“Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
– Matthew 13:44
What a great verse. What a great picture. So imagine this man walking into a field, he discovers a treasure there that nobody else knows is there, and so what does he do? He buries it, covers it up, and he goes away, and he starts selling everything he has. Everything he has. That’s what the text says, all that he has. You can imagine people coming up to him saying, “You’re crazy. Why are you selling all that you have?” He says, “I’m going to buy that field over there.” Of course, they don’t know what’s in the field, so they say, “You’re crazy. You’re going to sell you have to buy that field?” He smiles as he looks at them, and he says “I’ve got a hunch.” He smiles because inside, he knows that he has found something that’s worth losing everything for, and that’s the point of this little story.
Matthew 13:44 Glorifies the Value of Jesus Christ
Jesus is worth more than everything this world offers us.
In Christ, in the kingdom of Christ, we have found someone, something that’s worth losing everything for. It just makes sense. Now, not to the world. It doesn’t make sense to forsake pleasures and pursuits and possessions in this world to follow Christ. It makes no sense to the world. That looks crazy to the world, but we know we can smile because inside we know that in Christ, we have found someone who is worth losing everyone for. So I encourage you, based on this text, don’t hold tightly to the fleeting pleasure and possessions and pursuits of this world.
Hold tightly to the treasure of Christ, even though it makes no sense to the world around us. Cling to him because he is worth more than everything this world has put together. Jesus, we praise you as the king whose worth far surpasses everything else in the world combined. You are great. You are gracious. Christ, You are glorious. You are majestic. You are mighty, and we know that in you, we have everything we need. In you we have everything we want. We say in prayer right now, that you alone are the one we want, so help us we pray to forsake pleasures and pursuits and possessions in this world as you call us to.
Matthew 13:44 Reveals the Right Perspective of God
Lord, help us to see the ways we’re holding too tightly to things in this world. Lord, call us to see even down to things we need to get rid of in order to pursue you, in order to cause your kingdom to come and your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, in order to proclaim the good news of your kingdom to more people that they might know the treasure that is found in you. Oh, God, give us the right perspective of you and a right perspective of all this world has to offer us. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
