A Lamp Unto My Feet Bible Study Website
Matthew 13:44-46
Lesson #34
PARABLES OF THE KINGDOM – Part 3
- Memory verse: 1Cor 6:20
- Read Mat 13:44
- The Parable of the Treasure and the Field (Mat 13:44)
- This is another often misinterpreted parable.
- Previously Jesus was speaking to the mixed multitude. Now he speaks to his disciples only.
- If we were to stop with the first 4 parables of chapter 13, we would have a very discouraging, pessimistic view of the kingdom.
- For example:
- You sow much seed of the gospel only to have it wasted on barren ground, and only a few believe in Jesus Christ.
- Then tares, or weeds, dominate the field of wheat so you can’t tell the true from the false.
- Then Christianity grows into a great mustard tree of organization and presumption in which Satan’s fouls devour what little good seed is produced.
- Then sin, represented by leaven pervades Christianity hindering true fellowship with God.
- But Jesus did not stop there. The parable in this leccion has a more optimistic view.
- For example:
- The common misinterpretation:
- The treasure is Jesus Christ hidden in the world, which some men find when they seek God and discover He is worth more than anything else in the world.
- What’s wrong with this interpretation?
- Men do not seek God, God seeks us.
- Rom 3:9-12 Luk 19:10 Joh 16:13-15 Joh 4:23
- Every time the word seek is used in the New Testament regarding a person seeking God, it’s used to refer to after one is saved.
- Men do not buy anything in order to receive Christ. (Rom 5:18-19 Rom 6:23)
- Men do not seek God, God seeks us.
- What is the field?
- Jesus said in an earlier parable that the field was the world.
- We should be consistent with interpretation. The field, is therefore, the world.
- Who is the man?
- The man represents Jesus Christ.
- Jesus Christ. In earlier parables Jesus identified the man planting the seed as himself. (13:37)
- What is the treasure? If the field is the world, the treasure is men’s hearts of faith.
- From God’s perspective, the eternal soul of man is the most valuable treasure in the world.
- It is that reason that God sent Jesus Christ to the world to save the souls of men.
- When God made man he created him with an eternal soul (1Cor 15:45 2Cor 5:1-4)
- All humans have an eternal soul and will live forever.
- Some humans will live forever with Christ and participate in eternal life. (Jua 3:15-16)
- Other humans will live forever in the lake of fire and participate in eternal death. (Rev 19;20 Rev 20:10)
- What actions did the man do?
- =1= He hid the treasure.
- What does it mean when it says he hid the treasure?
- Finding faith in the world, He waited until the perfect time to buy our redemption.
- Abraham had faith, but Christ didn’t come to the earth during the life of Abraham. God waited for 2000 years before He sent His Son to die on the cross to buy the redemption of the world.
- Abraham died and his eternal soul was hidden in Sheol or Hades (the place of the dead) where Abraham waited for his resurrection.
- =2= He bought the field. Why?
- He bought the field in order to obtain the treasure.
- Why did He have to buy the field? If God is the sovereign creator of this world, did he not already possess the world?
- =1= He hid the treasure.
God is sovereign but the world is sold out to sin. The world needed to be bought back from Satan because Adam sold out to Satan. (Col 1:20-22)
The physical world needs redemption too, and waits for its final form. (Rom 8:22-23) Jesus Christ paid the price of redemption to buy the world (the field) from Satan.
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- What is the central truth?
- Jesus Christ seeks faith in man’s hearts. Faith is a valuable treasure.
- He paid with his blood on the cross for the sins of all of the world in order to purchase the faith of a few.
- Prophetic historical significance:
- Revelation 3:1-6 Church at Sardis
- The Dead Church period of church history: 1500-1750 AD (Reformation Era)
- In church history this was the dead church of the dark ages in Europe just before the Reformation.
- Martin Luther discovered that faith was necessary for salvation, not church membership.
- With the Reformation many people began to understand the importance of faith for salvation.
- Therefore, Christ looks for that tiny spark of faith in the hearts of men.
- What is the central truth?
- The Parable of the Merchantman and the Pearl (Mat 13:45-46)
- Read Mat 13:45-46
- This is another often misinterpreted parable.
- The common misinterpretation:
- Christ is the pearl of great price worth more than anything else in this world.
- Seeking Christ and giving up everything for him is the ultimate pursuit of life.
- What’s wrong with this interpretation?
- We don’t seek Christ, He seeks us.
- We don’t purchase Christ. He’s the one who pays the price for us.
- The message is similar to the last parable with some differences.
- What are the differences and likenesses between this parable and that of the treasure in the field? (Mat 13:44)
- Differences:
- The treasure was stumbled on accidently but the pearl was deliberately sought after.
- The treasure is a multi-faceted one but the pearl is a single unit.
- The field, or world, is not purchased, only the pearl.
- Likenesses:
- There’s something of value.
- There was a price to pay to obtain it.
- The man recognizes the value and is willing to pay the ultimate price.
- What do we know about pearls?
- Pearls were not considered precious by the Jews. En the book of Job in the Old Testament they are mentioned one time.
- By the time of Jesus’ ministry, they had become highly prized as an ornament primarily for kings.
- It is the product of a living organism, the oyster.
- Out of the suffering of injury or irritation, something of beauty is produced.
- A pearl is formed slowly and gradually as the oyster covers the irritation with the pearly substance.
- An oyster lives in the depths of the sea among the mire and scavengers of the deep.
- The pearl is formed in secret where no one can see.
- Who is the merchantman?
- Jesus Christ.
- Like every other parable in this chapter, the main character is the same.
- The term used for the merchantman here had the primary meaning of one who goes on a ship as a passenger. It came to signify a wholesale dealer, as distinguished from a retail dealer. It was one who was in business and took journeys to find objects to import for the purpose of selling to retailers.
- The word for “seeking” here implies leaving one place and going to another place. He was a connoisseur, someone who knew all about pearls as to their real worth.
- What is the pearl of great price? (Clue: It is not the same as the treasure of the last parable but similar)
- We saw that the treasure was men’s individual hearts of faith.
- The pearl is one treasure, a single unit, while the treasure of the last parable was multi-faceted.
- The pearl is the body of Christ, the universal church. (Eph 5:25-27 Joh 17:21)
- The pearl is the church, the bride of Christ “without blemish” = pure and holy.
- What is the central truth?
- Jesus died not only for us individually, but for us collectively as a body of believers, the church, which is a valuable jewel.
- Putting it all together:
- Jesus Christ is the merchantman who leaves his home in heaven and searches the world for a body of believers (both Jews and Gentiles) in the sea of godless people.
- He plumbs the depths of a degraded society.
- He takes a life imbedded in a mass of living, corruptible flesh, a life invaded and injured by sin, and covers it over with his blood by purchasing this body of believers with his blood on the cross.
- He gradually and in secret makes it something beautiful. (Psa 18:4-6,15-16 Rev 21:2, 9-11, 21)
- Historic prophetic significance:
- This parable lines up with church history and the churches of Revelation.
- Revelation 3:7-13 Church at Philadelphia
- The Church Christ loved period 1750-1950 AD
- It was the era in church history of great missionary emphasis when all the major missionary boards and organizations were founded.
- It was a time of adding to the body of Christ.
- Summary:
- Notice the contrast between this parable and the parable of the mustard tree.
- The mustard tree was the organized church of pomp, pride, and power which consists of both believers and unbelievers. It started small and grew big.
- The pearl also starts small but stays small and becomes very valuable. It is the group of true believers in Jesus Christ.
- Jesus not only died for individuals but he also died for the true church. (See Rev 1:17-19 and Eph 5:25).
Homework
Matthew 13:47-58
- Application of Mat 13:44-46
- If you were to weigh your faith on a scale, how much would it weigh on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the greatest amount of faith?
- What can you do to cause your faith to grow? (See Rom 10:17)
- In some of these parables in chapter 13, we have discussed Christ and his church of believers.
- If Christ died for the church, what should be your attitude toward the church?
- What is your attitude?
- What can you do to conform your attitude with your answer as to what it should be?
- Preparation for Mat 13:47-58
- Read Mat 13:47-50
- Parable of the good and bad fish (Mat 13:47-50)
- What is the central truth of this parable?
- Parable of the good and bad fish (Mat 13:47-50)
- Read Mat 13:51-58
- Parable of the scribe and the householder (Mat 13:51-52)
- What is the central truth of the parable?
- Read Mat 13:47-50
- Memory verse: Act 10:42
