The Kingdom of Heaven
Published by Stanley Pouw in 2013 · 14 July 2013
This evening we're looking at two parables taught by our Lord, and we can take them together because they touch the same subject. Matthew 13:44-46, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
Jesus is saying, - there is nothing in all the universe to match the priceless value of the kingdom of heaven. And that is what we're going to see as we learn these two parables now. Remember the Lord is teaching in this chapter in a series of seven parables of describing the kingdom.
Now in this series of seven parables, we gain insight into this period of time. The first two parables tell us about the nature of the mystery form of the kingdom. The parable of the soils tells us that in this kingdom there will be those who believe and there will be those who do not. In the second parable of the wheat and the tares, we find that the believers and the nonbelievers will grow together until the harvest that comes in the end.
Now the second two parables speak of the power of the kingdom. In spite of the fact that good and evil are growing together, the good will triumph in the end. And so the good element is described as a mustard seed planted in the field, so that though the kingdom began very small but when Jesus comes His kingdom will fill the whole earth. And the parable of the leaven shows the internal permeating influence of the kingdom which touches every dimension of human life.
Well, then if the kingdom covers the earth and permeates and influences, how do we become part of the kingdom? And so, our Lord explains in this third couplet of parables about the value of the kingdom. And these two parables, as do the previous two couplets of parables, speak to the same subject.
Let us look first of all at Matthew 13:44. It is the parable of a hidden treasure, a very simple story, “the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
Now this was the common way for the people then. They had no banks as such and so usually men took whatever they considered of great value and they buried it in the ground, particularly in Palestine because that was a place of war. Conquering peoples came in to plunder and so people would bury valuables to recover them again later.
And so, here is a man who is working in a field, maybe he's plowing or whatever, and he comes across a treasure buried in the ground. And immediately he puts it back where he found it and sells every single thing he possesses, and buys that field in order that he may gain that treasure.
Now this parable introduces an ethical situation. People have said - how can you have Jesus telling a story in which there's an unethical activity, in which a man does something that is wrong? Look, the guy uncovers a treasure, and then he hides it without telling the owner and he goes to buy the field. Isn’t that stealing?
First of all, Jewish Rabbinic law said - "If a man finds scattered fruit or money, it belongs to the finder." So the man is within the permission of the Jewish Rabbinic law. So the Jews listening to Jesus would not have perceived this man as unethical. Secondly, that which was hidden in the field did not belong to the man who owned the field.
The owner of the field didn't know it was there. He had not gone to the effort to uncover it and dig it out, no doubt it belonged to a previous owner of that same field who had buried it there, maybe died in battle, or died by accident, unable to recover it and so the man who had uncover it by Jewish law did have the claim on it. The owner of the field had not done that.
Now, thirdly, this man was very trustworthy and fair. If this man was not an honest man when he found the treasure he would have taken it and split. But he didn't do that. He took that treasure that he had found; and he put it right back in the ground. Then he liquidated everything he owned and bought the entire field just so that he could do what was right to get that treasure. No one was defrauded.
The point of the parable is here is a man who found something so valuable that he sold everything that he had to get it. That's the point of the parable. He was so overjoyed, he was so ecstatic that he was willing to do anything to get that treasure.
Now let's look at the second parable of the pearl, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” A merchant man is a person who would go around and buy things on a wholesale basis and then sell them to somebody who would retail them.
Pearls would be the equivalent of diamonds today. If you had pearls, you had a fortune. It was incredible the extent to which people went in those days pearl hunting. Many people died gaining them. They basically tied rocks to their bodies and then jump off the side of the little boat and go to the bottom amidst all the sharks and whatever else, holding one long deep-drawn breath and fearing lest they go too deep and die.
And they would come up with these treasures and when once discovered, a pearl that was of perfection and beauty would be incredibly valuable. So valuable are they that the Talmud says, "Pearls are beyond price." So valuable were they that when women wanted to show their wealth, according to 1 Timothy 2:9, they put pearls on their head.
Our Lord in Matthew 7:6 says, "Don't cast your pearls before swine." Jesus is comparing the least with the most priceless. You don't give the most valuable thing to a pig, that's foolish. And so pearls were really perceived like we perceive diamonds today. In fact, in the book of Revelation, God begins to describe heaven as pearls in its beauty.
Now, what are the principles from the two parables? Number one, the kingdom is priceless in value. Both parables teach us the incomparable value of the kingdom of the Lord, we're talking about salvation; we're talking about Christ Himself and the gift of salvation that He gives. The kingdom is the most valuable commodity that can ever be found and only a fool is not willing to sell everything he has to gain it.
In Christ’ kingdom there is a treasure rich beyond comparison. That treasure is incorruptible, undefiled, unfading and eternal. Salvation, forgiveness, love and joy, peace and virtue, goodness and glory and heaven and eternal life are all in that pearl that is salvation and is equivalent to being in the kingdom.
Secondly, the kingdom is not outwardly visible. The treasure was hidden, and the pearl had to be sought. The treasure is not obvious to men. The value and the preciousness of the kingdom of heaven, of salvation cannot be seen although it is there. The world looks at us and they don't understand why we all are worshiping God.
It says in 1 Corinthians 2:14, “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him." And in 2 Corinthians 4, it says, “whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”
Most people never bother to look beyond the surface. They are so busy fiddling around with the worldly treasures and the toys and the pebbles that lie on the surface, they never get to the treasure underneath. And there have been many times that we have gone and given the description of the treasure and the pearl to people who right away turned their backs and walked away. They do not care.
They do not want that. They do not understand its inestimable value. It is not easily perceived. That is why it says in Matthew 7:14, “narrow is the way and few there be that find it." That's why it says in Luke 13:24, "Strive to enter in at the narrow gate for many I say will seek to enter in and shall not be able." In other words, it must be diligently pursued.
Thirdly, the kingdom is personally appropriated. And this is the essence of these two parables. Now we are dealing with two individuals. And each of them finds something specifically for himself and takes it himself. This is to show us that you can be surrounded by the kingdom, surrounded by Christian friends and not be a member of the kingdom. There are just a lot of people in the church who are not Christians.
There are many Jews who, although they are born Jewish and are although they are under the covenant of God with Israel, are going to forfeit all that kingdom treasure because they have never personally come to know Christ, right? In Romans 9:6 it says, "All Israel is not Israel." And the same is true today. There are many people on earth who have never accepted the kingdom personally.
It is not enough to be under the influence of the kingdom. It is not enough to just be under the influence of the church, or the influence of Christianity, it is not enough to just, as it were, lodge in the branches or be touched by its permeating influence, there must be personal appropriation. And at some point in time, in order to do that, men and women must realize the incredible value of the kingdom.
Many people spend their whole life pursuing what they think is valuable but at the end they realize that what they thought would bring them happiness instead brought them much misery and regret. In our world diamonds are the epitome of value. But the real value of the kingdom is so much greater than that.
And then in Job 28: 12, now that you've been looking for all that worldly stuff, we find what is really valuable, that you have never bothered to look for, and that is wisdom. If you want to know the real value of things in life you're not going to find them in worldly places, you're only going to find them in the revelation of God.
Fourthly, the kingdom is the only source of true joy. If we look at verse 44, it was for the joy that the man had when he found the treasure that he sold everything to buy it. Because the Lord is teaching us something that I have believed all my life. And it's confirmed here. The basic desire of all human beings on the face of the earth is to be happy. The Lord designed that.
Jesus even said in John 15:11, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” And I John 1, it says, "These things I write to you that your joy might be full.” And in John 16:24, our Lord says, “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
And Romans 14:17 says, "The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." In Romans 15:13 it says, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” People want to be happy. And true joy comes when you have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Fifthly, one can enter the kingdom from different circumstances. Now in both cases there are some similarities. They find something of great value, in both cases they understand its value, and in both cases they are willing to pay any price for it. So they're very similar, aren't they? But there's one big difference.
In case number one, the man just comes across the treasure y surprise. In case number two, the man knows exactly what he is looking for, right? Now even if the number one person was a treasure hunter, he didn't know what he was looking for. But number two did. The man in the field was going through whatever routine he went through and doing what he normally did he stumbled across a fortune.
There are people who enter the kingdom like that, aren't there? The Apostle Paul was not seeking to enter the kingdom; he thought he was in the kingdom. He was on his way to Damascus to kill Christians. The next thing he knew, he landed in the dirt, and he was redeemed. And then there are some people who come to church to oppose the preacher, and then they get saved.
And then there was the other, the one who looked for the pearls. This is the one who is seeking virtue and seeking that which is of true value, but what he doesn't understand in his seeking of religion which always comes through the works of men is that all of it is wrapped up in just one pearl. And so, there are people who enter the kingdom, almost by accident, but from God's side it is all according to plan. And then there are people who search.
Lastly, the kingdom is made personal by a transaction. In both of these cases, they bought the treasure and the pearl. Salvation cannot be bought but what it means is that they made a commitment. The Bible tells us that salvation is God's free gift, Romans 3. And it is not of works lest any man should boast. We don't purchase it on our own with our own goods. But it is bought nonetheless.
There is a great Old Testament passage that people always understand as salvation by grace. Isaiah 55:1 says, “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” But they forget that it says come and buy, you just don't buy it with money. But there is a purchase transaction in salvation.
The transaction is this; you give up all you have for all He has. Did you get that? That is the essence of the transaction of salvation. I give up all I have and God gives me all He has. Now the real issue is whether you are willing to make the transaction of salvation which says that you are totally willing to give up yourself to receive Him.
This does not mean, you can get saved when you stop your sinning and stop your cursing, and stop your drinking, and stop your wife beating, and stop your arguing and your fighting and your lusting, then come to Me. No. I can't get rid of those things, I exchange all my own will and my own strength and my own resources, I strip myself bare and I receive Your strength and Your power. That's the transaction.
The kingdom is precious. The kingdom is hidden. The kingdom is personal. The kingdom is joyous. The kingdom is entered from different circumstances, but always the price is to abandon myself to receive the supreme sovereignty of Jesus Christ. Let us pray.