God’s Kingdom is Like…
We continue on in our God’s Kingdom is Like… series today with more from the Gospel of Matthew.
So far, we have lifted up the equity of God’s kingdom, the impossible hope of God’s kingdom, and the patient work God’s kingdom requires. Today, we turn our attention to something new: the value of God’s Kingdom.
He sold all he had and bought it.
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
Matthew 13:44-46
Commentary
This passage is short, but it’s packed with meaning and food for thought.
Following a series of parables about God’s kingdom in Matthew 13 (including many of the ones we’ve read), we receive this passage about the value of God’s kingdom.
Jesus tells us that God’s kingdom is like a treasure or a pearl, found unexpectedly and which surpassed all others in beauty and worth. This treasure was so valuable that the one who found it sold everything in order to obtain it. He gives us two parables to communicate this.
In the first, a man finds a treasure, buries it where it was, then sells everything in order to purchase the field where that treasure lies. The man sells all he has – clothes, property, home, and more – in order to move himself to this field, where the treasure lies. Presumably, once moving there, he will be able to build a new life on the land he has purchased.
In the second, a man finds a gorgeous pearl, then sells everything he has – clothes, property, home and more – in order to obtain it. After obtaining the pearl, the man has only the pearl and the clothes on his back. There is no clear direction or location for his continued living; he has no plan beyond the pursuit of this special pearl.
And, yes, were we talking about literal treasure or pearls, the purchaser could sell them, recoup their money and continue on with life, but these are not literal treasures, they are the kingdom of God. Once the decision to rid our lives of everything that came before is made, we cannot so easily unmake it, and still, this parable tells us that this act of giving up everything to pursue God’s Kingdom is one done in joy.
The Kingdom of God is worth all we have. There is nothing we can gain, obtain, or have on this earth – and no quantity of objects, relationships, status, prestige, nor wealth of any sort – which will ever be worth more than the pursuit and realization of God’s kingdom.
Jesus is teaching us that God’s kingdom is worth more than everything else we have – worth more than anything the world will give us – and that to possess God’s kingdom, we just might have to give all that other stuff up. To refuse to do so, to keep a portion of our things from before ‘just in case’ is an affront to the worth of God’s kingdom, and one could argue that it is a form of idolatry (we’ll pick that back up in a question below).
While one of these men is able to buy land along with his treasure, the other loses everything but his precious pearl. The kingdom of God may cost more from some folks than from others, but the promise of these treasures is that whatever we give up is worth nothing compared to what we gain.
Questions
- Why are these parables so important? What is the significance of these people selling everything in order to obtain these treasures? What does it mean that they do it joyfully? What might this say about what is required of us in order to pursue God’s kingdom?
- If one of these people kept, for example, a family heirloom or a personal memento from their wedding day, how would that change the parable? Would clinging to something that represented tradition, memory, or relationship become a kind of idolatry? Why or why not?
- What are we clinging to today that keeps us from pursuing God’s kingdom entirely? Is there a piece of identity, status, or accumulated wealth that people are holding onto and keeping separate from their pursuit of God (or using as an idolatrous lens through which to understand God?) Is this refusal to let go a form of idolatry?
- Does this parable convict you, personally, in some way? Does it embolden you or bring you joy? After digging in deeper, how does it impact your choices and the way you will live and share the Word?
A Blessing for Your Week
Beloved Child of God,
May you choose
To value the things of God
Over the things of this world
May that choice be reflected
In your life, both public and private,
In your opinions and advocacy,
And in your consumption.
And may the treasure of your field
Bring you more joy than you ever thought possible,
And empower you to share that holy wealth of spirit
With each, with every, with all.
Amen.
Rev. Kelsey Sherazi 