The kingdom of heaven is like a 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 ESV
Jesus spoke in many parables during His time. Parables are an indirect way of teaching some truths about God’s Kingdom. Instead of being direct, Jesus uses everyday analogies to share spiritual wisdom that will bless those who hear them. A couple of these parables are about the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price. Jesus mentioned these parables one after the other, conveying similar insights about God’s Kingdom.
One thing that can bother us about the parable of the hidden treasure is the honesty of the person who found it. Why didn’t he tell others about the treasure before buying the field? Why didn’t he negotiate with the landowner? Was he not being too greedy, wanting to keep the treasure all to himself? But if we look at the parable from this perspective, we would miss its true meaning. The whole point of the parable is that he found something worth risking everything for – something with infinite value compared to what he had before. It’s about the trade-off of selling up to buy the field.
The exceeding value of God, heaven, and eternal life
One notable thing we can see in this short parable is that the man has joy in selling everything he has to buy the field. He had no regrets, no shame, and no turning back – he knew that what he would get in return had a lot more value than what he currently owned. It probably does not mean he had nothing, but the things he had that he valued were worth nothing compared to what he would receive in return. And that is what the Kingdom of God is – it is worth giving up all our actual and potential riches, fame, pleasure, fortune, etc., for the exceeding value of God, heaven, and eternal life.
The pearl merchant must have had several collections in his possession. If that is his livelihood, he must be pretty good, or even an expert, at knowing the quality of different pearls worldwide. He would have probably seen different sizes, shapes, weights, clarity, and colours of pearls in his lifetime – the parable did not tell how old or young he was, but we would assume he was very knowledgeable about his trade. Imagine one day he would find one pearl that exceeds the beauty of everything he has ever seen – one that is not worth comparing to anything he has ever seen. In his assessment, that single pearl was worth more than he had collected over the years he had been doing his trade.
One question we can ask the pearl merchant is: What now? Now that he has sold everything, how can he continue to make a living? He probably started all over again, apart from the single pearl of great value. But deep inside, he already knows he has the best pearl he could ever have – and it was worth starting over with his business.
From these two parables, Jesus is saying that the Kingdom of God is worth everything we have, including our very lives. We can learn from the parables that we can be joyful now even as we “sell up,” knowing we have more than won the lottery jackpot of life – before us, God, His Kingdom, Heaven, and an eternal life without pain, sorrow, death and suffering.
Indeed, I count everything as a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish so that I may gain Christ.
Philippians 3:8 (ESV)
The incomparable value of our relationship with Jesus
What else can we learn from the two parables? One is that the buyers of the field and of the perfect pearl never looked back. They sold everything they had because they saw something incomparable to what they had owned before. The pearl merchant never thought of getting back all his previous collection because he had found something that was of much greater worth.
What about us? We are constantly faced with the world, the flesh and the devil. Those three things make us look back on the stuff we left behind in our pursuit of Jesus. Not only that, they tempt us to belittle the worth of our relationship with Jesus. They tempt us to compromise here and there, give in to little sins, remind us of how pleasurable it is to enjoy in the flesh. These three deceive us by presenting lies to us as truth.
Another thing that the parables teach us is the need to remind ourselves of the incomparable value of our relationship with Jesus. The society we live in presents us with an alternative lifestyle: “me-first,” “we are the centre of all that we do,” and “enjoy life while you are young, look for God when you are much older.” Our enemy cheapens our love for God and also God’s love for us.
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Philippians 3:7-11 (ESV)
One more thing that the buyers of the field and of the great pearl is that the buyer protects their treasure – they ensure that the treasures are kept safe. Not only are they secured, but the buyers also look, appreciate and delight in the treasures he had. He carefully looks after them and is mesmerised by the perfect beauty and the infinite worth of what he possesses.
Look to heaven and the eternal weight of glory prepared for us
For us we want to anticipate the glory and beauty of heaven right now. As time passes, we are drawing nearer to our ultimate goal – living with God and His people forever. Even as we struggle with our lives now, we should not forget to look at heaven. We know once our suffering ends, we will never face suffering again – along with war, disease, hunger, and death.
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 [ESV]
Top image credit: AI enhanced digital artwork depicting Jesus’ parable of the treasure hidden in a field and the pearl of great price in Matthew 13:44-46. Image source from artstyles.com. Used with permission.
Tom Caballes was a National Coordinator of the Lamb of God, a community of the Sword of the Spirit with seven branches located throughout New Zealand. Tom lived with his wife Mhel and their two daughters [with his son-in-law and grand-daughter] in Wellington, New Zealand.