The Parable of Hidden Treasure

Matthew 13:34

Prior to the 1900s, chocolate was a luxury good in the United States—it was imported, expensive, and mostly for the rich. At that time, a man named Milton was a candy-maker with a string of failed business ventures behind him. He became obsessed with the idea of making chocolate affordable for everyone in the U.S.

After seeing German chocolate-making machinery at the 1893 World’s Fair, he believed he could mass-produce milk chocolate, a treat then rare in America. Family, friends, and business colleagues thought he was nuts, esp. because his earlier business ideas had failed and the demand for chocolate in the U.S. market seemed low.

Still, Milton went all in. He sold his company, sank every penny into building a chocolate factory, and even mortgaged his home to fund his plan. In 1900, he started from scratch in rural, eastern Pennsylvania, facing setbacks which included failed recipes and skepticism from locals who doubted his factory would survive. Early sales were low, and it looked like he would fail again. He was stretched to the limit as creditors prepared to repossess their investments.

Then everything turned around. By refining milk chocolate and pricing it low, Milton tapped into a massive, unexpected demand. By 1907, his company was booming, and the town he built around it thrived. That town was called Derry Church, but it eventually changed its name to Hershey, named after Milton’s successful chocolate business, which also happened to be Milton’s last name.

Even though the idea of producing affordable chocolates in the U.S. seemed like a crazy idea to many, Hershey’s near-failure and personal risk paid off wonderfully. Though it seemed like he was making a foolish decision, letting everything go for a crazy idea that no one else could see, he was actually making the best possible choice, one that he would never regret.

That’s what Jesus taught about the kingdom of God in his parable of the hidden treasure. In this short, one-verse story, Jesus tells of a man finds a treasure chest buried in a field. Since law at that time required him to own the land in order to claim the treasure, he sold everything that he owned in order to buy the field. This would’ve seemed like a foolish decision because the land was likely worth less than what he sold to possess it.

So, what does this parable teach us about the kingdom of God?

God’s kingdom is not easy to see.

From what we can tell, the treasure in this story refers to the kingdom of God, and in this story, Jesus says that the treasure was hidden. And by the way that Jesus tells the story, it seems that no one else knew the treasure was there. If they knew, then there would have been a bidding war. But the man faced no competition in his purchase. The treasure was truly hidden away, something that no one else could see.

Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (Luke 17:20-21)

When the religious leaders of Jesus’ day asked him what the kingdom of God would look like when it came, he said they wouldn’t see it in the ways that we normally see a kingdom. God’s kingdom today does not consist of large military campaigns, impressive castles, cathedrals, and temples, or dramatic parades, wealth, and celebrations, and influential, powerful political leaders and rulers. Instead, the kingdom of God comes through the invisible presence of God among and within God’s people.

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)

To another religious leader, named Nicodemus Jesus said that it is impossible for a person to see the kingdom of God unless he or she is first born again. To be born again is to experience a second birth. We are all born physically into this material world that we can see and hear and feel. But our spirits are dead and blind to the things of God unless we are born again – that is, our spirits are brought to life by God. This happens if and when a person believes on Jesus Christ as God and Savior. Once a person has believed on Jesus Christ alone as God and Savior, then that person becomes a child of God and is now able to see the kingdom of God.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Heb 11:1)

So, to see the kingdom of God requires faith in God and what his Word teaches. That’s why Heb 11:1 tells us that faith is a strong belief in things which we cannot physically see. It’s why Abraham, for instance, spent his life looking for a city that didn’t exist on this earth, and why so many followers of Christ didn’t find in this world the things that God had promised to them.

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. (Heb 11:13)

So, though we live in the field of this world, there is a treasure in this field that is hard to see. It is a treasure that most people don’t see and one which, in order to see it, requires faith in Christ.

We should not be surprised that the majority of people on earth don’t see God’s kingdom. They are living for what they can see – things that are material, physical, tangible, and visible. Earthy accomplishments, family relationships, financial accumulation, and so on. This is why people hoard things, because doing so provides a sense of comfort and security. But when we follow Christ, he calls us to turn our eyes away from material, physical, tangible, and visible priorities to invisible, spiritual priorities of his kingdom.

That’s why Christ also said:

Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matt 6:33)

Does this sound scary to you? Does it sound sad?

God’s kingdom is a source of great joy.

From this story, we see that the man who sold everything that he had to buy the field was not sad that he had to sell everything. Jesus said that he was joyful, instead. To be joyful here means to be jubilant, happy, glad, and delighted. In our way of speaking today, you might say that “he could not contain his excitement.”

Does this make sense to you? How could this man be so excited and happy knowing that he was about to let go of everything that he owned, everything he had accumulated throughout life, everything that belonged to him? Not only does this seem confusing, but it may even seem insensitive. Shouldn’t he at least feel a little bit of sadness? Shouldn’t he at least acknowledge that those things had some value?

It's fascinating to notice the order in which Jesus describes this. He doesn’t say that the man was sad that he had to sell everything that he had, but eventually became happy after he got the treasure. No, he said that the man was happy first. He was excited and glad before and as he sold all everything that he owned. Why? Because he was deeply convinced and knew without a doubt that the treasure he was going to receive afterward was worth every sacrifice. Nothing that he owned was remotely close to the value of the treasure he was going to receive.

Before we comment on this a little more, let me pause to explain an important concept followed by a warning. First, the concept. The concept is sorrow, and what is sorrow? Sorrow (also grief) is the emotion of loss. To experience sorrow (or to grieve) is not sin. When we lose something that we love and value, it is normal to experience this emotion – the emotion of sadness. In fact, not only is it normal to experience this emotion, but it is healthy and vital to do so.

We experience this emotion when a friend or family member dies, or even when a pet dies. We experience sadness when we hear or read about horrible or tragic news headlines. We experience sadness (and also joy) when a child marries and moves out of the house, when things we like about our family, church, or community change, when a longtime friend moves far away, when we lose a job, misplace our wallet or purse, and even when it’s dark outside.

However, for a person who follows Christ, the experience of sorrow should be different from other people. Paul says that we should “not grieve as others do who have no hope.” (1 Ths 4:13). This means that our grief, sadness, and sorrow should heal deeper and faster. It means that sorrow, though real, should not control, overwhelm, and permeate our lives. Why is this? Because we know that Christ is God, that he died and rose again, and that he will make all wrongs right in the end. We know that no loss and no change, not even death itself, can alter God’s good plans and purposes for your life. And we know the kingdom of God does not consist of the things which change and go away in this life.

For this reason, guard yourself from falling into a perpetual state of sadness. If grief and sadness persist in your life and diminish or prevent you from experiencing happiness and joy as your dominant emotion, then depression may be setting in, and depression is sorrow without hope. If you sense that sadness has taken over your emotions, then ask yourself what change or loss has occurred in your life. Let the degree or strength of your sadness help you realize how deeply you loved and valued that person, thing, or circumstance. No matter how good that person, thing, circumstance may have been, realize that if you are allowing the change or loss of it to cause such ongoing, overwhelming sadness – such that you are no longer truly joyful and such that you are unable to enjoy and participate wholeheartedly in the things which truly matter for the kingdom of God, then that thing which changed or which you lost is likely an idol, something that you have elevated and valued too highly, more than God himself or more than God intended. Admit this idol to God and refocus your heart on the goodness of God and the promises of his Word. Realize that Christ is all you need and his kingdom is what truly matters – this will never go away. As Paul teaches us:

Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith.

We should learn to be the joyful kind of person that King Lune teaches his son Cor to be in C.S. Lewis’s story called “The Horse and His Boy”:

This is what it means to be a king: to be first in every desperate attack and last in every desperate retreat, and when there’s hunger in the land (as must be now and then in bad years) to wear finer clothes and laugh louder over a scantier meal than any man in your land.
If you are struggling with ongoing sadness today, even with feeling that following Christ is more of a sad than a happy experience, more of a tragic than a joyful journey, then confess this to God and rejoice in the Lord. Yes, the kingdom of God calls upon us to exchange and prioritize the things of this life for things which are difficult to see right now. But there is joy in serving Jesus!

God’s kingdom is worth every sacrifice.

Now this is the point of this story. Yes, the kingdom of God is hard to see. Yes, we should be joyful and not sad in following Christ. But most importantly, we must truly believe that the risk is worth the reward. We respect Olympic athletes, for instance, who devote their entire early lives to the goal of winning a gold medal. We admire other professional athletes who earn massive contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars. But we have a far more important and worthwhile goal than an Olympic medal or massive contract. Our goal is to prepare for eternity in God’s kingdom as we follow Christ today. And about that, here’s what Christ says that makes all the gold medals and multimillion dollar contracts seem insignificant:

Everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life. (Matt 19:29)

So, let’s ask ourselves today, “Am I glad to make any sacrifice for Christ?” “Am I making his priorities my priorities?” “Is pursuing the priorities of God’s kingdom my highest priority over everything else?”

In the 1800s, a man named David Livingstone explored Africa to open a way for the gospel to spread throughout that continent. He was the first European we know of to cross the width of Africa and to see the majestic Victoria Falls. He also witnessed the horrors of East African slave trade and committed himself as an abolitionist. A year before his death in 1873, on his 59th birthday, he wrote these words in his journal: “My Jesus, my King, my Life, my All. I again dedicate my whole self to Thee.”

Several years before, he had spoken to a gathering of students at Cambridge University about “leaving the benefits of England behind.” In this address, he said:

For my own part, I have never ceased to rejoice that God has appointed me to such an office. People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. . . . Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word in such a view, and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice.

Words like this are repeated frequently by Christian missionaries for years to come. Nearly 50 years later, a missionary to China – Hudson Taylor – himself experienced many difficult things in following Christ, many losses, many hardships. Yet he also said, “I never made a sacrifice.” He apparently passed on this same heart of faith and hope and joy to his daughter-in-law (and son) who wrote years after his died, who said:

But now I know that such words are wholly true. Talk of sacrifice, this is no sacrifice! There is no such word to the Christian. . . . Count it all joy — all joy!

May we who are not called to such difficult adventures for Christ in the jungles of Africa or the foreign lands of China learn to “sell all that we have to buy the field,” seizing every opportunity in this earthly life to invest in kingdom priorities. And in doing so, may we say no to sadness and yes to joy. May we love the things of this life less and the things of God’s kingdom more.

Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb 12:2)