THE HIDDEN TREASURE AND THE PRICELESS PEARL

What is the kingdom of heaven like? Jesus answers this question by telling two parables.

In the first parable, a man stumbled upon a priceless treasure buried in a field. Imagine a weary traveler, kicking up dust as he meanders down a remote pathway. Suddenly, his foot struck the top of an ancient chest. Curious, the traveler stoops to brush away the soil covering the lid. Opening the box, his eyes fell upon great quantities of glistening gold and gleaming gems. Quickly, the traveler covered the treasure, “then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field” (Matthew 13:44).

In the second parable, Jesus told of a diligent and hardworking merchant who deliberately searched and sought for fine pearls. When the merchant discovered “one priceless pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it” (Matthew 13:45).

The parables seem to teach the same truth, yet the stories differ in one respect. The traveler found the treasure by accident while the merchant found the treasure by searching deliberately. Regardless of how we discover the kingdom’s great grace, it is a treasure of such value that we should disregard everything to seek His kingdom.

The traveler and the merchant represent lost mankind. The treasure and the priceless pearl represent the kingdom.

There is another possible interpretation of these parables. Suppose the traveler and the merchant represent God and the treasure and the pearl represent lost mankind. When God found us, “then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has…” (Matthew 13:44). He looked at our brokenness, our scars, our pain, our filth … and saw a great treasure, a treasure worth the pain of Calvary’s cross!

“… think on these things” (Philippians 4:8, KJV).