, its value is immediately recognized. As Hendriksen says again, ’we should grasp its one important lesson, the incalculable preciousness of salvation for those who discover it and obtain possession of it without even looking for it!’
THE APOSTLE IS AN EXAMPLE
He discovered the "treasure" unexpectedly, it was on the road to Damascus, and he was going to persecute Christians – Ac 9:1-2, he thought it was the right thing to do –Ac 26:9-11. But once he met the Lord, and learned the will of God, he did not hesitate to carry it out even at great cost to himself –Ac 26: 19-23. He had estimated that what he had found was worth giving up all for if necessary - Ph 3:4-11, in 2 Col: 4-7 Paul refers to it as a "treasure" and writes of the "treasures of wisdom and knowledge" that are found in Christ – Cor 2:1-3. Clearly Paul considered Christ and His kingdom a "treasure" worth giving up all one had if necessary to obtain. What is there about the kingdom of Christ that makes it so valuable?
THE KINGDOM—A REFUGE FROM THE POWERS OF DARKNESS-Col 1:3
Outside the kingdom of heaven, one is in the kingdom of Satan Eph 2:1-3 and under his influence, trapped in various sins. But the kingdom of Christ offers deliverance, refuge and sets us free from the guilt and dominion of sin, so that we can serve God - Rom 6:1 7-18 and God will not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability to bear - I Col 10:13
A DOMAIN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, PEACE, AND JOY- Rom I4: 17
Is righteousness through faith in Christ, in which our sins have been forgiven - Ph 3:8. A peace from God, which surpasses all understanding – Ph 4:6-7 an abiding joys in the Lord, no matter the circumstances - Ph 4:4: 2:17-18
AN UNSHAKABLE KINGDOM- Heb 12:25-29
Is one which shall never be destroyed - Dan 2:44. Therefore, a truly everlasting kingdom –2 Pet 1:10-11
DESTINED FOR ETERNAL GLORY- 1Col 15:21-26
Presented by Christ to God at His second coming, those who are truly "sons of the kingdom" will "shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" Mat 13:41-43. From that time forward, those in the kingdom will experience the ultimate fellowship in the presence of God –Rev 21:5, 9-12,22-27
CONCLUSION
In light of both the present and future blessings found in the kingdom of heaven, perhaps we can appreciate why many consider the kingdom one of exceeding value. Even when not actively looking for it, but stumbling across it the value is recognized immediately by some, willing to pay whatever price necessary
So what is the value of the kingdom? I wish you could ask Stephen, the first Christian martyr Act 7: or the early Christians, who experienced persecution – Act 8:1-4 or the apostle Paul, who suffered so much for the kingdom - 2 Ti 3:10-11; 4:6-8,16-18 And of course, our Lord Jesus, who gave up all to make it possible - Ph 2:5-8. I am confident that with one voice they would say, "It is worth it all!"
How about us? Are we willing to pay the full price to obtain the "treasure" of the kingdom? -The price of repentance? - The price of complete submission to the will of Christ? - Matt 28: 18-20 the price of putting the kingdom first in our lives? - Matt 6:33
Our response to the gospel, and how we live our lives, as Christians will demonstrate our true estimation of the "treasure" of the kingdom of heaven!
SERMON – YOU CAN HAVE THE TREASURE
Matt 13:44
Have you ever stood still and taken time to really look around you. Take a look at all those people who go through life not knowing where they are going or why they are here or there. They feel some sort of emptiness that nothing this world has to offer can fill. They are continually looking for something and yet never knowing what it is.
TREASURE
So what is a treasure? The dictionary tells us it is thing of highly estimated value. That thing could be money, gold, jewels, land, or other possessions; it could even be a memory. But there are some things that carry an even greater value.
In our rush to survive and get on in this world, we tend to loose sight of the real treasures and the strange thing is all of these are available to each and every one of us. -- Love, honour, truth, and integrity and wisdom. There is one thing though that surpasses them all and that is Gods love, this great love is free and never ending and the only requirement from us is our response to that love.
In this parable we find a person not knowing what they are looking for that suddenly stumbles across something of great value. He could have simply shouted for joy and laid claim to his find since it was he who found it. But he wanted to make it absolutely clear that this possession becomes rightfully and legally his. He wants to make sure that there are no contestants to oppose his find; this person then hides his find where it will not be found by others and in a place that he himself will not forget. He gets completely carried away with what he is doing and becomes filled with joy. He then pays the great price of all of his possessions in order to buy that field. Notice that the price was steep but also within possibilities for this individual.
WHAT IS MEANT IN THlS PARABLE
This casts two different thoughts in my mind. The first is that here we see Jesus who finds the church lost in the world, He hides it until He can pay the ultimate price in order to posses it. Acts 20:28) Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy’ Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood [Jesus purchased the church with his own blood]
The second thought applies to us more than to Christ. That is to say we the people of the world who go into the field, [the field in this case is the Bible] and as the truths unfold themselves and we become more able to understand the written scripture, we begin to feel joy and excitement (EPH 3:8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ) and are able at this point to understand our lost condition and what we must do to be saved.
In order to realize the joy offered to us by God we have to meet some basic criteria set us by
God. We need to hear his word, believe his word, repent, confess and finally be baptized, now joy is truly ours PHP 4:4 rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all The Lord is near.
The price we pay is that of forsaking all things and people and our pride. We need to humble ourselves to God be obedient and submit to his will, know that God is now in control of our lives through our obedience to Him and as we trust Him and place our faith in Him, He lovingly will lead us every step of the way. PR 23:23 Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding.
PS 105:3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
The treasure is the secret of international peace, of harmony among the nations. You see, as our Lord indicates, it is something related to the field, to humanity. And it is hidden within that human field so that Jesus had to buy the field in order to get the treasure. That treasure is the lost secret of how to get along with other nations, how to discover peace and prosperity and happiness and all the many results of peace that men have been seeking after for centuries.
"What element is lacking so that with all our skill and all our knowledge we still find ourselves in the dark valley of discord and enmity?
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" Matt 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. She was no inconsiderable monarch herself. She wasn’t just Queen for a Day. She was a great queen in her own right. And she brought with her a great retinue bearing exotic spices, gold, silver, precious stones, beautiful cloth, and an amazing array of presents for King Solomon. These were the best she had to offer. But when King Solomon met her he began to give presents to her, and his outweighed hers by far. She reviewed all the glories of the kingdom of Solomon and was amazed and staggered by what she saw. Then she asked him for the secret and Solomon took her to the temple and there he showed her the worship of Jehovah, showed her how this nation was related to the God of glory and that it was their understanding of God, which produced the magnificence she had seen. 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," 1 Kin 10:7.
Now that is God’s plan for the nations -- to provide a working model in the nation Israel. This is what we human beings need. We never can understand anything until we see it demonstrated before us. That is why it is not enough to preach the gospel to people; you must also live it. It is not enough to mouth great words like love and joy and peace and forgiveness; you also have to demonstrate them, or people will never believe the gospel, never accept it, and will never receive it.
BEAUFORT RESTORATION MINISTRIES
E.W.Carey-Holt
