Matthew 13:44-46
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
Questions about Matthew 13;44-46:
ReplyDelete- What does it mean that the man hid the treasure again? Is this detail at all significant?
- They sold everything they had (the man with the field and the merchant with the pearl). Can we sell everything we have and remain in this culture?
http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/BS/k/1146/Parable-Hidden-Treasure.htm says (and this is the same person that I cited a few times from the last section):
ReplyDeleteHe had dismissed the outside world—men and women of sight—because he wanted to give those of faith additional instruction.
the last four parables picture the preparation of individual church members, known as "the called" or "the elect," for the coming Kingdom of God. Remember, the phrase "kingdom of heaven" signifies Christ's work through His church to make known "the word of the kingdom" (verse 19).
The Treasure (verse 44) depicts the preciousness of God's elect in preparation for the Kingdom and that they are of such value that they must be hidden. The Pearl (verse 45) also portrays the preciousness of the church in preparation for the Kingdom and particularly the true value of the sacrifice involved to acquire it. This pair reveals the value God places on the church and the lengths to which He went to purchase and secure it. In contrast to all other competing distractions and interests, it is truly a wonderful blessing to be part of God's treasure.
The field is the world (verse 38). The treasure is a symbol of the members of the church.
Prior to their calling, the individual members of the church are lost, but then they are found (called by God) and hidden again in the world (Ephesians 2:1-7).
Jesus reveals here how He views the world in relation to the church. Instead of glorifying us immediately, He hides us after we are called (John 17:11, 14-18) by physically sending us back into the world. The world camouflages us because we still physically look like the world, but being regenerated members of God's church, we are radically different spiritually. We are set apart or sanctified by God's truth (John 17:17), and the world does not readily notice that we have His truth in our hearts and minds. No longer are we hidden in the world because we conform to it, but for the opposite reason. We are hidden in the world with Christ (Colossians 3:3), and the world recognizes neither Him nor us (see John 1:10).
Jesus gave His all, the ultimate sacrifice—His own blood—His life—for us (John 3:16-17; Acts 20:28). His attitude of joy in doing so shows the genuineness of His self-sacrifice for His treasure (Hebrews 12:2). Even though He had to endure crucifixion, He was elated to redeem or purchase His church—those who would become His bride (Revelation 19:7).
Jesus Christ our Savior found us, a special treasure in the world, and gave His all to call us out of the world and redeem us. He now owns us, and through sanctification, He protects us and hides us from the world.
My 2 cents:
ReplyDeleteWow! That previous author keeps flipping these parables on their head. I always assumed that the treasure was the kingdom of God, the merchant was us, and that we should sell everything to acquire it. He says that the treasure is us, the merchant is Jesus/God, and He sells everything to acquire us. That never even occurred to me.
I'm not sure I agree with his interpretation - but it sure is interesting!
http://www.raystedman.org/new-testament/matthew/the-case-of-the-buried-treasure (I found another person who has the alternative view of these parables):
ReplyDeleteThe first four stories were given to the unbelieving seaside crowd. They concern those aspects of the kingdom of heaven at work among men which are readily recognizable and visible in history. But these last three were spoken only to the men of faith, the disciples, who were ready to believe what God said. They concern things which are not quite as easily seen in the historical process.
the second parable the Lord said that he would take the sons of the kingdom, who are produced by the seed of the Word, and sow them like wheat throughout the world. But in that same parable he said that an enemy would come and sow tares, or weeds, are that these would grow up right alongside the wheat. So, through the course of history, there has been a counterfeit Christianity, a sham religion, a phony, a fake, which bears the name of Christianity but which is absolutely false. These two would grow up together and sometimes would be difficult to distinguish, especially at the beginning, but eventually would make their real nature known
And then our Lord said in the third parable that there would be an abnormal and an unnatural growth of the seed that he planted. It would grow into an ungainly tree with many great branches, a powerful, prestigious structure that would attract birds of prey, evil men who would come into the church and build their nests there, i.e., establish their authority there, and thus would produce something entirely different than the effective, pungent, but low-profile approach to humanity that the Lord desired.
Finally, there was the parable of the woman who took leaven and introduced it into the three measures of meal, by which Jesus made clear that something would destroy the precious fellowship of the people of God and that it would be allowed into the church by the very people who were appointed to keep it out.
The parable of the hidden treasure . . . A great misinterpretation of these parables has developed, quite without any basis in the systematic interpretation of symbols in Scripture, which has hidden their true meaning. (As we saw last time, the parable of the leaven also has been misconstrued to mean something quite different from what our Lord ever intended.) The usual interpretation of these parables is that Christ is the hidden treasure and that he is the pearl of great price. And as we go through life we are the people who some day discover him. Then it is up to us to sell all that we have, give it all up, and buy him at any cost. But I submit to you that that is false, and obviously so. Never, anywhere in Scripture is salvation ever offered to us as something we have to buy, or can buy. We are absolute paupers in God's sight.
The man in these parables is always Jesus himself. He has previously identified himself as the central figure. And the field, he has told us, is the world, the world of humanity, the human race, all of society. With these clues that our Lord himself has given us, we now have the key to the understanding of this parable. Jesus came, he says, and found a treasure hidden in humanity. Something was hidden, lost in the human race, but he uncovered it. And then he did an amazing thing. He covered it up again, buried it again. Then he went and gave all that he had and bought that field of humanity.
(he goes on into a bizarre explanation of how the treasure is international peace and how Israel, being God's chosen nation is the key).
http://www.gotquestions.org/parable-treasure-pearl.html shares the more common view of what the parables mean:
ReplyDeleteBoth parables involve a man who sold all he had to possess the kingdom. The treasure and the pearl represent Jesus Christ and the salvation He offers. And while we cannot pay for salvation by selling all our worldly goods, once we have found the prize, we are willing to give up everything to possess it. But what is attained in exchange is so much more valuable that it is comparable to trading an ounce of trash for a ton of diamonds (Philippians 3:7-9).
In both parables, the treasures are hidden, indicating that spiritual truth is missed by many and cannot be found by intelligence or power or worldly wisdom. Matthew 13:11-17 and 1 Corinthians 2:7-8, 14 make it clear that the mysteries of the kingdom are hidden from some who are unable to hear, see, and comprehend these truths. The disobedient reap the natural consequences of their unbelief—spiritual blindness. Those whose eyes are opened by the Spirit do discern spiritual truth, and they, like the men in the parable, understand its great value.
Notice that the merchant stopped seeking pearls when he found the pearl of great price. Eternal life, the incorruptible inheritance, and the love of God through Christ constitute the pearl which, once found, makes further searching unnecessary. Christ fulfills our greatest needs, satisfies our longings, makes us whole and clean before God, calms and quiets our hearts, and gives us hope for the future. The “great price,” of course, is that which was paid by Christ for our redemption. He emptied Himself of His glory, came to earth in the form of a lowly man and shed His precious blood on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_Hidden_Treasure says:
ReplyDeleteThis parable is generally interpreted as illustrating the great value of the Kingdom of Heaven, and thus has a similar theme to the parable of the pearl. John Nolland comments that the good fortune reflected in the "finding" reflects a "special privilege,"[1] and a source of joy, but also reflects a challenge,[1] just as the man in the parable gives up all that he has, in order to lay claim to the greater treasure he has found.
The hidden nature of the treasure may indicate that the Kingdom of Heaven "is not yet revealed to everyone."[4]
However, other interpretations of the parable exist, in which the treasure represents Israel or the Church.[5]
My 2 cents:
ReplyDeleteI want to make clear that the view that Jesus was the man and that we are the treasure seems to be the minority view. The majority view is that we are the man and that the treasure is Christ's salvation for us.
It could be that the minority view is more carefully making their case, but it seems like their exegesis is better to me than the majority view's. When I attempt to think of the parable as we being the man and salvation being the treasure - the part about burying it again just doesn't make sense to me. If I think of it as Jesus being the man and we being the treasure, it becomes clear what Jesus was telling them.
Furthermore, the pattern was Jesus is the "man" in the previous parables. Does it make sense to flip it at this point?
I have certainly not made up my mind on this. Any help from any of you in finding/remembering decent exegesis on why we are the "man" instead of Jesus would be greatly appreciated.
For now, I guess I am leaning towards the minority opinion (not the part about world peace being the treasure!). In that case, my questions above don't make sense, since I entered these verses only having heard the majority view.
P.S. http://www.wordofhisgrace.org/par6treasure.htm also speaks to the minority view.
ReplyDelete