Priceless
Matthew 13: 44, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto dtreasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and eselleth all that he hath, and fbuyeth that field.” [1]
I. Discovered
A. Special
B. Secret
II. Decided
A. Sell
B. Surrender
III. Decided
A. Satisfied
B. Saved
Introduction: We are nearing the time of remembering when Heaven came down to earth. The Messiah has come, and we are waiting for Him to return. There is so much talk of what to buy and how to buy but there is not much said about the gift of heaven today. Jesus wanted us to know something about where we will be with Him one day. That everlasting day.
Is there anything that is truly priceless? That is the title of today’s message, “Priceless.” Is there anything that you would give up everything that you have worked for so far to have and hold forever? The rich young ruler is mentioned three times in the New Testament gospel accounts. What can I do to inherit eternal life? That was his question to Jesus.
We believe that unless we work towards a goal the prize isn’t worth much. The rich young ruler was accustomed to having what he wanted by doing something himself to attain it. Perhaps he knew that eternal life was different because he asked what he could do to inherit it. Did he understand that to inherit means that someone else paid the price and died for it? To inherit means that you have what was paid for by somebody else. There is nothing that you can do to inherit except wait and accept.
To inherit also means that you cannot buy it from the person who rightfully owns it. There is no way to work for or pay for something which you inherit. It is priceless.
What if it means giving up what you already have? We read in the book of Ruth of a kindred redeemer who had possessions which he valued more than Ruth. He allowed Boaz to redeem her because he wanted to keep what he had. Boaz became the forefather to King David and Jesus because someone decided against that which was priceless, thinking what they had was of more value. That man’s name is forgotten.
As we approach this time of Christmas, what, if anything, would you be willing to give up for eternal life? Have you ever been faced with the decision to either hold onto what you have or give it up to receive something life changing? That is what truly accepting Jesus means. There is no middle ground of hanging onto part of you so that you might become a better you.
Jesus used a parable to describe just that. When a person finds perfection and they realize that they are imperfect due to their own decisions, a new decision is offered. When Jesus came, He offered perfection. He offered Himself. He left behind what He had, and came to live and die for anyone who is willing to give up what they have attained with the imperfection of this world, for the perfection of heaven.
Jesus suffered and died so that we do not have to. He went back to heaven so that we could know the way. He left heaven but He received us. We must decide to leave what we have for others so that we can inherit the perfection Jesus offers.
Whether we decide or not, we will one day leave all that is here for others. One day it will not be our decision. As long as God gives you breath, you can make that decision. What is your decision today?
Scripture: The scripture for this message is Matthew 13:44. Please Stand Under the reading of God’s word.
Prayer: Please be seated.
Message: The translation into English in the KJV might be confusing. The word hid and later the word hideth seem like they may be the same word and the same tense. Somebody found a thing that was hidden by someone else. Later the person who found the treasure decided to keep the thing as if it were an undiscovered secret. He hid the fact that he knew about it. He hid it in his heart.
It seems at first that the thing was hidden twice but as we go along with the message today, we will find that the One who hid the thing is God. Those who find what God had hidden can now hide what was hidden from most. When God’s perfect gift is found by those who will accept Jesus, now we hold Him in our hearts.
We will discuss how to get to that point of forsaking all to accept the greatest gift ever given. It is not as if you can live in both worlds forever. Either you choose to leave this behind and follow Jesus or you stay on this plane until you spend eternity apart from the God who created you.
As Jesus went on explaining what heaven is like, it is impossible for those enlightened by The Holy Spirit to miss the truth that the Kingdom of God is not possible without Jesus. The Kingdom of God is not possible without our Heavenly Father. The Kingdom of God is not possible to see without the Holy Spirit. For those who have not accepted Jesus as Lord, the truth of The Kingdom of Heaven is hidden and will remain hidden until the judgement day. Then all will bow.
Jesus said again… He used several examples or illustrations to describe God’s kingdom. There is too much to explain in just a few statements. Heaven is too vast to contain in all the language that we can use to explain. Jesus is too much. The things that Jesus accomplished those few short years on earth are too many to list. Here is what John the apostle said at the end of his gospel account in John 21, “24 This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and qwe know rthat his testimony is true. 25 sAnd there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that teven the world itself could not ucontain the books that should be written. Amen.” 2
The kingdom of Heaven is like… Someone hid something of unmatched treasure in a field. Out in the middle of a field where someone could have uncovered it if they had only known. Why did that particular man uncover or discover the thing? Was he looking for something? Are you?
Often, we look for things without having any idea what we are looking for. When we find them, often we have no idea what we have found. This man knew that he had discovered an extremely special secret that had been hidden there by someone who left it for the finding. Why nobody had found it before is a mystery, but apparently nobody knew that it was there all along.
When the man knew what he had it changed his total perspective. Now he could not look at things the way that he did before. Nothing else that he had known to that point in his life was worth as much as this that he had discovered, and he hid it in his heart until he could rid himself of all else.
Notice that the test says that he sold all that he had. Could he have simply given it away? He had to make a conscious decision to rid himself of what he had accomplished prior to accepting the greatest gift of all. He could not keep what he had before and have what he now knew was worth all that he could ever imagine. Nothing was the same anymore. He had to sell his old life and surrender to his new life. How many are willing to do that?
That man made his decision. He sold all that he had and took possession of the greatest and most priceless gift that he could not buy. Up to that point he had accumulated things. Otherwise, he would have had nothing to sell. Now his life would not be filled with accumulating earthly rewards anymore. He was satisfied with the gift that he could not work for. He was satisfied that he had reached that which he didn’t know he had searched for. He was saved from all the anguish of want.
We work and we search, and we slave to get things that will run out one day. This man was no different. If you can consider the words of that rich young ruler, perhaps it might remind of what he was asking of Jesus that day. We find Matthew’s gospel account of the rich young ruler in chapter nineteen verse sixteen, “16 And, behold, xone came and said unto him, Good yMaster, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” [3]
This rich young ruler was not an evil fellow. He was respected by the others with Jesus that day. He had a good reputation, but he was looking for something that he had not acquired yet. He didn’t want to die, and his life not count for anything. He knew that Jesus was good. He referred to Jesus as “Good Master.” Jesus explained that there is only one good and that is God. The young ruler had found the greatest treasure, yet Jesus’ true divinity was hidden from the fellow. He went away sorrowfully. Perhaps He was given a second chance but he decided to let that chance pass by.
The rich young ruler in the three gospel accounts did not do as this one in the parable we read today. The rich young ruler could not go and sell all he had to follow Jesus. What he had worked for was more precious to him than Jesus. In all that he ever did, there was no good thing that the rich young ruler could do that was good enough because what he needed was there with him and he didn’t receive Him.
When the man in the parable discovered the greatest gift which is the Kingdom of Heaven, he recognized and did what he had to do to receive it. He walked with God. Today we still have that choice. We can do as the Rich Young Ruler and continue to walk apart from God, or we can be like the man in the parable and give up all we think we have done ourselves to walk with Jesus. It is your choice that decides your eternity.
Prayer:
Invitation: God created the universe in six of His days. Jesus described a field where there was a priceless treasure. We know that within this huge seemingly limitless field, this grand universe that God created, God placed a tiny insignificant gem and named it earth.
He took elements of this planet and God created all the plants and animals and then God created us, mankind. Of all the people who ever existed, God allowed His most precious relationship to be broken for a time so that His only begotten Son became the only perfect human of all the human beings that ever existed. Amid such a great field, Jesus came here. He is that treasure from God’s kingdom and He is waiting to be found. Jesus is no longer hidden.
We live in this place and the thing called time to show us how precarious our temporary existence is here and now. God has a great big field where we are going one eternal day if only we will accept that precious gem in the center of it all. His name is Jesus.
We concentrate on the things of this world as if there is no eternity. We strive and we work, and we argue that we must have things the way we want things while we are walking right past the greatest treasure. Jesus came here as an insignificant child hidden in a manger because in the vastness of this universe that God created, mankind had no room for Him.
God has plenty of room for us in a magnificent place in His kingdom. Our place there cannot be bought because it has already been paid for. It is priceless and it is yours if you are willing to make the conscious decision to receive it. Are you willing said the Master?
d So Prov. 2:4.
e ver. 46. Comp. Phil. 3:7, 8.
[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Mt 13:44). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc..
q 1 John 3:2, 14. & 5:15, 18, 19, 20. So ch. 19:35.
r 3 John 12 (Gk.).
s ch. 20:30.
t Amos 7:10 (Heb.).
u ch. 2:6. So Mark 2:2 (Gk.).
[2] Ibid., Jn 21:24–25). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
x To ver. 30, Mark 10:17–31. Luke 18:18–30.
y Comp. Luke 10:25–28.
[3] Ibid., Mt 19:16). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
