Priceless
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Transcript
Matt 13:44-46
Matt 13:44-46
Intro:
Intro:
In the late nineties MasterCard ran a campaign on the subject that there are things in life money can’t buy, but for everything else there’s MasterCard (elaborate). Video?
Matthew records a series of parables of the kingdom (*e.g. 13:24, 31, 33, 44–47; 18:23; 20:1; 22:2; 25:1) which use the wisdom form of comparison, usually likening the kingdom to some event in daily life in which wise perceptions lead to spiritual enrichment or some other desirable outcome. Yet the parables also reinforce the hidden, spiritual and distinctive characteristics of the kingdom which make it accessible only to those who are initiated into its truth (13:11).
On multiple occasions I have proclaimed to you that not everyone who sits on a pew or calls him/herself a Christian is truly born again. I’ve pointed out Jesus’ words in Matt 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.”
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?
The very fact that it states twice for us to examine ourselves indicates the seriousness of the charge.
A greater discussion on the points of testing and examining is for another day; today we will test and examine ourselves in the area of cost.
Background
Background
Treasures were often buried for safekeeping. The most likely circumstance envisioned here is that of a peasant who, while working the field of a wealthy landowner, found the treasure but covered it again lest the landowner claim it for himself. The peasant then invested all his own resources into that field to procure the treasure. Stories of finding lost treasures naturally circulated among the poor; Jesus uses the story line to stir his hearers to seek for a treasure far greater than any on earth.
13:45–46. Divers sought pearls in the Red Sea, Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean, and some pearls could be worth the equivalent of millions of dollars. Jesus’ hearers were probably familiar with the basic story line; there seems to have been a folktale that ran similarly, although it did not make the same point about the kingdom.
Message
Message
The value of the kingdom — PRICELESS
These two parables describe the great value of the kingdom of heaven, as well as the extreme and urgent measures people should take because of it.
We have no trouble spending money, time, energy, or anything else on something we value.
If we value a friend, we spend time w/ them and don’t hesitate to spend our money on them.
When we really value something, we often want to spend even more than what can legitimately afford.
The value of the kingdom is incalculable.
The cost of the kingdom is affordable to all.
For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.
In these twin parables, Jesus is the treasure hidden in a field and the pearl of great price.
He is the inauguration and impetus of the re-establishment of God’s reign on the earth.
And Jesus was saying to them, “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”
Irenaeus — If any one, therefore, reads the Scriptures with attention, he will find in them an account of Christ, and a foreshadowing of the new calling (vocationis). For Christ is the treasure which was hid in the field, that is, in this world (for “the field is the world”9); but the treasure hid in the Scriptures is Christ, since He was pointed out by means of types and parables
However, the kingdom of God is not good news to all who hear but only to those who have a heart to hear and receive it.
Though they can afford it, not everyone is willing to pay what the kingdom requires.
Mark 10:17-27
Mark 10:17-27
Most of Jesus’ disciples had not been poor men; being fishermen and tax gatherers, but they abandoned their economic position in order to follow Him.
Therefore, you can understand more clearly Peter’s words in v. 28 (read).
The disciples astonishment and words in v. 26 “who then can be saved” is revealing.
In that culture, wealth was looked at as a blessing from God. If those who seemed to blessed by God couldn’t be saved, then who could?
When Peter states we have left everything to follow you, his statement has great significance:
(1) It further reveals the disciples wealth.
(2) It reveals the true cost for citizenship in a priceless kingdom.
The cost of the kingdom is a heart price, not a physical price.
Notice a similarity between this narrative and the dual parables of Matt 13.
In Matt 13 the one who found the treasure sold ALL he had for it; the merchant who found the pearl of great value, sold ALL he had to buy it.
In Mark 10 Jesus told the rich young ruler to go and sell ALL he possessed, and Peter told Jesus we have left EVERYTHING and followed you.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
300 Illustrations for Preachers Terms and Conditions May Apply
According to the 2013 movie Terms and Conditions May Apply, it would take the average American 180 hours per year to read all the “terms and conditions” he or she agrees to on websites and other agreements. It is no wonder that almost everyone checks the box indicating they agree with these lengthy documents filled with legal jargon. In fact, most of us would not understand it even if we read it. The point of the movie is that we are often agreeing to things that could end up costing us that which we never expected.
Many people who make a decision for Christ do not read the “terms and conditions” before saying “Yes!” Then when the road is difficult and Jesus calls us to suffer, we ask, “Why?” We must count the cost before committing to follow him. And follow—for it will be worth all you have to give and more than he will ever ask of you.
Prayer and Video
Prayer and Video