Sermon Tone Analysis

Before we get into the parable

The parable I will be preaching tonight is The Parable of the Hidden Treasure.

This parable lies in the second half of the kingdom parables of .

It is also followed by a parable that it is most often paired, The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value.

These two parables are paired together because both of these parables of Jesus are driving us to the same point.

The main idea of these two parables is the kingdom of heaven is of inestimable value and is worth far more than anything in this world that we often treasure.

Let me put it this way, when we truly submit to the Lordship of Christ and enter into his kingdom by grace through Faith we will live in a tension of over valuing the things of this world and undervaluing of our citizenship in heaven.

This parable drives home the point brother Andy made last week that as we understand what we have been given through the gospel “we should no longer ask how much should I give, but how much should I keep.”

Not to just jump to the end, but I want to help us set up the beginning.

Look at the last line of both of these parables,

Notice, the last line of 13:44

Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys the field.

Now look at 13:46

who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

This is not the only place in the Scriptures we see this great value of gospel entrance into the kingdom.

Do remember the wee little man in ?

When Jesus came to his house and the kingdom was in his presence what did Luke tell us?

Luke 19:8-10

Upon seeing the Kingdom of heaven Zaccheus recognized the value and began liquidating his goods that he might give to the poor and repay those he had cheated, his eyes had been opened to the value of the kingdom.

What happened at Pentecost when Peter preached, the Spirit came down with great power, and people began entering the kingdom of heaven through repentance and faith?

Acts 2:

Now, before you all go to thinking I am crazy here is what I am not doing, and I don’t believe Scripture is doing.

I am not saying we all need to leave here, quit our jobs take our cars to Carmax and put our houses on Craiglist.

If all of us do that we will be jobless, homeless, and unable to care for anyone including ourselves.

However, my goal for today is that everyone that hears this text of Scripture preached tonight would honestly, go before the Lord in repentance and faith, asking that he would reveal to us what it is that we are treasuring more than the kingdom of heaven.

I say that because we all are prone to a problem with prioritization of treasures....

John Calvin explains it this way, “we are so captivated by the allurements of the world, that eternal life fades from our view; and in consequence of our carnality, the spiritual graces of God are far from being held by us in the estimation which they deserve.”

What estimation do you put on the Kingdom?

What value do you and I put on the eternal life and inheritance we have in Christ through his person and work?

Now, before we get into get into the text I want to make sure we see why the kingdom of heaven is of such great worth.

Yes the salvation of our souls is of great worth, but we don’t bring the value to the Kingdom, Christ does!

Let’s take a moment and connect the Lord’s supper and the reason we worship through the bread and the cup.

We are to remember.

Remember the work of Christ on the cross and the value found in Him.

Remember,

Jesus Christ the second person of the Godhead equal in essence, nature, and person left His heavenly throne,

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

put on flesh,

humbled himself, and

ultimately emptied himself so that we might enter the kingdom of heaven.

We ought to see great worth in the work of Christ.

Let’s roll back to this morning, Pastor Josh preached out of , let’s look specifically,

Romans 5:7-

The Righteous died for the unrighteous.

God showed His love, by laying down His life.

The King of Kings died for the salvation of sinners.

Therefore, by the blood of the Christ, the Messiah repentant sinners are declared righteous in the sight of God and will be saved from the wrath of God.

For us to truly evaluate our estimation of the Kingdom let’s look at the Parable of the Hidden Treasure.

Do you see the value of the kingdom of heaven?

For us to truly understand what it is worth we have to remember who Christ is and what he has done that we might be a part of the kingdom!

For us to truly evaluate our estimation of the Kingdom let’s look at the Parable of the Hidden Treasure.

The first point we need to see is,

I.

The Kingdom of Heaven Described

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field

Jesus begins by comparing the kingdom to a treasure.

But I think it will be helpul if we first see.....

a.

The Kingdom of Heaven Defined

Jesus tells this string of kingdom parables to help His disciples understand what the kingdom of heaven is like.

This was not just an interest of the His disciples, but of all the Jews.

The problem was the Jews had a flawed understanding of the kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus often taught on the kingdom to help correct the wrong beliefs the Jews had regarding the kingdom.

For example,

Luke 17:

In,

The apostle John also writes in,

Revelation

Jesus wanted his followers to have a right understanding of the kingdom of heaven and that is why here in the 13th Chapter of Matthew Jesus provides these parables that paint a picture of what the kingdom is like.

In verse 24 Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a man who sowed good seed in his field

In verse 31 the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed

In verse 33 the kingdom of heaven is like leaven

In verse 44 the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field

In verse 45 the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls

In verse 47 the kingdom of heaven is like a net

Then after the string of parable in verse 51 Jesus asks,

Have you understood all these things?

Can you describe the kingdom of heaven?

Can you give a definition of the kingdom of God?

Let me lay out a few definitions.

Graeme Goldsworthy provides this definition of the Kingdom of God "God's people in God's place under God's rule."

If you are looking for short and succinct definition that is a good one.

Goldsworthy defines who is in charge of the kingdom, God.

Who is in the kingdom, God’s people, and the territory of God’s kingdom, His place....What is God’s place?

Heaven is his throne and the earth is his footstool.

But if you are like me you may want a more robust definition.

John MacArthur explains, the kingdom of heaven, “is the realm over which Christ himself is the undisputed King of Kings and Lord of lords.

It is the domain in which His lordship is even now fully operative...

“In other words, all who truly belong to the kingdom of heaven have formally yielded to Christ’s lordship.

To enter into the kingdom, therefore is to enter into eternal life.”

In an effort to be able to provide a succinct definition of the kingdom of heaven,

Now we are getting somewhere.

The kingdom of heaven is the entirety of Christ’s rule.

The realm of heaven, earth, and time.

Jesus Christ is the undisputed ruler, Sovereign, King, LORD, and Potentate over this domain.

Patrick Schreiner explains, “The kingdom is the King’s power over the King’s people in the King’s place”

Those who belong to this kingdom have submitted to Jesus Christ as Lord and have recieved eternal protection and an eternal inheritance from the Ruler of the kingdom.

Here is one more question we want to answer, does Scripture define the kingdom of heaven for us?

YES