On Sunday, Jay Mijares’ lesson for us was “The Kingdom of Heaven is Like”, taken from Matthew 13:44-46, the parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl:
“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.
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.”
There are different ways to interpret the parables. We can think of the field as the gospel and Jesus as the treasure hidden in it. After all, we have to dig deep to truly believe; a cursory skimming of the gospel will yield no treasure. If a man sells all he has, that means he’s turning away from earthly ‘treasures’ and giving all to Jesus. He learned that buying that field is worth all of that, and more.
We can assume that the merchant was searching only for the best, most valuable pearl. One interpretation is that Jesus is the merchant and his believers are the pearls. Or we can say that the merchant is a seeker and the pearl (the treasure) is Jesus. Pearls are, in fact, symbols of truth and purity. (John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”)
One important point is that pearls are only formed by irritation. An irritant enters the oyster and it creates a substance to cover up the irritant; that substance, over time, becomes the pearl. So we learn that faith can’t grow without some suffering. We must allow the Spirit to mold us.
Lessons Learned from the Parables of the Kingdom:
The kingdom of heaven is an acquired treasure, not an inheritance or an heirloom.
The kingdom of heaven brought them joy
The kingdom of heaven is acquired through sacrifice and struggle
The kingdom of heaven is salvation.
Jay asked us to consider three questions as we study this lesson:
Is Jesus Christ your treasure? Is Jesus worth giving up everything for? Is your faith authentic or synthetic?
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