Matthew 13:44-46
Hidden Treasure
44"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.A Costly Pearl
45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.One aspect of the great news Jesus brought to us was the priceless value of the treasure He is. Yet He assures us the requirement to have Him is to "sell all that we have" to purchase Him.
It is interesting that most of the present day proclamations of this truth stop at the treasure. Most presentations of the gospel require nothing more than an acceptance of the treasure "by faith."
In all of my early experience of evangelism or the sermons I heard at church or elsewhere I was never told that I needed to sell all that I had to purchase the treasure. I was never told that to have His life I would have to give up mine.
In all of my early experience of evangelism or the sermons I heard at church or elsewhere I was never told that I needed to sell all that I had to purchase the treasure. I was never told that to have His life I would have to give up mine.
It is strange how a certain theological understanding can literally blind us to the clearest statements of the Bible. But when Jesus first discussed these things everyone knew what He meant.
Jesus Counsels the Rich Young Ruler
17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” 18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’” 20 And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.” 21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” 22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
This does not seem to fit our modern presentation or understanding of the way of salvation. If we actually ever had someone come desperately begging us to know what it would take to gain eternal life we would probably say, "Receive Jesus as your personal Saviour." We would then lead him in a prayer that had the basics of what they used to call the sinner's prayer. Then we would assure him he had been saved and had eternal life.
Jesus took an entirely different approach. He talked first about his morality. When the man replied that he had kept the law from the time he was a child Jesus did not say it was untrue. Instead he brought in focus the real issue we all must face if we are to find salvation.
Jesus touched the one thing that stood in his way and challenged him to do the only thing that could bring him to eternal life.
Jesus touched the one thing that stood in his way and challenged him to do the only thing that could bring him to eternal life.
"Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor....." sound familiar?
The rich man did not understand Jesus to be speaking spiritually. He thought, correctly, that Jesus actually wanted him to sell everything he owned. And Jesus did in fact mean exactly what he said. He literally was asking this rich young man to sell everything and give it away to the poor.
The rich man did not understand Jesus to be speaking spiritually. He thought, correctly, that Jesus actually wanted him to sell everything he owned. And Jesus did in fact mean exactly what he said. He literally was asking this rich young man to sell everything and give it away to the poor.
Jesus continued the literal application of what He taught by telling the rich man that after he sold everything and gave it away to the poor that he would, "have treasure in heaven."
He then told him the "one thing" that he was lacking in finding eternal life. "come, take up the cross, and follow Me."
There it was and still is.... The Golgotha road to salvation is very different than the Roman Road. It does involve recognition of the failure to keep God's commands. But it does not stop there. It moves in on the core issues of our lives.
For the rich young ruler it was his wealth.
For Peter it was his work as a fisherman.
For Thomas it was the easy wealth of tax collecting.
For a nameless one it was waiting to bury his father and mother.
For the rich young ruler it was his wealth.
For Peter it was his work as a fisherman.
For Thomas it was the easy wealth of tax collecting.
For a nameless one it was waiting to bury his father and mother.
It is no mistake that Jesus went after the core issue of a man or woman's life before they started following Him. It is even less of a mistake that he said the "one thing" was to take up the cross and follow Him.
Jesus knows what must be given up to do the one thing necessary to find eternal life - taking up the cross and following Him. We must sell it to buy the freedom to follow.
Jesus understood the human heart so well. He knows no matter how we might try we cannot really serve two masters.
" No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth.
" No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth."
The selling of everything was not to take something away but to make room for the true treasure to be valued as it really is. It was to free us from the preoccupation with something other than the priceless treasure.
You see I have found what something costs me is the value I will hold it in. I know that is true of you as well.
I know a man who has a stamp that he paid $17,000 for. He protects it ferociously. It is kept in the most secure place in his home. It is a square piece of paper not bigger than a normal postage stamp. I am sure he understands why it is valuable to others but I can tell you why he actually values it. He paid $17,000 for it. It is that simple. If he had paid ten cents for it he would not have had it for very long and when he lost it he would not even care. Yet all the time it could have been the same stamp that he paid $17,000 for. He only recognizes its value as what it costs him.
We do not value that which costs us nothing.
I could go on many paths with this one. It is a fundamental principle of all life.
One specific example of the failure to understand this principle is the way in which people today give themselves away sexually without any requirement of commitment. They give one of their most precious possessions away for nothing and then wonder why the person receiving it afterward treats them as if they were worth nothing.
One specific example of the failure to understand this principle is the way in which people today give themselves away sexually without any requirement of commitment. They give one of their most precious possessions away for nothing and then wonder why the person receiving it afterward treats them as if they were worth nothing.
We place great value on what costs us greatly....
We do not value what costs us nothing....
no matter what its true value is.
So Jesus says we must sell everything to purchase that which cannot be bought. He knows that the only way His life will be valued (as it must be valued if we are to take up the cross and follow Him) is for it to cost us everything.
Matthew 6:20-22
20 "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
All we have is a paltry sum in comparison to the priceless worth of His life. Yet it is essential we bring all we have and give it to purchase the field that the treasure is hidden in. Otherwise we will never value it at all.
Once the exchange has taken place the treasure becomes more precious with each moment.
But unless it costs us everything it is something that we can easily abandon when a more attractive offer comes along.
Like the rich young ruler Jesus tells us what it will cost us before we will be able to follow Him fully. This clarifies our motives and keeps us, like it did him, from following out of curiosity or thoughts of selfish gain.
He went away sorrowful because he would not place following Jesus as the first and only priority of his life.
He would never have to worry about serving two masters since Jesus would not allow him to.
Jesus loved him enough to tell him right up front that He would not be a part of his life unless he gave it away for Him.
He would never follow Him not knowing that Jesus would be the first allegiance of his life or be nothing.
In the same way Jesus loves us enough not to let us use Him as just another choice in our pursuit of our own ends.
The rich young ruler's heart was crying out for something and Jesus loved him enough to tell him what is was.
But He also loved him enough to not let him just casually try Him out like so many do with each other today..... with the predetermined result that they end up being worthless in each other's eyes.
We will either give everything to follow Him or we will never follow Him.
We will either give up our lives to make room for His life or we will never know His life.
We will either sell all we have and purchase the treasure that cannot be bought or we will go away sorrowfully clinging to that which we will someday lose any way.
Though modern theology may try to tells us differently, Jesus will not let us think for one moment that we can have Him without Him having all of us.
Luke 14:33
33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
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