HIDDEN TREASURE
HIDDEN TREASURE
(CP Mt 13:44) This parable is only found in Mt 13. The most popular interpretation of this parable is that the treasure symbolizes the kingdom. It is a priceless treasure to be desired above all else, and as such a person should be willing to part with everything in order to possess it. In this interpretation the term "selleth all" means metaphorically that one must transfer his whole heart from other interests to the one supreme interest, our Lord Jesus Christ (metaphorically means not literally). Another view is that Jesus Himself is the priceless treasure, and that we must sell all that we have to possess Him. These are both commendable views, and what they express should be the intent of every Christian, but they are not what the parable teaches, as this study clearly shows. Still another interpretation is that the treasure is Israel, which is called "God's peculiar treasure" in scripture (CP Ex 19:5; Psa 135:4). It would be easy to agree with this interpretation except for the fact that Israel was always openly in view as God's treasured possession right throughout scripture, whereas the treasure represented something hidden, even in Mt 13, as Jesus spoke this parable (CP De 7:6; Isa 62:1-5; Mal 3:16-17). Israel was never hidden like the treasure in the parable. Furthermore, Jesus did not pay the purchase price for Israel alone in His redeeming death, but for the whole world of sinners - Jews and Gentiles alike (CP Jn 1:29; 3:16; 4:42; 6:33, 51; 12:47; 2Cor 5:17-19; 1Jn 2:2; 4:14).
It is easier to understand this parable in the light of these scriptures. The word "world" here means all mankind. This is not teaching that all mankind will be saved, but that the price Jesus paid was sufficient for all mankind. Although the man purchased the field in the parable, it was the treasure, not the field, that was the man's object. He purchased the field in order to possess the treasure. The treasure represents something that was hidden even at the time our Lord told this parable in Mt 13. It was the church that was hidden. The church was decreed in God's eternal purpose before the beginning of time, but it was not revealed even to the angels in heaven until Jesus revealed it to the disciples in Mt 16 (CP Mt 16:13-18). This is the first mention of the church in scripture (CP Ro 16:25-26; 1Cor 2:7-8; Eph 1:3-5, 9-10, 3:1-11; Col 1:25-27; 2Ti 1:1, 8-10; Tit 1:1-3; 1Pe 1:3-12, 18-20). The church is the treasure, and the man who purchased the field in order to possess the treasure is Jesus. The field represents the world of sinners - the whole of human society - for whom He died. It is significant that Jesus did not call the field His field in the parable, but a field. It became His after He purchased it with His life-blood at Calvary, which is what Jn 1:29; 3:16; 4:42; 6:33,51; 11:51-52; 12:47; 2Cor 5:17-19; 1Jn 2:2 and 4:14 all teach. This interpretation harmonises with the rest of Jesus' parables in Mt 13 and it also shows why neither Jesus nor the kingdom can be the treasure as so many Christians believe.
PEARL OF GREAT PRICE
(CP Mt 13:45-46) This parable also is only found here in Mt 13. This is yet another parable which has many different meanings ascribed to it, but it is generally agreed among Bible scholars that this and the previous parable form a pair; that they both teach the same truth, namely, that the object of the man's desire is of such great value that he sells all to purchase it. The man in both parables is Jesus and the object of His desire is the church. In the parable of the hidden treasure we saw the incomparable worth of the church - represented by the treasure - underlined by the price Jesus paid at Calvary to possess it. He paid the redemption price for every living soul from that day forth to enter into the kingdom through the church, but sadly, most will not enter. We see in the pearl of great price in this parable a flawless pearl without spot or blemish, typifying the ultimate triumph of the kingdom at the consummation of this age when Jesus comes back to present to Himself a glorious church without spot or blemish (CP Eph 1:3-14; 5:25-27). The man's purchase of the pearl in the parable symbolizes Jesus' redemption of His purchased possession in Eph 1:14.
This interpretation of the parable also harmonises with the rest of Jesus' parables in Mt 13. In its present earthly aspect the kingdom of heaven is fragmented by apostasy and backsliding (the parable of the sower); by the emissaries of Satan co-existing in the world with the children of the kingdom (the parable of the tares of the field); by counterfeit Christianity and false religious systems (the parable of the mustard seed); by internal corruption in professed Christianity (the parable of the leaven). Jesus then went on to show that the church would be the visible manifestation of the kingdom in the world (the parable of the hidden treasure) and here in the parable of the pearl of great price He foretells the kingdom's ultimate triumph at the end of the age when He returns for a church that is without spot or blemish. It is interesting to note here that pearls are formed as the result of an injury suffered by the living organism - such as oysters and other molluscs - that produces them. Thus it could be said that there is a sense in which the glorified church was formed out of the wounds of Christ.
THE NET
(CP Mt 13:47-50) This parable too is only found here, and is the last of the seven parables concerning the nature and development of the kingdom in Mt 13. It has a similar teaching to the parable of the tares of the field in that they both teach that good and evil - the righteous and the wicked - are presently intermingled in the kingdom. However, whereas the parable of the tares of the field describes the kingdom in its present earthly aspect, and the day of judgement when the wicked will be cast down to hell, as a future event, the parable of the net depicts the day of judgement itself in the figure of the fishermen casting the bad fish away and keeping the good ones in V48. In the seven parables relating to the kingdom of heaven in Mt 13, Jesus gives us a progressive insight into the earthly aspect of the kingdom from its inception until its ultimate triumph at the end of the age. Studied as a whole we see the contest between good and evil in the kingdom; between the power of God and the power of Satan, which fulfils the first messianic prophecy in scripture (CP Ge 3:15). Everything God said here is illustrated in the seven parables concerning the kingdom in Mt 13. Not everyone will agree with the foregoing interpretation of the parable of the net, nor with this summation of what the seven parables teach, but they all clearly harmonise with each other, and with what is taught about the kingdom of God in its present earthly aspect elsewhere in scripture as we have seen so many times in this study. These teachings by Jesus were mysteries of the kingdom which He revealed to His disciples to enable them to go forth and teach them. HOUSEHOLDER
(CP Mt 13:51-52) This is the eighth and final parable in Mt 13, and while it does not concern the nature and development of the kingdom as such like the preceding parables in Mt 13, it does concern teaching the mysteries of the kingdom which Jesus revealed in them. It depicts the responsibility of teachers in the kingdom. Scribe in V52 is the Old Testament equivalent to the New Testament teacher. As scribes gave progressive instruction of God's redeeming purpose in the Old Testament so Jesus here instructs teachers to do the same in the New Testament - not only with the parables though but with all the truths of God's word (CP 1Cor 4:1). Jesus compares teachers with their rich store of scripture knowledge to a householder with a treasure-house from which he shares his wealth with those for which he is responsible. Jesus is instructing teachers here that they are not to teach the mere letter of the word or doctrine as such, but are to share the scriptural riches with which they have been entrusted with others in the kingdom, the same as the householder shared the things from his treasure-house. This does not mean that there are two orders of truths for teachers to impart, but new light on old scriptures. The new is the gospel made possible by Jesus' death and resurrection. It came as the fulfilment of the old, the law.
There are still five more parables referring to the kingdom of heaven in Matthew's gospel that we need to look at yet.