What Do You Value Most?

What Do You Value Most?

Matthew 13:44-52

What do you value most? If you’re not sure how to answer that question, then maybe you should try looking at those things you spend the most time and effort in, because it is a well-known fact that you spend the most time pursuing that which you desire the most.

Today we are going to be looking at some parables that describe the physical treasure a couple of men valued so highly that they sold everything they owned in order to acquire it. But before I go any further, let me ask you this question. Do you have something, or do you desire to have something so much that you’d give up everything you own to get it? Think about it. Is there anything you want so much that you’d give up everything for it?

Well, Jesus used these illustrations today to teach us that there truly is something that is so immensely valuable that its purchase will require all that you have. Folks, there is nothing on this planet that is more valuable than His kingdom and being allowed to enter it.

Now, the Jews had always believed that the kingdom of heaven was theirs by birthright. They would get in simply by virtue of the fact that they were the offspring of Abraham. However, the apostle Paul tells us that Rom 9:6-7 …they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; (7) nor are they all children because they are Abraham's descendants,

The kingdom isn’t gained through birthright, and you can’t earn it through good deeds or works of the law. The kingdom is received by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. And Rom 11:6 …if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.

Now, the context of the parables we’ve been looking at in chapter 13 is that the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders had grown to the point of them accusing Him of breaking the law and doing His great works through the power of the devil. Jesus rebuked them and showed that everything He had done could only have been possible through the power and the authority of God. Nothing He did was in line with the works or the nature of the devil. And as a matter of fact, accusing His work of God as the work of the devil was blasphemy against the Holy Spirit which is a sin that is unforgiveable.

So, as a judgment against the hardened hearts of the religious leaders, from that point on, Jesus taught in parables so that He might reveal heavenly truths to those who followed Him while at the same time concealing those same truths from His enemies.

In the first 4 of the 8 kingdom parables in Matthew 13, Jesus focused on men’s various responses to God’s kingdom, it’s present coexistence with the devil’s kingdom, and on its power and influence in the world. In our parable today, Jesus teaches about the need to personally appropriate salvation, becoming a citizen of the kingdom, and a member of His family.

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Mat 13:44 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.

Now, anytime we read the Bible, we need to be careful not to read the conditions of our own times and lives into theirs. What I mean is that even though the word of God is timeless and applicable to human life and spirituality without regard to the times, seasons, and ages of life, we must not read our modern world into the ancient world.

For example, the practice of hiding valuables in the ground sounds to us today like a “pirate” sort of thing to do—“Yo, ho, ho, and a bottle of rum” kind of thing. But when we consider the historical context, we realize that they didn’t have banking systems back then as we do today. To the average person in the ancient world, and it doesn’t matter if you’re looking at ancient Palestine or Great Britain, the securing of family valuables was completely up to the individual or the family, and the vast majority of time they would hide it or bury it somewhere.

Remember now, for all of its history, Israel was subject to roving marauders and neighboring enemies who would just invade, kill, steal, rape, and pillage whenever the urge hit them. So, the best and easiest way to protect valuables, which also included clothing and food, would be to hide it somewhere. Jewish historian, Josephus wrote that, “The gold and silver and the rest of that most precious furniture which the Jews had and which the owners treasured underground was done to withstand the fortunes of war.”