LESSON 8 – THE PARABLE OF THE HIDDEN TREASURE –

THE PARABLE OF THE HIDDEN TREASURE

Today we come to the fifth parable, the parable of the buried treasure. As we learned in previous lessons, the first four parables were given by Jesus in a boat by the Sea of Galilee on a single day. It’s important to note that the last three parables we are going to study were given on the same day as the other four, but the Lord gave the last three parables to HIS DISCIPLES ONLY after they went back to the house. They are part of the entire series of seven, but again, the las three were only given to his disciples.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure is very short, but it is often misinterpreted.

Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he had and buys that field”. (Matthew 13:44). The usual interpretation is that this is about a man finding the treasure of salvation and giving up all that he has to have it; That Christ is the hidden treasure and then it is up to us to sell everything we have and buy him at any cost. This analysis is surprising to me. Salvation is offered to us by the grace of God as a free gift. Jesus is not for sale. I’ve never read anywhere in Scripture that salvation can be purchased. So, I think enough has been said on this interpretation, so let’s move on.

We know in previous parables that the man is always Jesus, and the field is the world, humanity. Jesus says he came, found a treasure hidden in humanity, uncovered it, and then buried it back up again. Then he gave all that he had and bought it. It is now hidden once more and will remain until Jesus returns to reclaim it in the last days.

Now the question becomes, “What is this treasure?” The treasure is the secret of harmony among nations, world peace. The treasure hidden in the field is the nation, Israel. Israel is a treasure sovereignly chosen by God. As Israel goes, so goes the world. In Exodus 19, Jesus says, “Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people:” (Exodus 19:5) The Bible is full of evidence that Israel is God’s treasured people. God set aside this people, the Jews for them to be a showcase of theocracy to all nations. Many times, I’ve heard people speak of the Jews as “the chosen people”. This phrase has been misunderstood even by the Jewish people. Usually, people think it means that God has choses the Jews to have a special and privileged treatment, different than any other nation enjoys. But that is not why God chose Israel. He chose Israel to be what a nation ought to be, a working model for other nations to follow and share the knowledge of Israel’s example, to show by visible demonstration what God wants to do with all the other nations. So, Israel is not a unique, select people, but is a people chosen to demonstrate the kind of relationship that God wants to have with all the people on earth. A relationship to show that all nations can be blessed with peace, happiness and prosperity. That is Israel’s purpose, and it has not yet been fulfilled. In the day of David and Solomon, there was a partial demonstration and realization of what God would do with a nation that was in right relationship with him, but even the partial realization was a magnificent model of what God would do with any nation. So, the conclusion is that the secret of world peace is wrapped up in the nation Israel. Only when Israel comes again in its right relationship with God is it possible to achieve world peace.

Remember, when Jesus came into this world, Israel was lost unto her original plan and purpose. The Kingdom God had promised to his people was experiencing total hardship as Israel suffered under the thumb of Rome. For over four hundred years, Israel had been hidden, as the nation’s glory was gone. The treasure had been lost to the world. And then Jesus found it, and he uncovered it. That is the story of the Gospels. He revealed for a short period of time, the glory that was Israel. He communicated great messages like the Sermon on the Mount. He performed miracles like feeding the five thousand with a few fish and bread, healing people, bringing the dead back to life & confronting evil. In our Lord’s short ministry of three and a half years, he uncovered the treasure of Israel.

Of course, we know what happened. The nation rejected him, and the leaders, rulers and the people were against him. So as this parable reveals, he hid the treasure again. Later, our Lord went into the temple and stopped the sacrifices. He said to the people, “The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation that will bring forth the fruits of it, (Matthew 21:43). This indicated that the privilege of demonstrating the grace of God would be removed from Israel and given to the church, who would then show before men the healing grace of God.

Then the parable says, “Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he had and buys that field.” Here, Jesus dying on the cross is implied. By doing so, he most likely has purchased the right to set Israel again as a model nation to bring world peace. So, Jesus has not forgotten Israel and its purpose that the nation that walks in right relationship to him, God will heal. So, the parable tells us that Jesus came, uncovered for a brief time the secret of world peace, and hid it again. Then he went and gave all that he had and bought the hidden field so that someday he will use that treasure, Israel, to blossom and fill the earth with world peace and happiness. When the nations of earth learn that when Israel stands once again in righteousness before God and sees and studies the model God intends this little nation of Israel to do, then the nations will learn world peace.

Remember, Jesus not only revealed the treasure, but he also covered it back up again and went to redeem it. He’s the one who paid the price to buy the field. This tells us that Jesus is coming back to reclaim Israel in the last days. Israel is buried in the field, suffering atrocities and persecution. They are surrounded by enemies that want to destroy them and wipe them off the face of the earth. But God will keep his word to Israel, and he will also keep his word to us.

We should also notice that this applies to us individuals as well. You can look how God has acted with Israel to realize that he acts the same way with us. If some of us have temporarily turned away from God and have lost faith and are wandering in defeat and weakness, God has promised that if you will turn back to him as Israel one day will with repentance, God will begin to cause your life to blossom into abundance. The more you study Scripture, the more you will understand that God is in control.

Until next time, may peace, love and joy be with you always.