I kind of like the idea of the
Lord covering me with His hand. Let's turn to Matthew chapter
13. I'll speak to you on the subject
this morning of the treasure and the pearl. Matthew 13 verse 44 just three
short verses but such such truth Matthew 13 44 again the kingdom
of heaven how many times did he say again we've said before
we'll say again that The entirety of Scripture is
God declaring the same message again and again and again. Christ. How can God be just and
justify sinners? Christ. What's a sinner's hope
before the Holy God? Christ. How can he that is born
of a woman be clean before God? Christ. Paul said, my kinsmen, according
to the flesh, they're going about to establish their own righteousness.
They haven't submitted themselves to the righteousness of God.
What's the righteousness of God? Christ. Again, the kingdom of heaven
is like unto a treasure hid in a field. The witch, it's such
a treasure, the witch, When a man hath found, this treasure is
such that when a man hath found, he hideth and for joy thereof,
joy in the gift, in the treasure, in the prize, goeth and selleth
all that he hath and buyeth that field. Does that
language remind you of anything? What did our Lord say to that
rich young ruler that said, what must I do to inherit eternal
life? And the Lord said, keep the law.
And he bragged about having kept the law, although we know that
by the deeds of the law, no flesh is justified in God's sight.
But the Lord said this, there's something you lack. Go and sell
all you have. and give it to the poor and come
follow me. You see that here? A man, when
he finds this treasure, he'll go sell everything he has that
he might possess that treasure. So what's the treasure? Go sell
all you have and come follow me. Why could that rich young
ruler not do that? He hadn't found the treasure.
Again, verse 45, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant
man seeking goodly pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of
great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Now, when our Lord explained
the parable of the good seed unto his disciples, this is interesting
precedent, if you will. the Lord describing that parable
to them. What he did there was to tell
what each earthly thing that is pictured in the parable in
person, each earthly thing in person, what they represented
in the spiritual truth of it. He that soweth the good seed
is the Son of Man. If you're to understand the parable,
you've got to know, you've got to have the key to it. And this is the explanation,
that he that soweth the good seed, that's God's son. The good seed are the children
of the kingdom. The tares are the children of
the wicked one. He said to the Pharisees in John
8, 44, you're of your father, the devil. There's the tares
right there. He just identified them. those
who reject Christ, despise Christ and His truth, and all who like
them trust in themselves, that they're righteous, and will not
submit themselves unto the righteousness of God in the crucified and risen
Christ, or the children of the wicked one. The enemy that sowed
them is the devil, and so on. He explained. So let's see if
we can determine in our parable this morning from the scriptures.
We don't want to just Speculate about it. We've got to know from
the Word of God who and what is being referred to in this
parable. We have a field in our parable this morning just like
the field that we just referred to in that parable of the good
seed. The Lord said the field is the world. Our Lord is not
going to confuse us by changing that. Now he's still speaking
again, again, again. The field is the world. There's a treasure hidden in
this world. Have you found it? Our Lord has also spoken of treasure
in the context of this text, a little bit more distant context.
He said in chapter six, he said, lay not up for yourselves treasure
on earth. Don't look at the things of this
earth and say, that's my treasure. Where is your treasure? lay up
for yourself treasure in heaven. For where your treasure is, he
said, that's where your heart will be. And we see that in this
parable, don't we? When the man found the treasure,
all he could think about was getting that treasure. That's
where his heart was. His heart was with the treasure.
In chapter six, right after he said what he did about treasure,
not laying up for yourself treasure on the earth, but in heaven,
He said this, seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these
things will be added to you. Now think with me. He said, don't
lay up treasure on this earth. The things of this earth are
not treasure. They're all gonna burn up one
of these days. The fashion of this world passeth away. Your
treasure's in heaven. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God. There's the treasure. If we know
what the kingdom of God is, we'll identify the treasure, we'll
find the treasure. What did he say to Nicodemus?
You got to be born again to see the kingdom. You can't enter
into the kingdom unless you're born from above. God's going
to have to do something for you, or you can't see or enter in.
to the kingdom. And here in our scripture he
keeps saying the kingdom of God. Again, the kingdom of God is
like unto a treasure. So the treasure clearly is the
kingdom of God. We've talked about this in really
almost every one of these parables, so I'll be brief. But as we've
already seen, the kingdom of God is Christ. Christ is the
king and he is king of a people. And it's a sovereign community. It's a distinct community. A
kingdom in this world is defined as it is distinct from all other
lands and all other places. It's a defined kingdom. It's
a community which has a king and a people. And being the people,
we're the people, so what's the kingdom to us? The king! Christ
is the kingdom to his people. The decree and constitution of
The kingdom is the gospel, and the gospel, the good news, is
Christ. It's all Christ, isn't it? The
kingdom of God is Christ. He's the king. The constitution
of the kingdom is his gospel. The gospel is concerning Christ
Jesus, Paul said in Romans 1. How God can be just and justify
sinners through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus. That's
the good news, that God can be just. He can stay on his throne
and still be God and save you. That good news is Christ. And
then, in what sense is this treasure hid? Well, again, we don't speculate
here. But didn't Paul say in Acts 2626
he said the king he's talking about Agrippa. He said the king
knoweth of these things before whom also I speak freely for
I'm persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him For
this thing wasn't done in a corner So there's a sense in which it's
not hidden the treasure is not hidden this thing wasn't done
in a corner Isn't there a Bible in every home in our generation?
Almost just about Does not God have witnesses in
this world who openly declare the message of God's grace in
Christ Jesus and Him crucified? Yes, but there are at least two
senses in which this treasure is hid. This treasure is hid
in a field in the world. And think of our Lord Jesus Christ
as a man in this world. He was born of a woman, made
of a woman. He was a man like any other,
except without sin. In his humanity, he was just
like a, except without sin. But in him, as a man, dwelt all
the fullness of the Godhead in a body. But not everybody saw
that. That was hid. He came into this
world made of a woman, and Isaiah said there was no beauty about
him that we should desire him. He didn't have a glowing light
around his head like he's portrayed by this world. They said, is
not this Joseph's son, whose father and mother we know? How
then does he say, I came down from heaven? He was here in his
humanity. But also in 2 Corinthians 4,
3, There's another way in which the Lord is hid. And both of
these are true with regard to those that are lost, who are
blind spiritually, who have not ears to hear nor eyes to see.
The Lord said, blessed are your eyes. To you it's given to know,
to them it's not given. To them, he's hid in his humanity. People have come up with every
theory imaginable about how, you know, he was a man that was
like God. or he was God that looked like a man, his humanity
has completely befuddled the theological world. His presence
in this world is the God-man. The God-man. Great is the mystery
of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. But also, 2 Corinthians 4, 3,
if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. Why is
it hid to them? In whom the God of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not. Lest the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine unto them. Oh, that explains it, doesn't
it? They're blind. If you play hide-and-seek with
a blind man, you don't have to go far. He's hidden in plain sight. In
plain sight to them who have eyes to see. Our Lord said in the context
here in Matthew 13 again, to you it's given to know, but to
them it's not given. Blessed are your eyes. How come
they see? Spiritual eyes. to see the Lord
Jesus Christ as He is, for who He is, according to God's Word,
not according to some preacher. Our Lord prayed in Matthew 11,
25, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth. Oh, do you see why the disciples
said to Him when they heard Him pray, Lord, teach us to pray. I thank thee, O Father, Lord
of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from
the wise and prudent and revealed them unto babies. Have you thanked him for that
lately? In this world, though, there
are some who have found this treasure by God's grace. To you it is given. In the same
context now, he said that to you. It's given. Who finds it? The good seed. The ones to whom
it is given to know. The same ones. It's the same
truth. It's the same gospel story again. Those to whom he is revealed.
Remember in John chapter 1 when John pointed to the Lord Jesus
Christ and he said, Behold the Lamb of God. One of the people who heard him
say that was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. And do you remember
what he did after he had followed? He followed the Lord for a little
while. They said, we want to know where you live. And he said,
come and see. And they followed him. But then
after that, Andrew, it says he went and found his own brother,
Peter. And you know what he said to
Peter? He said, we found the Messiah. There's the key word,
found. The kingdom of heaven is like
unto a man, a treasure hid in a field. The witch, when a man
hath found. Think about what Andrew was saying
there. We found God's Messiah. We found the hope for sinners.
We found the Christ. We found God's Son. We found
Him of whom all the prophets speak, of whom all the scriptures
are written. We found Him. We found the Messiah, which is
being interpreted, the Christ. And He brought Him to Jesus.
He said, We found Him. And He brought Him and said,
Here He is. And when Jesus beheld him, here's Andrew bringing Peter
to the Lord Jesus Christ. And when Jesus beheld Peter,
he said, thou art Simon, the son of Jonah. Thou shalt be called
Cephas, which is by interpretation, a stone. Usually when you first
meet somebody, you introduce yourself to them. You say, I'm
Peter. When Peter met the Lord, the
Lord said, you're Peter. And then told Peter who he was.
You're Cephas. Have you found him? The pearl
of great price. Have you found him? The woman at the well after meeting
the Lord Jesus and speaking With him a while at that well, she
ran into the city and said, come see a man which told me all things
ever I did. He's not this the Christ. I found the treasure. By God's grace, I found the treasure. Listen to Song of Solomon. Turn
there if you'd like. Song of Solomon chapter 3. This
is so beautiful. Song of Solomon 3 and verse 1. This is the church speaking.
The believer. By night on my bed, I sought
him whom my soul loveth. I sought him, but I found him
not. Have you ever been there? Job said, Why have you hidden
your face from me? That's the one thing that made
him forget all of his other miseries. Oh, God, don't hide your face
from me. I will rise now. What are you going to do when
you don't feel the presence in favor of the Lord? I'm going
to get up and I'm going to go about the city and the streets
and the broadways. I will seek him. I will seek
him. The Lord said, those that seek
will find. I'm seeking him whom my soul
loveth. I sought him, but I found him
not. The watchmen that go about the city found me. To whom I
said, saw ye him whom my soul loveth? It was but a little while that
I passed from them, but I found him. You know who the watchmen
are? That's God's church too. In the
sense of the Lord said concerning his prophets, his preachers,
I set you on the wall as watchmen. If you don't warn people, I'll
hold you accountable. We're all, in a sense, watchmen,
aren't we? And just a little while after I passed from them,
I found him. The one that my soul loves. And
I held him. And like old Jacob, I wouldn't
let go of him. I couldn't. Can you? If I can, I will. I would not let him go until
I had brought him into my mother's house and in the chamber of her
that conceived me. I found him, I held him, and
I wouldn't let go. Those to whom the Lord has revealed
must have him. They must have him. To us, he's
the treasure. When our Lord said, Don't lay
up treasures on this earth. We understand by God's grace
what he meant by that. That which this world calls treasure,
is that treasure to you? Does that mean much to you? Less
and less. By his grace. He's the treasure. Of the Lord's
gospel, Paul said we have this treasure in earthen vessels.
But bless God we have this treasure. By His grace we found Him. And you know that's what the
second hiding of the treasure is in the text. When the man
finds the treasure in the field, it says then he hides it. You
know what that is? The treasure is hidden in this
world to those that are lost, who are blind. And then when
we find the treasure, we hide it too. We have it in earthen
vessels. We're not deliberately hiding it, but we just You're
not going to look at me and see Christ. You're just not. I know that's what the religion
says. You're the only Jesus that this world will ever know. And
this world's in big trouble. Big trouble. But the treasure
is hidden in earthen vessels that have found him, you see. We found the hidden treasure
and now we're hiding it in vessels of clay, but it won't keep his
people from finding him. How long did you walk in this
field until you found the treasure? The treasure was here all along.
He was here before we got here. He'll be here after we're gone.
But, oh, we walked in this field for so long without finding the
treasure. And then one day the Lord revealed
himself to us. Flesh and blood hath not revealed
this unto thee but my father Which is in heaven one day he
revealed Paul said when it pleased God he revealed his son in me I Was walking around in the field
blind as a bat and then one day God Showed me his treasure turn
to Ephesians 3 verse 8 Ephesians 3 8 Unto me, Paul said, who am less
than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should
preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Paul said, I found the treasure,
unsearchable riches. What would make you sell all
that you have? Really the only estimation we have of the value
of this treasure is that. It's such a treasure that nothing
can be compared. Can't be estimated. The unsearchable riches of Christ. And to make all men see what
is the fellowship of the mystery. Which from the beginning of the
world have been hid. in God who created all things
by Jesus Christ to the intent that now unto the principalities
and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church
the manifold wisdom of God. According to the eternal purpose
which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. The Lord has purposed
from the beginning when he hid this treasure. He'd already purposed
that some were going to find it. He's going to reveal it.
And it's revealed, it's made manifest in the church by the
preaching of the gospel. That's what he said there, verse
10. It's made manifest by being known by the church. If you're going to find a treasure,
here's some pretty good advice. Talk to somebody that knows where
it is. That doesn't mean the Lord will reveal him to you,
but he may. He may. Teach others also, Timothy,
peradventure. God will grant them repentance. He may just show them the treasure. And it's according to His eternal
purpose. He purposed from the beginning. It's going to be that
way. In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by
the faith of Him. Wherefore, I desire that you
faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
For this cause, I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ. He said, don't faint at my tribulations.
He said in another place, don't be offended because of my weakness
and the fact that I'm in prison. Don't be offended by that. This
treasure is hidden in earthen vessels, but don't miss the treasure.
And Paul said, I bow my knees to God for this reason right
here. Verse 16, that he would grant you. according to the treasure,
the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his
spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts
by faith, that ye being rooted and grounded in love may be able
to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length
and depth and height and to know the love of Christ which passeth
knowledge. My prayer is that God would show
you the treasure that you might be filled with
all the fullness of God. It says in the text there in
Matthew 13 that for the joy of obtaining that treasure he goes and sells all that he
has and buys it, buys it. Now, in what sense do we sell
all that we have and buy the treasure? Well, of course, this
is not talking about selling our earthly valuables. This is
a spiritual buying. Proverbs 23, 23, buy the truth,
purchase the truth, and don't sell it. Buy the truth and sell
it not. Also, wisdom and instruction
and understanding by the truth. That's not with money, not with
possessions. So here's the question that must
be answered. What does Christ cost us? Well, the answer is both nothing
and everything. Isaiah said in 55 one, ho, everyone
that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, And he that hath no money, if ye bankrupt, spiritually come. That's who he's talking to, those
who are bankrupt, that hath no money coming by. Come to the
waters, that's the water of life, that's the treasure, that's Christ.
Come ye buy and eat, yea, come buy wine and milk, without money
and without price. You can't add to what He did.
You can't bring anything to Him that He'll accept. Revelation
22, 17, the Spirit and the bride say, Come, and let him that heareth
say, Come. Have you heard? Say, Come. But
say it this way. Let him that is athirst come.
Are you thirsty? Come. And whosoever will, let
him take of the water of life. freely. You have to take freely
because you got nothing to give. You got nothing to pay. This is because the Lord Jesus
Christ has paid it all. All the debt that I owe. By living
a perfect, holy, righteous life before God as my representative
and by redeeming my soul to God by his precious blood, he paid
the price of my salvation in full. There's nothing that can
be added. There's nothing that's owed.
It's an insult to try to pay anything. In fact, Paul said
if you do anything to earn, if you just keep one aspect of the
law in order to earn salvation from God, Christ will profit
you nothing. You're on your own and you're
in big trouble if you're on your own. before God. So then, in what sense does it
cost us everything? Well, very simple. We've already
looked at it this morning, and we've looked at it quite a few
times lately. So let me just read it to you.
Philippians 3, 8. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For
whom I have suffered the loss of all things. It's cost me everything
I had, Paul said. I've suffered the loss of everything. It wasn't his possessions he
was talking about. It was all the things that he talks about
in the beginning of that chapter. His religious heritage. What
he called a righteousness before God. The very hope of his soul
being a false hope. It had to be sold. It cost him
that. And he said, I don't miss it.
I count it but done. Why did he suffer the loss of
all things? Because he said, I have to have
the treasure. You see, he's that man that found
the treasure in the field and went and sold all that he had.
He suffered the loss of all things. What? That I may win Christ. I've got to have the treasure.
I can't have all of this and him too, so that's got to go.
I must win Christ and be found in him. Not having mine own righteousness,
but his. I can't have my religion. I can't
have my self-righteousness. I can't have my pride. I can't
have any of my false hopes and have him. It costs me all of
it. The merchant man had to sell
his house. It says he sold everything that he had. Not an exaggeration. He had to sell his house and
I too must sell my refuge of lies. The place that I live by
nature, my religious house, my false refuge, my false comfort. Got to go. The merchant man had
to sell all of his valuables, and I also must part with all
of the rewards of my own labors. They're imaginary anyway. Not to me they aren't, but they
got to go. If I'm to have Christ and what
he accomplished, it's going to cost me all of it. And since
by God's grace I see that my refuge of lies and all of that
which I think I've earned by my imagined good works is all
a pile of ruins anyway, what I've earned with the works of
mine own hands is imaginary, I gladly say with Paul, I count
them but dumb that I may win Christ. You see how that's selling
everything obtaining the treasure. Now a final thought. Christ is our treasure. There's
no question about that. He's our pearl. But we're also
his. And it cost him everything. that he had in order to have
us. As you might imagine, I don't
know how to talk about this, because as the psalmist said, it's high.
I can't attain to it. What did it cost him? His precious blood? It cost the
prince of life, his life. How do you talk about that? It
cost him the favor of his father. Forsaken of his father. You don't
know what that is, and I don't either. In order to have us, in order to purchase what was
most precious to Him. He had to redeem us with His
own precious blood. And He did it willingly and gladly.
The word joy is in our text. Because for the joy that was
set before Him, He endured the cross. And that joy was due in the will
of His Father, in redeeming His people from their sins. How can you talk about that and say
that He didn't actually redeem anyone, that He just made it
possible? How can you do that? For the joy that was set before
Him, our Savior, He endured the cross, despising the shame. He
counted it a small thing. That man that found the treasure,
everything he had, what our Lord gave wasn't a small
thing, but He gave it as though it were. Psalm 135, 4, for the Lord hath
chosen Jacob unto himself and Israel for his peculiar treasure,
his special, particular treasure. The one who had to have us at
the price of everything is the one by God's grace that
we also must have. Have you found the treasure?
It'll be evident if you have, because you will have sold everything
you have in order to have Him. May God give us grace, give us
eyes to see the treasure, and a heart to willingly and joyfully
abandon everything else. in order to have him. Let's bow
in prayer.