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March 1, 2009
The parable of the hidden treasure is the fifth of the seven parables in Matthew 13. The first of them, the parable of the sower, explains the different reaction people have when they the message of the Gospel. The second one, the parable of the tares, warns us that next to the good seed of the Gospel of God, the devil comes and sows his evil seed and this fight between the two sides will continue till the end. The next two parables, that is, the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the dough, speak about the simple and unnoticed way in which the work of the Gospel starts in man`s life, but also about the greatness and the miracle of that life`s change.
The parable of the hidden treasure, as well as that of the pearl, teach us about the fact that any human being must give up himself in order to find the treasure of the Kingdom of God through Jesus Christ, the Savior. Hiding treasures inside the ground was a common thing in Lord Jesus` time. In those times, a man would keep his wealth in precious metals which he would bury in the ground because of the thieves and of the many wars that made existence unsafe. Sometimes it happened that the rich man died or was taken prisoner to a different country and that made the treasure lost until someone else came and accidentally found it. This is how the myth of treasures was born – treasures such as Solomon`s treasure or Decebal`s treasure. The movie Count of Monte Cristo presents a person who finds such a great treasure and becomes rich for the rest of his life.
The parable of the hidden treasure presents an imaginary story about a poor man who worked on the land of a rich man. While working, this man finds a treasure his master didn’t` know about. To own that treasure, the man sells everything he has and buys the land in which he found the treasure. In this parable, the Kingdom of God is compared to a treasure hidden in the ground. To possess it, the poor man had to sell absolutely everything he had and buy the land that had the hidden treasure. The treasure is Jesus Christ, the representative of God`s Kingdom on earth. The land is the nation of Israel to whom the Word of God was revealed. The poor man represents any person who, as he searched for life`s truth and sense, finds Savior Jesus Christ and for Him he gives up himself, gives up sin, and gives up any evil thing in his life, so that he could be saved. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. … In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26-27, 33).
Searching, finding the treasure, deciding to sell everything and to buy the land in which the treasure is hidden – all these actions are absolutely personal. “When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field” (Matthew 13:44). The decision to accept salvation is absolutely personal for every man. Initially, the poor man’s decision of selling everything and buying only a piece of land was not appreciated by anyone. He was the only one who knew that he was not buying a common piece of land but rather a treasure.
Today, faith in God and repentance from sin are not valued, but having this treasure of salvation and of eternal life, while the unsaved will go to hell, is the best “deal” of life. Allow me to ask you, have you found this treasure, have you sold everything to get it?
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