“The King and the Kingdom”
(Matthew 13:44-58)
Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]
Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD
First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida
September 22, 2019
The Passage
Matthew 13:44-58
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. 46 When he found one priceless pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it.
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea. It collected every kind of fish, 48 and when it was full, they dragged it ashore, sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but threw out the worthless ones. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out, separate the evil people from the righteous, 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 “Have you understood all these things?” They answered him, “Yes.”
52 “Therefore,” he said to them, “every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom treasures new and old.”
53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he left there. 54 He went to his hometown and began to teach them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? 55 Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 56 And his sisters, aren’t they all with us? So where does he get all these things?” 57 And they were offended by him.
Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his household.” 58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
Introductory Comments:
I’m part of a group that centers around physical fitness and team building while wearing rucksacks, or backpacks. It’s really not that special, we walk around like a bunch of kids with backpacks on, but we pay money to do it. Well, this company, which is called GORUCK has created their own backpacks, or rucksacks. They’ve created lots of different ones over the years in different sizes and colors. In order to make a little extra spending money I buy and resell these rucksacks when I can. It’s sort of a fun challenge to see if I can turn a profit. Well, among these people that buy and resell these a term has developed concerning the rucksacks. The terms is unicorn. A unicorn is a rare rucksack that you hardly ever see. Perhaps it’s a certain model, size, or color that’s not made any more. Well, if you can find a true unicorn rucksack, you can find something of value. Something that’s worth a lot (relatively speaking).
Today, in Matthew 13, we’re going to hear from Jesus some more parables which speak about the value of the kingdom of heaven. In part, we’re going to learn what the kingdom really is worth.
Before we do, let’s pray together and ask God to speak to us.
(prayer)
Jesus is in the middle of a flurry of parables that teach us more about the kingdom of heaven.
The people of God have heard about the kingdom before, but now they are hearing about it in a new and revolutionary way. Jesus is revealing more and more and the wheels are spinning faster and faster as the kingdom of heaven starts to come to light.
Now, Jesus is going to show us even more. Let’s learn these four revelations today about the kingdom, four things that Jesus will reveal to us:
The first revelation, . . .
I. The kingdom is priceless (vv. 44-46) [on screen]
Listen now as Jesus now as Jesus speaks to this. Let’s look at Matthew 13:44-46.
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. 46 When he found one priceless pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it.
Here we h ave two pictures of the worth of something. What is that something? It’s the kingdom of heaven!
Jesus says, “The kingdom of heave is like . . .” People try to make this parable about Israel, or the Church, or other things, but it is clearly about the kingdom of heaven. It is about the place and people of God surrounded by God’s glory and presence throughout all eternity.
So, the kingdom of heaven is like a great treasure and a priceless pearl.
Recently, I was blessed to be able to secure a Pasta Pass from Olive Garden. Have you heard of those? You have to wait at a computer on a website and be quick to the draw to press a button at a certain time when the pasta passes are available. Then, you can buy a pass to eat all the pasta that you want for a certain period of time. I was waiting to secure one on behalf of someone else this year, and I got two. When I was accepted I had the opportunity to buy a lifetime pasta pass for $500. Now, that’s a lot of money, but that’s also a lot of pasta! I’m only 37 years old and if God allows me to live up into my 70s, 80s, or 90s, boy I could eat $5,000 worth of pasta. I had to ask the question: “What’s a lifetime pasta pass worth?”
Here, Jesus is pointing us to the great worth of the kingdom of heaven.
A man discovers a treasure in a field (perhaps he’s working in that field) and he hides the treasure back where it was in order to buy the field. He obviously doesn’t have enough money to buy the field, so he sells everything that he has in order to buy it. Not only did he sell everything he had, but he did so with joy! He was joyful to give up everything in order to obtain the treasure!
Similarly, a merchant who was on the hunt for valuable fine pearls finds a pearl that is more than fine, it is priceless! So, in order to gain the priceless pearl the man goes and sells everything!
The meaning is obvious! Here’s the revealed truth for us from Jesus: the kingdom of heaven is priceless!
(pause)
Have you ever thought about how much you might pay for something?
How much would you pay for perfect health?
How much would you pay for acceptance?
How much would you pay for a happy family?
How much would you pay for beauty?
How much would you pay for pleasure?
How much would you pay for a second chance or for things to be put back right?
Some of us would pay a lot of money for those things.
What about the kingdom of God?
The beauty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that we can have much more than all the treasures and pleasures that this world has to offer. We can gain the kingdom of heaven!
The kingdom of heaven is so valuable that it’s worth us giving up everything else to gain it.
We can give up our possessions, our acceptance, our family, our health, our opportunities, our friends, even our own lives, and if we have Jesus we have everything!
Paul spoke of this in Philippians 3:8 when he said:
8 More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them as dung, so that I may gain Christ [on screen]
Not only are we to be willing to give up everything when we truly see the kingdom of heaven for what it is, but we do so with joy! Do you find joy in the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
Some of us just stumbled upon the Gospel like the man who stumbled upon the treasure. Some of us were searching for truth and we found the Gospel of Jesus to be what we needed. In both cases, really, God found us with the Gospel of Jesus and He revealed to us the priceless treasure of the kingdom of heaven!
The kingdom of heaven is worth more than anything. It is priceless.
Revelation number two:
II. The kingdom is exclusive (vv. 47-50) [on screen]
This is very similar to what we learned last week when it came to the parable of the weeds and the wheat.
Let’s look at verses 47-50.
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea. It collected every kind of fish, 48 and when it was full, they dragged it ashore, sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but threw out the worthless ones. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out, separate the evil people from the righteous, 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
After learning about the parable of the weeds and the wheat last week, it’s not hard for us to discern the meaning of this parable. They two are very similar. Further, the meaning is pretty plain anyways.
In this second truth, Jesus gives us another picture of the kingdom of heaven. It’s like a net that is thrown into the sea to catch fish. This would be a large net that is meant to collect a lot of fish. The net would be dragged to shore after covering a large area. Then, the fishermen would sort through the fish and keep the good ones while throwing out the worthless ones.
So also, at the end of the age, when Jesus returns, the angels of God will sort through all the people of the earth. Those who have been made righteous by the blood of Jesus will enter into the kingdom and those who have not will be thrown into the fiery furnace of hell.
One can gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven only by the blood of Jesus Christ. Not everyone is allowed in. It is exclusive. It is more exclusive than any hunting or fishing club, any golf and country club, any celebrity afterparty, and any elite university.
Hell is a real place and heaven is a real place.
There’s only one way into heaven and there’s only one type of person in: those who are redeemed by Jesus.
Further, we learn that . . .
III. The kingdom treasures are old and new (vv. 51-52) [on screen]
Jesus further clarifies what the kingdom of heaven is like by saying that it has treasures that are both old and new. That is, there are secrets that are revealed about the kingdom of God that are both old and new.
Listen to verses 51 and 52:
51 “Have you understood all these things?” They answered him, “Yes.”
52 “Therefore,” he said to them, “every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom treasures new and old.”
Jesus wants to make sure that His disciples understood all that He was telling them and they said, “Yes.” Whether or not they really did understand everything is up for debate, but, nevertheless, Jesus seeks to build on their understanding.
Jesus ties together the truths of the Old Testament law and the truths of being His disciple. They are like new and old treasures, both which are valued by the owner of a home. He brings these out to show them off to his guests because He is proud of them.
So also, the kingdom of heaven and the ways of God have truths that are revealed to us from both the law of God, which makes up much of the Old Testament, and the teachings of Jesus, which makes up most of the New Testament.
Contrary to what some may say, the New Testament does not do away with the Old Testament, it builds upon it; it fulfills it; it magnifies and clarifies that which was unseen and hidden in such a way that a beautiful masterpiece is painted, which shows us the kingdom of heaven.
There are magnificent revelations about God in both the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus.
The final revelation about the kingdom is that . . .
IV. The king is not always honored (vv. 53-58) [on screen]
Jesus has demonstrated to us that He is worthy of all glory, honor, and praise.
Even during His ministry on the earth He demonstrated His power over sickness and death, and He showed that He could perform miracles and teach with great authority. Yet, not everyone honored Him as Messiah.
Listen to verses 53-58.
53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he left there. 54 He went to his hometown and began to teach them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? 55 Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 56 And his sisters, aren’t they all with us? So where does he get all these things?” 57 And they were offended by him.
Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his household.” 58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
Remember that Jesus has moved His home base to Capernaum, on the north side of the Sea of Galilee. However, in this case He is going back to His hometown, Nazareth.
In Nazareth, the people do not show Him honor. They said, “Wait a minute . . . we know this guy. We saw Him grow up here. He’s the son of the carpenter. He’s Mary’s son. He’s the brother of James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. His sisters are right over there. This isn’t the Messiah. This is just Jesus.”
He didn’t get the respect He deserved because these people saw Him just as the guy they knew from Nazareth, rather than the Savior of the world!
Jesus quoted a famous saying among the Jewish people, and one we still use today, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his household.”
Then we see these sad words in verse 58: “And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.”
The people of Nazareth missed out on the work of Jesus because of their unbelief and the lack of honor that they showed to King Jesus.
This was not the last time that Jesus would not receive the honor due Him because people did not really understand who He was and what He was doing.
May we never miss out on the work of Jesus because of our unbelief in Jesus and His work.
Concluding Thoughts:
The kingdom of heaven is real and it is available for us.
It’s exclusive and it’s only through Jesus. Yet, we have access to its vast treasure. Let us enter in through Jesus!
Reflect upon our bottom line this week:
Bottom Line: The King and the kingdom are worth everything. [on screen]
(repeat)
Do you believe that?
Are you willing to forsake all else to have Jesus?
Challenge yourself this week in the following ways:
Weekly Challenge: [on screen]
- Discover the treasure of the kingdom. [on screen]
Do you value the kingdom of heaven like a valuable treasure or a priceless pearl?
The truth is, the kingdom of heaven is worth far more!
Would you give up everything in order to gain heaven? Would you give up everything in order to gain communion with God, your Creator?
We must discover the value of the kingdom. Take some time this week to look into God’s Word, spend time in prayer, and reflect upon the kingdom of heaven.
- Share the treasure of the kingdom. [on screen]
Those who are not part of the kingdom are thrown out like the worthless fish. They are thrown to the place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The great thing about this treasure is that you can share more and more and more, and you don’t lose any yourself.
People need the treasure! Share the treasure!
- Treasure the King of the kingdom. [on screen]
Refresh yourself with the work of Jesus.
Remind yourself of His love and sacrifice.
Reflect upon His work for you.
Treasure Jesus and all that He’s done for you.
Closing:
The truth of the matter is that the kingdom of heaven is worth losing everything in order to gain its treasures.
The glories of the Gospel of Jesus Christ are so wonderful that they satisfy you in such a way that nothing compares; all the loss in the world is worth losing for heaven and eternity with King Jesus.
Ultimately, Jesus Himself is the reward. Look to Jesus, church!
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
Invitation Song – Knowing You
Benediction:
If you have any sort of spiritual decision that you would like to make, you can contact me or any of our staff and we would be glad to talk to you anytime.
Don’t forget that October 6 is Baptism Sunday! [on screen] We now have four people scheduled to be baptized and we are talking to a few more. If you need to be baptized, join us on October 6 to do so.
Tonight we will be here at 5:30 PM to continue our series, “Discovering Church History.” I hope to see you there.
We have two great ministries going on for children on Tuesday. We have our after school ministry called Church Street Kids Club, and we also have our archery ministry, called Centershot. I want to encourage you to be in prayer for these two ministries.
Also, our LLL group is leaving for a trip this week. You can be in prayer for them as they go.
Let’s dismiss by singing the Doxology.
(Sing Doxology)
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