"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."
The interpretation sometimes given to this parable is, that when a man sees the value there is in Christ, he gives up all and abandons all that he may possess Christ.
We are sure that this is a mistaken view of the parable. When does man ever sell "all that he hath"? and if he did, would it purchase Christ? The mere giving up is not enough. We read, "Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." 1 Cor. 13:3. Whereas, the invitation of the gospel is, to buy, "without money and without price" (Isa. 55:1). Christians are, indeed, called to be loosed from all earthly ties. Our Lord said, "If any man come to Me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple." Luke 14:26. But that is not simply that I may win salvation, but when I have that, I am called to forsake all that I have (v. 33), that I may be Christ's disciple, or true follower. Phil. 3:4-11 has also been quoted, but surely this way in consequence of the Apostle possessing salvation that he desired to win Christ, and not that he might gain salvation by his self-denial.
We doubt not the parable points to Christ as the One who finds a treasure in His people, and for joy sells all that He has, that He may obtain possession of it; as, indeed, we read, "who for
the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame" (Heb. 12:2). "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich." 2 Cor. 8:9. Yes, as the parable says, He sold all that He had; and, as the passage from the epistle to the Hebrews proves, He kept in view the joy that was set before Him, which joy our parable also speaks of.
We must, indeed, look at who Christ was, and the position He had as Creator (all things were made by Him, and for Him), and as God from eternity; and then look at our Lord in His humiliation, His agony in the garden, and His shameful death—being made sin for us, and enduring the hiding of God's face—before we can even get a glimpse of what it cost Him to purchase the field in which lay hidden the treasure of His heart.
But there is another point in the parable. It says not only that the man purchased the treasure, but also that he bought the field in which the parable of the sower says, "The field is the world." Then our Lord bought the world—all mankind. And here lies an important truth. It is like a rich man going to a plantation of slaves, and after paying down a price for the whole of the slaves, he sends forth a proclamation, that whosoever will may be free. But, alas! the slaves like their plot of ground, and their earthly ties, and prefer to remain in slavery.
So our Lord bought, in His death, all mankind, and has sent forth His ministers to beg men to be reconciled to Him. But, alas! men prefer the chains of Satan, and the baits he skillfully lays for them.
This illustrates also the difference between "buying" and "redeeming." Many are now deluding their fellow men with the thought of universal salvation; whereas there is a wide difference between buying slaves and offering them liberty, and the actual bringing them out of their slavery. We read of some—lost souls—who deny the Lord who bought them (2 Pet. 2:1), whereas, those who are redeemed are actually translated out of the kingdom of Satan, and "into the kingdom of His [God's) dear Son" (Col. 1:13).
Such then is the parable of the hidden treasure. Christ is the purchaser; His saints are the treasure; all men are the field. It is called the hidden treasure, for none could have discovered that Christ had a treasure where all was sin and wickedness. The doctrine of the Church too had been long hidden; as we read, Paul made known "the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations" (Col. 1:26). Then all were to see "what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God" (Eph. 3:9). Christ had then endured the shameful death of the cross—having become poor, sold all that He had—but He will have the treasure with Him by-and-by—a glorious Church, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing! To His name be all the glory!
THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE Matt. 13:45, 46
"The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchantman, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it."
This parable is very similar to the last under consideration. Here the merchantman sold all that he had to possess the prize. There is nothing said of buying the field; it is simply the pearl that is bought, the pearl of great price.
It is Christ who sought goodly pearls. Israel was, and will yet be, one of God's pearls, and He may have many others. But the Church was the pearl of great price—the bride, the Lamb's wife and our Lord sold all that He had, and bought it. Here also, who can tell what is included in that saying, "sold all that he had"? We must look at the height from which Christ came, and the depth to which He stooped, and then we can never fathom how much it cost our Lord in becoming poor. We can, indeed, only wonder, admire, and adore!
Now, if Christ calls His Church a pearl of great price—of such value, indeed, that to obtain it He gave up all—what value should not we set upon it, and think of every saint as a part of that pearl of great price? And how anxious we should be to answer to that value He set upon us! It should, indeed, cause us to give up all, and count all but dung and dross, that we might win Christ. (Phil. 3:8.) But this can surely be done only by those who already have Him as their Savior, and who desire to have Him solely as the object of their hearts, though never fully realized till we see Him as He is and are with Him in the glory.