Four Parables. (2)

Opening:

It is a beautiful thing to open the Word of God on the Lord’s Day.

Introduction of the Passage:

This morning we are taking a short break from our study of Hebrews 11 to examine four parables from our Lord in Matthew 13:44-52. There is much to be learned from these parables. Now maybe you are here and you are unsure what a parable is. A parable is story used to make a point. The Oxford Dictionary defines a parable as “a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson.”

Now Jesus gave many parables. But the four we are looking at this morning are really sharing a through line. They are communicating a similar truth about the Kingdom of God.

So if you would, please stand with me out of reverence for the reading of the Word of God.

Reading of the Passage:

Matthew 13:44-52

Parable of the Hidden Treasure

44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Parable of the Pearl of Great Price

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Parable of the Dragnet

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, 48 which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, 50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

Parable of the Householder

51 Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?”

They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

52 Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

Behold, the Word of God.

Prayer:

Our gracious Heavenly Father, we commit this time to you. We ask that you would open our hearts to Your Word. Apply it to our lives to the glory of Your name. We ask this in Jesus name. Amen.

Introduction:

This morning we see four parables about what the kingdom of God is like. Jesus was giving this address to the disciples. He had just taught the crowds but the crowds had left and it was just He and the disciples. And Jesus lovingly teaches the disciples.

Text Idea:

Jesus instructs the disciples on the nature of the Kingdom. And primarily Jesus teaches that the Kingdom of God is more valuable than anything else in this life. That it is a treasure beyond anything else we can gain in this world.

Sermon Idea:

I pray this morning that we will see the value of our salvation. I pray that we are ignited with a new love for the fact we have been brought by Christ from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of God.

Transition:

So let’s begin with the first parable Jesus tells.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure.

Explanation:

Jesus starts by telling the story of the hidden treasure. He says in Matthew 13:44“44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

There was a man who was in a field. We don’t know why that man was in that field but it was providential that he was there. As the man was in the field he sees a sight entirely uncommon to a field. It was not wheat or grain. The man sees a treasure. We do not know what treasure it was specifically, but we know what the treasure mean to the man. He finds this treasure and covers it up. He buries this long hidden treasure and in joy runs home. He sells everything he owns. He sells his house, his livestock, his clothes, his latest comforts and amenities in joy. The value of this treasure to this man is beyond anything else that he owns. He counts everything he owns as worthless for the sake of this treasure. He then runs and takes the money from selling all he has and buys the field so that he may own that treasure.

Transition:

Jesus then immediately tells the parable of the pearl of great price.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price.

Explanation:

He then says in Matthew 13:45–46“45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” Here we see a slightly different story, but yet one that communicates the same truth.

Jesus tells of a merchant who was in search of pearls. This man, unlike the man who bought the field, was searching for this treasure. In his search for pearls he finds himself face to face with what he was seeking. Here at last is the most perfect, most lovely, most valuable pearl. The man being unable to afford such a treasure, runs home and sells all that he has in order to buy this treasure. Here we see the link between the two men. Neither one thought that anything they currently possessed was good enough. They counted all as loss in oder to buy the treasures. Indeed these men were wise. They traded the worthless for the worth while.

Illustration:

I am not a stock market man. The ups and downs of the Dow Jones is not something I really understand. The stock market might as well be in an alien language for me. But there is something I do know. If someone were to sell me a dollar bill for a penny, I would buy it. What would you do if I held up a one dollar bill and said that you could have it for one penny? First I imagine you would think was a scam, but no scam here. One dollar for one penny. Would you take that trade?

Now what if I held up a five dollar bill and made the same offer. Five dollars for one penny. Would you take that trade? No tricks, no scam. Five dollars for one penny, would you take that deal? What if I did the same with a ten dollar bill? Or how about a twenty dollar bill? Who wouldn’t take that trade?

What if I held up a one hundred dollar bill and said it could be yours for one penny. Would you take it? Perhaps you might be thinking that only a fool would refuse to give me a penny in exchange for one hundred dollars. What fool would refuse to do that? Then if we can just stretch out imaginations for a moment further. Picture if I were standing here and said that I would pay every debt you have or will ever owe. I will stand in the gap for you on every deal financially and will take the debt as my own. Every car payment, every house payment, every single debt. All you must do is give me that single copper penny in your hand. Give up that one single worthless copper penny and all of your debt would be paid.

What great fool would not sprint to the front and shove that penny in my hand? I unfortunately am not able to do this for you, but if I were able to do this, not one of you would hesitate. Even if that penny was all you had, you would sprint to the front and shove that penny in my hand. You would not weep over the loss of the penny. You would for joy give up all you had for the treasure you just found.

Argumentation of the Two Parables:

This is how these two men handled the finding of the treasures. They with joy let go of all they had and bought the treasure. For the man with the field, he cared not for the dirt and the land. That was just wrapping paper for the treasure he had found. These men saw the value of what they had found and joyfully sold all they had in order to possess the treasure they longed for.

Jesus says this is what the kingdom of God is like! It is like this treasure. But it is not exactly like the treasures. You see, Jesus is using the literary device of hyperbole. It is the stretching of an image to fit an example of a situation. Many times we see it when someone is overstating something to make a point. However, Jesus is not overstating anything here. He is understating things! He is dumbing down the image so that we can get it. He is lowering the kingdom of heaven to that of an image of a mere earthly treasure so we can grasp this idea. Make no mistake, the kingdom of God is so far beyond any treasure on earth that they would not even compare. My example of the penny in exchange for all the debts of a lifetime is not even an apt comparison to the kingdom of God. Being a part of the kingdom of God is beyond any earthly wealth.

But what is it that makes the kingdom of God worth giving up everything? Paul says it so well in Philippians 3:7–8. Listen to this: “7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ” Paul counts all that he has or may gain as rubbish. That word rubbish is an extremely strong Greek word. It means so much more than rubbish. The only modern equivalent would be inappropriate to say from the pulpit. To clue you in, it is the southern byproduct of a northbound cow. It’s a crass and vulgar word for dung. That is how strong Paul is stating this.

But what is it that makes the kingdom so valuable? It is Christ! Christ is of far more value than any pearl or treasure. He is certainly more valuable than anything that we have. Christ is the central value of the Kingdom. To be with Christ is what we were made for. This is the central point of our existence. This is what we were made for.

I’ve been teaching Caspian the first question of the Westminster shorter Catechism. “What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” It does my heart so good to hear him say “glorify God. Enjoy Him.” When I ask him “what is your purpose?” This is the purpose, the chief end of our being. To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Here is where true joy, true happiness, true satisfaction is found. Many of you know one of my favorite quotes from Saint Augustine is, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in Christ.” This is what we were made for. This is why Paul uses such strong language. He says he is willing to give up everything for Christ. This is why he says all he has or could ever have is dung when compared to Christ.

Indeed everything is worthless when compared to the forgiveness of sins, the sanctification of the Spirit, the life everlasting, and the future resurrection found in Christ. When we weigh everything we have or could ever have against Christ, all our earthly treasures and wealth are worthless.

Application:

But one question that passages like this often brings up is, “do I have to sell everything I own to follow Christ?”

Do I Have to Sell Everything I Own to Follow Christ?

In a way, this is an easy question to answer and in a way it is also a very difficult question to answer. So let’s start with the easy answer. No, you do not have to sell all your earthly possessions to follow Christ. There is no biblical command calling us to hold an estate sale and sell all our possessions in order to be saved. In fact, we know in the book of Acts, there were many Christians who were very wealthy. Now, many of them did sell at least portions of their estates in order to give to the church, but the Apostles nowhere commanded these people to sell anything. It was a fruit of their salvation that they became dramatically generous. Generosity is commanded. Brotherly love is commanded. But no, we are not commanded to sell everything. Being a Christian does not necessitate poverty.

Being a Christian necessitates using the gifts God gave you for His glory and for the good of His Kingdom. It means using what God has given you well. In fact Proverbs 13:22 says “22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.” A good man is one who is wise and leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren. And listen to 1 Timothy 5:8 “8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” You see, the Bible clearly commands us, especially us husbands and fathers to be wise with the gifts God gives us. We are commanded to be generous, to be merciful and kind, to aid and provide for our families. But there is no command in the Bible for all of us to sell all we own.

But now onto the hard answer. While we are nowhere commanded to sell all our possessions, we are commanded to sacrifice everything for the sake of Christ. In a real sense, a follower of Christ gives up everything for Christ.

A Follower of Christ Gives Up Everything for Christ.

What do I mean? Matthew 10:37–39 says “37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” If we do not love Christ more than even our own family, we are not followers of Christ.

Luke 9:23 says “23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” If we do not love Christ more than our own lives we are not followers of Christ.

Romans 12:1 “1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” You see, the Christian walk is one of laying it all down before the feet of Christ as an act of worship. Everything we have been given from God does not ultimately belong to us. We are to hold it with open hands before God. It is His, not ours. We are to use it righteously and give it to Him in the ultimate sense. So yes, we give everything to Him. All our earthly goods and loves are given to Christ. You see, the central idea of these parables is that we cannot love anything more than Christ. We must love the gift giver more than the gift.

But we are so often self focused. Focused on pleasing ourselves. We in selfishness do not view all God has given us as the gifts they truly are. Our homes, our jobs, our families, our very lives belong to God. They are gifts from God, to be given to Him in faithful service. And when we begin to view all God has given us as truly being His, we find such freedom and joy. It there that we truly see the truth of Christ’s words, “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” The statement is true, our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. And in glorifying Him, we find true joy. Joy above all the concerns of this life. Joy that brings true comfort and rest. Truly, “our hearts are restless until they rest in Christ.”

Transition:

But, let’s continue with Jesus’ next parable. Jesus gives the parable of the dragnet.

The Parable of the Dragnet.

Explanation:

Let’s look again at Matthew 13:47–50“47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, 48 which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, 50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.””

Jesus here gives a very earthy example. He uses a fishing metaphor. This would have registered with some of the disciples greatly. Some of them were fishermen. Jesus tells of a great catch of fish. And as any fisherman of those days would have known, when there is a great catch of fish, you catch all kinds of fish.

You see, they would let down a net off the side of a boat and catch fish in the net. Then they would bring the net up and see what had been caught. When there was a great catch, they would drag it ashore and sort the fish. The good fish they would keep and the bad fish and other rubbish would be tossed away.

Jesus says that this is what it will be like at the end of time. The good and the bad fish are all together until the end. Then the good will go on to eternal reward while the bad will go to hell forever.

Argumentation:

We see here that the righteous and the unrighteous are held together until the day of judgement. This speaks of the way that truly we do not know who here is saved and who is not. There are indicators, but we cannot see the heart. We know that those truly saved have a repentant heart, while a those not truly saved have an unrepentant heart. This means that a Christian cannot continue in sin. The Holy Spirit within them will not let them.

To aid in this concept, faithful men of old used the language of the visible and invisible church. The visible church are all those who are part of the church. They are the baptized. Those who have been sealed as Christians. They worship with the church, pray, give, take the Lord’s Supper. But we sadly know that there are those who, even doing all these, are not truly saved. The Spirit has not regenerated them. They are false converts. But we do not know who these are. Sometimes they make it obvious. They reject the faith, they walk away and reject Christ outright. They are part of the visible church, but not the invisible church. The invisible church is made up of all those who are truly saved. The Spirit has regenerated them. They are alive now in Christ.

And we do not always know. We cannot see the heart. That is what this parable is teaching. It is teaching us not to fear. We are not to conduct inquisitions and torture the truth out of people. We are to trust God and the Word of God to work on hearts. And ultimately, we know that in the end, all will be made right. God will sort it out.

But this parable also speaks to the fact that there is a judgement coming. On the day of judgement, those who are made righteous through faith in Christ will go on to heaven while those who are unsaved and still in their sin will go on to eternal hell regardless of weather of not they went to church or did nice things in people’s eyes. And in hell there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. This is a picture of anger and hatred towards God. Those who are not saved hate God in their hearts, and in hell, they still hate God.

Application:

This parable is why I attempt to share the gospel in every sermon. I share the need for the forgiveness of sins and the hope found only in Christ every time because I do not know who is saved or unsaved. You may be here and have been a member your entire life, but maybe the gospel has never changed your heart. You have never truly repented and trusted in Christ.

Hear me as one who loves you and cares for your souls. Repent of your sin and turn to Christ! Do not delay. If you are here and you are not saved, do not delay. Right now, turn from your sin and repent. If you do not trust in Christ, you will go to hell and be tormented there for your wickedness and hatred of God. You are in a state of rebellion against God. Turn from your sin and find the forgiveness offered to you in Christ! If you need to do this, then do this today. Do not delay.

Transition:

But now let us look at Jesus’ final parable in this passage.

The Parable of the Householder.

Explanation:

We read this: Matthew 13:51–52“51 Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” 52 Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”” Jesus is speaking to the disciples and asks them if they understand. Jesus is a loving teacher. He cares for His sheep. And the disciples do understand. So Jesus speaks to them about the scribes. And this is a bit of a confusing statement of Jesus. What do I mean?

There is debate on exactly what Jesus is saying here. The reason there is some debate is because Jesus is so hostile towards the Scribes and teachers of the day. So why would He say anything favorable about them? This leads some to say that the scribes in this parable are actually the disciples. Jesus is referring to their training that He is giving them now. Because of this training we see the disciples go on to teach and bring treasures from the Old Testament and write the New Testament.

Others say this is a prophetic passage about some of the teachers and Scribes who will get saved and follow Jesus. Because of this, they can open up the treasures of the Old covenant as well as declare the beauty of the New covenant. So which one is it?

Argumentation:

Well, I honestly believe both are true. Think about it, Peter, who had no formal education, gives in his sermons beautiful well reasoned sermons from the Old Testament about Christ. He truly brings treasures from the new and the old. At the same time, think of Paul. Paul was a pharisee who was trained in the Old Testament. Paul gives the most amazing and beautiful defenses of the faith. He brings the most rich treasures from the Old and the New.

This is why I think that both are true. “Every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” But there is more here than just that. This is still true to this day. I am not an Apostle, for the Apostles have all died. I am not a prophet, for there are no modern day prophets. I am a preacher. I am trained for the preaching of the kingdom of heaven. This parable is a beautiful picture of what a preacher is supposed to do.

Preachers are to be Scribes who are trained for the kingdom of God. They are to be skilled and schooled in the Word of God. They are to be like a master of a house, for they are the earthly masters that God has placed over His house. They are to bring forth treasures from the Old and the New. They are to present the Word. They are not to present their frail opinions, but the treasure of the Word of God. This is what I endeavor to do. I wish to bring you treasures of the Old and the New Testaments. But the question remains, what will we do with these treasures? When the Word of God is presented, what will you do with it?

Application:

Will you sit passively while the treasure of the Word of God is presented before you? Or will you react like the men of the first two parables? Will you reject the Word of God, or will you react with great joy? Too often we view hearing preaching as a passive event. We simply sit there and hear it. If we are not careful, we can view Sunday mornings as a bore and as something we simply receive passively. But this is not the case. The hearing of God’s Word preached is an active thing. You must actively hear it and receive it. You must apply it to your life. You must share it. In doing this, you are worshipping God.

I love how Martin Luther viewed preaching. He honestly believed that the hearing of God’s Word being read and preached was one of (if not the) greatest things for a soul. If someone was downcast, he would tell them “Go hear the preaching of God’s Word.” If someone confessed of struggling with a sin, again he would tell them to “Go hear the Word of God preached.”

So now I must put it to you. What will you do with the Word of God this morning?

What Will You Do With the Word of God This Morning?

The Word of God has been read and preached this morning. But only you can receive it in faith. Only you can take it home beyond these doors. Only you can love it as a treasure found in a field. Will you joyfully accept it and apply it to your life in faith? I pray that you will.

Conclusion:

The Kingdom of Heaven is worth far more than we could ever value it. To have Christ is worth anything. If following Christ costs us, it is worth it.

Visualization:

And the reality is that following Christ will cost us. It may cost us jobs, relationships, and more. But I assure you that he who loses all for Christ has truly gained. He who has lost everything but who has Christ is a rich man indeed.

Reiteration:

May we be a people who value Christ over anything else. Let us pray. May rejoice over the treasure found in the field. Let us pray.

Closing Prayer:

Offering:

Offertory Prayer:

Benediction:

Matthew 6:33“33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”