The Value of The Kingdom
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
What do you value the most?
How do you value your eternal life?
Does the way you live demonstrate that?
Of all the parables of Jesus these two are in what concerns extent some of the shortest in the gospels but that does not mean that they are insignificant to us, small size doesn’t equate to shallow content.
Blaise Pascal once upon writing a terribly long letter to a friend apologised to him for it’s length saying that had he had the time he would have made it shorter.
We know this thing to be true in our own lives, we marvel with the intellect of people who can explain difficult and complex topics in a few sentences. Jesus is one those people, dare I say, only an infinite and brilliant mind like Jesus could speak like this, so as we approach this passage we would do well to not despise it because of it’s size. Although brief they are anything but shallow, they are profound and relevant truths for us.
The First Parable
The First Parable
The first of these parables speaks of a man who upon discovering a treasure in the field goes and sells all that he has in order to buy that field where the treasure is hidden. This might seem odd to us, but in a day and age where people had no access to modern banking services it was normal for families to keep some of their monetary wealth stashed in some hole in their land. The reasoning is that if their property got ransacked, at least some of their wealth would be safely hidden in a secret location. This was specially true in Palestine, a region historically plagued by wars, when war seemed imminent people would store their valuables in the field, if you want to call it something you could call it a kind of safe.
Pablo Escobar the famous Colombian drug lord, he was one of the ten richest people in the world for a decade, he was so rich that reportedly he would spend 2500$ a month on rubber bands to hold his money together or that he once burned 2 Million$ just to keep his daughter warm, but due to the nature of his business he couldn’t resort to regular banking so when he started running out of warehouse space he started burying pallets of money in his properties, to this day people occasionally find these hidden treasures.
Back to the parable, we don’t know why he was on the field but he finds it, he puts it back and runs home to sell all he had in order to buy that field and keep the treasure. This was not that uncommon Jesus in another parable tells us of the servant that being afraid of losing his masters talent hid it in the ground. The roman historian Josephus speaks of how the Jews would hide their gold and silver in the ground so that it wouldn’t suffer with perils of war.
Although it’s not the point of the parable let me address something here that I fear would cause some of us to stumble with this passage. Some of you might perceive a ethical problem that is irrelevant to the message of this parable but I want to address it, don’t want you to get stuck here and not move forward.
Some of you might say: “This man didn’t behave rightly! How can Jesus tell this story? The man was clearly acting in a deceitful way!” “This man found a treasure that doesn’t belong to him in a field that is not his and then proceeds to hide it again and goes on to buy the field in order to keep it”. “He should have taken the treasure and given it to the owner of the property”.
Firstly, Rabbinic law in the time of Jesus clearly stated that if someone found something it was his to keep. “Finders keepers, losers weepers”. The Jews listening in to this parable would have seen no problem with this
Secondly, the treasure did not belong to the owner of the field. If it had been his, he would have sold the field after unearthing his treasure. He did not know that the treasure was there, maybe belonged to a previous owner. Therefore the owner of the field would have no claim to the treasure besides being the owner of the field.
Lastly, if anything the man in this parable acted in a very righteous way. Legally he could have taken the treasure and went back home, or at least picked a part of it and bought the field with it. He didn’t he personally risked all his livelihood to attain this treasure.
That being said, all of this is not the point of the parable. The point is that he sold everything he had, the point is that he put everything on the line for this treasure.
The Second Parable
The Second Parable
The second parable speaks of a pearl merchant that found a pearl that was just perfect and that he sold all that he had to buy it.
This was something very common at that time as well. In Jesus day pearls would carry the same status as diamonds do today. They were the most precious stone. People looking to diversify their assets would buy pearls, they were the perfect commodity. They were small and they were worth fortunes.
The pearl hunt was an extremely dangerous endeavour, in the Red Sea or in the Indian Ocean, man would tie rocks around their waists in order to descend to the deep sea with only a single breath in order to find a single oyster.On top of that the sea was a scary place full of scary monsters.
Pearls were more valuable ounce for ounce than gold. The Jewish Talmud speaks of their indescribable value, Egyptians worshipped pearls, Romans would dissolve pearls in vinegar to showcase their wealth, one of the roman emperor Caligula’s wives once went to a party adorned from head to toe in pearls a historian reported that she was carrying 50 Million Sestertius, adjusted for inflation that would be around half billion pound in today’s money. Cleopatra had two precious pearls and they were worth each something like half a million pounds.
That’s why Paul tells Timothy in the New Testament that Christian women shouldn’t ornate themselves with pearls but they should dress themselves decently. The heavenly Jerusalem as gates made of pearls. Jesus in Matthew said not to cast your pearls before swine in other words don’t give precious things to who doesn’t deserve it.
As I said these parables are easy and brief, they are not hard to understand nor do they offer any interpretative difficulties.
But let me draw some biblical principals that I trust should be helpful for us as we try to apply this to our own lives.
I - The Kingdom of Heaven and It’s Value
I - The Kingdom of Heaven and It’s Value
These pair of parables are like twins, although they are not identical they were born at the same time and
The kingdom of Heaven is compared to a treasure and a pearl.
What is the Kingdom of Heaven?
In the New Testament Kingdom of Heaven is used by Christ or his apostles to refer to a few distinct things (but not different)
As God’s purposes; As God’s rule on earth; Heaven; Our membership of heaven; Kingdom of God is the place where God rules; But most importantly for us today is that the Kingdom of God is described as good news as the Gospel
“Your Kingdom come, your will be done”
That’s what we are talking about in this passage, the value of our salvation, the value of our admission into the kingdom of heaven. It’s so precious that it gets compared to a hidden treasure or a pearl of great value.
As God’s rule on earth
It’s value
It’s value
It’s value
Why is it so valuable? It’s rarity; durability - eternal; It’s source - from God himself; The mediation upon which it rests - On the person and work of the Son of God
Rarity
Rarity
It’s source
The Kingdom source of joy
The Kingdom source of joy
Only a fool wouldn’t see the value of this treasure.
The blessings which it communicates
The mediation upon which it rests
Jesus Christ is the rare jewel of our salvation.
The world doesn’t see the value of this salvation, they would rather search for the fleeting pleasures of this life than think about the eternal pleasure of having Christ.
Everyday they neglect the gift of this pearl of great price
Which leads me into my second point
II - The Concealed Nature of The Kingdom
II - The Concealed Nature of The Kingdom
Although the treasure is there, the world cannot see it. They don’t understand it’s value, they don’t understand why we value it so highly. Why do we put ourselves under this rigid moral and ethical code and rules. That’s why Paul says:
The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
or in the 2nd letter
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
The god of this age blinded the minds of the unbelievers so that the light of the Gospel, they cannot see they are blinded to the richness of this treasure
People are so distracted that they don’t stop to look beneath the surface of their shallow lives. You look around on your next commute to work, perhaps you’ll feel sorry for them and you will feel something of the feeling of Jesus when he overlooked Jerusalem.
But it’s not just ignorance, it’s wilful suppression of the truth, how many times when you try to explain the Gospel to a friend and that person just looks at you funny like you are crazy.
The
Jesus said that
But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
The parable of the pearl communicates that to us as well, it tells us that although it was not hidden it’s richness is only accessible to those who dive deep to find it
Jesus said
nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
John also says in chapter 1
The New International Version Chapter 1
11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.p 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believedq in his name,r he gave the right to become children of God
Hiddenness
Hiddenness
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
Let’s go to the third point
III - Two Ways of Finding The Kingdom
III - Two Ways of Finding The Kingdom
Why two parables? Certainly Jesus could have stuck to just one, unless he wanted to teach us something by using two. I think this is the case
In both cases we have a man, something that is priceless, and in both cases they sell all they have to attain it.
The difference is that in the first case the man finds it by chance and in the second he knew what he was looking for. I don’t think this difference is irrelevant
Jesus wants to tell us that the man in the field while perhaps looking to work in order to get a little bit of money to provide for himself he stumbled across this great fortune.
There are people who come into the kingdom in this way, the apostle Paul wasn’t looking to get into the kingdom, he was looking to destroy the disciples, worse he thought he was already in the kingdom! But next thing he knows he stumbles! God throws him down from his horse! He found a fortune.
The Samaritan woman she went to the well to quench her thirst, she returned home saved
Barthimeus, the blind man, he wanted to be able to see and he got saved
Spurgeon the baptist preacher, when he was 15yo in the new years day he decided to go to church but because of the snow he couldn’t go to his usual church so he ended up going to a small methodist chapel. It so happens that the preacher who was in the rota to preach that morning couldn’t come because of the snow as well, and one of the members of the congregation took to the pulpit and opened his bible to
“Turn to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other.
Spurgeon later said of the preacher that he was very stupid, he was ill prepared and he couldn’t stop himself from repeating this verse, but then he looked Spurgeon right in the eye and said: “Young man! you look very miserable. Miserable in life and miserable in death you’ll be if you don’t obey my text!” and suddendly he shouted: “YOUNG MAN! LOOK TO CHRIST! LOOK! LOOK!”. Spurgeon said: “And I looked! And at that moment the cloud and darkness disappeared and I beheld the sun” He wasn’t looking yet he found a fortune.
But then there’s the second parable, about the man looking for a pearl. This is the Eunuch in , it’s Cornelius in , It’s Lydia in , It’s the jailer in that same chapter, it’s the Bereans in .
These are those that diligently search for God, what they usually miss is that the treasure is to be found in one place only and not in several.
Many today resort to living a life of obeying rules, a religious life, they think that those small precious pearls will take them to God. But all that we need is that one precious pearl, Jesus Christ.
Individual appropriation
Individual appropriation
This two parables also emphasise the individual nature of the appropriation of the Kingdom.
Although there’s aspect of the Kingdom that represents community, the kingdom is made of individuals. Jesus many times in his ministry emphasised this
I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
In other words, some although they externally belong to the nation will not get into the kingdom, they don’t know God personally. In Paul says that the true circumcision is the circumcision of the heart, not of the flesh. and in Paul says that not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.
Therefore we can be jews and never really be a member of the kingdom of God, and today is exactly the same you can be a member of the church, baptized and yet lack a personal relation with and submission to the authority of God
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
It’s value
It’s value
Hiddenness
Hiddenness
Individual appropriation
Individual appropriation
The Kingdom source of joy
The Kingdom source of joy
The Kingdom as a transaction
The Kingdom as a transaction
c
he went and sold everything The point is not that the man purchased a place in the kingdom of heaven, but rather that entering the kingdom is worth giving up everything.
Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
The Kingdom source of joy
The Kingdom source of joy
Verse 44 says that “in his joy”. Ask yourself did it really have to be there? Answer is no, but Jesus put it there.
And this is important, it transmits something about what is man’s most deep desire.
We all want to be happy
There’s not a single person in this world that doesn’t want to be happy. You’ll say “Oh but I know someone who loves to be miserable”, my point still stands! That person feels happy being miserable, getting the pitty looks from other people, don’t ask how and why but there are people like that.
The world wants happiness, they want to feel good
If we must sell all, we should do it, Jesus said, “with joy” because the field we aim to buy contains a hidden treasure ().
I do not mean that our happiness is the highest good. I mean that pursuing the highest good will always result in our greatest happiness in the end.
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
We write this to make our joy complete.
Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We all want to be happy and Christ knows that and gives in this treasure the fount of true and eternal hapiness
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
We as believers should be the happiest people in the planet
The Kingdom as a transaction
The Kingdom as a transaction
Lastly, in both cases there is a transaction.
If you are anything like me you get nervous at this point: “You aren’t saying that you can buy your own salvation are you?” NO!
This is
But there is a transaction in Kingdom, but it involves no money. Jesus said that it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.
But then you have passages like or that say that salvation is a gift from God of grace and not of works
Turn with me
“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Yes there is a transaction but it’s not with money.
So what is the transaction? It’s self denial. You give all you have for all that he is!
You give all that you have and God will give you the treasure
In Luke there’s the story of someone wanting to follow Christ and Christ said.
Give me your comfort I’ll give you the Kingdom - No effect
Another one comes, and asks if he can bury his dad first - he wanted the money
Jesus says leave the money behind and I’ll give you the Kingdom - No effect
Give me you
Another one says let me say goodbye to my family
And Jesus answers
Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
None of them would have been saved by doing this, but this was the indication of the value they gave to the eternal treasure, their salvation
“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
The transaction is verse 39, dying for ourselves.
Are we saved by works or by giving away all that we have? No, we are saved when we recognise our total inability to living a life that dignifies Christ. This is self denial.
he went and sold everything... The point is not that the man purchased a place in the kingdom of heaven, but rather that entering the kingdom is worth giving up everything.
Piper, J. (2002). Brothers, we are not professionals: a plea to pastors for radical ministry (p. 46). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.