The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. (Matthew 13:44 NASB)

Here is a parable that I have heard told two ways and I see great value in both.

I know there are people who will pick one interpretation and fight for it, but that’s not me.

As I have said in my SoS Saturday’s series, when you are talking in word pictures, there is often more than one right answer.

So today I ask the rhetorical question what is the treasure and who is the finder?

You Treasure You!

First let’s look at it from God’s point of view.

As in the last parable (the Parable of the Wheat and Tares) God is the one looking for harvest, in this case hunting for buried treasure.

Also as we have seen before in the last parable, the field is the world.

In this case you are treasure hidden among the billions, hidden by your pride, lust, greed, drunkenness, despair.

Our limitless God checks His wallet, and finds what He has on hand is not enough to pay the price required to excavate this treasure from the deep dark hole of sin. And besides, the owner of the hole will not give up the finder’s rights, he demands payment for the entire site.

What does God do? He calls a conference with the 2 other members of His treasure hunting team. You can hear the council meeting in Isaiah 6:8

“Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?”

In the end it is decided God will sell the most valuable thing in heaven, His only begotten Son. [Tweet This]

Jesus is traded into sin’s slavery to pay the price for this magnificent treasure the Father had found in the field.

The life of Jesus, His blood is so precious, it not only bought redemption for you, but for the whole world.

Sadly though:

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. (John 1:10-11 NASB)

However:

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)

Tomorrow we will flip this parable over, and look at it from the bottom up.

See you then

Ben