“Buried Treasures”
(Matthew 13:44-50)
The Greenhouse ~ 8th Sunday after Trinity
One of the more important and difficult aspects of biblical interpretation is reading any particular passage in its historical and literary context. For example, the historical context means that we read something like the farming parables of the past two weeks in terms of first century Middle Eastern farming practices and not 21st century American farming practices. If we think of tilling the field with a giant tractor or sowing seed with a seed spreader, we won’t get to the heart of Jesus’ message because we have read our modern understandings incorrectly into the historical context.
Likewise, the literary context proves important in proper understanding. For example, our tendency may be to take any one of Jesus’ parables, pull them out of the literary context in which they are recorded, and study them in isolation. In most cases, we will come much closer to the meaning of a parable in this approach then we would in missing the historical context, but we still find ourselves missing key information. Our passage today, Matthew 13:44-50, is one such example where the literary context in which these three parables are found will provide helpful context for getting to the heart of the meaning of the kingdom of heaven.
The parables of the treasure hidden in the field, the pearl of great price, and the net all provide individual insight into the kingdom of heaven, but a close look at the literary context will provide us with a deeper level of understanding of this kingdom. First, we will look at each parable individually, then we will consider how the literary context provides us with this deeper understanding.
The Parable of the Treasure Hidden in the Field
The first parable we encounter in this section is an account of a man who finds a treasure, reburies it, then sells all he has to buy the field. One of the more striking notes of this passage is the inclusion of the word “joy.” This is not a mere business transaction, a cold, calculated fiscal decision; this man sells everything he has in joy because of the surpassing value of the treasure he has found. If we push the financial benefit here, however, we miss the point of the parable. To begin, we are not told that the treasure is more valuable monetarily than what he sells and buys. We could conceive of many people who value certain artwork at a much higher financial sacrifice than others. One might pay hundreds of dollars to attend a concert or sporting event that another would happily miss. Sometimes treasure to one is not treasure to another. So, we must be careful not to mistake this parable as some kind of proverb about good investing. Rather, we are meant to see in this parable three things. First, the man rightly recognizes what he finds as valuable treasure. Though some may miss its value, he sees it as something of surpassing value. Second, his response is to sell everything else and buy that field. The ability to possess the treasure is worth more than all that he currently possesses, both in reality and potentiality. Whatever he has now is gladly given up for the sake of this one treasure. Third, he does all this in joy. He does not act under duty, in accordance with a law, or under coercion. He freely and joyfully gives all for this treasure.
The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price
The parable of the priceless pearl appears remarkably similar, and indeed, in many ways it is. Again we have a treasure, again the man sells all, and again the man buys the right to the treasure. In this parable, we do not get the repetition of the word joy, but we do get the addition of the phrase “in search of.” The merchant in this case does not stumble upon a treasure; rather, he goes out looking for, in search of, fine pearls. He knows the value of fine pearls and seeks it. Likewise, the kingdom of heaven is something that is found not merely by accident, but by the one who is in search of it, the one who seeks after it. The kingdom of heaven is not the only kingdom competing for our allegiance. We may set out seeking for something worthy of our lives, but only the kingdom of heaven is of such surpassing, immeasurable, priceless value that it warrants selling all to possess it. Thus, despite some minor differences, the message of the buried treasure and the priceless pearl both point to something worthy of our lives, worthy of our free and joyful sacrifice of everything else so we can receive the kingdom of heaven.
The Parable of the Net
The parable of the net, unlike these previous two, changes the focus from a treasure we discover to a sifting between good and bad. The use of a net in fishing is a great way to capture fish indiscriminately. The net captures all kinds of fish, debris, vegetation, and more in its scope. The net itself doesn’t sift out what it wants and what it doesn’t. Rather, this is the job of the fishermen after the net has been drawn back. In this parable, the fishermen gather up the net and then sit on the shore sifting, sorting out the good fish from the bad. The good fish are gathered into containers, but the bad fish are thrown out. In like manner, Jesus says, on the day of judgment the angels will cast a net and bring both good and worthless people to the shore to be sifted. The good will inherit the kingdom of heaven, whereas the worthless will be thrown out for judgment. Like the parables of the wheat and the weeds, there is a coming day of judgment where the righteous and unrighteous will be sorted out for judgment. Until that day, however, the two live alongside one another.
Literary Context
Here is where the literary context proves so helpful. We have already seen some patterns in Matthew 13. For example, Jesus tells a parable (the parable of the soils), then gives an interlude about the purpose of parables, then returns to explain to his disciples the meaning of the parable. He repeats this cycle with the parable of the wheat and the weeds, telling the parable, then having an interlude about how he only spoke to them in parables, then explaining to his disciples the meaning of the parable. A second literary feature is employed here as well, one commonly called inclusio. Inclusio is a bracketing technique in which the first and last things are closely parallel, helping to bracket and provide an interpretive lens for what comes in between. For example, Psalm 8 begins and ends with the phrase, “O LORD, our LORD, how majestic is your name in all the earth,” helping us understand that all of the psalm should be interpreted in light of the the Lord’s majestic name. Jesus uses this technique earlier in Matthew during his Sermon on the Mount. The beatitudes begin and end (5:3, 10) with the promise that “the kingdom of heaven is theirs,” suggesting that all of the blessings mentioned in verses 4-9 should be interpreted in light of this kingdom promise. So, too, we find an example of a bracketing technique in the parables. The parable of the weeds and the parable of the net both tell very similar stories about a future sorting between the righteous and the wicked, with the righteous receiving the kingdom and the wicked receiving judgment. The suggestion, then, is that the parables of mustard seed and leaven from last week’s passage and the parables of the treasure and pearl in this week’s passage should be interpreted in light of this future sifting.
But what is it telling us? I propose that Matthew has intentionally recorded the parables in this way so as to teach us two lessons about living between the times, between the inauguration of the kingdom in the past and the fulness of the kingdom to come after the day of judgment in the future. Last week’s two parables, the mustard seed and the leaven, taught us the importance of patient, hopeful expectation as we wait. This week’s two parables, the buried treasure and the pearl, teach us that the kingdom of God is worthy of all our allegiance, it is worth selling all that we have and cling to in this present life so that we can instead put all our hope in the treasure of the kingdom. The message of Jesus’ parables in Matthew 13 are not simply about the kingdom of heaven, but also prove to be about how we as kingdom people should live as kingdom citizens: patient, hopeful waiting and courageous, sacrificial commitment of all that we have to this treasure.
In the weeks to come, we will explore more of Jesus’ parables, this time as Luke records them in his gospel. As we do so, we must keep in mind historical and literary context, but we must also keep in mind the lessons we learned in Matthew 13 about the purpose of the parables and the two-fold call to hopeful, patient expectation and sacrificial, all-encompassing allegiance to this coming kingdom. May God teach us each day about the joy of this kingdom and the life we should live now as kingdom people. Amen.
Discussion Questions
What things in the world compete with the kingdom of God for our allegiance, time, money, and, ultimately, our lives?
What does it look like in our context to sell all to buy the field or the pearl of the kingdom?
How would you define kingdom living?
After several weeks now in Matthew 13, what do you think are some challenges to becoming good soil for the seed of the kingdom?
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