Matthew 13:44
 

Matt. 13:44
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field."


In the context of these parables, what is the kingdom of heaven, and what is the treasure?


Is this possibly giving us two snapshots? One, how Christ gave his all for the Kingdom and secondly, how we must abandon all to follow Him?

Re: Matthew 13:44
 

In my opinion:
"the field is the world" (Matthew 13:38)
the treasure is the kingdom.
Jesus is the purchaser.
Jesus purchases the whole world (His death is enough for all humanity).
the kingdom is "in the world" but separate from the world, and actually hidden (not revealed) to the world.

Re: Matthew 13:44
 

But is not v 38 a different parable than 44 ?

The preceeding verse (37) indicates the sower (Son of man) had rights if not actual ownership in that field.

37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;

In 44 there was no preexisting ownership or rights to the field.

It appears to be a separate parable, related only by the lessons taught concerning the Kingdon of God/heaven.

Re: Matthew 13:44
 

My personal opinion on this scripture is this.

The man is any man, walking through life without any real soul searching going on.. just existing. But he stumbles upon a treasure, something he wasn't looking for, or expecting but something great, nonetheless. So he goes and sells all, gives up everything, just to buy that field and the great tresure he has found.
He stumbles upon Jesus, the Kingdom of heaven, the God he didn't even know he needed, but when he met him he realized he had been needing him all along.

Then there is another type of man.. the man who knows he needs something, knows he has an emptiness... and that man searches the earth over for this pearl of great price. And when he finds that pearl, he, like the man who buys the field for the treasure, sells all he has to buy that pearl.

Kind of like two types of people in this world... some know they need something, some don't realize.. but when they find the Lord, they will give all they have, to have Him!!!

That's my opinion.

Re: Matthew 13:44
 

yes, it is a separate parable.
but if a meaning is given one place or parable, why not assume it means the same thing in another parable?

for example, leaven is used in the parable in Matthew 13:33-34.
leaven has a connotation of evil in Mark 8:15.
couldn't leaven be a symbol of evil that a woman (false church) hid in the kingdom (visible church) until it was permeated by it?

Birds are used as symbols of evil/demons (Rev. 18:2) so couldn't the birds who sat in the mustard tree (Matthew 13:31-32) be evil spirits who have found a home in the (outward, visible) kingdom.

In my opinion, the kingdom means the reign of God, or the people who are under the kingship of Jesus. There is a kingdom within a kingdom. One kingdom would be the visible church world or Christendom. This would include all who claim to be Christians or who are considered Christians by the world in general. Within that outward kingdom is a core group of people who have been genuinely converted and have actually submitted themselves to Jesus as Lord and Sovereign (King).

Re: Matthew 13:44
 

Thanks for the input Sam. How do you feel about the next parable, Matthew 13:45-46?

46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

What is the pearl and who is purchasing it?

Re: Matthew 13:44
 

This seems to be the traditional take on this scripture...

Is it troublesome that this could almost indicate we can obtain God through a purchase?

Can we really give anything up and "sell" it to purchase a pearl of great value (salvation)? Or is the analogy simply that we must count all else as loss to pursue Christ?

The alternate view has the Son of God giving all He has (on the cross) to purchase the pearl (the salvation of mankind and the Kingdom).

Re: Matthew 13:44
 

I have now added a poll to this thread. Please vote the choice that best fits your view - I know there are some variations of these views, and you can clarify in a post.

Re: Matthew 13:44
 

Well, the Bible mentions buying the truth and selling it not... and Esau sold his birthright...

And then the parable doesn't fit if Jesus stumbles over the Kingdom...

Just thoughts

Re: Matthew 13:44
 

I believe the Purchaser is Jesus and the pearl is the Church.