“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.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
Matthew 13:44-46 (NKJV)
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By divine providence, this week we have a 2 for 1! Two parables, both recorded only in the Gospel of Matthew, and given to the disciples (per Matthews account) as additional parables added to the explanation of the parable of the wheat & the tares. Both of them seem so similar that we may be forgiven for thinking that they are talking about the one & the same thing – however – whenever the Spirit repeats something, our spiritual antennae should immediately be raised – either to understand the repetition, or see if there are any differences here!
CONTEXT: – As above – given to the disciples ONLY, and not even spoken to the multitudes! No explanation given, but two features are of note – their proximity to the explanations of the parables of the wheat/tares & the soils/sower, and the fact that they are both prefaced with the all-important phrase – “The kingdom of heaven”. These are kingdom parables, and as we have explained earlier, this is God in the person of His Christ, explaining His Heavenly operations through human/material illustrations – we would do well to pay close attention!
Coming to the point of the parables, as always, we ask you to close your eyes and meditate for a minute or two on what is being said here. What do you think is the point/are the points being made here?
KEY MESSAGE: Both parables are similar in that they both depict a person selling all his possessions in order to ACQUIRE LEGAL TITLE to something of GREATER/INESTIMABLE value.
The question is, who is the one selling and what are they buying? Thinking about this will help us understand the nuances between the two parables, as well as appreciate the similarities.
The difference between the buyers is as follows:
The man finding a treasure in his field shows us a picture of a serendipitous/accidental event – it was not the man’s field, circumstances led him there, and he “found” the treasure. It might have been a treasure that he could carry away, but by law, that would not be right, as the field did not belong to him. Therefore, he has to hide it, to avoid its being detected. Some commentators have also surmised that the treasure could be something he could NOT carry away (e.g. a vein of gold for example), and thus has to hide it, again to avoid its being detected.
The merchant seeking beautiful pearls shows us a different picture altogether. This is a man whose business it is to evaluate and trade in beautiful pearls. He is a connoisseur/expert appraiser – that has probably seen many pearls over the course of his lifetime, and his search is for the PERFECT pearl – and guess what – he finds it! The seller of it may not know its value, or may have some idea – since it takes all of the merchants’ property to pay for it - but the merchant himself knows, all his possessions do not add up to the value of the pearl that he sees before him and he MUST have it for himself!
That’s quite a difference between the buyers! What about the treasure/pearl itself?
Most commentators are united in their opinion that it is Christ & the Gospel that are symbolized by the treasure and in general, this interpretation broadly makes sense.
CHRIST is THE treasure, THE pearl of great price – he may be found by God leading a man to Him through divine providence (like the man “finding “ the treasure in the field), or God may graciously reveal Himself to one that seeks Him with all his heart (the merchant).
In both cases, when one truly appreciates the Person and Preciousness of Christ, He/She must let go of everything worldly and seek a heavenly kingdom! Christ tells His disciples that he that comes after Him must renounce everything that they once held dear. Luke 14:26-27 “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” So - Luke 14:33 “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple”. (KJV). This is the “buying” action that we see here in the parable – that we see interpreted as gaining and possessing the inheritance and legal right to be called a son/daughter of God.
This is a perfectly good interpretation – but we would like to point out a few things. One, Salvation – or the legal right to the kingdom is a GIFT of God. There is nothing we can sell to buy it! Yes, we can certainly argue that the -finding- of the treasure, and the pearl, was a gift to the man and the merchant by God, and should be viewed in that context – but the buying of it – seems to be a work! Two – and this brings us back to one of the points we opened with – the parable is about the Kingdom of Heaven! The man and the merchant are merely human illustrations of a kingdom principle! This completely flips the viewpoint of the parable from being man centered – to being God centered. How should we interpret it then?
Dr J Vernon McGee has it right. The person doing the buying is Christ. The treasure being redeemed is His elect, for whom Christ paid everything He had – he purged Himself of His divinity, and on earth He paid with His blood for His people – in order that He might have the legal right and authority to His Bride!
The field is the world (remember the parable of the wheat and the tares). Israel, and Christs Elect, are the treasure buried in it (they still are – the largest population of Jews are in New York city, and Christians were/are buried in the world in Christ’s day, and thereafter). This treasure was concealed from the wiles of the devil, so that Christ could come, and purchase the ENTIRE world for Himself. Rev 11:7 “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”
There -might- be a vindication of Calvinist/Reformed theology here: Christs atonement (price) being SUFFICIENT to buy the entire field (the World) but EFFICIENT (or effective only for) the acquisition of the treasure. The man has no interest in the field, apart from the treasure, but is willing to pay the price for the entire field to get it! This would explain 1 John 2:2 - “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” A text which has been used to say everyone gets saved – which is NOT the case. WOW! Pretty amazing – but this is just some speculation on our part, and is stretching the illustration – which needs no stretching – so we will desist – nevertheless, something to think about!
When we think about the parable of the pearl – Man & Christs Bride – is THE pearl of great price. A pearl created in, and being conformed to the image and body of God himself! We get a -hint- of this when we read in Malachi about the righteous – “And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels” - (Mal 3:17).
The LORD has His pearls and jewels that He has created, but the Bride of His Son is His pride and joy, for which He paid the ultimate price!
Hallelujah!!!!