Articles
Buried Treasure and Costly Pearls
When Jesus taught on earth about the nature of the Kingdom of God, He used a number of different parables that used a wide variety of pictures. Some of the parables were longer and required more unraveling to understand. Some were simpler and only focused on one truth about the Kingdom.
These shorter parables were not any less important, but are sometimes more forgettable. That’s why it is important to go back and review them occasionally so that we can refresh ourselves on the truths that these shorter parables taught, and see if we have been living accordingly.
In Matthew 13, we have several parables that taught about the Kingdom. The longer parables we are familiar with (the Sower and the Tares, for example) can sometimes overshadow the shorter ones. However, in verse 44, Jesus said, “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.” (Matthew 13:44) The initial lesson is obviously about worth. When the true believers find the kingdom, they realize its immense value, and nothing in their old life was worth holding onto by comparison. However, there is also a lesson that not everyone is actively seeking the rule of Jesus, and they find it, seemingly, by happenstance.
The second parable teaches another lesson through similarities and differences. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:45-46) In this case, the method of discovery is different. Instead of stumbling onto the kingdom, this person was actively seeking the truth, and was investigating it when they found it. However, the result is exactly the same. Absolutely nothing the merchant owned could compare with the great value of what he had found in his search.
No matter how people come to know about the truth of Jesus’ rule, nothing they have in their possession can come near its great worth. Some people hear about the church in the most unlikely ways. Through the preaching of another saint, or the example of a loved one, or maybe a radio show. Some people are in the world and looking for the truth actively and carefully. They investigate and weigh what they hear by the scripture, and are overjoyed when they come to know of the true church. But in either case, these believers sacrifice their whole lives because of the great value of God’s rule.
The question for us is two-fold. Will we work to make sure that people have access to the news of Jesus’ eternal kingdom? Will we make it so that more people can find that hidden treasure? Will we seek to speak to those who are truly seeking the truth, honoring their quest and providing them the answers they seek? Will we show that we value the truth above all else by giving up all we have for the Kingdom?
