Two final parables to consider from Matthew 13:
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one priceless pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it."
The two parables highlight the singular value and worth of the kingdom. Both also highlight the hiddenness of the kingdom. And finally, both parables highlight the "selling of everything" to secure the kingdom.
The hiddenness is most apparent in the Parable of the Hidden Treasure. The Hidden Treasure is, of course, hidden. There is something of great value which is being overlooked. Once discovered, however, the value motivates an absolute commitment to securing it. The man, with joy, sells everything he has to buy the field where the treasure is hidden. In the Parable of the Pearl of Great Price, the merchant is, like a treasure hunter, searching for fine pearls. And his search pays off when he finally discovers the find of a lifetime, a "priceless" (CSB translation) pearl. Finding this pearl, the merchant sells everything he has to buy it. The value of the pearl creates a singular consolation: Everything is exchanged for this one thing.
I've been describing the parables of Matthew 13 as pessimistic. Perhaps that isn't the best word. But I'm using it to point to things like the hidden aspect of the kingdom. No doubt the kingdom is of inestimable value, worth "selling everything" to obtain. Consequently, we like to highlight and advertise this value. If people knew the kingdom's worth they would come! And yet, in both of these parables the value of the kingdom isn't announced. The value is perceived only by a single person. Others don't know where the treasure is buried or cannot see the value of the pearl they are selling. Rather than being marketed and broadcast abroad, the value of the kingdom in these parables goes back to the issue of perception. The value has to be perceived. The parables highlight discovery (the treasure) and searching (the pearl). You have to be looking for it. Consequently, only a few will make the discovery.
Again, Jesus' audience is the interpretation of these parables. Jesus is offering a treasure, but it is hidden. He is setting before them a priceless pearl, and they are willing to give it away. Others, however, perceive the value and will "sell everything" to follow Jesus, will make the utmost commitment to secure the kingdom. The pessimistic note here, highlighted in these parables, is that those who reject the kingdom greatly outnumber those who accept it. They walk by the hidden treasure and see the pearl bought by another.
This touches more closely the dilemma with which Jesus and we who follow him struggle. Some of us experience the truth that the kingdom is already present while also still arriving. We have experienced the seed growing within us and beginning to bear fruit.
We also know that this process begins as an inward experience that is difficult to describe, let alone offer, to someone who has not yet experienced it. This may account for the hiddenness: the fact that someone cannot know the kingdom until they discover it in themselves.
However, these two parable have always puzzled me. The treasure and the pearl are worthless if no one else knows that I have them. They might as will be rocks in a field.
The kingdom only becomes of value if I share it. And since I cannot effectively verbalize the deep reality of the kingdom to others, I have to reveal it in how I engage with them. I have to treat them as if they are already in the kingdom. Which, in truth, they are. They may not yet know it. But all beings are already in the kingdom.
This is not a matter of moving from one place to another. It is a matter of opening our eyes and seeing that, whenever we live as if in the kingdom, we are in the kingdom.
The parables of the sower and of the tares seem more open to this possibility. They both involve growing wheat that will feed others.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer understood this (Ethics. New York: A Touchstone Book, 1995.):
"To allow the hungry man to remain hungry would be blasphemy against God and one’s neighbor, for what is nearest to God is precisely the need of one’s neighbor.
"It is for the love of Christ, which belongs as much to the hungry man as to myself, that I share my bread with him and that I share my dwelling with the homeless.
"If the hungry man does not attain to faith, then the fault falls on those who refused him bread. To provide the hungry man with bread is to prepare the way for the coming of grace."
I would rather be the sower than the man with the treasure or the pearl. The sower trusts God’s grace to take each seed to the person who needs it. And God nurtures that seed in that person forever. There is no end to the possibility for it to sprout and grow.
Blessings, Mike