The Parable Of The Hidden Treasure

^{Matthew 13:44:
44} “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."
 

We are not sure what this man was doing in someone else’s field. Maybe he was a hired helper for the man who owned the field, or maybe he was just passing through. Or maybe the field was for sale and the man was looking it over before deciding whether to buy it. Whatever the reason he was there, he found an amazing treasure, maybe similar to the emeralds. This was a great surprise! Instantly, the man knew that the treasure was incredibly valuable. He was full of joy over this discovery. He went home and sold everything he owned: his house, his furniture, his jewelry, his sheep and goats. Then he took all the money that he had made, and he bought that field. Clearly, the treasure in that field was worth more than everything else that the man owned.

 

When the man found the treasure, he could have covered it back up, gone about his business, and forgotten all about it. But that’s not what he did. The treasure was too great to forget about! The man was so excited to know that he could possibly own that treasure. He probably laid awake each night thinking about the treasure until it was his. Notice that the man sold EVERYTHING. He was left with nothing. He knew that the treasure was better than his home and his belongings. The treasure was so important to him, that he joyfully gave up everything else in the world to gain that treasure.

 

The parable mentioned is not a plea for us to sell all we have in order to obtain the kingdom - for we truly have nothing to offer God (Ephesians 2:5-9). Instead, they are a call for us to desire the kingdom above all else. Consider the words of Jim Elliot, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” The emphasis is not on what we give up, but on the unfathomable new life that is being offered to us

"The kingdom of heaven is worth infinitely more than the cost of discipleship, and those who know where the treasure lied joyfully abandon everything to secure it" (D. A. Carlson).

 

"…The kingdom of heaven, the glad recognition of God’s rule over heart and life, including salvation for the present and for the future, for soul and ultimately for the body, the great privilege of therefore being made a blessing to others by the glory of God, all this, is a treasure so inestimably precious that one who obtains it is willing to surrender for it whatever could interfere with having it" (William Hendriksen).

When we discover that we can enter God’s kingdom, we have a choice to make, just as the man in the field did. We can see the treasure and we can just go back to our old way of life. Or we can see God’s kingdom, full of peace, love, forgiveness, freedom, and joy, and want that more than anything else.

Jesus is not saying that you must go out and sell everything you own. He is saying that you should be willing to. He is saying that NOTHING compares in value to the new life that the King wants to give you. You should not love anything or anyone more than you love the King, God Himself. If you belong to the kingdom, you have the greatest treasure! This treasure is freely given by God, the King, to everyone who trusts in Him.