Bradley Tibbs

Nov15, 2000

Dr. Lyons

BL425

The Hidden Treasure and the Valuable Pearl

 The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pear ls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.  (Matthew 13:44-46)

           Setting

          Matthew’s is the only Gospel that preserved the parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price.  The parables are placed after the explanation of the parable of the weeds in the field (13:39-43).  Verses 44-46 make up the first two parts of a triad of parables about the kingdom of heaven, the third compares the kingdom to situation of fishermen using a net to bring in a catch of fish, saving the good ones and throwing the bad ones away.  Verses 44-52 were clearly composed as a unit.  The recurrence of the introduction, “The kingdom of heaven is like …” and the concluding use of the word “treasure,” which introduced the first parable, “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure” (SOJ 196). 

          The parable of the treasure apparently was intended to be interpreted along with the parable of the pearl.  Each contains brief information to prove a single point.  Though the situations of the two parables imply different lessons, taken together, they illustrate Jesus’ point regarding the profound significance of the kingdom.

          Exegesis

          It was common for treasures to be stored under the ground during the period of Jesus’ earthly ministry.  The logic of the story presumes that the treasure hidden in the field was not hidden by its present owner.  We might conclude that it was buried in land inherited by a son whose father failed to tell him about the treasure.  The parable tells us nothing about who found the treasure, identifying him simply as “a man” in most translations.  The parable raises more questions than it answers. How probable was it that this event should occur to this individual?  How did he find it?  Perhaps he was close to the family and knew about the treasure.  Perhaps he was simply “treasure hunting.”  What are the odds that he would randomly dig up the ground and find a buried treasure?  Why, if he were looking for treasure, did he not just take it when he found it?  Why did he, instead, hide it again?  The questions become moral issues now — what was he doing on another's property, which allowed him to find this treasure?    We simply don’t know, since the parable does not tell us. So these are obviously not the point of the parable.

        Jesus demonstrates something about finding the kingdom by telling this preposterous tale of a man who finds buried treasure, and once he does, nothing else matters to him except getting that treasure.  The method of his discovery is irrelevant.  He found the treasure.  The question, then for him, was what would he have to do to take possession of it?        Rabbinic law declared that, if a lost treasure was found, the finder was its rightful owner.  So, the lucky man went and sold all his possessions in order to buy the field.

          The accompanying parable that follows is of a merchant who finds the uniquely valuable pearl. It is similar to the first in its purpose.  The business transaction in this instance does not raise any moral questions.  The pearl merchant is searching for fine pearls, and when he finds the greatest pearl he’s ever seen, he trades everything he has in order to buy this one pearl.  This story is perhaps more curious than the first.  How will the merchant make a living if his only asset is the one pearl he doesn’t want to sell?  Again, this is apparently not the point of the parable.  

           In both parables, ordinary men, who were not especially wealthy, came across something so great, they immediately traded everything they had to possess it.  Their discovery brought them immense joy.  This is a lesson on discipleship — it is necessary to surrender everything in order to find the joy of the kingdom of heaven.  

          Application

          The decisions Jesus is looking for is a decision of a lifetime.  It is like a college freshman girl who came to NNU, still a little wet behind the ears.  She wasn’t sure what to study, but it didn’t matter when she came face to face with Michael T., the most gorgeous senior on campus.  She canceled all her other dates, dropped all her classes and signed up for those he was enrolled in. She sacrificed doing her homework for going out on dates with him.  Then Michael T. married that girl.  

        The parables of the treasure and the pearl do not give instructions for Christian living.  They deal with the abstract idea of the importance of the kingdom and obtaining it at any cost.  Perhaps the use of concrete objects and events to illustrate an intangible concept such as the kingdom is deliberate.  It would be more dangerous to try to conceptualize and illustrate the kingdom in a finite, logical way.  The kingdom surpasses human understanding.  Still, it is something, Jesus says, can be ours if we search for it.  

        People are born with a physical hunger and thirst for nourishment.  It keeps us alive.  Similarly, people crave more specific things, as Charles Maslow theorized in his hierarchy of needs.  

        Jesus seems to convey the message to us that when it comes to the most important thing, don’t miss it for the world.  Do everything necessary to make sure that you get in.  Christian education here has no place.  Jesus does not ask us simply to serve and be courteous to others.  As sinners we must abandon everything in order to obtain the kingdom of heaven — bottom line.