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Copyright © 2012 J. Neely. All rights reserved.
Chapter 8 - Hidden Treasure
Hidden Treasure
Matt. 13:44
44 Again [palin] , the kingdom [basileia] of heaven [ouranos] is [esti] like [homoios] unto treasure [thesauros] hid [krupto] in [en] a field [agros] ; the which [hos] when a man [anthropos] hath found [heurisko] , he hideth [krupto] , and [kai] for [apo] joy [chara] thereof [autos] goeth [hupago] and [kai] selleth [poleo] all [pas] that [hosos] he hath [echo] , and [kai] buyeth [agorazo] that [ekeinos] field [agros] . KJV-Interlinear
44 'The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. NASB
The next two parables have many things in common and speak of a treasure that is not immediately visible, but when discovered, becomes an immediate source of happiness and blessing in the life of the discoverer. Both are achieved in an honest way. The treasures are priceless or beyond the means of the discoverer to purchase outright and as such are gifts of the fortune of discovery. Most would call it luck, or a great piece of luck. But of course we should know by now that in the spiritual life, there is no such thing as luck. Only the grace of God which brings all things possible into the life of any individual if it serves Gods pleasure to do so. Gods pleasure is His Divine Plan. But you already knew that!
Now for the background of the field and buried treasure. In those days, a banking system as we know it did not exist. There was no depository for funds, for valuables, for ownership documents and such. The region had been a target of invasion after invasion for centuries. The time of Christ was no exception as the Romans ruled, and a person could lose all they had in the blink of an eye.
Burying treasure or ones valuables was not uncommon. If a person had some form of funds, jewelry, gold, silver, items or furniture of value, then they would bury or hide their treasure for hard times or for times of emergency. Over the centuries the region became a literal treasure ground of hidden valuables that folks had buried, and the folks having been displaced or having died, then left that treasure for someone else to discover. The treasure had no owner and was thus available to whomever found it - thus finders keepers became a formal law within the national legal system.
The parable speaks of a treasure so great that it could not easily be removed and simply carried away. The person making the discovery was honest. He left the treasure where it was, did not use it as part of his means of acquisition, but instead made an honest attempt to sell off all that he had, and then redeemed the property (a formal and public legal procedure to acquire that which no one else laid claim to) where the treasure was found, then claimed formal and legal ownership of the treasure. Now by virtue of owning the land, he owns the treasure on it.
Doctrine and salvation is that treasure. The treasure is hidden to those who do not seek it out, nor even make an attempt to discover its true value. But to those who discover the value of the gospel (information for salvation) and doctrine (information for spiritual growth), then they sell off all they have (the old standards of the sin nature) and purchase their new found fortune (that price given to the believer by Christ's work on the Cross). That price representing an amount that is infinitely beyond any persons ability to come up with on their own, but by giving up all they have had in the past (the life prior to salvation), then the person gains a new life, a spiritual life, something that they never had before, and something which is infinitely more valuable.
It becomes a source of happiness, and even eternal happiness. The happiness is immediate and continues forever. The person may drift away from God for the rest of their life, but eventually when they die and enter into heaven, that happiness will still be there and renewed in their 'next' life regardless of their failure in their lack of spiritual growth in this life.
The treasure has value that is intrinsic. The treasure is valuable whether discovered or not. It has value whether acquired or not. The treasures characteristics are not determined by the personality or actions of the one discovering it. The treasures value is not dependent on the discoverer. It carries its own perfect and perpetual worth and may not be changed by anything or anyone in the universe. The treasures value is undiminished and therefore desirable in whatever form it might be discovered.
The discerning person who discovers such treasure, knows immediately its value, and will exercise the proper wisdom to possess such treasure.
When a person is born and grows up to an age where they have an understanding of God and the potential destinies of their life after this life ends, they must make a decision as to where they wish to live in eternity. To reject the treasure of Christ is to elect to go into a terrifying lake of fire in eternity. When does eternity begin? When one dies in this life. When does one die in this life? Anytime God decides to terminate your life. When will that be? You could slip in your shower tonight or you could live to a ripe old age. You do not know when your time will be up. Delaying ones decision for salvation is a terrible risk. That decision should be made immediately and never delayed.
If you were rummaging through the attic of your home and discovered an extremely valuable treasure you would retrieve it immediately, even sift through it all to see what you had. You wouldn't simply cover it all up without seeing the extent of its contents and then go off elsewhere in the house and ignore it for the rest of your life. So it is with the gospel and this parable. A wise person, when he discovers extremely valuable treasure, will do all that he can to collect it, know what he has, and own it (study, understand, apply). A fool walks away or comes up with some dumb comment as to why he does not need the treasure.
The treasure of salvation is eternal life in heaven. Rejecting that and embracing the fires of hell and the terrifying suffering and aloneness forever that comes with it, would be the quintessence of stupidity. Likewise, any believer who knows of salvation and heaven, and then sooner or later knows of the advantages of spiritual growth to maturity, and ignores his daily study and growth, is also a fool in the quintessence category.
Salvation is such a treasure. Spiritual maturity is also a treasure for which one should sell off all of his old life style (living under the power of the sin nature) and then purchasing the property on which the treasure resides (taking up a knew life style, the spiritual life to maturity). And no this parable does not suggest that you actually sell off your home, furniture, and so forth. This is a parable of the spiritual life, not of the physical things in life. Your whole attitude toward Bible doctrine is the key here, as it always is the key in the spiritual life.
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