What Do We Treasure? (Matthew 13:44-52)
August 30, 2020
What is the most valuable thing in our lives? Is it money, sex, reputation, comfort, possessions, family, or some other pleasure? Maybe since we are in church, we will say, "God, of course." But is he really?
We have been studying through Matthew 13. This chapter is challenging because, in it, Jesus reveals the secrets of the kingdom to his disciples through parables. He describes a kingdom unlike anything we have ever seen before. He likens the world in his kingdom to a field full of wheat and weeds, then a mustard seed, and leaven hidden in three measures of flour.
After giving these three parables to the crowd, he leaves the crowds and goes into a house. The disciples approached him, wanting to know more about these parables. He tells them that all of this points to a kingdom that is not of this world. This king will not muster the troops and conquer Roman oppression. He will leave his enemies alongside his people until the end. Then he will give the proper judgment and vindicate his people.
Four More Parables
Matthew 13:44--52 (ESV) --- 44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. 47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
After explaining the weeds' parable, he tells his disciples three additional parables about the kingdom of heaven. The first two are similar to one another, and the third is similar to the parable of the weeds. Then, he gives them a fourth parable that explains their role. Let's look at each of these and understand the kingdom of heaven a little more.
Treasure in a field (44)
The first of the three parables is about a man finding a treasure hidden in a field. In those days, it would be common for people to hide their treasure in a field. That would be the most secure location in times of war. But if they and their family were killed, the treasure would be forgotten. We could imagine someone passing through or working in a field that is not their own when they stumble across this treasure. The man who now owns the field has no clue about it because it wasn't his treasure to begin with.
Imagine that this treasure is worth a million dollars, and the field costs you a few thousand dollars. Is it worth the investment? Well, think about it for a minute. What if mustering that few thousand dollars would mean selling every single thing you own. You would lose money because your stuff is used. You might not even have a house, and you might lose a family heirloom. Would it be worth it? What if your whole family was upset with you over this decision? They call you foolish because they can't see the treasure. Surely, you have lost your mind. Would it be worth the investment?
One Pearl (45-46)
The second parable is very similar. This man likes to go out and find pearls to sell them and make a profit. He is a pearl connoisseur. He looks all the time, and he knows a good pearl when he sees one. Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like that man finding one great pearl worth the merchant selling everything he has and buying it.
Some of you are deal hunters. Have you ever ran across a deal that is so good it's worth selling everything you own to get in on? We call that a scam. Our world is so twisted and corrupt that we wouldn't believe a deal like that if it were true. That's called putting all of your eggs in one basket, and we know better than to do that. Jesus tells his disciples that the kingdom of heaven is a deal like that; only it's true. I told my daughter this story, and she looked at me like I was crazy. She said, "For one pearl?" Pearls were of tremendous value in those days. Cleopatra, who lived a couple of hundred years earlier, was said to have a pearl worth the equivalent of over a 500 million dollars! Today the most valuable pearl is worth one hundred million dollars. This man went out looking for something of tremendous value, and he found "the one." Imagine being a car expert and finding a Ferrari 250 GTO in perfect condition. The guy wants to sell you this car for what he paid for it back in 1962, $18,000. It is one of only 36 made and one sold at auction in 2018 for 48.4 million dollars. This is "the one." Would anything keep you from buying that car?
The Net (47-50)
The third parable is of a net collecting different fish of every kind. The net is full, so they have to pull it onshore. Men sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw the bad away. He says, once again, that this is how it will be at the end of the age. Angels will separate the evil from the righteous and throw the evil into a fiery furnace.
The language here is much like the parable of the tares. Wheat was gathered into the barn, and the weeds were thrown into the fire. Here there are good, righteous fish and bad fish. How is this what the kingdom of heaven is like? Why does this sound so similar to the parable of the tares? In the parable of the tares, he emphasizes that the sons of the kingdom would grow alongside the devil's sons. Then a judgment would come. Here he emphasizes that the judgment is coming at the end. He wants to be emphatic about this. There is a judgment coming, and God will throw those who are stubborn and rebellious into the fire. Jesus spoke a lot about hell being a fiery furnace. He said back in verse 41 that these are all who cause sin and break the law. Notice that God's angels will determine who is in and who is not. The criteria of "who causes sin and breaks the law” is not up to you or me. This is up to God. This kingdom has a view of what happens after this life. Jesus is telling us what will happen at the end of time.
Is this text not the most terrifying of all? People don't like to preach about hell because no one wants to believe it exists. This is a place of unrelieved torment and horrible misery. This is a place that is wrapped in darkness, yet it is an eternal fire. Those two things seem contradictory, but they are trying to portray the unimaginable fear and pain. The response to being in hell is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Imagine the most excruciating pain and suffering of this life and multiply it. Then, extend the pain for all eternity. In Luke 16, we read about a rich man who enjoyed a life of luxury, but he was thrown into the place of torment where he suffered. No one likes to hear about that. No one likes to be told that is where they are heading because of their sin. But Jesus has come to share this reality so that men might turn and find forgiveness.
Doesn't this stand in direct contrast to the last two parables? On the one hand, we have someone who sees the kingdom's value and sells everything to take hold of it. On the other hand, you have evil people who will be thrown into the furnace for eternity.
What's The Message?
The kingdom of heaven is like finding a treasure in a field. The kingdom of heaven is like finding a pearl of great price. This treasure or pearl is worth selling everything we own to acquire it. Do we see what that treasure is? Jesus is the treasure. Receiving Jesus' salvation is worth giving up everything in this life. Why? Because this is the only way to avoid the punishment we deserve. Don't you see it? God has done everything to save us from the punishment, but we keep asking to receive punishment by breaking the law and causing others to sin. Why are we dull of hearing? The secrets of heaven's kingdom are being revealed to the disciples, but the crowds are left out because they are dull of hearing!
The message Jesus has for his disciples is that being saved from eternal punishment is worth everything we own. They have given up much to follow him, and it is worth it. He wants them to understand this.
How Do We Apply This Text?
Buying The Field
What does it really mean for me to sell everything I own and buy the field or the pearl of great price? Like the disciples, we have to be willing to suffer the loss of everything. Nothing in this world should be valued more than Christ. There should not be a single thing that we are unwilling to part with. This is the total submission of everything in our lives. That's why it's called dying and being resurrected. All of the things of value must be dead to us. We cannot say, "I will obey God's word as long as my family is okay with it." We cannot say, "I will obey God as long as it doesn't hurt my reputation." It's not that we have to ruin our relationship with our family or ruin our reputation to be a Christian. We don't have to be obnoxious and annoying toward people, but we have to be willing to speak truth unashamedly when people try to press us to say what is false. We must be willing to give up our money. We must be willing to give up our sexuality. We must be willing to give up all of the smaller ambitions in this life for the greatest purpose of all. We cannot be emotionally connected to this world anymore.
1 John 2:15--17 (ESV) --- 15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world---the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life---is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
Philippians 3:7--8 (ESV) --- 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
We can see how Paul gave up everything with joy! Why? Because he knew that it was a great treasure to gain Christ! The things of this world do not compare. If you are here this morning and you don't value life in the kingdom above life in this world, do you really have life in the kingdom? This text calls for us to cherish this kingdom more than we value anything else in our lives!
Seeing The Value
The kingdom of heaven is not obvious in its value. People are passing right by this field of treasure every day, paying no attention to it. They think it's a scam. When we decide to sell everything to buy it, we may get an earful about how we are entering a cult or abandoning our family. Receiving this salvation and giving up this world's things is one of the most loving things we could do for our family. We begin to shine a light on the value of the kingdom when we do that. We make people stop and think. Maybe we see its value, but on the way to buy it, we get distracted by all the cool things we already have. We don't want to let those things go. Most of us are content with ignoring the idea of a judgment day. We are so mesmerized by the things of this world that we do not care about what will happen when we die.
Becoming Masters of a House
One last parable is given to us in this chapter. This parable is the perfect conclusion to all seven of the other parables.
Matthew 13:51--52 (ESV) --- 51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
Jesus wants his disciples to understand so that they will grasp the importance of this message. Scribes who are also trained for the kingdom will be like the master of a house. Remember that scribes write down the books of the Old Testament. Once they are trained for the kingdom, they can explain what the Old Testament shadows reveal about the New Testament. They have great wealth like a man who finds a treasure or a great pearl, so Jesus compares them to the master of a house. This is Matthew. He is the master of a house. Throughout this book, Matthew has been bringing up Old Testament references left and right to discuss how Jesus fulfills them.
Also, consider that God is making us into masters of a house. As we learn the Old Testament and combine it with the truth revealed to us in the New Testament, we are becoming masters of a house. We are being equipped to bring treasure out for others to buy. Do we ever stop to think about those around us who will suffer for eternity? If we genuinely care, why don't we share this treasure with them? They are so close to the treasure every day, but they don't realize that it's not a scam. Show them the joy of giving up everything in this world to find salvation in Jesus.
Conclusion
This is one of those texts in scripture that flip our world upside down. We need to see the kingdom as the greatest treasure, and we need to see missing out on the blessings of this kingdom as the most significant loss. I heard of a guy in Arkansas who had an inheritance given to him. He could either invest it in some up and coming company or buy a piece of land. He purchased the land to be safe. It turns out that the company was Walmart. He missed out on the opportunity of a lifetime. Don't miss out on this opportunity. Buy into this kingdom before it is too late and hold on to that investment until the very end. Disconnect from this world emotionally, and connect to God.