Jesus’ Parables in Chronological Order

Four Kingdom of Heaven Parables

Before we continue let’s just look once again at the series we are doing at the moment namely the Parables of Jesus

Jesus could have just come out and spoken the truth by just teaching the people. …He could have just stated the truth in one or two sentences, but he chose not to communicate that way. …Most of the time, he chose to package the truth in the form of a story, in the form of narrative, in the form of a parable. …He would tell a story alongside the essential part of truth that He was about to explain,ultimately the truth is amplified.……The impact and the power of that truth hits much harder in the heart than it would have if he had simply spoken the truth .

The parables that Jesus told were simply metaphor or images drawn from nature or from everyday life, and because of its clarity or strangeness would leave sufficient doubt in the mind of the whoever is listening to actively think about it .” …In other words, it makes you think! …With truth, maybe you can just accept it and move on without allowing it to penetrate your heart. ……You have to wrestle with these things! …With the parables the truth is not always that apparent. …It is as if you would want to ask “Now, what exactly are you getting at here, Jesus?

Is it this point, or is it that point?”…With every single parable, we are drawn orforced into the story. It forces your mind into gear to make a decision. …Ultimately our decision would point back to Jesus Christ every time.

You see, with some ancient near-eastern teachers, the teachings could be separated from the person. …With Jesus, you cannot do that.

To understand Jesus, you have to understand the essential part of truth of his parables. About one-third of everything he spoke was in the form of a parable or story.

…An old pastor told me a long time ago: “The parables are not merely clever stories, but proclamations of the gospel inviting a decision.” …After hearing it you must almost decide every time by asking “What am I going to do with Jesus?”…His parables were not justcleverly devised stories, but convictions that force us to make decisions.

Jesus spoke in parables to reveal his identity.

Here is a statement:

“Truth embodied in a tale shall enter in at ordinary doors.”

Or as someone once said :“When you preach, especially to young children, make sure you put the cookies on the bottom shelf.”

In other words, put it at a level where they can grasp it and parables do that. …They reveal Jesus in very simple terms “in terms that we can follow.

Stories capture your attention and interest, all the way to the end. The cookies are put on the bottom shelf so to speak. …That is why Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matt 13:9).

This morning we will continue examining the parables of Jesus concerning the “kingdom of heaven.” These are two of Jesus’ real short parables.

We will be looking at the Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl.

And hopefully at the end you may ask yourself “What is it worth to me? …

I believe that is the question Jesus is asking with both of these two parables.

They are back to back in Matthew 13.Two parables in only three verses.Matthew is the only author who included these two parables of Jesus.

We are going to look at two places where he compares the kingdom of heaven to something.…

Parable #16 — Matthew 13:44 — Hidden Treasure…44 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.…Parable #17 — Matthew 13:45-46 — Fine Pearl…45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. 46 When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!

…Jesus had just finished explaining to the disciples the meaning of theParable of the Wheat and the Tares, where He expressed truths about the kingdom in three pairs of parables inMatt 13:

If you can recall …TheSeed and the sower(v. 3-23) together with

The weeds in the field (v. 24-30);

The mustard seed(v. 31-32) and the leaven (v. 33);

The third pair that explains the Kingdom is the parables of …The hidden treasure (v. 44) & the pearl of great price (v. 45-46).…I mentioned before Jesus often told parables in pairs to make His point

…“What is the meaning of the Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price?”…1. According to John MacArthur, a good title would be “The Incomparable Value of the Kingdom.”

2. People frequently buried their valuables in Jesus’ day. The man in this firstparable was perhaps a laborer plowing a field when he discovered a buriedtreasure, say a bag of gold coins.

The Jewish rabbinic law said that “if a man finds scattered fruit, scattered money…these belong to the finder.” So the man was actually very ethical about his discovery. He could have simply taken the bag when he found it, but he didn’t. Instead, he went through all the trouble of buying the field. Also note, the treasure that was hidden in the field did not belong to the man who owned the field. If he had owned it, he wouldn’t have sold the field without digging up the treasure. He didn’t know it was there so he wasn’t being swindled..

3. The point of the parable is this: a man found something so valuable that he sold everything he had in order to get it. He was so ecstatic about finding the treasure that he was willing to do whatever he needed to acquire it (honestly and legally).

5. A. Priceless, incomparable value. Nothing comes close in value. Christ and His Kingdom are a treasure that is rich beyond comparison: it is incorruptible,

undefiled, and eternal.…B. The treasure in Matthew 13:44 was hidden; it wasn’t lying on the surface of the ground. The merchant had to search for the pearl. In the same way, the value of salvation is not apparent to most people. The world looks at Christians and doesn’t understand why they worship God and why they help others.

C. Each of the men in the two parables finds something that he personally

appropriates and makes his own. That shows us that you can be under the

dominion of God (everyone is) but not be a member of His Kingdom.

Before a person can personally appropriate the Kingdom, he must come to the point where he sees the value of the Kingdom. God has offered something of true value to men, yet it is incredible the extremes people go to acquire things that are worthless in the long run.

D. In verse 44, we find that the man’s response to finding the treasure was one of joy. People want to experience joy. You can find true joy by discovering the Kingdom of heaven and the Lord Jesus Christ.

E. There is one big difference between the two parables: In the parable of the hidden treasure, the man made his find by accident. In the parable of the pearl, the man was searching for pearls when he found the one of great value. One was stumbling, one was seeking, but both found the kingdom. God provides a way for everyone.

F. The kingdom is made personal by a transition. There is a transaction made toacquire salvation, but it is not with money or good works.

The transaction is this:

You give up all you have for all He has.

 

The similarities of these two short parables are there and they teach the same lesson, thatthe kingdom of heaven is of enormous value.

Both parables involve a man who sold all he had to possess it.

The treasure and the pearl represent Jesus Christ and the salvation He offers.

And while we cannot pay for salvation by selling all our worldly goods, we are willing to give up everything to possess it.

Now that we have found it.

But what we get in exchange is so much more valuable that Paul compares it with trading an ounce of worthless trash for a ton of diamonds Philippians 3:7-9…7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.[a] For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith…

In both parables, the treasures are hidden, indicating that spiritual truth is missed by many and cannot be found by intelligence or power or worldly wisdom.

Matthew 13:11-17

11 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets[a] of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. 12 To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. 13 That is why I use these parables,…For they look, but they don’t really see. …They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.…14 This fulfils the prophecy of Isaiah that says,…‘When you hear what I say,  you will not understand.…When you see what I do, you will not comprehend.…15 For the hearts of these people are hardened,…and their ears cannot hear,and they have closed their eyes—…so their eyes cannot see,and their ears cannot hear,…and their hearts cannot understand,and they cannot turn to meand let me heal them.’[]…This comes from the Greek version written in Old Testament  Let me read it to you from the Old TestamentIsa 6:9-10…9 And he said, “Yes, go, and say to this people,‘Listen carefully, but do not understand.Watch closely, but learn nothing.’…10 Harden the hearts of these people.Plug their ears and shut their eyes.That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears,nor understand with their hearts and turn to me for healing.”…Lets continue from verse 16 ofMatthew 13…16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.…And Paul wrote to the Corinthiansas well:…1 Corinthians 2:7-8,14

7 No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God[a]—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. 8 But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord………… 14 But people who aren’t spiritual(meaning those who don’t have the Spirit or the Greek says those who have only physical life) can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.

These two passages from Scripture make it clear that the mysteries of the kingdom are hidden from some who are unable to hear, see, and comprehend these truths.

The disobedient reap the natural consequences of their unbelief and spiritual blindness.

Those whose eyes are opened by the Spirit can discern spiritual truth, and they, like the men in the parable, understand its great value.…Notice that the merchant stopped seeking pearls when he found the pearl of great price.

Eternal life, the incorruptible inheritance, and the love of God through Christ constitute the pearl which, once found, makes further searching unnecessary.

Christ fulfills our greatest needs, satisfies our longings, makes us whole and clean before God, He calms and quiets our hearts, and gives us hope for the future.

The “great price,” of course, is that which was paid by Christ for our redemption.

He emptied Himself of His glory, came to earth in the form of a lowly man and shed His precious blood on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.……Jesus says in the one parable ,“’The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a field, that a person found and hid. Then because of joy he went and sold all that he had and bought that field.’”…Lets look at it realistically:…This study got me so involved that it almost ended up as a sermon .…Here is someone who is walking along through a field.

We do not know whether he is trespassing, or maybe taking a short cut.

We do not know what he is doing in this field.

We do not know why he is digging in someone else’s field, maybe he saw something sticking out of the ground but, nevertheless, he finds treasure in a field that he does not own. Instead of stealing the treasure, he puts it back and covers it up! …He says to himself, “I am going to go empty out my bank account. put my house on the market. Sell everything else I have, and I am going to go purchase this land that I do not own because I want the treasure that is hidden there.”

At the end of the day, he is left with nothing.

That is the point. He has given up everything he has for the treasure.

Then again we read verses 45-46, of next parable. 45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. 46 When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!

Again, the same most important part of truth around which this story is cast: he gives up everything and is left with nothing.

At the end of the day, he has emptied his bank account, He has sold his car, his house and anything else that he holds precious.

He is left with nothing, but he has a pearl.

So, we ask the question what’s it worth to you?

 

Let take a look at the kingdom of heaven, or the kingdom of God, for just a minute. …We are going to be seeing this all throughout the whole series of parables. …Often in a parable, Jesus is describing a component of the kingdom of heaven, or the kingdom of God, so what is this kingdom?

First of all, “the kingdom of heaven” and “the kingdom of God” are two different ways of saying the same thing.

For the purpose of this series, we are not always going to show a distinction between those two.

Matthew prefers the term “kingdom of heaven.”

Other authors prefer the term “kingdom of God.”

But they are exactly the same, but what is this kingdom? …What is this precious, valuable kingdom that people would give up everything they have in order to get it?

Is it a kingdom that is still future, that we have no part in yet, but are holding out and waiting for? or

Is it a present reality today because the King has come?

The answer is, “Yes!” Both are true.

There is still for us a future kingdom, a literal thousand-year millennial reign of Jesus Christ.

When we, the church, will reign with Him over Israel.

The promises that were given to Israel in the Old Testament that have not yet been fulfilled,will ultimately be fulfilled for them.

There is a future kingdom.

Jesus Christ will be reigning on the earth. His feet will be touching the ground and he will be our King for a thousand years.

But there is also a present kingdom.

That kingdom has been, inaugurate already. The King has arrived.

It will find its ultimate fulfillment in the thousand-year reign, but, the King has come! He arrived inliving form.

He has already set his feet on the ground one time.

Jesus himself said, “The kingdom of God is upon you,” or, “The kingdom has come near.”

What he was saying is, “I am the King. The kingdom is wherever I am, and I have arrived on the earth.”

In the first coming of Jesus Christ, he establishedHis kingdom. You and I are members of the kingdom of heaven here on earth (the kingdom of God here on earth) because we have pledged allegiance to the King.

When we have pledged allegiance to the King that makes us members of his kingdom.

Even here, this morning we as believers , we can say that the kingdom of God has been inaugurated on earth, here with us because we are part of the King.

It involves salvation.

It involves a relationship with the King.

It involves being a part of a believing community, being part of this kingdom which is ruled over by the Sovereign King.

That is what the kingdom of heaven is.

That is what this hidden treasure is.

That is what the pearl of great price is.

They are valuable because they represent our salvation “our very relationship with God through Jesus Christ and the privilege we have of being members of this community.

For us, it is a free gift, completely free, it costs us nothing.

 

We accept his offer and took it. …When you said My Savior,

I want to be part of the kingdom!

I have nothing to offer, but you requires nothing of me!

I embrace you Jesus Christ as my Savior. It did not anything.

Just because it did not cost anything does not mean it is not worth anything ?

It did not cost me anything, sure , but that does not mean that it did not cost someone else something!

Maybe if our salvation were not free!

Maybe if it did cost us something or that we would have to give up something in order to enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ we would feel that we deserve it.

But our salvation is not freeSalvation is freely offered to us, but it cost God a lot! It cost God his only Son, and he stood and watched his Son dying on the cross for us.

It was not free to Jesus Christ He agreed to be sacrificed for us! It cost them both dearly! This sacrifice of love from God the Father and the Son .

Jim Elliott said, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

How much do we treasure our salvation?

Are we willing to give up everything for the kingdom of heaven?

Are we willing to sell out everything for him?

We can look at the two parables and say:

Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field.

For the sake of it, a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy, for which the merchant will sell all his goods.

It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble.

It is the call of Jesus Christ at which a disciple leaves his nets and follows him.

Costly grace is the gospel, which must be sought after again and again “the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.

Such grace is costly, because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ.

It is costly because it costs Him his life,

And it is grace because it gives us the only true life.

It is costly because it condemns sin, and it is grace because it justifies the sinner.

Butbecause it cost God the life of his Son.It cannot be cheap . Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life.,

Salvation cost me nothing, but does that mean it is worth nothing?

We sang a song this morning that says, “I’ll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross.”

It is putting us in the shoes of the Father just for a moment to comprehend how it must have felt,! That is costly grace, to see your Son on that cross, bearing our sin penalty, so that you could scratch out the price tag and give it to us freely.

I’ll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross.”

What’s it worth to you?

That is what this parable does.

Even though it’s a story.

Jesus could have just toldl us the truth in a simple nugget, in one or two sentences, but he puts it in a beautiful descriptive picture.

He tells a story alongside that essential truth, and it amplifies it.

It makes us come to a decision, a realization right now: what are you going to do with Jesus Christ?

What’s it worth to you?

We all love the parables. They are simultaneously rich in depth and content, and simple to understand. I love the way and are great full that Jesus decided to use parables as a means of communicating God’s truth to us.

He doesn’t pull any punches with parables, but aims these powerful stories directly at our hearts.

What a privilege it is to sit at his feet and learn from him how we should live.

Even though it was told 2,000 years ago

 

1. What could the topic of Parables #16 and #17 be entitled?

2. Was the man who found the treasure behaving unethically by doing what he did? Why or why not?

3. What is the main point of the Hidden Treasure parable?

4. Pearls are mentioned only five other times in the Bible.

What were they regarded as?

Matthew 7:6

6 “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy, (Don’t give the sacred to dogs.) Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.

Revelation 17:4

4 The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious gems and pearls.

In her hand she held a gold goblet full of obscenities and the impurities of her immorality.

Revelation 18:12

12 She bought great quantities of gold, silver, jewels, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet cloth; ……

Revelation 18:16

16 “How terrible, how terrible for that great city!  She was clothed in finest purple and scarlet linens, decked out with gold and precious stones and pearls!

Revelation 21:21

21 The twelve gates were made of pearls—each gate from a single pearl!

And the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass.

5. In these two parables, we can learn six principles about the kingdom of heaven.

A. What is its value?

B. that is not casually or easily seen?

C. How is the kingdom seized and made your own?

(Crux of these parables)

D. How does the kingdom relate to joy?

E. Does everyone enter the kingdom under the same circumstances?

F. How is the kingdom made personal?

Luke 9:57-62…The Cost of Following Jesus

57 As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”…58 But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”…59 He said to another person, “Come, follow me.”…The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”…60 But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead![a] Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.”…61 Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.”…62 But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

Matt 10:37-39

37 “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.38 If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. 39 If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.

Matt 16:24

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.

…Our responsibility now is to guard our treasure, defend the treasure,show the world our treasure and seek the kingdom more and more and that is by telling people about it, in order for them to find the treasure of the kingdom as wll.