This week we have
looked on as a man named Matthew gives us a front row seat to an event from
history where Jesus told a story that reveals a timeless truth about the
kingdom of heaven. Wednesday, we looked on as Matthew began to give us a front
row seat to this event from history as Jesus is telling the crowds listening to
him a parable about the kingdom of heaven. In this parable, Jesus compared the
kingdom of heaven to a treasure that is hidden in the field.
Jesus told this parable
to reveal the reality that Jesus calls for those who stumble upon His kingdom to
genuinely embrace the kingdom of heaven, not just acknowledge its existence out
of duty and pass by it as though it did not exist. Jesus point is that the
kingdom of heaven calls for followers that must be willing to enthusiastically
and joyously embrace the kingdom of heaven and be willing to give up whatever
stands between them and the kingdom of heaven.
The point that Jesus
is making to the crowds listening to this parable is that the kingdom of heaven
is such a treasure that those who find it will be willing to invest all that
they have in the surpassing greatness of the kingdom. Jesus was calling the
crowds listening to Him to understand that they must be willing to risk all if
the priorities of the kingdom of heaven threaten or compete with the security
of the things on earth.
And, the kingdom of
heaven is a treasure that causes people to do things that may make no sense to
those to whom the kingdom of heaven is hidden from. And to make His point
abundantly clear, Matthew tells us that Jesus continued by telling the crowds
listening to Him another parable, beginning in Matthew 13:45. Let’s look at it
together:
"Again, the kingdom
of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,
Matthew tells us that
Jesus told the crowds a second. In this parable, Jesus compared the kingdom of
heaven to a merchant seeking fine pearls. Unlike the previous parable, where a
man stumbled upon the treasure hidden in the field, this man, who is a merchant,
was seeking fine pearls. In the Jewish culture of Jesus day, just like today,
fine pearls were considered a valuable treasure.
And in the same way,
there are some people who stumble upon the treasures of God and the kingdom of
heaven as a result of God revealing the treasures of the kingdom through His
gracious activity in their lives. And then there are other people who are
spiritually seeking answers to questions that they have about God and His
kingdom. We see Jesus continue and conclude this parable for us with what He
says next, which records for us in Matthew 13:46:
and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and
sold all that he had and bought it.
Jesus explained to the
crowds listening to Him that the merchant, after seeking and searching in many
different places, found only one pearl. This one pearl that he found, however,
was very precious and was of exceptional value. And just as this merchant was
searching far and wide to find a valuable treasure, there are many people who
are seeking and searching for spiritual truth in a variety of places.
The very nature of
religion, by definition, is man’s attempt to find and connect with God. Think
of all the religious systems that exist in the world today. Here is just a
small sampling; Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Mormonism, Judaism, Humanism, Wicca,
Scientology, Darwinian evolution, New age and eastern pantheism, and atheism,
which is a religious system. We could go on and on and on. All of these
religious systems are seeking and searching for spiritual truth. And many of
these religious systems have similar lists of do’s and don’ts.
The problem with all
of these religious systems, however, is that while all of them tell you how you
are to live your life in the present and the future, none of them tell you how
to deal with your past. Christianity is the only religious system that provides
a way that deals with our past lives of selfishness, rebellion, and sin.
Christianity is not a religion where we do things in order to experience a
right relationship with God. Christianity is a relationship with God as a
result of what God has done for us. And while there are many different religions
that attempt to explain the things of God, there is only one kingdom of heaven.
And the kingdom of heaven is a precious treasure of exceptional value.
Jesus then explained
that upon finding this one pearl of great value, the merchant responded to this
treasure by selling all that he had to buy it. The merchant viewed this pearl
as so precious of a treasure that he was willing to invest everything that he
owned so that he could have it. Once the merchant had the pearl, he realized
that he did not need his other treasures. He responded to the treasure that he
had found by valuing it over everything else that he owned.
The fact that he
valued this treasure more than all else was revealed in his actions; he sold
all that he had so that he could invest in the surpassing treasure of that one
pearl. And in this parable, we see Jesus reveal the reality that the kingdom of
heaven is uniquely precious and worthy of our investment. Jesus point in this
parable is that once we have found the precious treasure of the kingdom of
heaven, we need no other treasure.
Just as the merchant
was willing to invest all that he had in the surpassing treasure of the kingdom
of heaven, we must be willing to invest all into the surpassing treasure the
kingdom of heaven. Jesus is calling the crowds listening to Him to genuinely
embrace the kingdom of heaven as the ultimate treasure, not just acknowledge
its existence and then invest our lives into lesser treasures.
And it is in these two
parables that we discover a timeless truth about the kingdom of heaven. And
that timeless truth is this: The kingdom of heaven is a treasure worth investing everything for. The timeless reality is that some people
stumble on to the reality that the kingdom of heaven is a treasure worth
investing everything for. And there are people who walk past the treasure of
the kingdom of heaven day after day, unaware that such a treasure exists.
For other people,
their life can be described as a spiritual journey that seeks and searches to
find answers to the profound questions of life. Who Am I? Why am I here? Do I
matter? And some of those people come to a place in their lives where they see
the kingdom of heaven as a treasure worthy of investing everything for. And
others walk past the kingdom of heaven, seeking to find answers in religious
systems that provide a false promise for the present and the future, while never
dealing with the problems of past selfishness, rebellion, and sin. And for
some, the kingdom of heaven is more of a duty than a delight. And the timeless reality is that everyone fits into one of these categories.
So here is a question
to consider: which category would you describe yourself as fitting in? Do you
feel like you have stumbled onto the claims of Jesus and His offer to be a part
of the kingdom of Heaven? Or maybe you are on a spiritual journey searching and
shopping for answers when it comes to the most profound questions in life? Or do
you view the idea of being a follower of Jesus and apart of the kingdom of heaven
as being a duty, not a delight?
And how have you
responded to the kingdom of heaven that Jesus has presented to you? Have you
responded to the surpassing treasure of the kingdom of Heaven by believing,
trusting and following Jesus as Lord and Leader? And if you are a member of the
kingdom of heaven, do you see the kingdom of heaven as more of a duty than a
delight? Do you view the kingdom of heaven as a treasure worthy of investing
everything for?
Because the timeless
reality is that the kingdom of heaven is a treasure worth investing everything
for…
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