Recently, I participated in a Bible study discussion of the 13th chapter of Matthew, which tells of Jesus teaching a great multitude about the kingdom of heaven. Jesus was using parables—teaching and explaining truths in terms that can be easily understood. When his disciples asked why he spoke in parables, Jesus explained: “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom. You know how it works. … Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. … That’s why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight” (Matthew 13:11, 12, Eugene H. Peterson, The Message).
In two of these parables, the kingdom of heaven is depicted as something of great value—in one, heaven is a buried treasure (see Matthew 13:44) and in the other, a “pearl of great price” (Matthew 13:45, 46). In both stories the person who finds the “treasure” recognizes it immediately—his heart is receptive and he is ready. But the circumstances surrounding each discovery are entirely different.
In the first parable a man—possibly a farmer, and likely poor—discovers the treasure buried in a field. It doesn’t appear that he was looking for it, but perhaps he uncovered it while plowing in the field. When he recognizes its value, he buries it again and goes to sell all that he has so he can buy the field, and thus own the treasure.
