The Parable of the Treasure

Scripture: Matthew 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. 

Insights:  The first two parables Jesus told dealt with the nature of God’s mysterious church age kingdom.  The parable of the soils told us that in this kingdom there would be those who believed and there will be those who would not.  In the second parable of the wheat and the tares, we found that the believers and the nonbelievers would grow together until the harvest that comes in the end; therefore, the nature of the kingdom is that it encompasses good and evil.  The next two parables spoke of the power of God’s mysterious church age kingdom.  In spite of the fact that good and evil are growing together, the good will triumph in the end.  These four parables spoke of the kingdom in general terms as it affects all people.  At this point the disciples would have asked themselves another question.  And that question would have been: If the kingdom covers the earth and permeates the earth and influences the earth, do we just get naturally born into the kingdom?  Well that question is what led to Jesus telling this 3^rd couplet of parables, because these talk about the appropriation of the kingdom.  The first verse describes a very common practice of the people during the Lord’s time on earth.  Today, we put our money in the bank or we put our money in stocks and bonds or securities or real estate; but in those days, they had no banks as such for common people and the banks they did have weren't necessarily a good places to put all of your resources.  It was normal, therefore, for people to take their valuables and bury them in the ground.  Think about the parable of the talents in Matthew 25.  The third slave took his talent and buried it in the ground.  So, we have a man who is in the field and he does not own the field.  More than likely he is a hireling working the field for the land owner.  As he is working in that field, maybe he's plowing or maybe he's tilling the ground, or whatever, he comes across a treasure buried in the ground.  Immediately upon finding the treasure he puts it back where he found it and sells every single thing he possesses in the world and buys that field in order that he may gain that treasure. 

Questions:

1. In what location are you looking for treasure?
2. Have you come to the place where you recognize the only true treasure is found in Jesus Christ?

Prayer: Father, thank You for the eminence treasure of Jesus and the gift of salvation He offers all of humanity.  Thank You for becoming my Lord and Savior through the work of Your Son, Jesus.  Amen.