Sermons
The Hidden Treasure and The Pearl
Sun, May 19, 2019
Teacher: Tom Blackford Series: Sunday Sermons PM - 2019 Scripture: Matthew 13:44-46
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The Hidden Treasure and the Pearl
Matthew 13:44-46
INTRO: Good evening. I’m going to start off with a story. It’s not a funny story by the way.
It’s about a man who whispered, "God, speak to me" and a nightingale sang, but the man did not hear.
So, the man yelled, "God, speak to me" and thunder rolled across the sky, but the man did not listen.
The man looked around and said, "God, let me see you" and a star shown brightly, but the man did not see.
The man shouted, "God, show me a miracle" and a life was born, but the man did not notice.
Then the man cried out in despair, "Touch me God, and let me know you are here" and so God reached down and touched the man, but the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.
The point of the story is that God sends little reminders of Himself to us all the time, but people just don’t want to stop, to listen and notice.
We are going to look at two parables tonight, the parable of the hidden treasure and the parable of the pearl. You are going to get two sermons this evening for the price of one, but don’t worry I won’t take twice as long.
Jesus has just finished telling the parable about the seeds and our dear disciples still haven’t understood what Jesus meant so Jesus explains the parable. What Jesus is doing is explaining some secrets about the kingdom of heaven.
Our text is in Matthew 13:44-46, if you want to turn your Bibles there, we find the parable of the hidden treasure and the parable of the pearl.
I. Let’s look at the hidden treasure first. We are going to see what Jesus is explaining to His disciples and see what treasures are to be found in these verses for ourselves. Jesus says in Matthew 13:44 – “the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” [NKJV] Unlike the world we live in today where we have banks and credit unions, the people of Jesus’ day didn’t have these facilities. The safest place to keep your valuables in Biblical times was buried in the ground.
A. We know of a couple of examples of that happening, don’t we?
1. Do you remember in The Book of Joshua when Achan took some accursed things? Achan says in Joshua 7:21 – “When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it.”
2. Another example would be the unprofitable servant, which Jesus spoke about in Matthew 25:25 and the servant said, “I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground.” The point is that many people would bury their treasures under the ground, especially if they knew that war was coming.
3. We all know that Palestine is steeped in history, especially when it comes to wars and conflicts. As usual Jesus teaches in a parable using something that was very relevant to those who were listening. It was common practice for people to bury their treasure in the ground until the war was over and then they would return to find it again when there was peace in the land. That’s what they did during Biblical times.
B. The Bible does not tell us what the man was doing in verse 44 when he found the treasure. It is unlikely that he just tripped over it because it was probably buried quite deep. A shallow hiding of something is more likely to be discovered quickly.
1. The verse says the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. Isaiah 33:6 tells us; “Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, and the strength of salvation; the fear of the Lord is His treasure.”[NKJV]
2. We’re not talking about a physical treasure here that this man found. We’re talking about a spiritual treasure. We’re talking about salvation, wisdom and knowledge. We’re talking about fearing the Lord.
C. Where can this treasure be found today? The good news is that you don’t have to go to Palestine to find this treasure. The sad news is that many people still think the only place to find and share and talk about the gospel is in a religious atmosphere. They think the only place you can believe and share the gospel is a church building. That’s just sad. That’s just being a part time Christian. That’s the wrong attitude.
1. In Philippians 2:5 Paul says, and I paraphrase; “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” People should be able to see the Gospel in our everyday lives. Even when we suffer as Christians, people should see the Gospel in our lives through our suffering.
2. 1 Peter 2:21 – “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:”
3. Little Johnny came in from playing in the garden one day covered in dirt and asked his mother, "Who am I?" Ready to play the game she said, "I don't know! Who are you?" "WOW!" cried Johnny. "Mrs. Johnson was right! She said I was so dirty my own mother wouldn't recognize me!"
4. I wonder if the world recognizes us as Christians. Are we blending into the world so much that people can’t even see it? People need to see Jesus living and active in our lives. We need to get away from this idea that the only people who can be reached with the Gospel are those that come into the building here.
5. The Gospel can be found at your work. The Gospel can be found in the office, in the classroom, at the store, the Gospel can be found anywhere by people who see the life of Jesus in your life.
D. The second point that Jesus stressed in this parable was; what’s the kingdom of heaven worth?
1. This man was willing to give up everything he had to make the treasure his own. It wasn’t even an effort for him to give up everything. He was happy doing it.
2. The text says in Matthew 13:44, “When the man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy (it says in his joy) went and sold all he had and bought that field.” Finding this treasure gave him so much joy that he was even willing to sacrifice everything he had to attain it. He wanted salvation so much you couldn’t put a price on it.
3. Do you remember when you became a Christian? Do you remember when you received the forgiveness of your sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit? You knew that your salvation was sure as long as you stayed faithful.
4. A Christian told this story; “I remember that day well. I went up to my friend’s mother and said, “I have good news.” She said, “By the look of the smile on your face, I would say that you have won the lottery.” When I said, “I found forgiveness for every single sinful act I have ever done in my life.” She wasn’t that impressed. My point is this, like the rest of the world my friend’s mother thought that money was the only thing that could give me lasting joy.”
5. Money doesn’t bring us lasting joy. As we know it’s only our salvation that brings lasting joy.
E. In Isaiah 12:1-6 we read; “1. And in that day (that day refers to when Jesus comes) you will say: "O Lord, I will praise You; though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me. 2. Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; 'For the Lord, is my strength and my song; He also has become my salvation.' '' 3. Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4. And in that day you will say: "Praise the Lord, call upon His name; declare His deeds among the peoples, make mention that His name is exalted. 5. Sing to the Lord, For He has done excellent things; this is known in all the earth. 6. Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!''”
F. Do you remember that day when you were immersed into Christ? Remember how you wanted to tell the world about what you had discovered in Christ? Your discovery was worth giving up everything else, wasn’t it?
1. For some people that was the day when they stopped drinking heavily. For some people it was a time when they stopped telling rude jokes. For others that was the day they gave up playing the lottery because they discovered something that could make them eternally happy.
2. Real joy is not found in physical things, but in salvation. It’s found in Jesus Himself. Sadly, not everyone is willing to even try and give up their valued possessions. They want this treasure but at no cost to their way of life.
G. Let me tell you a story about a man who was very wealthy. He wanted to inherit eternal life. He knew the Ten Commandments and he had stuck to them ever since he was a young boy. He was told that he could get eternal life if he just gave up one thing, all his possessions, but the man became very sad when he was told this. You’ve probably guessed I was speaking about the rich young ruler who was speaking to Jesus in Luke 18:18-30.
1. The Bible says in Luke 18:24-25 “Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
2. Notice Jesus doesn’t say it’s impossible, but it is difficult. The wealthy man was willing to pay lip service to God but he wasn’t willing to sacrifice the one thing that would make him a true follower of God. His most treasured possession was his wealth.
3. What’s yours? Maybe it’s your ambition to get that promotion at work, make more money. Maybe your most treasured possession is your car. Maybe your most treasured possession is your health. Maybe your most treasured possession is your sinful lifestyle.
4. It’s not easy becoming a Christian and it doesn’t get any easier when you are a Christian, especially when you must sacrifice things that are so dear to you. There are religious groups who say; “You don’t have to give that up, we offer salvation without sacrifice.” What is that old adage? You get what you pay for?
H. Next let’s read about a man who knows what sacrifice is all about. Paul says in Philippians 3:4-6 “If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.” [para]
1. Paul goes on, “I was circumcised on the 8th day. I wasn’t some Johnny come lately to the Jewish religion. I was of the stock of Israel. I was of the elite tribe of Benjamin. My parents were Hebrews. I spoke the Hebrew language in a day where most of you don’t even know it.
2. He says, “Check me out. I was a Pharisee, there were only so many allowed in that club and I was one of them.” He says, “Not only that but according to my zeal, I loved Judaism so much I travelled all over to kill people who opposed it. Check out my legalistic righteousness. Try to find one thing I was doing wrong in the Law of Moses.”
3. Paul says, “Let me tell you something about sacrifice. I gave up my religion because that was my most treasured possession.”
4. Following in Philippians 3:7-9 he says, “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss (Why?) 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, (Why?) that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.”
5. Paul says he had to give up a brilliant future within Judaism. He was going places as a Jew. He says that when you discover the treasure of Christ and His word and compare them to all things that you chase after in this world, he says you’ll discover that it’s all just rubbish compared to knowing Christ.
I. When will we realize that all that physical stuff that we hold so dear in this world, this temporary stuff is just rubbish? Jesus says in Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Ask yourself this question; Where is my heart focused?
1. Do I have a heart set on running my business well or is it set on the word of God? Is my heart set on gaining wealth? Do I believe that is my life goal?
2. Is my heart set on continuing a sinful habit, whether it is drugs or gambling, or is it set on getting to heaven? Is my heart focused on pleasure in this life?
J. Folks, the Gospel can be found in many places, especially in the hearts of the Christians sitting around you. That man gave up everything he had to get salvation and that’s because there is a price to pay for being a Christian.
1. Jesus said in Matthew 16:24, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”.
2. It’s not a one-time event. It is a continuous thing in your Christian walk. A disciplined life is never easy. I get that.
3. The joy that you receive in return for doing God’s will far outweighs the sacrifices you need to make.
II. Let’s go ahead and read the 2nd parable, the parable of the pearl. Jesus says in Matthew 13:45-46 – “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, "who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
A. Historians tell us that in the ancient world pearls had a very special place in men’s hearts. People from all over the world desired to posses a lovely pearl, not only for its monetary value but also because of its beauty.
1. Unlike many people today, back then people would take time and find pleasure simply by handling a beautiful pearl and thinking about it. They found a certain joy in simply possessing and looking at a pearl.
2. History writers tell us that the main sources of these pearls were found around the shores of the Red Sea and around the coast of Britain. Ancient Middle Eastern cultures were apparently the first to value pearls and pearl shells. Interest in pearls later spread to the Mediterranean; in Persia, the gems were said to be worth their weight in gold. By 100 B.C., the Mediterranean enthusiasm for pearls had become a craze, and pearl-adorned objects have been found at archaeological sites across the Roman Empire, from Syria to North Africa and northern France. According to some historians, one of the reasons Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 B.C. was to obtain freshwater pearls.1 Merchants who went looking for pearls would travel all over the world to find one pearl which was more beautiful than all the others they had seen.
B. Why would Jesus say that the kingdom of heaven is like a pearl? This merchant, just like the man who found the hidden treasure, found something that was beyond value. They both found the means to eternal life and just like the other guy; this man also sold everything he had just to get it.
C. After all what price can you put on your salvation? Ask yourself this. How much is your soul worth—to God? There’s a beautiful passage in Romans.
D. Romans 5:6-8 – where the NIV puts it this way; “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
1. Paul is saying, “Listen, your soul is so precious to God that He sent Jesus Christ to die for you.” Even when you were powerless, even when you didn’t want to know anything about God, He sent His Son anyway.
2. That’s how much your soul is worth to God. A lot of people when they find something precious, the first thing they want to do is get hold of it to sell it. As a Christian how much do you value your soul? Less then God does? Is it worth selling?
3. We know a man in the Bible that though it was worth selling. Judas Iscariot turned his back on Jesus and sold his soul to Jewish authorities for 30 pieces of silver. We look at Judas and wonder how he could ever do that.
4. The truth of the matter is, we turn our backs on Jesus and sell our souls out to Satan for less than 30 pieces of silver sometimes.
i. Every time we turn on the TV or go on the internet to look at pornography because we think nobody knows, we’ve just turned our back on Jesus and sold our soul out to the devil for a few minutes of time.
ii. Every time we gossip to someone about a fellow Christian, we’ve just turned our back on Jesus and sold our soul out to Satan for a moment.
iii. Every time we use foul language when we’re watching a football game, we’ve just turned our back on Jesus and sold out our soul to Satan for a few moments.
iv. Our souls mean everything to God, and our salvation should mean everything to us.
E. The second point in this parable when Jesus says that the pearl is like the kingdom of heaven is it’s the most beautiful thing we could ever posses. That’s what Jesus is telling us here. He’s telling us that a soul saved is the most precious and beautiful thing we will ever see and witness.
F. Jesus says in Luke 15:8-10 – “8. "Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and seek diligently until she finds it? 9. "And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!' 10. "Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.''” It’s through being obedient to the Gospel and continuing to do God’s will, that we see the beauty of a godly life.
1. John 14:21 – “"He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.''”
2. Is it enough just to know something? Is it enough to know that Jesus died for me? Is it enough to say I believe in God? Is it enough to know something is valuable and beautiful? It isn’t is it?
3. We need to know and then take hold of it and never let go of it. We need to discover how precious and beautiful our salvation is.
4. Too many people talk about the 5 steps to salvation, hearing, believing, repenting, confession and baptism and forget there is more. There is another step, folks, and Jesus tells us in Matthew 25:23 that it’s faithfulness. Yet the 6th step is not just a step is it? It’s a continuous walk. It’s using the talents that God has given us, responding with love, from our hearts, to the love that God has shown us and staying faithful until Jesus returns or the day we die.
G. Do we show our appreciation to God for the Gospel? Do we find out by studying God’s word what God wants us to do and then do what God wants us to do? That’s where people fall short, isn’t it?
H. James 2:26 “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”[para] James goes on and says “Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” Believing is just not enough.
I. There are pearls we can find in life, of course. People can find pearls in knowledge and in art or even in serving other people. Friendships and relationships—these are all lovely and beautiful pearls of life but the supreme and most precious pearl lies in seeking to do God’s will.
1. What does Jesus say in Matthew 6:33? “But seek third his kingdom?” “But seek second His kingdom?”
2. Does He say seek anything first and put God next?
3. No, He doesn’t say that. He says, “But seek first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
4. Doing God’s will doesn’t put down these other pearls, it does not lessen their value at all, but living your life in accordance with the will of God is the most precious and valuable thing you can possess.
J. Now look at the contrast in these two men in the parables; the man who found the hidden treasure in a field stumbled upon God’s will while he was working, but the merchant deliberately searched to find a special pearl. The merchant found it deliberately. He spent his time looking and searching for this gem. He searched everywhere until he found what he was looking for and he did that because he knew exactly what he was looking for.
1. How did he know? No doubt he saw many pearls on his travels and he would have stopped and admired some of them because of their beauty. How did he know which pearl was the most precious pearl?
2. Perhaps you recall this story; About a man who used to preach on the streets of London and someone came up to him and said, “You know, there are hundreds of religions in the world and everyone says they have the truth, how are we supposed to know what’s right?” The preacher said, “Did I hear you say there are hundreds of religions, I thought there are only 2? “Now granted there are different variations, but there are only 2 religions in the world.” The person asking the preacher said, “What do you mean?” The preacher responded, “Well, there is one religion in the world based on what you have to do, and there is one religion in the world that’s based on what God has done.”
3. We know there are many religious groups who claim they have the truth. So how can you be sure that the pearl you found is the right one? A good start would be to be like the people that Paul talked about in Acts 17:11 “The Bereans were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
4. We should never go to any church and just sit there and accept what the preacher or teacher is telling us as truth. What we should be doing is going home with that same great eagerness and examine the scriptures for our self to see. 2 Timothy 2:15 “Do (What?) your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” [para]
5. You can’t blame the preacher or the teacher on Judgment Day for ending up in the wrong place because you found the wrong pearl. You can only blame yourself.
CONCLUSION:
One of the reasons Jesus talked to people in parables was because He wanted to get into people’s hearts. He wanted them to think. He wanted to know who was interested in the truth and who wasn’t.
If you’re not a Christian today, you should ask yourself a serious question.
When you see or hear the Gospel according to Christ being preached, whether it’s from a pulpit or from your neighbor’s lives: What are you going to do with it?
Are you going to look for a treasure that suits your needs or are you going to do what God asks of you? Are you going to settle for a pearl that is a watered-down version of the truth? Or are you going to dig deep and continue your search for the real truth?
Jesus says in John 14:6 “I am the way (Not many ways, only one) and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” The Bible is our authority as it should be. The Bible has the last word in our lives. Everything we do and say, preach and teach should always be Bible based.
We need to ask our self the same question that Paul asked in Galatians. Galatians 1:10 “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” [para]
If the Bible doesn’t have the last say, then be careful you’re not among a group of people who just want to please men. Just look at what’s happening to the Church of England right now. A third of the Church of England clergy doubt or disbelieve in the physical Resurrection and only half are convinced of the truth of the Virgin birth.2 How many times have they compromised the scripture to please people around them?
Maybe this evening you’ve lost your joy as a Christian in serving the Lord. Today would be a good day to talk to another Christian about it. You could get together with them and talk and pray. If you’re struggling as a Christian, we can pray with you. Today would be a good day to step out in faith and grab that treasure and make that pearl your own and start your walk as a child of God, holding onto the salvation that is promised to all who are faithful to Him. The question is: what is your salvation worth?
Invitation song: ???
Reference sermon: Mike Glover
1 From “Pearls of Antiquity” American Museum of Natural History.
2 From article by Jonathan Petre in The Telegraph, Jul 2002.
Where and when we meet
Chardon, Ohio 44024