Matthew part 22
The Treasure of Heaven
The Parables of Treasure | Matthew 13:44-46
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Matthew 13:44-46
These two parables remind us:
The greatest treasure we will ever find is heaven.
In the first parable, the man finds a treasure in a field. Now, many commentators have dissected this parable to discuss all the ways in which a person might find a treasure in the field. The bottom line is that in an age when banks aren’t really a thing, sometimes the safest thing to do is bury your treasure. Of course, you have to remember where you bury the treasure.
But consider the man in this parable. He is digging in a field, or perhaps he is working for someone. Who knows how he finds the treasure, but he finds it, realizes its value, and sells all that he has to buy it. This treasure is worth more than all his worldly possessions combined.
The second parable is like the first. The merchant is trading fine pearls and discovers one of such high value that he decides to sell everything to buy it. That is some pearl!
But I don’t believe it’s enough to just say, “Heaven is like these great treasures.” Perhaps it would help us to re-prioritize our lives if we truly evaluated the things in our lives in comparison to heaven. Consider all the things that take up our time and energy—especially those things that take our joy and peace. How much would our attitude about the daily issues in life change if we simply asked, “Does this matter in light of heaven?” We would be far less worked up about the politics of our age, the nonsense of those weeds we discussed last week, and all the other problems that we could list.
In fact, we would be able to take the advice of that old hymn, “Count Your Blessings.” The little, and large, problems of life would be seen for what they are—bumps on the road to heaven. They are simply reminders that we are not quite home. And when this life reminds us that nothing is permanent, we can look up to heaven and know the things that truly matter will last with us into eternity.
We can let go of the temporal things of this life when we are on our way to heaven.
The next parable is going to remind us that not everything, or everyone, will find its way into heaven.
The Parable of the Net | Matthew 13:47-50
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 13:47-50
This parable is directly tied to the parable of the wheat and weeds. At the end of this age, the angels will gather humanity and sort them. Those who trust in Christ, whose faith is evident by righteousness, will be welcomed into Paradise. But those who continue in evil, those who reject the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ will be cast away into the fiery furnace.
Though it is not a popular, or altogether pleasant, doctrine, the reality of hell still exists. In fact, the logical necessity of hell is hard to get around. If heaven is a real place, and if only those who have been saved by Christ may enter, then where does that leave those who simply refuse to turn away from their sin? Where in eternity could those who are represented by the weeds in the Parable of the Wheat or the bad fish here find themselves? Jesus is very clear.
Those who reject the offer of salvation and work against the kingdom of heaven will find themselves in the fiery furnace of eternity.
The image of a fiery furnace appears throughout Scripture. Perhaps the most popular is in the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The three friends are cast into Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace because they refuse to bow to the image of gold. Several verses compare a person who is tried by life to a vessel in a furnace that purifies the gold or silver. Deuteronomy says the Lord took the Israelites out of Egypt, the “iron furnace,” to make for Himself a possession. And consider Proverbs 17:3,
The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and the Lord tests hearts.Proverbs 17:3
These images bring us to the same conclusion as Jesus’ parable. If we consider life, and especially death, as a crucible, then all that can remain is the heavenly—the parts of us that have been transformed by the saving power of Christ. But if we reject God’s saving work, if we reject the salvation freely given through His Son, then what can survive? We will be the discarded dross of a furnace, the impurities that are burned up.
New and Old Treasures | Matthew 13:51-52
“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” And he said to them, “Therefore 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.”
Matthew 13:51-52
As we consider these things, Jesus offers us encouragement. For those who are willing to learn the truths of heaven, we are like a master of a house who celebrates the accumulation of treasures, both new and old. Let’s consider something about this word “old”. The New Testament actually has four different words for ‘old.’ This particular one refers to the antique, the state of something having been ‘past its prime.’ The treasures of this house include those that are no longer used, but still wonderful for their value, and those that are valuable because of their new use.
Jesus is referring to the changing of the times. The old covenant is fulfilled in Christ, and now we live in the new covenant age. We are not bound to the Old Law, because we are bound to Christ who inaugurated the new covenant with his death and resurrection. If we are the “scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven,” then we have both the old covenant and new covenant as treasures. We can see how God has been working since before the foundation of the earth to establish a Creation that reflects His glory, creativity, and love.
It is a treasure to have access to the Bible, to the Truth of God, and to be a part of the new covenant.
I believe many of us take for granted the fact that we have our Bibles. I remember a story of a missionary in China who was riding the bus one day reading the Bible. His neighbor looked over and realized what he was reading. The neighbor shared that all she had was one page from John. It was all that she could save before officials confiscated the Bibles in her local church. She had actually spent the last few decades of her life believing she was the last Christian. When she saw the missionary reading, and realized the missionary was a believer, she exclaimed, “I thought I was the last one!” Once the missionary told her there are millions of believers all over the earth, the woman stood up and began preaching to the whole bus!
Though she believed it was the last piece of Christianity, she still held onto her one page of the Bible because it was such a valued treasure. And though she had spent too long believing Christianity had been erased (because China tried their hardest to erase Christianity), once she learned the truth, she knew it was time to share the treasure of heaven.
Church, never take for granted the treasure that you hold in your hand. The Lord of Heaven and Earth has spent thousands of years working in nations and individuals to bring about the salvation of the world. That history is recorded in the Bible. Treasure it for what it is—the Word of God.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth | Matthew 13:53-58
And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.
Matthew 13:53-58
Jesus returns to his hometown and finds those without faith. The people in Nazareth know him, they know his family, and even more, they are still friends with the family. They acknowledge Jesus demonstrates wisdom and miraculous works, but they just aren’t sure where it’s all coming from. He has a blue collar family. These are not well-trained, well-educated people. And yet, Jesus is accomplishing the miraculous.
Instead of recognizing the power of God at work, though, they reject Jesus’ claims. Matthew says, “they took offense at him.” This same word is the one that has popped up throughout Matthew—skandalon. Jesus told John the Baptist’s disciples, “Blessed is the one who is not skandalized by me,” and these people have been skandalized.
Jesus does not do much in that town, because of their unbelief. There is a principle in Scripture that is unfortunately not explained enough—at least not enough for own liking. There is a direct relationship between the number of miracles God will perform and the amount of faith in a given context. But at the same time, there are times when the reason God does not do the miracle has nothing to do with a lack of faith. And, conversely, there are times when God will do a miracle even though the people lack faith. So, that leaves us with the question of how do we get a miracle from God? Well, I don’t believe we can make God do anything. But it is certainly true that if we do not believe God will help, He is far less likely to help.
But as we consider this last bit of the chapter in context with the rest, we see the irony of Nazareth. The Messiah grew up in their midst. They had a front-row seat to the Messiah, and they failed to recognize him. The pearl of great value, the treasure hidden in the field, the sower of good seed, and the one who holds the net of fish was growing up right in their town, and they missed it. Jesus was all too familiar to them.
There is an old saying, “familiarity breeds contempt.” In this case, it also breeds ignorance. But their failure is a reminder to us.
If we allow the familiarity of the gospel to breed complacency, or worse contempt, it will lead to ignorance for those around us.
The reason the story of the Gospel does not affect some of us is that we are too used to it. The reason we fail to make a difference in the world is because we are too used to the stories and too used to the world’s problems.
The worst enemy of the Church is not hostility to the Gospel, it is indifference.
Allow these parables to remind you of the great treasure you have in Christ. Let it remind you to treasure your Bible and read it. Let it remind you evangelism is not a duty of the Christian, it is the privilege. We are privileged to work alongside Christ who calls us ‘friend’ to bring others to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.