The Kingdom of Heaven is Like… (2)

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:

Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.”  Mat 13:45-46

The first four parables in Mt. 13 (up to v. 35) are spoken to the multitudes by the seaside.   For the “outsiders”, these parables deal with simple and surface truths about the kingdom of heaven – the kingdom as it would first dawn on men in the world.  So they draw them to seek further, to hear honestly, to discern truth and error. To beware of evil influences that might distort or hide the kingdom truth. 

But the latter parables in the chapter are a bit different.  Now Jesus is back in the house with his disciples.  They ask him about the parable of the tares he had just spoken to the multitude.   And after the explanation, Jesus shares deeper truths with his disciples.   They will be his representatives – from the spiritual realm to the world.  They will proclaim the kingdom’s spiritual truths.   He leads them to see the preciousness of the kingdom, to understand its spiritual value and how to recognize it and how to lead men to see it.

For the parables of the treasure and the pearl, they are often interpreted as suggesting that hearers should sell all they have to “buy” the gospel truth.  But I suggest that Jesus is still using the illustrations from the earlier parables.  “The field is the world” in these earlier parables, and “the man” or the sower is the Son of Man.  The earlier parables focused on the hearing of the gospel, but now Jesus wants his disciples to see the treasure of the kingdom and the salvation of the king. 

In the parable of the treasure, the man seeks the treasure, finds it, buries it again (!), and – with joy - goes and sells all he has to buy the field.  This is the story of Redemption.  The field is the world.  The man (Son) sees the treasure hidden there. The treasure is the setting up of the reign of God in the world – bringing redemption to the souls of men and women.  Only the Son sees the treasure hidden, and only the Son can purchase the field.  With joy he buries the treasure again (in the world it is “hidden”) – but he knows exactly where it is, He SEES it, knows its value, knows how to get to it and how to protect it.  With joy, He gives all He has for it.  He will die for it and he will OWN it.  He will own the whole world, and in it He will preserve the treasure of His kingdom.

In the parable of the pearl of great price, the idea is the same, but with a further note.  The merchant is seeking “goodly” pearls.  He is going about his trading, buying and selling.  But this merchant is special.  He is looking not just to make money, but using his money to find special quality gems.  He is seeking beauty, majesty, gems suitable for royalty.  But when He finds the ONE pearl that exceeds all others in beauty, majesty and preciousness, then He sells everything else, and buys it. 

Do you see the glory of those two parables?  See how Jesus is teaching his disciples about the value and preciousness and beauty of his kingdom, hidden in the world?

In the parable of the dragnet, there is a further insight.  The disciples might naturally ask, “What about all the evil in the world? How can we know the real treasure?  How can we separate the good from the evil?  How do we know which pearl to keep and which to throw away?”  Jesus reassures them.  At the end of the world, there will be a gathering and sorting.  The angels will know.  God will get it right.  Rest on that.  The disciples’ work was to sow the seed, teach the word, open the eyes of all who will hear about the good news of the reign of God.  He and his angels will one day do the separating.

He is not saying we should ignore evil in the church. But rather, that the kingdom is “mixed in” with the world. The church must exist in the world to save the world, and it cannot be completely insulated from evil men and evil influences.  Sometimes it may be hard to separate.  But God will take care of it one day.

And now that brings him to the last short parable in this chapter.  Jesus says to his disciples, “Have you understood these things?”  They answer positively, and He explains to them their charge: they must understand his teaching about the kingdom, its majesty, its preciousness, its purpose, how it is “hidden”, what its destiny is.   And – like Ezra the scribe of old – they are to instruct the people in the ways of God, like a householder drawing out treasures from his house – things new, and at the same time old.  They would preach the gospel of the kingdom in the message of the cross.  Old principles would have new and glorious meaning.  Old texts would find beautiful fulfillment.  The ancient plan of God – from before the foundation of the world – would find fresh expression in the living Christ in the hearts of men!  These disciples would be the keepers of the treasure-house!  God help us to see what we have in our hands!