This weekend is the last of our three weeks of parables describing the Kingdom of Heaven, and as before we will continue looking at the twists found in these parables. The twists or the unexpected aspects can help us understand what Jesus is trying to tell us about the Kingdom.
So the first parable, the Treasure Hidden in the Field, think about this for a second. If you were walking along and you found a treasure hidden in a field, what would you do? Well, I don’t know about you, but if I wanted to keep the treasure I would dig it up and take it.
But that is not what the person does here. It says here that he found the treasure in a field and he covered it up and then, in joy, he goes and sells all that he has to buy that field. That’s a weird response to finding a hidden treasure. Usually people would just take the treasure and then go and sell it, right!?
This guy finds the treasure, apparently buries it again, and he goes and buys the land on which the treasure is hidden. What's going on? What is Jesus trying to say? The basic message of the parable again lies in the twist, namely this, you cannot steal the kingdom of God. You have to give everything in order to obtain it.
So he can't unjustly obtain the kingdom, he has to go sell all that he has and buy the field where the treasure is hidden. So this tells us both that the kingdom is a hidden reality, it is not lying about on the ground, it is something that is buried, that's hidden, but it's also something that can't be stolen, like at our immediate judgment we won't be able to fool God into thinking we have loved Him all along.
We have to give all that we have if we are going to possess it. And yet at the same time, even though it is hidden, it's valuable, it's precious, it's actually going to make us spiritually rich with the rewards of everlasting life. It is worth everything.
A similar image is found in the second parable here, the Pearl of Great Price. So it says that the kingdom is like a merchant who is in search of fine pearls, and he, when he finds this one pearl of great value, goes and sells all that he has and buys that pearl. Where's the twist in here?
The twist is in the way the man responds. If you found this one pearl, this beautiful great pearl of great price, would you sell everything in order to obtain it? In other words, would you sell your house, sell your car, sell your clothes, or all of your possessions in order to obtain the one pearl?
That is going to be a problem because can you eat a pearl? Can you drink a pearl? Can you live in a pearl? Can you drive a pearl? No! In other words, the man overreacts, in a sense, to the discovery of the great pearl. He gives away everything for the sake of this one thing, this pearl of great price.
It seems like he is, in a sense, crazy. And so this merchant here who gives away everything for the sake of this one pearl is, in a sense, doing what Jesus is calling his disciples to do. He's calling them to be foolish in the eyes of the world. He is calling them to live a radical life of discipleship, where nothing else matters except the one thing. And that one thing, that pearl of great price, is the Kingdom of God, it is the Kingdom of heaven.
Now with the 3rd parable today, Jesus says “the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind…” I can’t find a twist here. To me this is just straight forward and it is Jesus wrapping these all up. Jesus Christ comes to earth, He explains the Kingdom, He shows He is God through many might works, He tells people what it means to be a disciple, and then He lets them choose what they want. This is free will.
God gives us free will, he allows us to choose to be a good fish or a bad fish, wheat or weeds to connect it to last week, to live our lives as disciples in pursuit of the good, the true, and the beautiful of the Kingdom and a life spent with God, or to pursue base pleasures and desires, such as money and earthly power and a life spent without God. And then at the end of our earthly lives, He just gives us what we wanted here. The net catches everyone, nobody is going to avoid death, everyone is going to either Heaven or Hell.
If we loved God and pursued Him as much as possible here, we go on to Heaven. If we loved things of the earth more than God, we go to the fiery furnace of Hell. It might seem mean or cruel, but actually I believe, and many theologians say, Hell is God’s mercy. Imagine living your whole life as if God didn’t exist, or hating Him if He did, why would anyone suddenly want to be with Him for eternity at the moment of death?
I said it at a funeral this last week, Heaven starts here on earth. Hell does too - I didn’t say that second part at the funeral but it is true and this is clearly what Jesus is trying to show us today. We have to pursue Him, to find Heaven if we truly want it and see it as the highest possible good in our lives. Seek the Kingdom like searching for treasure or the pearl of great price and you will find it!