The Value of the Kingdom (Matthew 13:44-52)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Being a child of the 90’s, TGIF on ABC was a big deal with it’s family line up of shows. One of those shows was a show called Family Matters featuring Jaleel White as none other than Steve Urkel. Family Matters focused on a family, the husband Carl who was a cop, his wife Harriet, their three kids: Eddie, Laura, and Judy; along with Harriets sister Rachel and her son Richie, along with Carl’s mother Estelle. Then of course their is the neighbor Steve Urkel.
But in one episode, it dives into a bit of history of the family. The grandmother, Estelle has a quilt that is 100’s of years old. The quilt is part of the family’s history where each generation has sown a piece of cloth into the quilt to help tell the family’s story. However, during a garage sale, Laura can’t turn down an overwhelming offer and sales the quilt, because she did not know that story and the true value of the quilt.
Thankfully Carl and Laura track down the quilt and are finally able to convince the lady who purchased it that it was a mistake to allow the quilt to be sold and they are able to get the quilt back. Laura then learns the story of the quilt and sees the surpassing worth of this quilt, that it is priceless and worth far more than the money she had been offered for it.
When we understand the true value of items, we begin to see them differently and treasure them a bit more. It is this understanding of value that I want to talk to us about this morning as we return to Matthew 13. (Page #973 in Pew Bible).
In the writing of the gospel account from his perspective, Matthew has continually put forward the things of the Kingdom of Heaven. From the start of Jesus’ public ministry in saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). To make a distinction between the least and the greatest in the kingdom based on if they relaxed the commandments of old. As well as telling that blessed are the poor in spirit and those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3,10). Then Matthew told us who Jesus said would enter the kingdom of heaven, “It is those who enter the narrow gate and do the will of Jesus’ Father in heaven (Matthew 7:13, 21). Yet, we also have learned that the kingdom has suffered violence. Matthew 11:12 “12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.”
It is this last part that Jesus has spent most of Matthew 13 laboring to show how this violence will not always be so, the kingdom will grow and thrive and those who do it violence will in the end be separated, but not until then. Jesus teaches his disciples what to expect as the kingdom of heaven is ushered in. But he is not done, Jesus continues to teach in parables, allowing the word to divide those with ears to hear and believe and those who do not. And so, he turns now to the value of the Kingdom. (Read Matthew 13:44-52).
Main Idea: The surpassing worth of the kingdom of heaven is greater than all the treasures of the world. Therefore, if you truly understand that, you will joyfully forsake all to obtain it and share it with others.
The Surpassing Worth (of the Kingdom)
The Coming Separation (of the Kingdom)
The Needed Understanding (of the Kingdom)
1. The Surpassing Worth (of the Kingdom)
1. The Surpassing Worth (of the Kingdom)
The Parables of Jesus continue. Two more parables come in verses 44-46 that proclaim the surpassing worth of the kingdom of heaven. As we prepare to re-read these verses, notice that there is much similarity between the two parables, yet there is one difference. We read there in verses 44-46…
In the parable of the hidden treasure, there in verse 44, the man stumbles upon hidden treasure while not searching for it. For it is not as if the man is a pirate hunting for buried treasure. He is likely a servant, a field worker working in a field and finds this treasure that has long been forgotten or lost by accident, and yet, he understands its value. He then re-buries the treasure until he can go and sell all he has to purchase the field that the treasure is in and gain rightful ownership to the kingdom.
Now, there are ethical questions that pop up into people’s minds as if this was right or not. Shouldn’t the man have told the owner about the treasure, etc. But much of that would be speculation. And the purpose of the parable is not to get into the ethics of buying a field with buried treasure. The purpose of the parable is that a man when stumbling onto something so valuable will lose everything else to gain that which is more valuable.
The second parable, there in verses 45-46, of the merchant shows one not stumbling upon treasure, but searching for it. The merchant was searching for fine pearls and came across not many pearls but one pearl of great value. And in his searching, he realized the value of the pearl and he too went and sold all that he had, likely even other pearls, in order to buy the great pearl of great value.
You see, in both parables, the result is the same. The hidden treasure and the great pearl are both seen as of such great value, one is willing to go and sell all that they have in order to purchase these items. They see that they are worth losing everything else in order to gain.
The only difference is that one was searching and the other was not. That means you may be searching for religious things or not this morning, and it makes no difference. What is at stake here is that you see the treasure and the value of the kingdom of heaven and that it is worth losing everything else. For that is the point of these two parables, the kingdom of heaven is worth losing everything else.
Why does this matter that the kingdom of heaven be seen as so valuable? Well, for starters, the context before and after in Matthew’s gospel shows increasing opposition against Jesus and the kingdom. If disciples of Jesus are then to follow him and the ways of the kingdom, they must see that the kingdom of heaven is worth suffering for. If the kingdom of heaven is not seen as valuable, they will not be willing to endure the suffering that lays ahead.
The same is true for you and I. If we do not see that the kingdom of heaven is more valuable than our comfort, safety, and pleasures of this world, we will not be willing to take up our crosses and follow Jesus. We will not be willing to forsake the things of this world and follow Jesus. We must see that the things of the kingdom are more valuable.
Likewise, unless the things of the kingdom of heaven are seen to be more valuable than the love of our sin, we will refuse to kill sin in our lives. For we will prefer the pleasures of our sin more than we do the things of God. For we will either love the kingdom or love our sin based on what we value most. In fact, this is a core root of many of our sin struggles. It is a valuing of self, pleasures, desires more than we do the things of God and his kingdom. Our lusts are our driving force rather than our fear of God. Beloved, consider the sin that you are currently treasuring more than you do the kingdom of heaven and stop. Stop giving it more value than you do God. “Kill sin lest sin be killing you” to quote John Owen.
We must come to understand and see the value of the kingdom of heaven over the things of this world and the sin if we are to faithfully follow Christ. But maybe our struggle is to actually see how the kingdom of heaven is more valuable.
Remember what the kingdom of heaven is. The kingdom of heaven is God’s sovereign rule and reign over his creation that was previously rejected, but is now being restored through the Beloved Son Jesus and his redemptive work. The rule and reign is both already and not-yet. That is, it is both presently at work through Christ and his bride, the church. It is also not-yet in that it is a future hope that is culminated in the bringing of a new heavens and earth that comes in Christ Jesus’ second coming.
Therefore, with this dual coming of God’s sovereign reign of redemption in Jesus, the kingdom of heaven is valuable in that it makes new what has been broken by sin and death. Every form of evil exists because sin entered the world. From the day Adam and Eve ate in the garden, sin has reigned with its full effect, along with death. But as the kingdom of heaven comes in King Jesus, the kingdom of darkness is pushed back as Jesus comes to overturn the curse of sin and restore all things to their very good beginning.
This is made visible in Jesus’ authority to heal disease, cast out demons, calm the wind and the sea. All things are being slowly returned to their rightful order and place. And in the fullness of the coming kingdom, all things will be made new where sin and death will no longer exist and every tear will be wiped away. This is the goodness that comes with the kingdom of heaven. This is why the kingdom of heaven is so valuable.
Likewise with the kingdom of heaven comes reconciliation. First between God and man. Man no longer must remain outside the most holy place of the temple, but is now welcomed in and will live because of Jesus. We get God in the coming of the kingdom of heaven.
The kingdom of heaven is truly a beautiful treasure worth having. We should then see that it is worth losing everything else to gain. Not that we can purchase the kingdom of heaven, no. The kingdom of heaven comes as a free gift to all who come to Jesus and trust in him! Jesus came to usher in the kingdom by his substitutionary death on the cross, dying in our stead. All we need to do is acknowledge our need in him. For as is said earlier in Matthew, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God” (Matthew 5:3).
The kingdom of heaven is not bought, it is given by the acknowledgment of our poverty and our need of such a redemption that only the Son of God could rescue us!
This is the kingdom of heaven in all its beauty and value! The only question is will we truly see how much more beautiful such a kingdom is? Will we prefer this kingdom over all else? Will we follow the steps of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians where he says:
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
Brothers and sisters in Christ, see that King Jesus and his kingdom is worth more than anything else and continue following him! And you who have not yet received Christ. You may think their are other treasures in this world at this moment, but know those treasures will fade and fail you. There is nothing more valuable than the kingdom of heaven. For apart from the kingdom there is corruption and death. The choice is yours, but know that judgment and separation is coming. That brings us to our second point this morning.
2. The Coming Separation (of the Kingdom)
2. The Coming Separation (of the Kingdom)
Look there with me at the next parable, v.47-50…
This parable is very similar to that which we looked at last week in the parable of the weeds. But instead of using weeds to teach about coming separation, an even more familiar illustration of fishing would be used. Jesus here continues to work around the Galilean area which of course has the Sea of Galilee. And so, the people would be even more familiar with this imagery.
The picture is of fishermen in a boat upon the sea taking in a great catch and drawing it in once their nets were full. But upon arriving at shore, there was a well known time of separation of the fish. The good will be kept and stored, but the bad fish, which are good for nothing, will be tossed away.
Jesus does give interpretation for this we see as he says this is the separation by the angels at the end of the age under the authority of the King. A separation of the evil and the righteous.
Of course again who are the evil and the righteous? None is righteous from their own deeds. For our best works are nothing more than filthy rags. We all have fallen short of the glory of God. Therefore the righteous are not those who achieved righteousness by their own lives. Again, they are those who have seen the supreme worth of Jesus and trusted in him and him alone for their salvation. These are the righteous who have received the righteousness of Jesus by their faith.
But the evil are all who have rejected Jesus and the kingdom of heaven that comes through him. One might be tempted to say that surely not all who rejected Jesus are evil. Yet friend, all are evil to reject their creator and his very good beginning. All are evil to reject the one who himself alone defines what is truly good and evil. Who are we to define what is good and evil? We are the clay, he is the potter and he alone then has the authority to make such judgment.
However, it is not as if God has left this a mystery. He has made plain about such coming judgments for all who reject his Beloved Son, Jesus. These are those who will be cast out into the fiery furnace where weeping and gnashing of teeth will remain for all eternity. Beware the consequences of your actions! Hear today this warning and repent of your ways and come to Jesus and believe before it is too late!
3. The Needed Understanding (of the Kingdom)
3. The Needed Understanding (of the Kingdom)
Jesus coming to the end of this third section of teaching, asks his disciples if they have understood it all, v.51…
The disciples answer yes, and Jesus does not rebuke them here of such. Therefore, though we know the disciples are still going to struggle, we need to take their response like Jesus does, and presume that they have understood these moments of teaching at least in a sufficient way.
This is good news for us too as we seek to understand the things of the kingdom. Though we may still struggle and be ignorant in some areas, there is a sufficient understanding of the kingdom that still can be had. That should encourage us in our paths of discipleship as we continue to seek to grow in the knowledge and understanding of our Triune God and his ways of godly living.
But having understood, Jesus adds one final thing, v.52…
This language of old and new treasure is pointing back to the Sermon on the mount, where Jesus tells them he has not come to destroy the old, but to fulfill it. His teachings have continued to unfold this reality. With the kingdom of heaven there is both an old element of the old covenant, that of the Old Testament and it is important to treasure this. For as Christ continues to make clear, all in the Old points to him! The old law is not to be neglected, but treasured! But at the same time, a new has come in Jesus bringing greater fulfillment and understanding, and this too is to be treasured up and understood.
There is a phrase that many have used throughout Christianity in saying we are New Testament Christians. But beloved, lets not simply fall into that same danger. The Bible, both old and new, points us to Jesus! They tell God’s full story of redemption that culminates in Christ our King! And that is worth delighting in both the new and the old!
But that delight is not the only application for us here. Notice in v.52 how Jesus says every scribe has been trained for the kingdom of heaven. Jesus here is not talking about the scribes who have been opposing him. He is talking about his disciples being trained as scribes of the kingdom. They are being trained to understand these things for a purpose. For the purpose of teaching others the things of the kingdom.
As disciples of Jesus, we are not merely to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn all we can for our own sake. We are to be as scribes, growing deeper in the understanding of the things of God’s kingdom in order to go and teach others the things of the kingdom.
But this teaching is not to be delayed until we have some mastery ourselves. For instance, a number of years ago, I encouraged a newer Christian who had lots of unbelieving and even younger believing friends to begin pointing them to Jesus! To be sharing the gospel with those unbelieving friends so that they could hear and believe. But at the same time to be encouraging and teaching those others who had come to belief. To begin discipling them! Disciples are to make other disciples of Jesus!
Christian, regardless of where you are in your walk with Jesus, you are to be pouring what you know into others, teaching them all that Christ has commanded (Matthew 28:20) so that they may be more fully equipped in the ways of Christ!
Conclusion
Conclusion
God’s kingdom is at work through the redemptive work of Jesus! But the fullness of its coming and rule still awaits until the Return of the King. Therefore as we await, there will continue to be troubles that lay before us. There will continue to be opposition against us. And if we are to endure, we must see the value of the kingdom and her king! We must see that the surpassing worth of King Jesus is far greater than all the things of this world. Let us then count all as loss and rubbish to make sure we gain Christ!
Let’s pray…
