God's Treasures

Matthew 13:44-46 "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.”

For 20 years, Charlie and Janie have owned eight Victorian chairs on which no one is allowed to sit. No one is allowed to sit on the chairs because the person from whom they had bought them, an antique dealer in Greenville, South Carolina, told Charlie and Janie that the chairs had once been owned and used by Abraham Lincoln during his term in the White House. Indeed, the store owner brought out an old lithograph showing Lincoln sitting in a chair which looked remarkably like the ones he was selling. Charlie and Janie took a gamble and laid out $6,000 for the eight chairs.

Over the years the husband and wife tried to research those chairs. They came upon other pictures from Lincoln's presidency which showed chairs which were similar ... very similar. Pictures were interesting, but they were hardly the absolute proof they needed. Charlie and Janie found out that Matthew Brady, one of Lincoln's favorite photographers, had a chair which matched theirs. They wondered, “Did the chairs belong to Brady or did they belong to Lincoln?”

The experts said if those eight chairs had belonged to Lincoln during his years as the President, they would be worth about $12,500. That's $12,500 each. Those chairs would be worth $100,000 if they were associated with the right man. But if the Lincoln family never sat in those chairs, you can scratch out the $100,000 and substitute maybe $500.00. Charlie and Janie would have a nice story to share with their visitors, but they would be stuck with ordinary chairs. But those chairs would be a national treasure and be of great value if they were associated with the right person.

Today Jesus tells us two parables about hidden treasure – treasure hidden in a field and then a pearl of great value. The buried treasure and the costly pearl both represent the kingdom of God or Christ our Savior, who established that kingdom in our hearts and who rules over them with His Word. If the Bible is just an ordinary book, than we might have some nice stories to share on Sunday mornings, but that’s about it. But since the Bible is the Word of God and is associated with the right Person – Jesus Christ, the Son of God and our Savior – then it is an eternal treasure and is of everlasting value.

Though the two stories Jesus told had settings that were very familiar to the audience of His day, they’re not so familiar to us. “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.”  In the first story, Jesus tells us about a man who unexpectedly comes upon a treasure hidden in a field. We might find that strange until we understand that in that time period, it was a common practice for a wealthy person to divide his wealth into thirds. One third he would keep in cash for carrying on business transactions. Another third he would invest in precious stones and jewels, which he could easily take with him if he ever had to flee from an advancing enemy army. The last third he would bury in the ground somewhere, hoping to dig it up and reclaim it when he was able to come back home.

Of course, such a person didn’t always come home, and his buried treasure’s location might not be known to anyone else. Evidently, the man in this story happened to find such a treasure while he was strolling through a field one day. He very likely wasn’t even looking for it. When he came upon it, however, he recognized its value. He was filled with joy! Without hesitation, he sold all his possessions so that he could buy the field and the treasure it contained. You see, they adhered to the same kind of binding laws that we do today – “finders keepers, losers weepers.”

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” In the second story, the dealer in costly pearls made it his business to search far and wide for the finest possible pearls. When he found a pearl more perfect in size and shape and color than he had ever seen before, he just had to have that pearl. So he also sold all his possessions in order to buy that single perfect pearl.

The point to both parables is that we find great treasure in the wealth of God’s Word. In one case the man found treasure by accident – in the other the merchant sought long and hard for that pearl that would set him up for life. In both cases, however, they realized the value of what they had found, and gave up everything to get it.

Is Jesus the most important person in your life? Do you treasure God’s Word, your Baptism and His Holy Supper? Are God’s grace, mercy, love and forgiveness of highest value in your life?

Most of you are looking at me thinking, of course they are. We’re here aren’t we? But let’s be honest. Do cabins, vacations, grass cutting, family visits, toothaches and a whole host of minor events and insignificant situations get in your way and draw your attention away from “the one thing needful” (Luke 10:42)? How many times do you miss church because the weather is too awful … or too nice? Do you ever put work before worship? Athletics before advice from God? A good novel before the Good Book? A Sunday snooze instead of Sunday School?

How often don’t we allow the important to be pushed aside by the inconsequential? How often don’t we sacrifice God’s Word for the trivial? How often don’t we substitute God’s Wisdom for the worldly?

Some of my favorite movies are the old “Indiana Jones” movies where Indy battles devious archaeologists, Nazis, politicians and charlatans to find treasures far more precious than gold. Or in the “National Treasure” movies where Benjamin Gates follows all the clues to find a treasure no one else could find. Each follows mysterious clues to find the treasure that had been there all along.

Hidden treasures, hidden clues, ones only the few can see and believe. But that’s exactly the opposite of how the God of the Bible works. He has put His salvation uniquely on display for all to see. He has made His gracious promise visible, findable for all.

When you start hunting for God’s treasures with the same enthusiasm and excitement as Indiana Jones, Benjamin Gates, the new owner of the field or the pearl merchant, then I guarantee that you will discover awesome treasures. You will learn that God sent His Son, born of a virgin, to save us from our sins. You will hear of a Savior who lived to bring peace on earth and joy to the world. You will uncover your God who died to give you forgiveness for every missed opportunity and failed attempt – and from the guilt that comes along with them. You will unearth the Redeemer who rose from His earthly grave to give you the treasure of life eternal with Him and all His saints in glory everlasting.

You will discover that you have been spared from hell and heaven has been opened to you. You will find love when you are depressed, joy when you are sorrowful and peace when your life is turned upside down. You will rediscover that God’s Son is not only your Savior, but He is also your Friend, your Brother, your Bridegroom, your Shepherd, your Comforter and your Lord. What could be more exciting and valuable than that?

Now those are true treasures, more valuable than all your earthly possessions and wealth!  And what is remarkable is that they are all free – a gift of God’s love to you through Jesus.

Martin Luther once said of the treasure of the Bible: “This is the book which makes all wise and clever people fools, and can only be understood by simple people, as Christ says. Therefore let go your own thoughts and feelings and esteem this book as the best and purest treasure, as a mine full of great wealth, which can never be exhausted or sufficiently excavated. Thus you will find the divine wisdom which God presents in the Bible in a manner so simple that it damps the pride of clever people and brings it to nothing. In this book you find the swaddling clothes and the manger in which Christ lies, and to which the angel directs the shepherds. Those swaddling clothes are shabby and poor, yet precious is the treasure wrapped in them, for it is Christ.”  

We find the treasure in God’s Word, but how do we keep this treasure? Notice what the man who found the treasure in the field did. He sold everything he had to acquire this treasure. Notice what the pearl merchant did when he found the pearl of great value. He sold everything he had to acquire this treasure.

Does this mean that you need to sell everything and live in poverty? No, that is not the point of Jesus’ story. The point is that we are to value this treasure. Now that we have discovered this treasure in God’s Word, we are to value it more highly than anything else in the world.

That means when the Lord calls, we need to answer; when He speaks, we ought to listen; when the opportunity to worship presents itself, we should allow nothing to woo our eyes away from the cross and the empty tomb.

The way to keep this treasure is to use this treasure.

One of the members shared a story with me recently. His daughter had gone to Texas to spend some time with her grandparents. While on a shopping excursion with Grandma, she saw something that she absolutely had to get her dad for Father’s Day! She slept with her gift under her pillow, protecting it night after night. On the phone, she told her dad, “Dad, I got you a Father’s Day gift and you can take it hunting!” Dad was thinking that his little girl is only 8 and knows very little about turkey or deer hunting. The only thing she knows about hunting is that dad never returns home with any quarry. As soon as she got off the plane, a few days later, she handed her dad the gift. He could tell it was a book. With his hunting expertise, he could definitely use some professional help. But the kind of book it was surprised him. She had gotten him a Bible with a camouflage cover. Then she said, “Dad, you can read it while sitting in your tree stand and pray to God that a big deer comes your way.” 

Whether it is a camouflage Bible for hunting, a Christ Light lesson in the classroom, a favorite hymn in our heart, the waters of Baptism a few decades ago, Christ’s body and blood for you today, or however God’s Kingdom comes to you – these are worth more than anything and everything that we have and hold in our life. Our earthly possessions are temporal; heavenly possessions are eternal. Our earthly wealth is fleeting; heavenly wealth is enduring. Temporal belongings deteriorate; God’s spiritual blessings continue to benefit. Life can be burdensome; in Christ the burden of sin is lifted. Now things can get confusing and unsettling; Jesus gives us the peace that the world cannot give. And precisely because your treasure is in God, it’s not subject to economic downturn or currency devaluation, fire, theft, natural disaster or any other earthly threat.

Dig for your treasure. Discover this treasure. Use God’s treasure. Today, tomorrow and every day of your lives, so that you may grab hold of your treasure in heaven. Amen.

As we shall sing in a little while: “Where your treasure is, there your heart shall be. All that you possess will never set you free. Seek the things that last; come and learn from me. Where your treasure is, your heart shall be.” (CWS: 757) Amen.