Treasured Possession :: Matthew 13:44

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The reign of the heavens is like a treasure which was concealed in a field. Then when a man finds it, he hides it, and in his joy he goes and sells everything that he has and buys that field.

3. There is Jesus treasure out there. So here’s what you need to do. 

First, Go find it. Y’all are smart enough. Y’all are energetic enough. Y’all know how to read. So if you dig deep enough, work hard enough, read long enough ... all that treasure will be yours.

Second, when you do find it, make sure you express joy about finding it. Say Hallelujah and Amen so that everyone can hear you. I know you Lutherans like to sit on your hands and zip your lips ... but if you aren’t overjoyed, if you aren’t telling the world about the Jesus treasure you’ve found, I’m going to doubt your sincerity. 

Third, sell everything you have. And I mean everything ... your tractors, your cows, your pastures, your houses, your stuff. When you give everything to God, you’ll really see good things happening in the kingdom. 

Now go get Jesus. 


Wasn’t that awful? I hope you think so. 

I’m sorry y’all had to hear all that. But you really should know, what I just said is not so uncommon in some church circles. In some ways, I’ve exaggerated how they do it. But there really are preachers around the country saying stuff like that all the time. 

They turn today’s Gospel reading ... and it is pure Gospel ... into law, and they tell you what you need to do. 


So the moment you are told the scriptures are about you, or about the money you need to give, or about the understanding you need to gain to earn your reward, or about the wisdom and knowledge of God that is just waiting to be discovered ... run away. 

The preacher who tells you this has it terribly wrong ... dangerously wrong ... so wrong that Saint Paul was compelled to write an entire epistle about it, declaring to the Galatians: I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.


Today's parable isn't a different Gospel. It is The Gospel: Pure Gospel.

2. This parable ... the parable of hidden treasure ... is not about you and what you must do to find Jesus.

The prosperity gospel is an umbrella term for a group of ideas — popular among evangelicals — that equate Christian faith with success. It has a long history in American culture. A 2018 poll found that 25 percent American Christians identify explicitly with this movement. You probably know someone who does. One-third espouse the idea that “if you give your money to God, God will bless you with more;” and 70 percent of American Christians agree with the idea that “God wants people to be prosperous.”

They say things like ...

  • God wants to bless you, but. ... 

  • Jesus came to give you abundance, but. .... 

  • God wants you to honor him through your success. 

  • God wants you to be consistent. 

  • God wants you to care.

In fact, most preachers outside Lutheran circles would have you believe you should spare no effort in obtaining God’s offer of salvation in Jesus. In other words, you should devote all you have to reach the kingdom’s goal. Dig deep and Give. God will bless you. 

That is Law. 


Instead, hear the Parable of the Hidden Treasure that Jesus told his disciples in a house after he dismissed the crowds that were following him. The reign of the heavens is like this, Jesus began. 

This parable, like the second one in our reading ... the Parable of the Pearl of Great Price ... are almost identical. They are not about you and what you must do. They are about a Man ... the Man ... finding something that has been lost ... a treasure, a pearl ... and paying the ultimate price to acquire it ... to win it for the kingdom. You are the treasure ... just like the church is the treasure in the Parable of the Priceless Pearl.

Jesus told us these parables from Saint Matthew chapter 13 so that we can better understand who he is and what he is doing for you and for the church. So that we can have faith in him, trust in him. He who has ears, let him hear.


  • The parables are not about Jesus waiting for you to discover him in his scriptures ... as if you will be able to work that out for yourselves ... although dedicating devotional time to reading God’s word is a wonderful thing.

  • The parables are not metaphors teasing you into memorizing the scriptures, although that is a good activity you can’t give too much time to, too. 

The parables show us that I cannot by my own reason or strength dig deep enough in the Word to find God. ... That I cannot by my own reason or strength find the direct knowledge of God through my life experiences. ... That I cannot find God in my heart. When you find yourself searching for God through your experiences, your thoughts, your feelings ... repent. 


Brothers and sisters in Christ, the reign of the heavens ... (or we could say, like the English Standard Version ... the kingdom of heaven) ... describes how God works in your life ... through you, for you. God is the subject. The parable describes how Christ’s divine action to redeem his people from their sin has begun. This is the way all of the parables in Matthew chapter 13 work. They are all about God’s plan to save you, to call you, to redeem by paying the greatest price of all.

God sent His son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, to become the only righteous man to walk the earth. He came to make you his own treasured possession (1 Peter 2:9-10). Or as our Old Testament reading from Deuteronomy reminds us ... a people holy to the Lord your God. ... He has chosen you because he loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers (7:6-7). And because he has chosen you, He has given you his Holy Spirit, to illuminate and strengthen us in the saving faith in Christ, who has promised. 


The Holy Spirit has called you by the Gospel, enlightened you with his gifts, and sanctifies and keeps you in the one true faith. And now you are able to hear the full gospel in the parable. 

In the same way, he calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth and keeps you with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian Church, he daily and richly forgives all your sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day, He will raise you and all the dead, and give eternal life to you and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true because the reign of the heavens has drawn near to you ... The reign of the heavens shows you what God is doing for you through Christ, and to you through the Holy Spirit ... 


Now you can understand how 

1. This parable is actually about what God does for you.

Jesus Christ, true God and true man, came down to his created field ... so that he could find us, purchase us, redeem us from our sin, and set us free. For too long, you were hidden in darkness unable to see the truth. But Jesus Christ, true God and true man, the light of the world, finds each of us hiding from our sins, in our sins. He calls us out of our darkness, and then hears our confession and absolves us, delivering to you true peace.

Jesus, true God and true man, found his treasure ... you ... and then with heavenly joy, sold everything he had to redeem you from sin, death, and the devil. He did this by giving up all the treasures of heaven to you, for you. Specifically, he gave his precious body and blood ... suffering on the cross for you. He who knew no sin became sin for you ... taking your pain and your poverty ... your sickness and your weakness ... bearing it up on the cross so that it will die with him. He faced the full wrath of God the Father almighty on the cross for you so that you could receive his righteousness forever. 

He shed his blood for the forgiveness of your sins so that justice could be served and you could be declared innocent. 


Jesus is the man in the parable. As the second person of the Trinity, he is the only one who is actually willing and able to give up everything. 

So now ... If God is for us, who can be against us? (Rom 8:31)


These parables share the hope and assurance that we have in Jesus Christ ... so that we could have life in him ... so that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:39). To use the language of scripture, Jesus temporarily laid aside the glory he possessed from eternity past as he emptied himself and took on the form of a servant in his incarnation. His entire ministry, culminating in his death and resurrection, is the extravagant act of giving up everything for you. You are his treasure. 


Each day at God’s good pleasure, God’s gracious will is done. 

He sent his greatest treasure in Jesus Christ, his son. (LSB 713 st. 4)


Because God has done this for you, we really should return the favor and


Thank the Lord, sing his praise, and tell everyone what he has done. 

Let all who seek the Lord rejoice and proudly bear his name.

Through the proclamation of the Gospel. Through the baptism he poured out upon you. Through his eucharist ... his body and blood ... delivered to you. Through his sacraments. Yes ... through these means of grace.

CHRIST HAS BOUGHT YOU SO THAT YOU WOULD BECOME
HIS TREASURED POSSESSION.

Now the keys of heaven are yours. Amen.

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