Matthew 13:44 "The Parable of the Hidden Treasure"
"Again, 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".
Matthew 13:45 "The Parable of the Pearl of a Great Price"
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
"Again, 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".
Matthew 13:45 "The Parable of the Pearl of a Great Price"
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Matthew 13:44; Matthew 13:45 "Hidden Treasure and A Pearl of a Great Price"
According to Adams -Clarke Commentary, our Lord's meaning seems to be this:
"The kingdom of heaven, that is, the salvation provided by the Gospel-is liken unto a kind of treasure of inestimable worth that's been hidden in a field; It is a rich mine, the "veins" of which run in all directions in the Sacred Scriptures";
For this reason, in order to obtain this rich "hidden" treasure, the field must be dug up. the "field" which is the "Living Word of God (Jesus) that (who) is revealed in the Bible must be read, studied, meditated upon and researched. Apostle Paul admonished Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15 to "study to show yourself approved unto God; a workman that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing correctly (preaching and teaching) the Word of Truth". Because all Scripture is given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16-17) of God being profitable fro doctrine, reproof, corrections (discipline) as well as instruction in righteousness (the righteousness of God) we must spend quality time with the Bible and its sacred contents.that we become perfect ( mature) and complete furnished (prepared) unto all good works.
Along with reading and researching Biblical history, we must spend quality time in prayer and in meditation upon the scriptures. It's one thing to just read the Bible as you would read another book or article. But to really identify with the writings contained in the Bible, you must combine your reading with research, meditation, that is take time to ponder the message s in scripture and prayer. Jesus told us the more we identify with the words of scripture, the more we come to knowing more about HIM and establishing a meaningful up close relationship with God. Jesus told his disciples in the 14th chapter of the Gospel of John that it was expedient that He went away in order that the comforter (the Holy Spirit) could come , being sent in HIS name. Jesus said the purpose of the Holy Spirit is to guide us into understanding "all truths" concerning Him. (Jesus) The Holy Spirit came to reveal Jesus Christ to us and to help us have a communion relationship with Jesus. The Holy Spirit helps us to mine (dig out) that hidden treasure, to get to know Jesus on a more personal basis..
The Psalmist in Psalms 1 says thus: "Blessed is the man (or woman) that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. but "delights" themselves in the law (Word) of the Lord, being one who meditates on its principles, precepts and truths both day and night. From the treasure of the Word of God, the person that finds the "priceless value" of the Word will also find "stability" as illustrated in the declaration of being "planted" and thoroughly nourished by rivers of water, and being perpetually prosperous, bring forth fruit in their season and never experiencing a withering of prosperity (spiritually or otherwise) You get to see into the kingdom of heaven through the "parable" teachings of Jesus. You began to realize that the gospel itself is solely about what Jesus did and who Jesus is. Remember, Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He was buried, and HE rose from the grave on the 3rd day, ascended back into heaven and is at this moment sitting at the right hand of God the Father as our Great High Priest, interceding in our behalf. The Gospel story ushers in the new dispensation of Grace and the offer of eternal life through Jesus Christ. It is through Jesus Christ that we are reconciled, forgiven and brought back into the good graces of God the father (Jehovah)
Second, notice the actions of the one who finds the field the treasure is buried in. According to this commentator, He hides it. That is, he conceals the fact that he has found it; he does not tell anyone of it. With a view of obtaining this, Jesus says that a man would go and sell his property and buy the field. The conduct of the man would be DISHONEST. It would be his duty to inform the owner of the field of the discovery. He would be really endeavoring to gain property belonging to another at far less than its real value, and the principle of real integrity would require him to inform the owner of the discovery. But Christ does not intend to vindicate his conduct. He merely states the way in which people do "actually" manage to obtain wealth. He states a case where a man would actually "sacrifice his property," and practice diligence and watchfulness to obtain the wealth which he had discovered. The POINT of the parable lies in his "earnestness," his anxiety, his care, and his actually obtaining it. The gospel is more valuable than such a treasure, Obtaining salvation and redemption from God is far more valuable that any riches you will ever obtain. Salvation is the key to life and it being more abundant in God.(Psalms 19:10; Proverbs 3:13-15). It is hidden from most people. When a person sees it and hears it, it is his duty to sacrifice all that hinders his obtaining it, and to seek it with the earnestness with which other people seek for gold. The truth often lies buried: it is like rich veins of ore in the sacred Scriptures; it must be searched out with diligence, and its discovery will repay a man for all his sacrifices, (Luke 14:33; Phil 3:8.)
"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". (NKJV)
In this parable, the merchant is Jesus Christ and the "pearl" is the church".He records of salvation diligently and carefully turned over, and searched. Which, when a man hath found-when a sinner is convinced that the promise of life eternal is to him, he kept secret-pondered the matter deeply in his heart; he examines the preciousness of the treasure, and counts the cost of purchase; for joy thereof-finding that this salvation is just what his needy soul requires, and what will make him presently and eternally happy, went and sold all that he had-renounces his sins, abandons his evil companions, and relinquishes all hope of salvation through his own righteousness; and purchased that field-not merely bought the book for the sake of the salvation it decribed, but, by the blood of the covenant, buys gold tried in the fire, white raiment, etc.; in a word, pardon and purity, which he receives from God for the sake of Jesus. We should consider the salvation of God in the following ways:
1. Consider it as our only treasure, and value it above all the riches in the world.Jesus said in Mark 8:34-38
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels." (NIV)
2. Search for it in the Scriptures, till we fully understand the worth and excellence of salvation..Jesus said in
John 5:39-40: "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life".
NKJV
3. Understand that salvation is holistic and comes to us in "stages". First we are saved from the penalty of sin. (death) The 'wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23) When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, we are no longer under condemnation, thus no longer under the penalty of sin of death. When i speak of death, I'm speaking from the standpoint of being vanished to the Lake of Fire (Ghenna) and never able to come physically into the presence of Jehovah God ever again. In the Book of Revelation, this is called the "second death".
Second,in the second stage of salvation, according to Romans 8:1, "there is now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit" This is the process of salvation that's called "sanctification". In this process, God saves us from the power (influence) of sin. by admonishing us all to walk" in the spirit" , that is, to submit ourselves totally to HIM and allow the Holy Spirit to not only indwell us, but lead, guide, strengthen and work God's will and divine plans through us. Sanctification is the process of 'spiritual detoxification" to the extent that "sin" will no longer have dominion over us. The end result of this process should produce the following 2 "mindsets"; First that we believe that regardless of all the suffering and persecution we go through because of our belief in Jesus Christ, we are more then conquerors through Jesus Christ because He truly loves us. Second, that we become fully persuaded that nothing (or no one) shall be able to separate us from God;'s love which is in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Jesus is love.(Romans 8:37-39)
The third stage of salvation is called "glorification" Glorification is that final salvation in which we are eternally in the presence of God and there is absolutely no presence of sin around us. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 let's us all that one day The Lord is coming back for the saints. "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words".
The redemption plan of God called salvation was created by God before the foundation of the world. It would do each of us well to take serious time to ponder the virtues and stages of salvation in our souls daily
4. Part with all we have in order to get it.The Apostle Paul reminded us in Hebrews 12 :1-3
"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God".
5. Place our whole joy and felicity in it;
Philippians 2:12
"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.".
.In other words, fully embrace your saved status with God. Paul declared in Romans 1:16-18: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."
Another way we fully embrace our salvation is " take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints (Ephesians 6:17-18)
A third way we fully embrace the understanding of being saved is contend for the Faith In Jude verses 3 and 4, Jude said: "Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ".
6. Be always convinced that it must be bought, and that no price is accepted for it but the blood of the covenant; the sufferings and death of our only Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In Proverbs 8:33, the man of wisdom echoed the instructions given to him by God to give to the people:" Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favor of the Lord . But he that sins against me wrongs his own soul: all they that hate me love death.
Dr. William Edward Boddie
According to Adams -Clarke Commentary, our Lord's meaning seems to be this:
"The kingdom of heaven, that is, the salvation provided by the Gospel-is liken unto a kind of treasure of inestimable worth that's been hidden in a field; It is a rich mine, the "veins" of which run in all directions in the Sacred Scriptures";
For this reason, in order to obtain this rich "hidden" treasure, the field must be dug up. the "field" which is the "Living Word of God (Jesus) that (who) is revealed in the Bible must be read, studied, meditated upon and researched. Apostle Paul admonished Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15 to "study to show yourself approved unto God; a workman that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing correctly (preaching and teaching) the Word of Truth". Because all Scripture is given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16-17) of God being profitable fro doctrine, reproof, corrections (discipline) as well as instruction in righteousness (the righteousness of God) we must spend quality time with the Bible and its sacred contents.that we become perfect ( mature) and complete furnished (prepared) unto all good works.
Along with reading and researching Biblical history, we must spend quality time in prayer and in meditation upon the scriptures. It's one thing to just read the Bible as you would read another book or article. But to really identify with the writings contained in the Bible, you must combine your reading with research, meditation, that is take time to ponder the message s in scripture and prayer. Jesus told us the more we identify with the words of scripture, the more we come to knowing more about HIM and establishing a meaningful up close relationship with God. Jesus told his disciples in the 14th chapter of the Gospel of John that it was expedient that He went away in order that the comforter (the Holy Spirit) could come , being sent in HIS name. Jesus said the purpose of the Holy Spirit is to guide us into understanding "all truths" concerning Him. (Jesus) The Holy Spirit came to reveal Jesus Christ to us and to help us have a communion relationship with Jesus. The Holy Spirit helps us to mine (dig out) that hidden treasure, to get to know Jesus on a more personal basis..
The Psalmist in Psalms 1 says thus: "Blessed is the man (or woman) that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. but "delights" themselves in the law (Word) of the Lord, being one who meditates on its principles, precepts and truths both day and night. From the treasure of the Word of God, the person that finds the "priceless value" of the Word will also find "stability" as illustrated in the declaration of being "planted" and thoroughly nourished by rivers of water, and being perpetually prosperous, bring forth fruit in their season and never experiencing a withering of prosperity (spiritually or otherwise) You get to see into the kingdom of heaven through the "parable" teachings of Jesus. You began to realize that the gospel itself is solely about what Jesus did and who Jesus is. Remember, Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He was buried, and HE rose from the grave on the 3rd day, ascended back into heaven and is at this moment sitting at the right hand of God the Father as our Great High Priest, interceding in our behalf. The Gospel story ushers in the new dispensation of Grace and the offer of eternal life through Jesus Christ. It is through Jesus Christ that we are reconciled, forgiven and brought back into the good graces of God the father (Jehovah)
Second, notice the actions of the one who finds the field the treasure is buried in. According to this commentator, He hides it. That is, he conceals the fact that he has found it; he does not tell anyone of it. With a view of obtaining this, Jesus says that a man would go and sell his property and buy the field. The conduct of the man would be DISHONEST. It would be his duty to inform the owner of the field of the discovery. He would be really endeavoring to gain property belonging to another at far less than its real value, and the principle of real integrity would require him to inform the owner of the discovery. But Christ does not intend to vindicate his conduct. He merely states the way in which people do "actually" manage to obtain wealth. He states a case where a man would actually "sacrifice his property," and practice diligence and watchfulness to obtain the wealth which he had discovered. The POINT of the parable lies in his "earnestness," his anxiety, his care, and his actually obtaining it. The gospel is more valuable than such a treasure, Obtaining salvation and redemption from God is far more valuable that any riches you will ever obtain. Salvation is the key to life and it being more abundant in God.(Psalms 19:10; Proverbs 3:13-15). It is hidden from most people. When a person sees it and hears it, it is his duty to sacrifice all that hinders his obtaining it, and to seek it with the earnestness with which other people seek for gold. The truth often lies buried: it is like rich veins of ore in the sacred Scriptures; it must be searched out with diligence, and its discovery will repay a man for all his sacrifices, (Luke 14:33; Phil 3:8.)
"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". (NKJV)
In this parable, the merchant is Jesus Christ and the "pearl" is the church".He records of salvation diligently and carefully turned over, and searched. Which, when a man hath found-when a sinner is convinced that the promise of life eternal is to him, he kept secret-pondered the matter deeply in his heart; he examines the preciousness of the treasure, and counts the cost of purchase; for joy thereof-finding that this salvation is just what his needy soul requires, and what will make him presently and eternally happy, went and sold all that he had-renounces his sins, abandons his evil companions, and relinquishes all hope of salvation through his own righteousness; and purchased that field-not merely bought the book for the sake of the salvation it decribed, but, by the blood of the covenant, buys gold tried in the fire, white raiment, etc.; in a word, pardon and purity, which he receives from God for the sake of Jesus. We should consider the salvation of God in the following ways:
1. Consider it as our only treasure, and value it above all the riches in the world.Jesus said in Mark 8:34-38
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels." (NIV)
2. Search for it in the Scriptures, till we fully understand the worth and excellence of salvation..Jesus said in
John 5:39-40: "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life".
NKJV
3. Understand that salvation is holistic and comes to us in "stages". First we are saved from the penalty of sin. (death) The 'wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23) When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, we are no longer under condemnation, thus no longer under the penalty of sin of death. When i speak of death, I'm speaking from the standpoint of being vanished to the Lake of Fire (Ghenna) and never able to come physically into the presence of Jehovah God ever again. In the Book of Revelation, this is called the "second death".
Second,in the second stage of salvation, according to Romans 8:1, "there is now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit" This is the process of salvation that's called "sanctification". In this process, God saves us from the power (influence) of sin. by admonishing us all to walk" in the spirit" , that is, to submit ourselves totally to HIM and allow the Holy Spirit to not only indwell us, but lead, guide, strengthen and work God's will and divine plans through us. Sanctification is the process of 'spiritual detoxification" to the extent that "sin" will no longer have dominion over us. The end result of this process should produce the following 2 "mindsets"; First that we believe that regardless of all the suffering and persecution we go through because of our belief in Jesus Christ, we are more then conquerors through Jesus Christ because He truly loves us. Second, that we become fully persuaded that nothing (or no one) shall be able to separate us from God;'s love which is in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Jesus is love.(Romans 8:37-39)
The third stage of salvation is called "glorification" Glorification is that final salvation in which we are eternally in the presence of God and there is absolutely no presence of sin around us. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 let's us all that one day The Lord is coming back for the saints. "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words".
The redemption plan of God called salvation was created by God before the foundation of the world. It would do each of us well to take serious time to ponder the virtues and stages of salvation in our souls daily
4. Part with all we have in order to get it.The Apostle Paul reminded us in Hebrews 12 :1-3
"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God".
5. Place our whole joy and felicity in it;
Philippians 2:12
"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.".
.In other words, fully embrace your saved status with God. Paul declared in Romans 1:16-18: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."
Another way we fully embrace our salvation is " take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints (Ephesians 6:17-18)
A third way we fully embrace the understanding of being saved is contend for the Faith In Jude verses 3 and 4, Jude said: "Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ".
6. Be always convinced that it must be bought, and that no price is accepted for it but the blood of the covenant; the sufferings and death of our only Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In Proverbs 8:33, the man of wisdom echoed the instructions given to him by God to give to the people:" Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favor of the Lord . But he that sins against me wrongs his own soul: all they that hate me love death.
Dr. William Edward Boddie
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