The Cost of the Kingdom

Oliver Stone’s movie, Schindler’s List, tells the story of the real-life activity of Oscar Schindler, a wealthy and politically connected European businessman during the 1930s and 1940s. Initially, Oscar joins the Nazi party as a spy in Czechoslovakia. When the Germans take over Europe, Oscar moves to Poland and becomes enormously wealthy using his connections to gain big contracts from the German government. As Oscar begins to learn about Nazi activity rounding up Jews and setting up concentration camps, he becomes convinced that the Nazi plan to exterminate Jewish people is wrong. Oscar also knows that there is nothing he can do to stop the Nazis. And so Oscar goes about using his political connections and his vast wealth to bribe and pay off influential German officers, convincing them to send captured Jews in Europe to work in Oscar’s factories instead of being sent to concentration camps for extermination.

By the end of World War II, Oscar Schindler goes from becoming fabulously wealthy to being almost completely broke. He spent absolutely everything he owned in order to save as many Jewish lives as he could. Oscar was able to rescue more than 1000 Jewish people in Europe from the concentration camps. It cost him everything he had. Oscar did not hesitate or hold back anything because he considered saving lives to be more valuable than anything else.

Jesus tells some stories in Matthew 13 about the cost of giving everything for that which is most valuable.

Matthew 13:44–46 (NIV)

Matthew 13:44–46 NIV

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. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

parables are stories that convey kingdom ideas and call for a response

This is our fourth week in this series about the kingdom of heaven. And so far, we have spent the entire time just in Matthew 13. It is a long chapter and it is full of parables about the kingdom. That means we should keep in front of us a reminder about what a parable is in the Bible so that we know how to read it and what we should be looking for as we read. Gordon Fee and Doug Stuart define parables this way in their book, How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth: parables are stories that convey kingdom ideas and call for a response. That is the definition we have been working with over the past weeks. This means that every week so far in this series we have been looking to identify a kingdom idea in each of these parables. And every week we have been considering the response that is called for in this story.

parable of treasure and pearl are part of a larger set of stories in Matthew 13

Once again we should note the way that in Matthew 13 there are several parables that weave together. A few weeks back we saw the way in which the parable of the weeds and the parable of the net for a sort of bookends within the chapter containing a few other parables woven right into the middle. Last week we considered how the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the yeast are woven into this chapter. And now today we see how the parable of the treasure and the parable of the pearl are also woven into this chapter. All of that is backdrop information—but it is important. We cannot ignore these other stories in Matthew 13 and arrive at a clear sense of the kingdom idea in the parable of the treasure and the parable of the pearl; they are both part of a larger set of stories.

It is not the first time in this chapter that Jesus has hinted that the kingdom of God is somehow hidden. It seems clear from the surrounding context that the hiddenness of the kingdom is not an act of God meant to deliberately obscure the kingdom. The kingdom is not hidden because God somehow wants to keep people away; it is not hidden because God somehow does not want people to find it. That doesn’t make sense at all. Of course God wants people to see the kingdom. Jesus ushered in the kingdom when he came into the world—when people see Jesus, they see something of the kingdom.

kingdom remains a mystery because people fail to see and comprehend the ways in which Jesus brings the kingdom

The difference here is that, even though the kingdom is revealed in Jesus, there are those who miss it. The kingdom is not a mystery because God is hiding it; it is a mystery because people fail to see and comprehend the ways in which Jesus brings the kingdom. Today we reach some stories in Matthew 13 about people who do, in fact, see and understand the kingdom. Even though there are those in the world for whom the kingdom remains hidden because they simply do not see it, the characters in these two parables today clearly find what was hidden from others.

They are short stories; we can work through these with some close attention to detail. The first story is only one verse, verse 44.

Matthew 13:44 (NIV)

Matthew 13:44 NIV

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.

Let’s take the story at face value without trying to read too much into it. There are details in this story we are not given. We do not know anything about the man who finds this treasure. We do not know anything about the field in which the treasure is found. We do not know anything about what the treasure itself is. We do not know if the man was intentionally looking for treasure or just accidentally stumbled upon it. We do not know if this field was “for sale” or how the man went about purchasing it.

acquiring the field with the treasure costs him everything he owns

Here is what we do know. A man finds treasure in a field. The man does not take it, steal it, run off with it. Rather he keeps it hidden and then goes about acquiring the field itself so that the treasure can be his. The other thing we know in this story is that acquiring the field with the treasure costs him everything he owns. He trades all his worldly possessions in order to get this treasure—whatever it is.

Matthew 13:45–46 NIV

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

merchant is willing to sell off everything he owns in order to get this one pearl

The second story pushes a little further to the point. We know the person in the story is a merchant. We know that this merchant is intentionally seeking out a treasure of pearls. We know that the merchant finds a pearl of great value. And we know that the merchant is willing to sell off everything he owns in order to get this one pearl.

kingdom idea: the kingdom of heaven is more valuable than anything else in the world

The one common thread that pulls through both of these stories is that once the item of great value is found, the person is willing to trade everything else in the world in order to have what was found. That one common feature of these two parables makes the kingdom idea of these stories a bit easier to draw out. The kingdom idea here is this: that the kingdom of God is more valuable than anything else in the world.

We have seen a variety of kingdom ideas developing right here in Matthew 13. We have seen the kingdom idea that it is a kingdom which grows (although it doesn’t grow everywhere). We have seen the kingdom idea that the kingdom is often tangled up in messy places in this world. And we have seen the kingdom idea that the greatest outcomes of the kingdom begin in small and seemingly insignificant places. Today we add to that what Jesus shows in these parables. The kingdom of heaven is more valuable than anything else in the world.

those who have always known the kingdom perhaps overlook its value

We should pause on this idea for a few moments before we move on. I know everyone here has our own stories and our own backgrounds. I know that there are some who did not come to know the Lord until later in life. But I also know that for a great many of the people here, we were born into and grew up in homes in which the Christian faith was always a part of our lives. For many of us, we have always known at least a little something about the kingdom. For the many among us who were baptized as infants into the church family, we have always known something about being a part of God’s family connected to his kingdom. This means that for many of us, I want to push this idea of the value of the kingdom just a little bit further.

those who have never been homeless perhaps fail to appreciate the value of having a home

I don’t know what it is like to be homeless. My entire life I have always blessed with a roof over my head of some kind. The family I was born into has always had a house. And in that house I was always provided with a bedroom. My entire like after moving out and leaving the home of my parents I have always had a house of some kind. There has never been a single day in my entire life in which I have had to wonder where I was going to go to sleep, if I was going to have a bed to crawl into with a pillow for my head and covers to pull over. The safety of reliable shelter and a home is something I have known my entire life. And because I have known that my entire life, I must honestly confess that I do not always fully appreciate the value of having a home.

Some of you here understand that value more then I do. Some of you here know what it is like to lose a home. Some of you know what it is like to face a day in which you wonder where you will be able to sleep the coming night because you don’t have a place and you don’t know where you will go next. We share our church building here with a congregation that meets on Sunday afternoons which is made up entirely of refugees. In the church that meets in this space after us, every single family in that congregation knows what it is like to be homeless. Every single one of them has had to flee from their hometowns and run for their lives. They all know what it is like to spend months and even years stuck in refugee camps. They are not alone. There are billions of people around the world who have known or are currently experiencing homelessness.

I think I can safely say that I take for granted the value of having a home more than other people. I know this is true because I confess that I am not overwhelmed with gratitude every single night when I crawl into bed simply because I have a bed to crawl into—but I should be! I do not doubt for a moment that there are others in the world who are infinitely more grateful for the bed which they sleep in at night, not because their bed is more valuable than mine, but because I do not value enough that I even have a bed in the first place. And the reason I do not value my home and my bed as much as others comes down to this observation: I’ve always had it; I have never known life without it.

have we lost sight of the immeasurable value of the kingdom of heaven simply because we have never known living apart from it?

Those of us who have been born into a family of Christian faith and have known living within a church family our entire lives; have we lost sight of the immeasurable value of the kingdom of heaven simply because we have never known living apart from it? Jesus shows us in these parable today that the kingdom of heaven is more valuable than anything else in the world. Of course as a Christian believer I know that. But do I really? Or do I take for granted just how valuable the kingdom is? During the time of Jesus when he told this parable to the original audience it would have been Israelites who were all descendants of Abraham. They all lived in the assurance and knowledge that the descendants of Abraham are God’s chosen people. They perhaps took for granted their place in the kingdom because they lost sight of just how valuable the kingdom is which was given to them. These parables remain yet today as a part of holy scripture because that question is still relevant for us today. Do we take for granted the value of the kingdom, a kingdom which Jesus describes here as being more valuable than anything else in the world?

the kingdom comes at a cost — Jesus gave his life for it to become ours

How valuable is that kingdom? It is valuable enough that Jesus gave his life for it. That’s the cost at which this kingdom came in order to be given to you and to me. In all these other stories we see in the parable about the kingdom, let’s not lose sight today that Jesus came into this world in order to bring the kingdom with him, and Jesus went to the cross and died so that this kingdom could be given to us. That is how much this kingdom is worth to Jesus; he was willing to die for it to become ours.

What shall we say about a response. Parables convey kingdom ideas and call for a response. These stories call for a response. Is it a literal response? Is Jesus saying that each one of us should leave here and sell absolutely everything we own and give it to the church? I don’t think that’s it. And here is the reason why. You and I can never buy our way into the kingdom. The kingdom cannot be bought by anything we could ever offer even if we are offering everything. God knows that; it is exactly the reason why Jesus paid the price of the kingdom for us. Even though these stories are about buying a treasure of great value, you and I are not the ones who can ever pay it. That’s not the response—you cannot buy heaven.

if nothing in this world is more valuable than the kingdom, then only the things in this world which provide value for the kingdom are worth holding on to

Our response begins with a recognition that the kingdom we have already been given is more valuable than anything else in the world. Our response begins with a recognition of where it is our treasure really lies. If nothing in this world is more valuable than the kingdom, then only the things in this world which provide value for the kingdom are worth holding on to. That’s all right here in this chapter of Matthew 13 as well. A life connected to the Holy Spirit which produces kingdom fruit. Those are the things of value which come to us as part of the kingdom.

my response — give anything for a life connected to the Holy Spirit which produces kingdom fruit

Think about some specific examples. Are the things I do on social media helping me embrace and produce kingdom fruit? If not, then it has no value. Are the kinds of TV shows and movies I watch helping me to be a person who embraces and produces kingdom fruit? If not, then it has no value. Are the kinds of activities I do with my friends helping me embrace and produce kingdom fruit? If not, then it has no value.

those who find the treasure they are seeking are willing to give up everything for it

Jesus pushes this story to the extreme. Those who find the treasure they are seeking are willing to give up everything for it. This is one of those stories that challenges us. It is not simply a matter of rearranging priorities so that God ranks higher on the list. It is rewriting the priorities so that God is the only thing on the list. Jesus shows us stories here in which the value of the kingdom is all-or-nothing. Jesus gave everything of himself so that this kingdom could be given to us. And Jesus gives us everything we need so that we—by the Holy Spirit—can embrace and produce the kind of kingdom fruit which has eternal value.