Stories Told by Jesus
Stories Told by Jesus
The parables we have studied so far have mainly been about the grace of God. We have also seen the counterpart of that, namely the severity of God. This then led us on to see the importance of obedience to God. Some people do not understand the importance of obedience, because they do not understand the severity of God. There is something else they do not appreciate, and that's the enormous value of the kingdom of God, and the true riches possessed by those who have a place in his kingdom.
The parables that Jesus told, reflect the great value of belonging to the kingdom of God. Nothing is worth having that would rob us of that place. This lesson is about seven such parables.
The seven short parables in this lesson teach us about the very great value of the kingdom of God. They also teach us of the universal nature of the kingdom. This brings us to the fourth and fifth of the seven themes of the parables that Jesus told (Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 13).
Mtt 13:44
There is a puzzle in this parable. Jesus simply says that "a man found" this treasure. He does not say whether the man found it by happenstance, or whether he was seeking the treasure knowing that it was buried in the field. However the next parable is about a merchant seeking fine pearls. So we have some reason to think that people won't find the kingdom of God if they are not seekers. People need to be like Joseph of Arimathea who was "looking for the kingdom of God (Mrk 15:43).
The treasure in this parable was hidden. Furthermore, when the man found it he hid it again. This does not mean that the kingdom of God is concealed, for indeed it is revealed (Rom 16:25-27). The hiding of the treasure means that when you find the kingdom of God, you must secure it for yourself so that you keep it safe from the thieves and robbers among the devil and his ilk.
The extreme value of the treasure was recognised as greater than all the man's possessions, because he sold them all to buy the field in which the treasure was hid. The kingdom of God has treasure more valuable by far than anything we possess. We should gladly sacrifice everything we possess, if need be, that we might possess the kingdom of heaven.
The man was overwhelmed with joy when he found the treasure. God brings us into his kingdom for this purpose, that we might share in his joy, and that for ever. This world has no lasting joy, but heaven has. That's why we should seek and secure our place in heaven, and not love the things of this world (1Jn 2:15-17).
Mtt 13:45-46
This parable is like the one before it. Again a man sells everything he has to buy a treasure he has found. No doubt there were many pearls on offer to this merchant, but he found one far superior to to all of them. The merchant could not resist this pearl, and he sent himself broke to get it.
It might be stretching this parable a bit but I cannot help asking why Jesus chose a pearl rather than a gold nugget or a diamond. It may be that a pearl is a ready made treasure that cannot be improved upon by man. A pearl need not be melted down and purified, nor does it need facets cut upon it so that its glory may be seen. The kingdom of God comes to us already perfect. We cannot improve it in any way, or make it more valuable than it is.
Mtt 13:33-35, Luke 13:18-19
Those who do not make bread themselves may not be familiar with the process of adding a little yeast or sour dough to fresh dough, kneading and proving the lump of dough, and setting it carefully to rise. Even some of us who do make our own bread, do so in an automatic electric machine which we just set and forget, and we do not appreciate the process. It is probably worthwhile taking the trouble to see how bread is made in the old-fashioned manner, the better to appreciate the parable of the yeast.
The leaven or yeast in this parable represents the kingdom of God. The point about the yeast is that it permeated and leavened all of the dough into which it was placed. This represents the universal nature of God's kingdom. It is a world wide kingdom, a kingdom spread through all the earth. The idea is the same as that in Daniel 2, where the kingdom of God is compared to some of the great world empires. The kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom with no national boundaries.
The figure of leaven or yeast is also used by Jesus and the apostles to represent the very opposite of what it does in this parable. Jesus said, for example, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees" (Mtt 16:6). We observe from this that evil also can permeate the whole world, just as much as can the goodness of God. We have to choose which of these leavens we will nurture, and which we will kill.