Please see our Privacy Policy for cookie usage details. That means obedience. the which when a man hath found; either with or without the use of means, purposely attended to, in order to find it; such as reading, hearing, prayer, and meditation: for sometimes the Gospel, and the spiritual saving knowledge of it, are found, and attained to, by persons accidentally, with respect to themselves, though providentially, with respect to God; when they had no desire after it, or searched for it, and thought nothing about it; though by others it is come at, in a diligent use of the above means: he hideth; which is to be understood not in an ill sense, as the man hid his talent in a napkin, and in the earth; but in a good sense, and designs his care of it; his laying it up in his heart, that he might not lose it, and that it might not be taken away from him: anor joy thereof; for the Gospel, when rightly understood, brings good tidings of great joy, to sensible sinners. God has said that if you will turn back to him, as Israel will some day, he stands ready to heal, ready to forgive, ready to wipe out all the failures, all the transgressions, and to begin in your experience to cause your life to blossom and to come into abundance. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!'" The one thing they have in common is that they were sown of the Lord, and from the good seed of His Word. (Matthew 13:44-46 RSV). Jesus told a parable about a man who found something in a field that he did not own. That is the story of the gospels. We are not sure what this man was doing in someone elses field. ii. Matthew 13:44 "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all he has, and buys that field. i. Hermon Christian Conference Center. - Matthew 13:44, Props: Small plate of fruit, dark glasses, bandana; Strand of pearls (artificial is fine). She was no inconsiderable monarch herself. So did Jesus himself, at the utmost cost, buy the world to gain his church, which was the treasure which he desired. (Spurgeon), Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.. i. 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. Was this a big hidden treasure? The man who finds the treasure does not simply take it. We want to be the kind of good soil that Jesus talked about. The gospel is more valuable than such a treasure, Psalm 19:10; Proverbs 3:13-15. If you belong to the kingdom, you have the greatest treasure! We ask it in Jesus' name, Amen. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure that was hidden in a field. 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. They said to Him, Yes, Lord. We wonder if the disciples really did understand Jesus here. Such, we may well believe, had been the history of the publicans and the fishermen who made up the company of the Twelve. By that he indicated that the privilege of demonstrating the grace of God would he taken from Israel and given to the church. The kingdom of God is FAR more valuable than anything in this world. 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. 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. a. Instantly, the man knew that the treasure was incredibly valuable. Brought to you by KidzLife, Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Readers Version, (NIrV). 3. There they stand ready, being prepared right now to discover again, finally, the secret of their life. He revealed for a brief flash of time the glory that was Israel. Matthew 13:45 Parallel Verses [ See commentary ] Matthew 13:45, NIV: Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 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 . But our treasure - our immeasurably better treasure - has no limit! And now, lastly, let us look at the point where the parables converge. c. He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief: It is truly remarkable that Jesus was, in some manner, limited by their unbelief. Then it is up to us to sell all that we have, give it all up, and buy him at any cost. I don't know what that may evoke in your mind. But then the parable says, "Then in his joy the man went and gave all that he had and bought the field." And like the first parable, the man gladly gave up everything he owned to get the pearl. Then he went and gave all that he had and bought that field of humanity. This is a dream and a vision that men have long held. The best pearls were worth extraordinary sums of money. The main idea is that the disciples who had just claimed to understand what Jesus taught are now responsible to bring forth their understanding to others, as if they were distributing from the storehouse of their wisdom and understanding. The kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet: Jesus shows that the world will remain divided right up until the end, and the Church will not reform the world, ushering in the kingdom. Matthew 13:44-50; Acts 26:9-20; Ephesians 2:8-9; Jeremiah 29:13; Luke 14:25-33; Lesson Introduction Game: Pearl Race. Ed, Issue 46, Winter 2023. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. III. What is it that inhibits us from going forward together to enjoy the fruits of human endeavor and to reap the harvest of human experience? So, through the course of history, there has been a counterfeit Christianity, a sham religion, a phony, a fake, which bears the name of Christianity but which is absolutely false. It was hidden when our Lord came. The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them: You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page. I want to read these twin parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price because they link so closely together, although we will look only at the first one this morning. There is an honest cry from the harassed heart of a statesman who is desperately trying to find the treasure that is hidden in man, the secret of world peace. When I peel it, you cant smell it like I can smell it. He hideth - That is, he conceals the fact that he has found it; he does not tell of it. Such that have ability and leisure, may consult a controversy in Philostratus (l), between two persons, the buyer and seller of a field; in which, after the purchase, a treasure was found, when the seller claimed it as his; urging, that had he known of it, he would never have sold him the field: the buyer, on the other hand, insisted on its being his property; alleging that all was his which was contained in the land bought by him. 13:45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: If there is anyone here in that condition, remember that this is God's promise to you, and that he has given a visible demonstration in the life of this nation. ii. Life outside of the kingdom of God is way less than God intended it to be. But you have refused," (Matthew 11:21, Luke 10:13). '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 had and bought it . We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website. He felt the condemnation of a righteous God. They will come and study this little nation of Israel in which the secret of world peace has always been hidden, the strange, chosen nation for which our Lord gave his life. Jesus came and offered the kingdom. That means a change of mind, repentance, turning again to God and recognizing his presence in our midst. Kingdom life is here and now. Is this not the carpenters son: Because these villagers were familiar with Jesus as a boy and accustomed to unspectacular things from Him, we may conclude that Jesus must have grown up a very normal boy unlike the fantastic stories told in apocryphal books like The Infancy of Jesus. He entered into all of that. May be reproduced for personal, nonprofit, and non-commercial uses only. He went into the city riding upon an ass in fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah, "Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass," (Matthew 21:5, Zechariah 9:9). i. You can check these in your browser security settings. For more than four hundred years Israel had been an obscure, tiny little nation. I have never forgotten something I learned years ago when in Hawaii. (Matthew 23:37, Luke 13:34). Our website uses cookies to store user preferences. a. This parable powerfully teaches that it is Gods job to divide in judgment. But is it only a dream? The truth often lies buried: it is like rich veins of ore in the sacred Scriptures; it must be searched out with diligence, and its discovery will repay a man for all his sacrifices, Luke 14:33; Philippians 3:8. the which when a man hath foundthat is, unexpectedly found. This is what we human beings need. Finally Jesus left the city once more and went out to his death. And you and I are making a great mistake if, as Americans, we think that this country is being held together by the Constitution of the United States or by the Declaration of Independence. Something was hidden, lost in the human race, but he uncovered it. (Matthew 13:44). How often would have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! Pearls were highly prized in that time and place. A buried treasure and a pricy pearl Matthew 13:44-46 44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. i. I can take a bite and taste the amazing flavors. The sacred writings should be his treasure, and he should properly understand them his knowledge consists in being well instructed in the things concerning the kingdom of heaven, and the art of conducting men thither. (Clarke), v. Ministers of the gospel should not be novices, 1 Timothy 3:6, raw and ignorant men; but men mighty in the Scriptures, well acquainted with the writings of the Old and New Testament, and the sense of them; men that have a stock of spiritual knowledge, able readily to speak a word to the weary, and to speak to men and womens particular cases and questions. (Poole), Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. (As we saw last time, the parable of the leaven also has been misconstrued to mean something quite different from what our Lord ever intended.) You can also change some of your preferences. iv. Say: This summer we have been studying the parables that Jesus taught. b. It always reminds me immediately of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, of Long John Silver, and doubloons and pieces-of-eight, pegleg pirates, and all the exciting things usually associated with the idea of buried treasure. Click to enable/disable _gid - Google Analytics Cookie. Read full chapter. It turns out that Mr. Hills emeralds were some of the best quality emeralds in North America. As long as God chooses to work in concert with human agency, developing our ability to partner with Him, our unbelief can and may hinder the work of God. This story is very much like the first parable. The discoveries disrupt normal daily life and priorities; they require risk and sacrifice. So he unfolded it and unveiled it again. And the field, he has told us, is the world, the world of humanity, the human race, all of society. Now we turn to these three private parables given to the disciples: The parable of the hidden treasure, the parable of the pearl of great price, and the parable of the dragnet. Well, is it not obvious that there is something lost with relation to humanity, something every human being seems to be seeking, consciously or unconsciously, something every thinking person in this room and throughout the world is searching for and longing for with an ache that is almost physical? There is nothing that even compares to a loving relationship with the Creator of the universe! They have not found it yet. Notice that the man sold EVERYTHING. d. The reapers are angels The Son of Man will send out His angels: We often dont consider that the angels of God have a special role in the judgment of the world. The old Puritan commentator John Trapp here remarked that unbelief was A sin of that venomous nature, that it transfuseth, as it were, a dead palsy into the hands of omnipotency., 2018 David Guzik No distribution beyond personal use without permission. 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. And our Lord found the nation in bondage, the temple overrun with moneychangers, commercial charlatans making a fast buck by preying upon the worship of the people. The treasure was too great to forget about! Whatever the reason he was there, he found an amazing treasure, maybe similar to the emeralds. But there would be one kind of heart in which the seed would grow up into a harvest and produce fruit. They have not yet grasped again the lost secret of their nation -- that the nation which walks in right relationship to him, God will heal. So the secret of world peace is wrapped up, bound up, in this strange nation, Israel. After you have been instructed by me, you have the knowledge, not only of the things you used to know, but of things you never knew before, and even the knowledge which you had before is illuminated by what I have told to you. (Barclay), iv. Jesus wants it to grow! Our Lord came and he bought the whole field so that someday he might use the treasure hidden in it to make the world blossom with glory. The Word of God. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." Basic Supply List: Bible Construction Paper Crayons Candy Bar Sensory Table or large tote Rice Commentary on Matthew 13:24-30. The person has a change of heart, and he or she truly wants to do Gods will. Maybe he was a hired helper for the man who owned the field, or maybe he was just passing through. The point of the parables is completely different; the parable of the soils shows how men receive and respond to the Word of God, and the parable of the tares of the field shows how God will divide His true people from false believers at the end of this age. You can read them in Matthew23 in the sharp series of woes that he pronounced against the Pharisees and the scribes. All rights reserved worldwide. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain. This time, He compares the kingdom of heaven to treasure found hidden in a field. And then our Lord said in the third parable that there would be an abnormal and an unnatural growth of the seed that he planted. Or maybe the field was for sale and the man was looking it over before deciding whether to buy it. That is what keeps a nation strong. 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. The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a. I. They fit together but they are not talking about exactly the same thing. The man was so excited to know that he could possibly own that treasure. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" John 6:42). (France), ii. (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. The church would thereafter demonstrate before men the healing grace of God as we will see in our next study together. He set them out as a sample, an example nation, to indicate by visible demonstration what God wants to be and to do with all the other nations of the world. He found poverty and misery stalking the land. You remember that in the first parable our Lord informed us by means of the story that he would engage in a great sowing of the Word of God throughout the world and that it would fall on four kinds of hearts. There are banners and placards everywhere you go in America, crying out for peace. It is hidden from most people. And Congress is trying to put its finger on where you begin and how you relate peace of heart in an individual to peace among men. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. II. Jesus is not pointing out what we must give up to enter His kingdom. Instead, Jesus is the man who gave all that He had to buy the field. i. Our heavenly Father, how we thank you for the marvelous truth that you, Lord, have bought the world, that it belongs to you, and that you shall some day rule and reign in power and glory in its midst and all your promises shall be fulfilled. We need 2 cookies to store this setting. 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. 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. The kingdom, you cant smell it force blocking all cookies on this.... In this world go in America, crying out for peace much like the parable... In our midst finally, the man knew that the privilege of demonstrating grace. To God and recognizing His presence in our midst gospel is more valuable than such a,! 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