Monday, October 2, 2023

Parables of Treasure


This morning we are back in Matt. 13 to look again at the kingdom parables. Like we did last week, we are going to cover two short parables that explain the same dimension of the kingdom. These two parables ask a simple yet demanding question: Of what value is the kingdom of God to you? This question is simple because salvation is really that simple – do you value life with God more than your own desires, reputation, power, wealth, and influence in this world? That’s all that saving faith is. Yet, it is demanding, because true faith demands that we are willing to sacrifice anything and everything that we might hold dear in this world for the sake of the kingdom. To see that, let’s read Matt. 13:44-46 together. I want you to see two points from these parables: the kingdom of God must be sought, and the kingdom of God must be valued.

First, consider the fact that the kingdom of God must be sought. These two parables both have a single character (a non-descript man and a merchant), and they both have an object of great value (treasure and a pearl). In both, notice that the kingdom of heaven must be sought above everything else. There are so many treasures that we seek to give meaning to our lives. Some people seek literal treasures because of the assumed power and influence that it can give them. It is thought that money can bring happiness, but it can’t. Consider the testimony of Deion Sanders: “I tried everything. Parties, women, buying expensive jewelry… nothing helped. There was no peace, just emptiness inside. When I found Christ, I found what I had been missing all those years.” Others seek the treasure of pleasure, thinking that delighting oneself in the ecstasy of a drug or euphoria of sex can give life meaning. Brian Welch was the guitarist for the infamous band, Korn. Consider what he has to say about finding meaning in pleasure: “I think people [do drugs because] there’s an emptiness inside of them and they’re trying to fill it… I was trying to escape outta here by a way that I knew and that was to buy drugs… I was trying to find myself, and it just wasn’t happening, and it was ruining myself.” Still others seek the treasure of power, thinking that having influence over others will give them meaning. Consider the testimony of King Solomon, the wisest and most powerful king Israel ever had. In Ecclesiastes, he explains how he gained everything this world could offer. He had innumerable servants, 300 wives, and 700 concubines. He had all the influence the world could offer, and yet, he testifies that it was all “vapor and chasing after the wind.”

Seeking the treasures of this world will ultimately leave you empty and condemned. Yet, there is a greater treasure to be found. In Matt. 6:19-21, Jesus tells his disciples not to lay up treasures on earth because those things decay and rust. But instead, “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” He goes on to say, in Matt. 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” If you would lay hold of the kingdom of God, you must seek it as though it is the only thing that can fill that emptiness in your heart. You must seek it as the only thing that can give you purpose.

This brings me to my second point: the kingdom must be valued. Not only do these parables involve a person seeking a great treasure, but they also tell of the value of that treasure. In the first parable, the man hides the treasure so that he can go and sell everything he owns to buy the field in which the treasure was found. In the second parable, the merchant does the same – he sells everything that he has so he can buy a single pearl of great value. This all points to the value of the kingdom of God. Understand, until you have valued the kingdom of God above everything else in your life, you have not rightly taken hold of it. Sadly, people today value all sorts of things above the kingdom of God. Some value their job more than they value the kingdom. They think, “Sure, discipleship and worship and walking with the Lord are important, but those bills aren’t going to pay themselves, and at the end of the day I just don’t have time for those spiritual things.” There was a scribe that came to Jesus with a similar attitude. In Matt. 8:20, Jesus told him, “Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” In saying this, Jesus is asking, “are you willing to give up that cushy job and reliable lifestyle for my sake?” This is what it means to value the kingdom.

Others value their possessions over the kingdom of God. It true that the more things you own, the more things own you. I’ve seen it time and again – a church member will get a boat or an RV or a beach house, and their commitment to discipleship and worship slowly but surely diminishes to nothing. Now certainly, none of those things are bad. I’ve known plenty of people who own these things and hold them loosely, still remaining committed to the Lord and his people. It is not the nature of the possessions but the nature of the heart that holds them that leads to a devaluing of the kingdom. In Mark 10:20, a rich young man comes to Jesus and asks how he might inherit the kingdom of heaven. Jesus tells him to sell all that he owns, give it to the poor, and follow him. Verse 22 says, “Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” This verse is not a universal commandment that all Christians should sell everything and live in poverty. Rather, Jesus knew the one thing that this man could not sacrifice, and so he put that in front of him to show that he really didn’t value the kingdom above everything in this world. This is what it means to value the kingdom.

Still, others value their family over the kingdom of God. Now, you might be thinking, “Preacher, surely you don’t mean for me to put Jesus before my wife and kids and parents, do you?” No, I don’t, but Jesus does. In Luke 14:26, he says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” Certainly, Jesus is being hyperbolic here to make a point – he doesn’t literally mean that you must hate your family to be a disciple. But, what he does mean is that your love and commitment to Christ should be so consistent and sacrificial that you love for your family looks like hate compared to it. This is what it means to value the kingdom.

Throughout these kingdom parables we’ve gotten a picture of what true, saving faith looks like. Saving faith is fruitful. It results in good works that can be seen by others. Saving faith is shared with others, like a tree or bread that benefits others. And here, true, saving faith values the kingdom of God above every worldly concern. As I’ve already explained, that doesn’t mean that we are always asked to lose our job or sell all our possessions or forsake our family for the sake of the kingdom, but it does mean that we should always be ready to. I’m sure that Kim Davis, the county clerk in Rowan County, KY, did not imagine that she would ever be asked to give up her job to remain obedient to the kingdom of God, but in 2015, after the ruling that legalized gay marriage, she was jailed and eventually fined $100,000 for refusing to comply because of her Christian convictions. Even today, there are countless believers throughout the middle east and Asia who are forsaken by their own parents and spouses because they convert to Christianity. I have a friend named Shekhar who was born into a prominent Brahman family in Nepal. Because of his family’s status, he was destined to serve as a Hindu priest, with all the respect and wealth that position provides. Yet, while in college, Shekhar read the Bible and became a Christian. He now serves churches in Nepal, but because he is a Christian, his family will not arrange a marriage for him, making it seemingly impossible for him to marry. And even so, Shekhar serves with joy because he values the kingdom above anything this world can offer.

Brothers and sisters, we are called to value the kingdom in this same way. We may not face this same level of persecution, but even still we should grow our faith in these times of ease and plenty so that we will rightly value the kingdom when those times do come. May we leave this place holding on to the kingdom of God above all else.

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