NOTES for Mat 13:44-58
44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. |
45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: |
46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. |
47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: |
48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. |
49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, |
50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. |
51 Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. |
52 Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old. |
53 And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence. |
54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? |
55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? |
56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? |
57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. |
58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. |
Hide
Is the Kingdom of Heaven worth everything we have? For example, the man in the parable goes and joyfully sells all he has and buys the field with the treasure. For him it is clear that treasures are buried in a perfectly ordinary plot of land, and so he gladly makes this deal: everything in exchange for everything.
The trouble is that for us, as for many of Jesus' listeners, the value of the Kingdom is not obvious. We would gladly sacrifice everything we have for a worthy cause - but where is the guarantee that it is worthy?
Our task is to find the treasure as well: to learn in practice that a treasure is buried in a poor vacant lot, one worth more than everything we can have. That is, to touch by experience what is more beautiful than all the other meanings of our life - and this is not easy. In any case, to find such a treasure one must search... or at least want to find it.
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Readings for 28 April 2026
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