Obtaining Treasure

Matthew 13: 44-52

Let’s turn to our passage in Matthew 13:44-52. To put these passages in context we have to back up to verse 36:

Then He left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear."  --Matthew 13:36-43

Here Jesus jumps from the harvest to the Kingdom.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. Then Jesus ties the Kingdom back to the harvest.

“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. –Matthew 13:44-50

What point is Jesus making with these three parables in which in each one He begins by saying “the kingdom of heaven is like”? Well, the first two parables are very similar.  Both men sold everything that they had to purchase a treasure that they considered more valuable than all that they owned thus far.  There was joy (not happiness) explicitly involved in the first purchase and implicitly involved in the second purchase in the fact that everything that the merchant owned was enough to make the purchase of the pearl of great price and he was willing to pay that price and he actually sold everything he owned and bought it.

In the first parable the man finds a treasure that was hidden.  In the second parable the man is looking for a treasure (i.e., fine pearls) but it does not say that this treasure of great value is hidden.  It was obviously for sale but this pearl would cost everything that the merchant owned just like in the first parable where the field that was for sale cost everything the man owned to buy it.  Both the man who bought the field and the merchant who bought the pearl of great price completed their purchase.

In the third parable Jesus states that the kingdom of heaven consist of the righteous people.  He explains that the righteous and the wicked will be gathered in the same net but that the angels will separate them and the righteous will be put in the good baskets but the wicked will be thrown into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. What about us?  Have we sacrificed all that is near and dear to us to purchase piece of real estate in heaven or to purchase an object of great value in heaven?

The third parable seems to indicate that the net is cast each day and the righteous and the wicked are being brought to the heavenly shore.  The wicked will be cast into the fiery furnace where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Does this change your opinion of the purchase that you made that cost you all that you owned?  Does it make you sad that the wicked were not willing to sell all that they owned to make the same purchase?  It makes me sad (very sad).  However, it does not make me want to return my purchase so that I can join them in the fiery furnace where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Let’s return to the passage:

“Have you understood all these things?”

They said to Him, “Yes.”

And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.^”  --Matthew 13:51-52

The old things that the scribes (Jesus’ disciples) brought out came from the law and the prophets and they were hidden (like the treasure that the man in the parable found and hid again).  The true meaning of these prophesies (old treasures) that were recorded in the Law were hidden from everyone (even from Satan and all of the angels) until the Holy Spirit chose to reveal them.  The new treasures that were brought out were the things that Jesus had revealed to His disciples about Himself and the good news of the gospel of salvation and the forgiveness of sins.

Jesus asked His disciples, “Have you understood all these things?” We need to ask ourselves the same question.  “Do I truly understand all these things and if so what am I going to do with this understanding?  In other words “How is this understanding going to change the way I live and who I live for?”

A friend of mine returned from a funeral service in Anderson last Thursday.  The deceased’s name was Virginia (Gini) Baillie.  She was born May 22, 1944, and she died May 21, 2015, the day before her 71’s birthday.  My friend brought back with him the program from Gini’s service because he wanted me to see it.  In it was a testimony written by Gini before she died.  It contains a real life example of the point behind today’s parables and the value of the kingdom of heaven compared to the value of the things of this world.

Testimony of Virginia (Gini) Wagner Baillie:

“I was born and raised on a farm in eastern Nebraska.  My parents, one brother, and I went to a Lutheran church and Sunday school in my hometown of 800 virtually every week.  When I was about 12 years old I attended Catechism classes two hours every Saturday for two years and at the end of that time I was “confirmed.”  I went to a one-room country school, worked hard on the farm, and from the world’s perspective I was not rebellious, but from God’s perspective though very “religious,” I was rotten to the core of my being.  But then at age 34, God, in His grace, plucked me as a brand from the fire.  As part of my life experiences I claim, along with Timothy, that from childhood I knew the sacred writings which God used to give me the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  (This verse is found in II Timothy 3:15.)

“As for the particulars of my salvation experience, God called Gene (my husband) and me to do a one-month medical mission trip to Korea, Japan and Taiwan in the fall of 1978.  Shortly before we left for the trip, my dad at age 63, had a heart attack and I faced the mortality of those I love as well as my own inevitable death.  My mother was very anxious about us leaving the country and leaving behind our three daughters who were 8, 12, and 14.  She felt we should just donate the money that the trip would cost to the mission field.  But God wanted us to experience what total dependence upon Him looked like.  When our airplane landed in Seoul, due to a communication break-down, no one was at the airport to meet us.  We were unable to make a telephone contact with our new missionary friends until 10pm, which the police at the airport informed us, was Seoul’s curfew.  We took a taxi to the airport hotel and found our room to be dirty and dingy.  When we went downstairs for dinner (a bottle of Coke with a straw and a piece of toast because I was afraid of getting T. B.), we asked the English speaking manager why the bottom of the door to our room was 2-3 inches off the floor.  “So if rats get into the room they won’t chew up our doors in order to get out” was the reply.  I distinctly remember going back to the room and praying with Gene in earnest, “Lord when we left America, we committed this time to You—but now we really MEAN it!” 

Throughout the time in Korea, God opened our eyes to how much we, as Americans, depended upon ourselves as well as our government for provision and protection, thinking the whole time that we were depending upon God.  Our Food and Drug Administration makes sure the restaurants were clean and serve meat other than dog; our Federal Highway Dept. makes sure roads and bridges are safe and up to standard, and then, of course our military…  Being in the DMZ we experienced a black out one night when we were way out in the country.  Soldiers ran out of the ditch and began hitting the car and yelling in Korean.  I was thankful for our Korean speaking friend who could understand their instructions to turn off our car lights immediately.

“We had the privilege of staying in the guest house of a missionary surgeon and, for the first time witnessed that the God of Sundays is also the God of the rest of the week, as he shared the gospel and prayed with and for every patient he ministered to.  He and his wife had a relationship with Jesus Christ in a way that we had never seen.  From that village we spent a week in a leprosy colony where Korean lepers and their families lived and made their livings raising chickens, hogs and rice.  Many were terribly disfigured and those who were the most debilitated lived in “The HAPPY House.”  My stomach churned as I looked at the outward appearance of these people who were missing facial features and limbs and yet there was something different about them that seemed to glow.  As the week progressed, we discovered that many of the men would get together daily to memorize Scripture.  Since most were blind and few had fingers with which they could read Braille, the only way to read Scripture was to be read to.  After years of hungering to hide God’s word in their hearts, nearly all had memorized the New Testament, and many had huge sections of the Old Testament on which they could regularly meditate.

 

“We were told of a recent visit by government officials from the U. S.  They toured the colony and met with some of the leading representatives.  When asked what America could do to help the colony of Soochun, the leaders asked if they could have 24 hours to think through, talk out, and pray about this generous offer.  The Americans left the colony with dollar signs and food supplies going through their minds.  The next day they met with the elders to hear their requests and stood in awe when they heard these words:  “We have very little money or material possessions, so are unable to do much, but we have heard that in the United States of America there are many who do not know Jesus Christ yet.  Therefore we have taken up a collection among our people to send back money to help support mission work being done there.”

“And so you see, God’s Holy Spirit used testimonies in in my life to bring about the fullness of the truths of His word that I had been taught through the years.  Since that time I have fallen more and more in love with my risen Lord and Savior and I seek opportunities to tell what Christ has meant in my life.  I am always aware that in my words and actions, I may have the opportunity of being part of God’s plan for salvation in someone’s life and for others, I may be the only Jesus these people will ever see.”

Let’s Pray.