Montrose, Colorado

Rev. Willis A. (Bert) Jones, a country preacher

May 1, 2012

44"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.

46When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it." (NIV Matthew 13:44-46)

Above area two parables that Jesus told to emphasize the value of the Kingdom of God (also called Kingdom of Heaven). They are different, yet alike. Let us look at the first one, verse 44 of Matthew 13.

The man is in a field looking about for nothing in particular. Then he finds a treasure. What did he find? Jesus did not interpret this or the next parable, other than to say that is like (similar) to the Kingdom of Heaven. We have to guess. My guess is that he found a possible gold or silvers mine, totally undeveloped. So he covered up the evidence and went to buy the field so that he could legally develop it. In the Holy Land in the days of Jesus, it was the law that the owner of land also owned all that was on and under it.

So what is the meaning? The mine, not just a pot of gold which could be gotten with little effort, is similar to the Kingdom of Heaven. It has to be worked to get the treasure. One will have to study to know real gold from fool's gold. One will have to release the raw ore from the earth and the refine it before it will be useful.

Remember, we are thinking about the Kingdom of Heaven. The Scripture, the Bible is the field. The mine is our salvation and spiritual growth. The veins of gold are the nuggets of wisdom found in the Bible. They are not handed to us, but we have to look for, search and dig for them. We have to "work" the mine.

The second parable is like the first one. Here a merchant is searching pearls. He will buy some of them to sell for a profit. To his surprise, he finds a very valuable pearl. He sells all he has to raise the money to buy this precious jewel. He finally raised the money and hurries to buy asset. He risks all to get his 'need" met. We, also, need to take risks to follow Jesus and His teachings, having our "needs" met.