The reason he joyfully goes and sells all that he has and buys that field, is that the man understands its true value. The Lord Jesus says that he came and uncovered for a brief time the secret of world peace and prosperity. This parable likely also fired the imaginations of Jesus' listeners, because it pictures unexpected good fortune. Say: This summer we have been studying the parables that Jesus taught. This motto is a result of the work of the early Christian missionaries who came from New England in the 19th century. He bought the field in order that someday he might use that treasure to cause the whole world to blossom and to fill the earth with peace and happiness. Listen to these words from Romans11. The gospel is more valuable than such a treasure, Psalm 19:10; Proverbs 3:13-15. As long as Gods people are still in this world (the field), there will be unbelievers among them; but it should not be because Gods people receive unbelievers as if they were believers, ignoring either the belief or conduct of professed believers. And yet they are extremely controlling of human events. Matthew 13:44 "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all he has, and buys that field. But I submit to you that that is false, and obviously so. So they were offended at Him. As we can imagine, he was afraid that when people heard about his discovery, they would sneak onto his land and grab whatever pieces of emerald they could find. So, if there are some among us here, who, like Israel, have temporarily turned away from God and have been walking away from him, who may, like Israel, once have had sweet fellowship with the Lord but lately have been resisting, have turned aside and gone back, have lost faith and now are wandering in perplexity, puzzlement, and bewilderment, in obscurity, weakness, and defeat, nevertheless God's promises to you are just as sure as they are to Israel. 4. That is what keeps a nation strong. Teacher Note: These parables are 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). Is this not the carpenters son: Because these villagers were familiar with Jesus as a boy and accustomed to unspectacular things from Him, we may conclude that Jesus must have grown up a very normal boy unlike the fantastic stories told in apocryphal books like The Infancy of Jesus. [That is, when Israel comes back into its right relationship with God, how much more blessing will this world understand and realize when they see worked out before their eyes what a nation can be with God in its midst!] b. Our Lord came and he bought the whole field so that someday he might use the treasure hidden in it to make the world blossom with glory. Then he covered it over again when it was rejected by the people. But when King Solomon met her he began to give presents to her, and his outweighed hers by far. Yet the point is clear, both in the world and in the kingdom community. He ended them, and then he said to the people, "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation that will bring forth the fruits of it," (Matthew 21:43). But then the parable says, "Then in his joy the man went and gave all that he had and bought the field." She wasn't just Queen for a Day. As opposition began to mount against him and resistance to his message increased, our Lord withdrew from Jerusalem and went out into the desert. Was this a big hidden treasure? The point of the parables is completely different; the parable of the soils shows how men receive and respond to the Word of God, and the parable of the tares of the field shows how God will divide His true people from false believers at the end of this age. The oyster opens its shell to let water and food in. This is a dream and a vision that men have long held. Before we read the parable, I want to tell you another true story. Such that have ability and leisure, may consult a controversy in Philostratus (l), between two persons, the buyer and seller of a field; in which, after the purchase, a treasure was found, when the seller claimed it as his; urging, that had he known of it, he would never have sold him the field: the buyer, on the other hand, insisted on its being his property; alleging that all was his which was contained in the land bought by him. Western democracies say that they have found it. The kingdom of God is the treasure. By the grace of God, He sends His Holy Spirit to live inside of that person, and he or she is then able to do Gods will. ii. People bring the same charge against Jesus today; I see those associated with Him, and they seem lowly or very normal; Jesus must also not be special., c. Where then did this Man get all these things: Their reception of Jesus was not welcoming or friendly. i. These parables afford us a glimpse behind the scenes of history into factors and forces which are at work today but which we would never find reported on the pages of the newspaper. He declared it in great messages like the Sermon on the Mount. Usually people take it to mean that God has chosen the Jews for a special destiny, to mean that they are to have special and uniquely privileged treatment, different than any other nation enjoys. [That is, when God set Israel aside, he allowed his delivering word to go out directly to Gentile peoples everywhere so that they might be the visible demonstration of how God can heal and fulfill human life, and Israel was watching -- at least individual Jews have been, all along.] Treasure seekers searched the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the Indian Ocean to find oysters with pearls inside. He revealed for a brief flash of time the glory that was Israel. The shell has two parts that are hinged together like this. Say: The hard path was a symbol for people who hear Gods word but ignore it. (7) Few men understand how great the riches of the kingdom of heaven are, and that no man can be a partaker of them but he that redeems them with the loss of all his goods. The kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet: Jesus shows that the world will remain divided right up until the end, and the Church will not reform the world, ushering in the kingdom. She has also spent many years mentoring Middle School and High School girls. The scribes amongst the Jews were not only clerks, that were employed in writing, but teachers of the law; such a one was Ezra (Ezra 7:6). (Poole). When a man found it, he hid it again. He would never have called it that. And then our Lord said in the third parable that there would be an abnormal and an unnatural growth of the seed that he planted. As time goes on, the sand is coated with more and more layers of this coating. Divide your class into at least two relay race teams. There is an honest cry from the harassed heart of a statesman who is desperately trying to find the treasure that is hidden in man, the secret of world peace. This is what we human beings need. Satan has a shoot of iniquity for every shoot of grace; and, when God revives his work, Satan revives his also. (Clarke), iii. For Israel, even in rejection, even in failure, is still an example to the people of the world. Their hearts receive the message of the kingdom, and the seed takes root and produces lots of spiritual fruit. You will never understand what God is doing in history unless you understand those three chapters because they make clear God's relationship with this strange and wonderful people, Israel. We need 2 cookies to store this setting. Paul says of Israel, So I ask, have they stumbled so as to fall? (Matthew 13:44). But there would be one kind of heart in which the seed would grow up into a harvest and produce fruit. There are banners and placards everywhere you go in America, crying out for peace. Teacher: Call up a volunteer. But is it only a dream? If our country forgets that, it will lose its ability to stand as a nation among the other nations of the world. Psalms 135:4 KJV). He, too, knew that nothing he owned could compare to the great treasure he had finally found. Brought to you by KidzLife, Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Readers Version, (NIrV). When the man found the treasure, he could have covered it back up, gone about his business, and forgotten all about it. b. Jesus makes it clear that we should not let anything keep us from entering the kingdom of God. b. - Matthew 13:44 We are not sure what this man was doing in someone else's field. So prone is fallen man to sin, that if the enemy sow the tares, he may . There is nothing that even compares to a loving relationship with the Creator of the universe! And when He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? The kingdom of heaven is like treasure that was hidden in a field. These two parables speak of how highly the King values the people of His kingdom. Jesus is not pointing out what we must give up to enter His kingdom. This is like the kingdom of God because it grows in the hearts of believers, and it grows throughout the world as more and more people enter the kingdom. Yesterday I spent a few hours with Dr.Billy Graham. And he was telling me how divided among themselves the Israelis are and how they are separating into squabbling bickering groups, fighting each other, and into many political parties vying for power. The best pearls were worth extraordinary sums of money. That is Israel's purpose and there was a time in their developing history when it was partially fulfilled. But in our own time we are facing an amazing wonder, one of the most remarkable things that has ever taken place in the annals of men, and one of the most dramatic demonstrations of the truth of the Word of God! He uncovered it but buried it again, and now it is hidden once more. But you arent quite able to taste it. But Christ does not intend to vindicate his conduct. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. The Word of God. The passage for this lection offers a counter-image to this destructive force. Every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom: Jesus said that everyone who really knows Gods Word both will know the old and learn the new of the kingdom. When our Lord covered the treasure over it was hidden completely in the field of humanity again. The total weight of the emeralds was about 3,300 carats. The old Puritan commentator John Trapp here remarked that unbelief was A sin of that venomous nature, that it transfuseth, as it were, a dead palsy into the hands of omnipotency., 2018 David Guzik No distribution beyond personal use without permission. . 44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. So it will be at the end of the age. It turns out that Mr. Hills emeralds were some of the best quality emeralds in North America. The oyster creates a coating that covers the sand or shell. The wheat comes into Gods barn from all over the world, from all ranks of society, from all ages of Gods church. Pearls were highly prized in that time and place. ii. These were men of the Word, and when our Lord spoke this parable, they would clearly remember the words of Exodus19. The field is the world: Significantly, this parable illustrates not necessarily that there will be false believers among true believers in the church (though that is also true to some extent); otherwise Jesus would have explained that the field is thechurch. And sometimes a piece of sand or shell gets in. a. He sows the tares, and tries to destroy the harvest; and, therefore, the good angels are brought in to celebrate his defeat, and to rejoice together with their Lord in the success of the divine husbandry. (Spurgeon). 3. By no means! Nederlandstalige Bijbelstudies door Stan Marinussen, Copyright - Enduring Word       |      . c. He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief: It is truly remarkable that Jesus was, in some manner, limited by their unbelief. Jesus compared the kingdom of God to the hidden treasure. It is intriguing to realize that Scripture deals with this subject as well. The bigger and more perfectly round the pearl, the more valuable it is. Ed, Issue 46, Winter 2023. A furnace of fire represents one destiny and radiant glory (shine forth as the sun) the other destiny. We never can understand anything until we see it demonstrated before us. MATTHEW 13:45-46. which is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, the truth as it is in Jesus, the glad tidings. (Matthew 23:37, Luke 13:34). i. d. The reapers are angels The Son of Man will send out His angels: We often dont consider that the angels of God have a special role in the judgment of the world.