The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

by Mike Johnson

"Again the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field." (Mt.13:44)

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure is rather short, but it certainly presents the great truth of the value of the kingdom of heaven. It is often called a "twin" parable as it is similar in meaning to the parable which follows (vs. 45-46).

The Treasure

In Bible times, people did not have as many safe places where money could be deposited as we do today, so an individual might have to hide his treasure to protect it. For example, in the Parable of the Talents, the man who received the one talent went and hid his lord's money (Mt. 25:16) Trench points out in his book on parables that since there were frequent changes in dynasties and consequent revolutions that, " . . . many rich men divided their goods into three parts: one they employ in commerce, or for their support; one they turn into jewels, which might be easily carried; and a third part they bury." (Notes on the Parables of Our Lord)

The Man's Actions

The man in the parable discovered a treasure in a field. He joyfully sold all that he owned, and then bought the land from the owner which resulted in him owning the hidden treasure. Perhaps a previous owner of the land had died without having told anyone where he had hidden the treasure, or perhaps someone had hidden it on the land and was unable to return to it. Whatever the case, the present owner was unaware of the treasure on his land and thus sold it.

Some might question the use of a parable like this by Christ. It might be said that the action of the character of the parable would be dishonest as it would be his duty to inform the owner of the field about the discovery. We must realize, however, that the main point of the parable is to show the great value of the kingdom. Christ is not approving of the conduct of this person, but he is simply telling a story to show the kingdom's value, and the degree which one might go to in order to obtain that which is valuable. For example, a preacher might tell a story about a man who tried to rob the same bank four times in order to illustrate "persistence." The preacher would not necessarily be showing his approval of stealing, however.

Value Thus Sacrifice

Why was the man in the parable willing to give up so much (all that he owned) to obtain the treasure? The obvious answer is that the treasure was so valuable. The obtaining of the land would involve sacrifice, but it would surely be worth it.

The church is also very valuable. Its value can be seen in many different ways. In Acts 20:28, we are told that the church was purchased by the blood of Christ. This surely reveals its value! Ephesians 5:22-23 says, "For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church and he is the saviour of the body." Colossians 1:18, 24 reveals that the body is the church. Surely that which Christ died for is of great value! Christ is the "savior of the body," and those not in the body of Christ will be lost.

Also, the life of a Christian is to be a life of sacrifice. In Romans 12:1- 2 Paul wrote, " . . . that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service." No sacrifice is too great for the cause of Christ. In Matthew 19, we read of the rich young ruler who was not willing to sell all that he had as Jesus requested. It seems that the sacrifice was too great. Verse 22 says, " . . . He went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions." This man needed to recognize the value of following Christ and the great reward in heaven. He ought to have been as the man in our parable and made the necessary sacrifices. No doubt, short sightedness kept him from doing this. Many today are not willing to put behind them the life of sin as they think that it would be too difficult. They obviously have not learned the lesson in our parable. NO SACRIFICE IS TOO GREAT FOR CHRIST!

Joy

Verse 44 of the parable shows that the man had joy. He certainly did not regret selling all that he had and realized that he would gain much more in return. Similarly, when an individual discovers the truth there should be joy. A person should willingly give up his past life of sin so that he might be able to obtain the privileges of the kingdom. Paul said in Philippians 3:7-8, after speaking of his accomplishments in the Jewish religion (vs. 5-6), "But whatever was to my profit, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ." (NIV)

In conclusion, we should joyfully make whatever sacrifices are necessary in order to obtain the valuable treasure, God's kingdom.

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