Parables Part 12 - You Are God's Treasure
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” Matthew 13:44-46
Have you ever thought about the fact that you are God’s treasure? Are you wondering how I got to that statement from the parable we are talking about today? That’s ok, lets dive in and I will do my best to explain it. We know, from our past readings, that there is a rule of interpretation regarding parables known as parabolic constancy. That teaches us that the meaning attributed to certain objects in parables is constant throughout all the parables. Jesus taught us the meaning of many things in the parable of the sower and the parable of the weeds earlier in Matthew 13. Because of Jesus’ explanation we know that a field is a picture of the world in parables. That knowledge allows us to understand this parable.
The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, we are God’s Kingdom and the field is the world. When a man found that treasure, he gave everything in order to have it. The same rings true for the pearl of great price. Therefore, the meaning of this parable is clear. God gave everything He had to purchase the field so He could get the treasure. If we are the treasure and the world is the field then what did God give to gain the treasure? He gave His only Son on the cross to purchase us back to Himself. You see, He created us, but in sin we gave dominion of the earth over to the enemy. This is something Jesus did not argue about when he was being tempted by the devil in Matthew 4. Jesus came to redeem the world back to God, and through that offers us reconciliation back to God through His blood. Ephesians 2:14-18 says it this way,
“For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.”
Now, as we believe in God through Jesus Christ, placing our faith completely in Him for salvation, and forgiveness of sins, we have been reconciled to God, He has claimed us as His treasure out of the world that He purchased. Think on Ephesians 2:10 for a moment, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” The word workmanship in this verse can be translated poem, or masterpiece. We are God’s masterpiece, He treasures us, so much so that He gave His only Son to bring us to Himself. This is not some false notion of self-esteem, this is the truth of our value to God. He values us so highly that He willingly purchased us with the blood of His Son. I want you to know, and I often need to be reminded, that my value, my worth, is not found in what I do well or don’t do well, it’s not found in what other people think of me, it’s not found in the opinions of the world. No, my value is found in the price paid for me, in the blood of Jesus, and the Love of our Father who gave so much just so we could be His!
Image borrowed from Echomtg.com
