295. Exposition of Matthew 13:44-58, The Most Valuable Thing in the World

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Matthew Series

Matthew 13:44-58

Sunday, August 25th, 2024

What’s the most valuable thing you’ve ever discovered? 

1. Staffordshire Hoard, 2009

In 2009, Terry Herbert, a passionate amateur treasure hunter, was exploring a plowed field near Hammerwich, Staffordshire, England, when his  metal detector signaled a significant discovery. Over five days of diligent excavation, Herbert and the landowner, Fred Johnson, unearthed a staggering 3,500 military artifacts, collectively known as the Staffordshire Hoard. This extraordinary find included over 11 pounds of gold, 3 pounds of silver, and semi-precious garnets, possibly sourced from as far as Sri Lanka or Afghanistan. Dating back to the 6th and 7th centuries, during the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, the hoard is believed to have been buried around 875 A.D., when the region was under Viking threat.

2. The Le Catillon II Hoard, 2012

Reg Mead and Richard Miles, metal detection enthusiasts from Jersey, embarked on a decades-long quest after hearing a farmer's tale in the early 1980s. The farmer claimed to have discovered silver coins while plowing his field on the British island of Jersey. Mead and Miles, armed with perseverance, obtained permission to search the field for a mere 10 to 15 hours each year after the harvest. Their dedication bore fruit in 2012 when they unearthed 68,000 coins, along with gold neck torcs and glass beads. These treasures, dating back to 30 B.C. to 40 B.C., were buried by the Coriosolitae tribe of Celts, likely fleeing from a Roman invasion led by Julius Caesar. The Le Catillon II Hoard stands as the largest collection of gold jewelry and Celtic coins ever found.

3. St. Albans Hoard, 2012

In 2012, novice metal detectorist Westley Carrington ventured into a farm field in Berkhamsted, England, armed with a beginner's metal detector. His discovery turned out to be one of the largest hoards of Roman gold coins ever uncovered in Great Britain

Jesus

Introduction

·         This chapter forms a composite picture of the kingdom of God

o   Responses to it

o   Rejection of it

o   Judgement of all people

o   Personal responses to it

o   The value of it

·         It can also form a historical outline:

o   Planting of the seeds

o   Varied responses

o   Small beginnings

o   Infiltration of the gospel throughout the Roman empire

o   Individual responses and value of the kingdom

o   Final judgment

These parables are only found in Matthew

1.      The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

These stories build on what Jesus has taught about how things are “hidden” and “secret.”  Some find the gospel, others don’t.  The other parables talk about the impact or spread or nature of the gospel, these two talk about the value to individuals. 

The treasure

·         People hid valuables in the ground, there were no banks or vaults to provide safety.

o   Genghis Khan

§  Khan was reported to have given himself a front row seat for the mayhem at Merv. He sat on a golden throne and watched as men were dragged before him and executed. It was said to have been a ‘memorable day for shrieking and weeping and wailing’. The invaders tortured the wealthy citizens of Merv so they’d give up their money and jewels.  One source puts the number of dead in the Merv massacre at 700,000, while a contemporary Persian chronicler estimated the number of corpses at a staggering 1.3 million. Khan apparently ordered each of his soldiers to kill at least 300 people.

·         He stumbles on it

·         He knows he’s found something amazing

·         He sells all out of self-interest

Feb. 25, 2014, 12:53 PM MST / Updated Feb. 25, 2014, 12:54 PM MST

A Northern California couple out walking their dog on their Gold Country property stumbled across a modern-day bonanza: $10 million in rare, mint-condition gold coins buried in the shadow of an old tree.

Nearly all of the 1,427 coins, dating from 1847 to 1894, are in uncirculated, mint condition, said David Hall, co-founder of Professional Coin Grading Service of Santa Ana, which recently authenticated them.

Although the face value of the gold pieces only adds up to about $27,000, some of them are so rare that coin experts say they could fetch nearly $1 million apiece.

The pearl

·         This is a person who is seeking actively

·         He is familiar with prices and value

·         He realizes that this is the only one he needs to own

·         Once you have the gospel, you don’t need anything else

·         Share:  Silver Coins

These stories emphasize that only the wholehearted get to enjoy the treasure.  You have to go all in, sell out and grab hold of what God is offering you.  Jesus specifically says that in Luke 14:33 “In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.”

How’s your response to the gospel?

Whether you’ve stumbled on it or have been searching for it these stories show that once you discover it, you have to determine the incomparable value of Jesus and then divest of anything necessary to get the treasure.

The trouble is we don’t value Jesus highly enough.  We want him and a whole lot more.

It’s time to repent and get baptized.

If you are already a disciple and have the treasure:

Ø  Do you gripe and complain how hard it is to follow Jesus?

Ø  Do you complain how much you’ve had to give up to follow him?

Ø  Are you considering selling Jesus for something in the world, like Judas?

If you have Jesus, you have everything you need.

There once was a fabulously wealthy man who loved his son above all things. To stay close to his son, they began to build an art collection together. Every spare minute, they were out at auctions and sales acquiring rare works of art: everything from Picasso to Raphael. By the time the Vietnam conflict broke out, they built one of the rarest most valuable collections in the world. A letter came one day informing the son he had been drafted. The father offered to pull some strings, but the son felt compelled to serve his country as his father and grandfather did before him. 

The son went off to war, but he wrote his dad every day. One day the letters stopped. The father's worst fears were realized when he received a telegram from the war department informing him his son had been killed while attempting to rescue another soldier. About six months later, there was a knock at the door. A young soldier with a large package under his arm said, "Sir, you don't know me, but I am the man your son saved on that faithful day he died deep in the jungles of Viet Nam. He had already saved many lives that day, and as he was carrying me off the battlefield, he was shot through the heart and died instantly.

Your son was my friend and we spent many a lonely night "in country talking about you and your love for art." The young soldier held out his package and said, "I know this isn't much and I'm not much of an artist, but I wanted you to have this painting I've done of your son as I last remember him. The father tore open the package and fought back the tears as he gazed at a portrait of his one and only son. He said, "You have captured the essence of my son's smile in this painting and I will cherish it above all others." The father hung the portrait over his mantle. When visitors came to his home, he always drew attention to the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other masterpieces.

When the father died the news went out that the entire collection was being offered at an exclusive private auction. Collectors and art experts from around the world gathered for the chance of purchasing one of them. The first painting on the auction block was the soldier's modest rendering of his son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel and asked someone to start the bidding. The sophisticated crowd scoffed and demanded the Van Gogh's and the Rembrandts be brought forth. The auctioneer persisted. "Who will start the bidding? $200? $100?" The crowd continued to turn up their noses, waiting to see the more serious paintings. Still the auctioneer solicited, "The son! The son! Who will take the son? Finally, a squeaky voice from the back said, "I'll bid $10 for the son." The bidder was none other than the young soldier the son had died saving. He said, "I didn't come to buy anything and all I have is $10 to my name, but I bid it all." The auctioneer continued seeking a higher bid, but the angry crowd began to chant, "Sell it to him and let's get on with the auction." The auctioneer pounded the gavel and sold the painting for the bid of $10. An eager buyer from the second row bellowed, "Finally, on with the auction." And just then the auctioneer said, "The auction is now officially closed." The hostile crowd demanded to know how after coming, all this way could the auction possibly be over? The president of the auctioning company came to the microphone and said, "When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a stipulation in the will I could not divulge until now. According to the wishes of the deceased only the painting of the son was to be sold today and whoever takes the son gets it all. So today, for $10 this young man has bought one of the world's most priceless art collections and the entire estate in which it is housed -- auction closed." And with the swing of the gavel, the crowd sat in stunned silence staring at the young soldier.

“Whoever takes the son, gets it all”

If you have the Son, you have it all.

2.     The Parable of the Net

47 “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

·         This is similar to the parable of the weeds.

·         There will never be a time when you as a disciple will be surrounded only by “righteous” people.

·         It’s like a lake where everyone is swimming free.

·         There is a net slowly moving us in one direction, but we all have freedom now.

So many people are like the optimist falling from a tenth story window, who called out cheerfully as he passed each story, going down, “All right so far!”

51 “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.

“Yes,” they replied.

52 He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

·         When you become a disciple, you are like a teacher of the law who has access to treasures both old and new.

·         Why wouldn’t you want to share those with others?

Ø  Share the word study and discipleship study this fall with someone

3.     A Prophet Without Honor

53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. 54 Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. 55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at him.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”

58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

·         This is a variation on the saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt.”

·         I should have read this scripture before I decided to plant a church in my hometown.

·         I somehow missed this

·         Many people became Christians, my family didn’t make it.

·         Show picture of my hometown church.

You know how many family members responded?  None

Next Steps

·         Pay any price to get Jesus and his kingdom

·         Pull out treasures old and new and teach someone the word and discipleship study this fall

·         Prepare for the judgment.  Make sure you have a real relationship with Christ.  Repent and get baptized immediately.