Matthew 13:36-46
36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
44 “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.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. [1]
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The twin parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great value can be taken in two ways. It all depends on who the man or merchant is, and what the treasure or pearl represents.
On the one hand, the parables could be holding up Christ, who gave His all, sold all that He had, in giving His life for us on the cross. We are the treasure. We are the pearl, and Christ has given His all to make us His own. In other words, the parables are a beautiful picture of the Gospel.
On the other hand, the parables could be seen as a call to total discipleship. The man and the merchant point to us, and the treasure and the pearl is Christ, or a relationship with Him. And so the parables are a call to value possessing Christ above anything else in life. We are to sell all that we have, place everything else aside in order to follow Him alone. In other words, the parables are a beautiful picture of discipleship and sanctification.
I tend to think that the parables are intentionally ambiguous so that we can bring both views together. The bottom line is that the Kingdom of God involves total dedication, total surrender, total giving of ourselves. This is what Christ did for us in going to the cross as our Savior. This is what it means for us to follow Him as His disciples. The Kingdom is not about half-measures or lukewarm commitment. The Kingdom of God is total, complete, and authentic devotion.
Lord Jesus, I praise you for you complete and total dedication to my salvation, that You gave Your all to make me Your own. Fill me with Your Spirit, that my life would be marked by complete and total dedication to You and Your Kingdom.
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
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[1] The New International Version. (2011). (Mt 13:36–46). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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