July 30, 2023 Text: Matthew 13:44-52
Dear Friends in Christ,
Ladies and Gentlemen step right up. You have come to the right place this morning. (Not that sitting in the Lord’s sanctuary is ever the wrong place to be.) You are going to get from Jesus three parables for the price of one. As we get tired of looking at higher grocery prices the Lord has a three for one deal that you cannot pass up. These parables taught the disciples. These parables are going to teach us. We need the guidance, don’t we?
“BASIC TRAINING WITH PARABLES”
What treasure might you find in your home? When Toni and I first got married I told her if this ministry thing didn’t work out, I had a box full of baseball cards that would be worth something someday. We might have enough for a week of living expenses!
The first treasure is hidden in a field. This parable has a Christological interpretation. The field is the world, the treasure is us (the hearer), and the man is Christ. Christ gives up the glory of heaven to win salvation for you. This is the first teaching moment.
The second parable is a little different. The man goes in search of pearls. He knows a good pearl when he sees one. When he finds the best one, he sells all he has to buy it. We too have a treasure. That treasure is the gift of Jesus Christ.
Looking at my baseball cards as a treasure, what I have done with them over the years? Mostly they sit in a box on a bookcase. Occasionally, I will get them out to relive childhood or scratch the itch of curiosity. Is there something better I could be doing with them? I could put them in a nice photo album to keep them in a more pristine condition. They would then be more valuable when sold. Maybe I don’t understand the treasure.
This is what happens with the pearl of faith you and I have received. God sent the Holy Spirit into our hearts so that we might receive this treasure. Isn’t it a treasure to know that God sent his Son to take on human form and to carry our pain and sorrow – even die on a cross – so that Paradise might be restored. This the second rung in our basic training.
Our third parable is like the parable of the weeds which was our sermon last Sunday. Remember the commission the Lord gave to the disciples to be “fishers of men?” Here the fishermen haul in both good and bad fish. Because of the bad fish we know the devil is still at work. The disciples as fishermen have no authority to execute judgment before the net is hauled in. The nets of God gather good and bad alike for the eternal sorting that is to come. The bad fish are not dead; they were caught alive, but are worthless for eating like the fruit from the bad tree. The bad fish are discarded into the fiery furnace as a continuation of the illustration of the weeds. The basic training concludes with this parable, or does it?
Now Jesus wants to know if these 12 men have understood what He is talking about. As is their nature, they all answer, “Yes.” How about you? Do you understand? You know the story of Jesus and what He has done for you. You come to the cross weekly to thank Him for the gift of forgiveness.
Has the treasure cost you? Would you give up your prized possessions to keep this treasure? Do you have the answers you need in life or are you still searching for the pearl? Our pearls we go in search of are: science for cures; philosophy for purpose, psychology for understanding. They are fine pearls, but they are not the pearl. They look nice, but they do not answer the deeper problems of life. The Holy Spirit leads us to the pearl of great value. We realize that only this pearl has the answers to life’s questions.
It is easy to say yes to the confession of sins when we read it from the hymnal or bulletin. We answer yes to “do you intend to amend your sinful life?” but then we fail to keep our promise after the benediction. We have given the right answer, but do we answer in faith? We do if our answer of yes in wrought in faith through the conviction of God’s Holy Spirit. Jesus knows our minds and builds our answers. God works in us to give us new insights and a new conviction of our faith. God can produce new commitments and a new way of life. Jesus can bring new life to our bungled past.
Well, how has basic training gone? Hasn’t it been a blessing to be taught by the Master? What an enormous treasure we have in Jesus Christ. This true pearl answers all of our questions in this life. We joyfully receive the great treasure of forgiveness and eternal life.
Amen.