The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

Mike Johnson

 Matthew 13:44 records the Parable of the Hidden Treasure.  It says, “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.”

This is a rather short parable, but it certainly presents a great truth showing the value of the kingdom of heaven.  It is often called a twin parable because it is similar in meaning to the parable which follows in verses 45-46.

 The Treasure

 In Bible times, people did not have as many safe places where money could be deposited as we have today.  Therefore, in olden times, an individual might have to hide his treasure to protect it.  Recall the Parable of the Talents in which the man who received the one talent went and hid his lord’s money (Mt. 25:16).  Trench (“Notes on the Parables of Our Lord”) points out in his book on parables that since there were frequent changes in dynasties and consequent revolutions that, “many rich men divide their goods into three parts: one they employ in commerce, or for their support; one they turned into jewels, which might be easily carried; and a third part they bury.”  Some would leave their regular occupations and devote themselves completely to treasure hunting.

 The Man’s Actions

 The man in the parable discovered a treasure in a field; he very joyfully went and sold all that he owned; then bought the land from the owner.  The result was that he owned the treasure hidden in the land.  Perhaps an individual who had previously owned the land had died and had not told anyone where he had hidden the treasure or perhaps someone had hidden it there and was unable to return to it.  Whatever the case, the present owner was unaware of the treasure on his land and thus sold it.

Some might question the use of a parable like this by Christ by saying, “the action of the character of this parable would be dishonest as it would be his duty to inform the owner of the field about the discovery.”  We need to realize, however, that the main point of the parable is to show the great value of the kingdom.  Christ is not approving of the conduct of this individual, but He is simply telling the story to show the kingdom’s value and the degree that one might go to in order to obtain that which is valuable.  A preacher, for example, might tell a story about a man who tried to rob the same bank four times to illustrate “persistence.”  He would not be showing his approval of stealing, however.

 Value, Thus Sacrifice

Why was the man in the parable willing to give up so much (all that he owned) to obtain the treasure?  The obvious answer would be that the treasure was extremely valuable.  The obtaining of the land would involve sacrifice, but it would surely be worth it.

Similarly, the church is also very valuable.  Its value can be seen in many different ways.  In Acts 20:28, we are told that the church was purchased by the blood of Christ.  This surely reveals its value!  Ephesians 5:22-23 says, “For the husband is the head of the wife, even so Christ is the head of the church and He is the saviour of the body.”  Colossians 1:18, 24 points out that the body is the church.  Surely that for which Christ died is of great value!  Christ is the “savior of the body,” and how deplorable for the man who is not in the body of Christ.

The life of a Christian is a life of sacrifice.  In Romans 12:1, Paul says, ” . . . that ye present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service.”  No sacrifice is too great for the cause of Christ.  In Matthew 19, we read of the rich young ruler who was not willing to sell all that he had as Jesus requested.  It seems that the sacrifice was too great.  Verse 22 says, ” . . . he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.”   He needed to recognize the value of following Christ and the great reward in heaven.  He ought to have been as the man in our parable and have the willingness to make the necessary sacrifices.  Many today are not willing to put behind them the life of sin as they think that it would be too difficult.  They obviously have not learned the lesson in our parable.  No sacrifice is too great for Christ!

 Joy

 Notice again the later part of verse 44 in the parable.  It indicates that the man’s action involved joy which shows that he did not regret selling all that he had.  He realized that he would gain much more in return.  Similarly, when an individual discovers the truth, there should be joy.  A person should be willing to give up his past life of sin so that he might be able to obtain the privileges of the kingdom.  Paul said in Philippians 3:7-8, after speaking of his accomplishments in the Jewish religion (vs. 5-6), “But whatever was to my profit, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.  I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” (NIV)