In the Name
of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Grace
and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and may our Lord
and Savior sanctify you in the truth, for His word is truth. Amen
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (2011)
The Treasure of the Gospel
Matthew
13:44-52 (ESV)
"The kingdom of heaven is like
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.
[45] "Again, the kingdom of heaven is
like a merchant in search of fine pearls,
[46] who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he
had and bought it.
[47] "Again, the kingdom of heaven is
like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. [48] When it was full, men drew it ashore and
sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. [49] So it will be at the close of the age.
The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous [50] and
throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will
be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
[51] "Have you understood all these
things?" They said to him, "Yes." [52] And he said to them, "Therefore
every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of
a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."
Matthew, in the
thirteenth chapter of his Gospel, records seven parables with which Jesus
describes the great truths of His Kingdom. Each of these parables builds upon
the other, teaching us how His Kingdom is bestowed (sowing seed), how it grows,
and how it is acquired. This morning however, our attention is drawn to the
last three of those parables and we ask that the Holy Spirit will aide us in
coming to a right understanding of our Lord’s word as He speaks to us through
Matthew.
Commentaries on
these parables vary widely throughout Christendom and for good reason; they are
not easily understood. It is common to see within the first two of these last three
parables; the parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Value,
those who are commonly referred to as seekers; lost people trying to find God.
True enough, there are tens of thousands of testimonies of those who were
dissatisfied with life and constantly sought after something more fulfilling.
Some of these
did not want for money or material things; they had the benefit of a good
education, of family and friends, and public recognition; however, they were
unsatisfied with life. Puzzled by their hunger for the unknown they constantly exclaimed;
there must be more!
Then there are
those who suffered the worst kind of poverty; lack of money, lack of food
shelter, unstable families and untrustworthy friends. Being poor they also
suffered from illness and disease. To such as these life always seemed to lack
purpose. Oh there were moments in their lives when
life seemed to change, when life seemed to bring them love and happiness such
as when they married. However, that never really did away with the desire and longing
of their souls for something more. Thus they never quit asking; isn’t there
more to life than this?
Both groups seek
refuge and comfort; most often in the wisdom of man; however, this only leads
them to the conclusion that “all is vanity.” It doesn’t last. It does not still
the voice of a conscience that still accuses. It still leaves the soul
restless. Puzzled and feeling empty, they cannot help but exclaim; I would give
anything if I had real assurance and peace.
Then one day,
led by the Holy Spirit, they hear the Word of Holy Scripture say: “Let
not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me” (John 14:1
ESV) and “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me” (John 14:6 ESV). They may have heard these words
before, but now there is something different, something living and something
that holds promise. Continuing to listen they learn of Christ’s love for men,
how He calls those “friends” that are His, they learn of the life that He
gives, of the ransom that He brings for sin, and of the assurance that brings
peace to the soul. Continuing, they hear, “If God is for us, who can be against us? He
who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also
with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32 ESV). Listening to God’s inspired, revealed
Word of Holy Scripture leads them to the truth of the Treasure of the Gospel which is God’s love and mercy brought to us
through the life, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ; a love
which promises eternal life to all who believe. Now we get to the true meaning
of the parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Value.
When we begin to
think that these first two parables are directing us to search for Christ as
our Treasure, we need to remember how the first five parables of this
thirteenth chapter of Matthew has spoken to us and how, in general, Holy
Scripture speaks to us regarding our ability to seek Christ and the salvation
He offers; we are incapable of doing that.
More often than
not we get this important order of finder/seeker backwards. Our sinful,
works-righteous minds crave to be first, to be in charge, to be in control, to
possess, to own, and always to be the pathfinder instead of the follower.
However, if you know anything about the workings of the Holy Spirit, you know
that you cannot be saved if you have to be in control, if you have to take the
initiative, if you have to be the prime mover and shaker, or if you are the subject
of every verb, you cannot be saved. Your works will not make you a part of the
Thankfully, our
salvation does not depend on our efforts, if it did, we would have ruined
everything long ago. Our salvation depends solely on Christ. Holy Scripture
makes this clear in many places. We only need to listen to the conversation
between Nicodemus and Jesus where our Lord tells him: “Truly, truly, I say to you,
unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God”; “Truly, truly, I
say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the
kingdom of God”; and “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:3,5,16
(ESV). Your salvation comes from a source outside of you and it is
received only as a gift.
In the parable of the Hidden Treasure
and the Pearl of Great Value, our Lord closes them by saying, in the case of
the treasure hidden in a field, the man “sells all that
he has and buys that field (v. 44)” and in the
parable of the pearl merchant, He said that the man, “sold all that he had and bought
it (v. 46).” However, I must ask, who has enough wealth to buy the
Kingdom of heaven? Who has enough wealth to pay for the atonement of Christ? The
answer is obvious, no one. Therefore, our Lord cannot be alluding to our
ability to purchase that which is invaluable. So what is He alluding to?
Just
as our Savior is priest and sacrifice, He is also the treasure and the buyer of
the treasure in these parables. Ask yourself, how do you gain the Kingdom of
heaven? Is it by your ability? Can you work for or pay for salvation? You know
the answer and the answer is no. All that we are or will ever be spiritually is
solely the work of our merciful God within us. It is God who sent His Son to be
the ransom for our sin. He paid the price. He bought our eternal salvation with
His precious body and blood upon the Altar of the Cross. He was the wealth that
purchased for us the treasure of the Kingdom of heaven.
Thus
these two parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Value are all
about our Lord’s atonement for sin. Moreover, it is within Holy Scripture where
we discover the benefits of our Lord’s purchase to those who hear and believe.
The apostle John writes, “Whoever believes in the Son of God has
the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God
has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has
borne concerning his Son” (1 John 5:10 ESV). Furthermore, he
writes, “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God
does not have life” (1 John 5:12 ESV). This brings us to the last
parable of our Gospel Reading; the parable of the Net.
Some who read
the parable of the Net see only a Last Day scenario expressed in the words of
Christ. However, this parable alludes specifically to the continuing call to
faith of all people before the Last Day.
Jesus and His
apostles were most familiar with fishing; therefore, Jesus uses a fishing
parable to describe God’s continuing action in offering salvation to all
people. Our Lord uses the analogy of fishing with a net. Nets used for fishing
were very large, large enough to cover a broad area between two boats and able
to reach deep within the water. The intent in fishing this way was to capture
everything within the sphere of the net, not to allow anything to escape. Such
is the proclamation of God’s Word.
Through His
Church, God casts the net of His Saving Word of the Gospel, calling all mankind
to faith in the His Son, Jesus Christ. No one is left out, all are called. Each
of you were caught in this net and are still held by
it (thank God). In fact, everyone who has heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ has
been caught in the net. The question then is, how many
in the net are good fish; worthy of being sorted out and brought into God’s
Sadly though,
not all within the net are good fish, some are bad fish fit only for disposal.
These are those who choose to ignore and disregard God’s voice calling them to
repentance and salvation. Thus these bad fish are distinguishable from the good
fish. These are unbelievers unable to confess Jesus as Lord because they are
offended with a God who dares to condemn sin and unrepentant sinners. Offended,
they claim there is no hell, because a good and gracious God would not do that
to men. However, God’s Word is consistent and infallible. Like the parable of
the weeds and wheat which allows the weeds to grow until the Last Day, our Lord
continues to keep all within the net waiting until the Last Day to separate
them.
God declares us
good not because of any intrinsic goodness of our own, but because of the
goodness of His Son, Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He paid to render us good
which is reckoned to all who have received the gift of faith to believe this
truth. This is the Treasure of heaven; God’s offer of forgiveness because of
His Son’s life, death, and resurrection. Called to faith and held firmly in
God’s net of the Gospel, we look forward to the day when we will finally enjoy
the full promises of heaven. Yet even now we are joyful and at peace because we
know we have been called and given the gift of faith. We are at this very
moment members of God’s heavenly kingdom.
Such is the
comfort of being a believer in Jesus Christ. Oh, to be sure, the hardships and
troubles of this life continue to weigh on us and cause us grief, but it is not
a weight too heavy to bear. We give thanks to a merciful God who sent His one
and only Son into this world to take our sin upon Himself
saving us from His wrath. Moreover, we give thanks that He choose to reveal His
Father to us while extending His invitation to, “Come to me, all who labor and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn
from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30 ESV).
The world is
filled with those unsatisfied with life; however, God has supplied an answer
for such un-satisfaction; His Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ who won
for us eternal salvation and offers us that salvation through the Treasure of the Gospel of the
forgiveness of sins in His name. Amen.
May the peace
of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus. Amen.