I’d Rather Have Jesus

Matthew 13:44-46

I. Two parables on the Worth of the Kingdom.

A. Jesus has been telling us about the kingdom.

1. He has told us how to recognize those that are a part of the kingdom. They are the good seed that bears fruit. They are the beneficial wheat in the midst of a world of worthless tares.

2. He has told us about the power of the kingdom. It starts as a small seed and grows into a large tree. It starts out as a small amount of yeast and influences the entire loaf.

3. Now He tells us how we become a part of the kingdom. These two parables describe the person that wants to be saved. They show a hunger and thirst for righteousness. As I studied these passages my mind went to that old hymn “I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold, I’d rather be His than have riches untold I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands I’d rather be led by His nail pierced hand, than to be a king of a vast domain or be held in sins dread sway I’d rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today!”

B. The buried treasure (44).

1. In Jesus day it was a common practice for people to hide their valuables underground. They did not have the access to public banks or depositories like we do. People would bury all types of valuables. Food & clothing was even buried in case a town or village was attacked and plundered by an army. Burying treasure was the only sure way to protect valuables.

2. Treasure was often lost. The person that buried it would die suddenly without revealing to others where he buried it, deportation (as in the exile), a bad memory, etc.

3. Sometimes buried treasure was accidentally found. A person would be plowing a field, digging a hole or erosion would simply uncover something. That’s the case with this parable. This man stumbles upon a treasure. The treasure is worth more than he is so he sells everything and buys the field that contains the treasure. Was this unethical? No! Treasure wasn’t hidden by the owner of the field, or why would he sell it? Treasure wasn’t hid by the previous owner or why would he sell it to the current owner? This was a lost treasure; perhaps it had been lost a long time. If this was an unethical guy he would have just taken the treasure and not bought the field. So this guy sells everything he has and buys this field because he recognizes the worth of the treasure.

C. The pearl of great price.

1. Merchantmen were common in Jesus day. They were wholesale dealers. They bought and resold merchandise for a profit. This particular man dealt in pearls. Pearls were the most highly valued gem in that culture. Two things added to their value. First, they were rare. Second, harvesting them was a very dangerous thing. Diving is dangerous today, it was certainly dangerous then!

2. Pearls were desired by many. They were used as jewelry (1 Tim. 2:9), they were an investment-with a pearl a large amount of money could be stored in a very small place. Some Egyptians and Romans were even known to worship pearls. It is said that Cleopatra had two pearls that would have been worth several million dollars apiece in today’s currency. Jesus established the value of pearls when He compared them to the gospel in 7:6 “Don’t cast your pearls before the swine!” Revelation 21:21 says that the gates of heaven are made of pearl.

3. This merchantman sold everything he had to buy one pearl. That would mean that he sold every other pearl he had as well! To say the least he must have discovered a valuable pearl. And certainly, he knew pearls. Yet there was no hesitation, when he found this pearl he realized he had found what he was looking for.

II. Principles for the believer.

A. Not everyone sees the worth of Christ.

1. The treasure was hidden. This valuable bounty had lain beneath the earth while many walked over it and by it, for years. So it is with the kingdom of God. It is hidden from the world. What is it that keeps people from seeing the kingdom? It is pride, love of sin, the excitement of this world.

2. The pearl was precious. The merchantman knew what he was looking for. He knew pearls as well! When he saw that pearl it was precious to him. Peter said “Unto you therefore which believe He is precious” (2 Peter 2:7). The believer sees the worth of Christ. I hope you do. The glory and the story is what make Him so precious. There is a praise song that says “Lord you are more precious than silver Lord you are more costly than gold, Lord you are more beautiful than diamonds and nothing I desire compares with You.”

3. The believer should not think that the rejection of Christ by the world makes any less valuable. Think of the pearl. There are many that admire pearls or beautiful gems. They look at them through the glass and “Oh that, pretty”. But the merchantman saw the real value. There are many that do Christ the same way. They hear of Him and think “Oh, that’s nice. He seems like a good man.” But they don’t see His real value. There are others that see nothing attractive in Christ at all. They are like the swine that Jesus told us not to cast our pearls before. Do you know what pigs will do if you throw some pearls on the ground in front of them? They will just gobble them up. There are people that are no better than brute beasts when it comes to recognizing how precious Jesus is. They blaspheme His name. They ridicule Him. Don’t let that affect your view of Christ.

B. To the believer, Christ is the most valuable thing.

1. In both parables we see the same response. The merchantman and the man that found the hidden treasure sold everything they had to get what their heart desired. I think the guy that found the treasure in the field was probably not a well off man. The merchantman probably did pretty well for himself. But the point is that both sold everything they had to get what their heart desired. The poor and the rich can come to Christ but they must both love Him more than they love anything else in the world. It’s not just the love of money that keeps a person out of heaven. It is the love of sin, self and the world that can keep us out as well.

2. People go to extreme measures for wealth on this earth. A woman will marry someone she is not in love with so she can be financially secure. A man will completely ignore his wife and children in order to make more money. People will commit crimes to make a little more cash. They will change their standards at the drop of a hat if will help them attain wealth in this world. In 1991 a book was published entitled “The Day America told the Truth”. One of the questions asked was “What would you be willing to do for Ten Million dollars?” The study revealed the answers to that question to be startling. 25% of Americans said they would abandon their families, 23% said they would become a prostitute for a week. 7% said they would kill a stranger. But think about the fact that everyday people do terrible and ungodly things for much less money than that simply because there is a treasure out there they want to grab hold of.

3. Christ satisfies the longing of the believer. That really is the point. People eat because it satisfies; they seek after wealth because it enables them to acquire things that satisfy. Christ satisfies us. Charles Spurgeon the great preacher said “Are you satisfied with Christ? If you are not, you have not really got Him. If you have got Him He is everything to you.” The believer’s outlook is “If I have Christ I have everything. If I do not have Christ I have nothing.” What is your outlook?

C. The kingdom can be found in different circumstances.

1. The first man stumbled upon the treasure. He was not looking or it. He didn’t even know it was there. But when he saw it he knew that it was something he had to have. That is how some are with the gospel. They are not even thinking about God. All of a sudden they look and He is before them. Paul and the woman at the well are examples of this. I love to hear these testimonies because it is mine.

2. The second man was looking for the treasure. There are those that are searching for God. The Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8 is a good example of this. He was in his chariot seeking God by reading the book of Isaiah. Stephen stepped to him and asked “Do you understand what you are reading?” The eunuch said “No!” Stephen jumped up with him and explained the gospel to him and he got saved.

3. We find Christ ultimately because He is searching for us. We are the ones that are lost. It was not luck but providence that enabled the first man to find the treasure. For the second man it was grace that prompted his heart to seek after God.

D. When Christ is found joy follows.

1. The world has no reason to rejoice at earthly treasure. I remember seeing a practical joke played on a man. His friends bought him a lottery ticket as a gift. The problem was that they used the winning numbers of the previous week. They recorded the announcement of the lottery ticket and then replayed it as if it were live while the unsuspecting man watched. They recorded the whole thing. When his numbers were called he went crazy with joy. After a few moments he realized a joke had been played on him. I think about how silly this man looked and then I think about how silly it is for us to find joy in wealth that we really do not even possess. It will all be taken from us.

2. These two men were beside themselves with joy. These two men had won the spiritual lottery! Believers have a reason to rejoice. If you are saved you have the most valuable thing in the universe. You have Christ. If you have Christ you have joy.

3. Joy is something that we celebrate with others. Don’t you know that the man told everyone about his treasure and the merchant bragged on his pearl? Well, we should do the same.

E. A transaction must take place to receive Christ.

1. These parables do not suggest that we can be saved through sacrifice of ourselves. No amount of giving or seeking will justify us before God. It is the sacrifice of Christ that saves. These parables teach us that when Christ is found He becomes the priority of the person that found Him. When a person comes to Christ the response of the heart is sacrifice of self. It is free but when applied it moves us to abandon the world through repentance. Isaiah 55:1 says “Ho everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye buy and eat: yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.” Our repentance and faith will always accompany salvation.

2. Many are unwilling to make the transaction. Some of mans most cherished possessions are his sins. He would sooner part with his soul than some of his sins. Remember the rich young ruler? (Matthew 19:16-22) ”for he had great possessions”.

3. True repentance does not focus on what is lost but what is gained. The two men in these parables did not focus on the fact that they gave up everything for their treasure. Because the treasure was the most important thing to them. Paul said “But what things were gain to me those I counted loss for Christ” (Phil. 3:7).