The text this morning is from the Gospel according to Matthew, the 13th chapter:
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
The last few weeks, we have been talking about the idea of the judgment that is to come. An interesting note, if you were paying attention, you would have seen that the Lord tarried, the Lord waited until the time was right to begin the coming of the end. He waited, and looked forward to the time which was to come, asking that His listeners would prepare themselves.
However, in today’s reading of the Gospel, the time of waiting is done; the day of judgment is now here. And Jesus describes that judgment in a few ways. The first way is that a treasure is discovered and stored away until it can be bought outright. The second way is that a treasure is discovered after looking for it diligently. The third way is that the good are separated from the bad. So, we’ll look at these three ways for ourselves this morning.
First, the kingdom is described as a treasure that a man finds and sells everything he has so that he can buy this great treasure. I have a picture in my office that I think really illustrates this meaning very, very well. You certainly could think of the explanation to this parable as if you were the one who discovers the treasure of the kingdom, and you grab onto it. But, I think the better way is how the picture describes. You are the treasure, and Christ has found you. He values you so highly, that He sells all that He has, He lays down even His life for your sake, that you might belong to Him forever. The picture shows Jesus coming to your grave at the end of the age and digging you out, pulling out your very coffin with His dirtied hands so that you might be His forever.
This should bring you great comfort as you consider the judgment of God on the last day, for Christ gave all that He had just so that He would save you and that you might have the eternal life that He won for you. It’s not as if Jesus in this parable is deceiving the seller; the seller of the field likely knows the joy of what he has in that field. It’s that what the man offers up to buy the field is worth more than the seller thinks the treasure is worth. But Jesus knows better.
It’s like in C.S. Lewis’ “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” Edmund, who continually proves throughout the book to be a naughty boy, has broken the laws of Narnia and must be put to death. The evil witch delights in this and holds this over the head of Aslan. But Aslan asks for a private meeting, where he offers up his life instead of the boy's. The witch shrieks with delight, for the death of a stupid little boy is nothing in comparison to the death of the great protector and warrior of Narnia.
So it is with sin, death, and the devil. Would you think the devil would rather kill you or kill the Son of God? Which death would he have rather had? The Son of God, of course. And so, thinking that all was set in motion for his victory, Satan moved to have the Lord of Life executed. And so the Lord was. The Lord Jesus gave up everything He had so that He would take your place. But, like Aslan in Lewis’ great story, the grave would not hold Jesus in and He conquered over death, finding the greatest treasure on the world: you.
This is His judgment for you: that Jesus believes you are worthy enough to lay down His life for you. What other judgment could triumph over that love? So, on the final day, when you stand in the throne room of God, you will find that the judgment of God has been in your favor, for the Lord has delivered you from sin, death, and the devil through His own death. There is then no judgment against you.
In the same way, the second parable shows us that God has been searching you out for ages. In the first, it is almost as if Jesus stumbles across you, though certainly He has known you since before you were ever conceived in your mother’s womb. Yet, here He knows what He’s looking for. He has been searching for pearls of great value, and He sees you. Perfectly shaped, flawless, whiter than white, the Lord gives up, again, all that He has to bring you to Himself.
Yet, you know you are not flawless. You are filled with flaws. Now, I have no idea how to buy a pearl, but I’ve bought a diamond before. My guess is that jewelry is somewhat similar. So, let’s pretend that the buyer in the parable was looking for a diamond, not a pearl.
They say that when you’re buying a diamond, whether that be as an engagement ring, or just because you made your wife upset, you need to consider the four Cs: cut, clarity, color, and carat. You want a diamond in the perfect shape, with no occlusions, meaning no spots inside it, bright and clear as glass, and you want it be heavy. But, when you look at yourself, you can and should see that you’re no princess cut; you’re kind of blob shaped. You’re not flawless; you have marks and scars that go deep. You’re not clear of sin; you’re darkened blacker than obsidian on the inside. And your weight? You are lighter than snow, you are as shakable and bendable as a feather.
But, the Lord doesn’t see that. Instead, He sees the righteousness He won for you when He looks at you. From the cross, the Lord has declared you to be holy, righteous, blameless in His sight. And so you are. You may, in this life, see your sin. And you should. But, then you should listen to the Lord’s words that you are more precious than silver, more valuable than gold. You are the perfect pearl, the perfect diamond. You are more valuable than any jewel you can imagine, for the Lord has bought you with all that He has. What accusation from Satan would stand in the way of that judgment for you? What could he bring that would stand in the way of your eternal salvation?
In the third parable, the Lord Jesus brings up again, like last week, the idea that those who are good will be separated out from those who are bad. Then the angels will gather them up and throw the evil ones into hell. Now, Jesus isn’t really bringing this up to threaten you, that you better be good, or else. Look at what He says: He compares the good with those who are righteous and the bad with those who are evil.
You ever had a bad fish before? You know the smell. It smells fishy through and through, even if you were to burn it on the grill. It’s nearing the end of its age, the end of its usefulness. You don’t want to eat it. It’d be like trying to eat a koi fish, but expecting salmon; like a goldfish instead of trout. It’s just not done.
So it is with those who are evil. They stink of their father, Satan. They have no more usefulness. At the last day, there is no redeeming them. They are dead, deader than dead. They are rotting because there is no good in them.
And where does that good come from? Only through the righteousness of Christ. You are never righteous on your own. All that you do in this life is tainted with sin from your sinful hands, your sinful mouth, your sinful mind. But, because the Lord has died for you, risen for you, declared you to be righteous, you are indeed. The Lord makes you righteous. You are the one He intended to catch. It’s not that Jesus doesn’t want to bring all people to Himself. Notice, He casts the net out to catch every kind of fish. He wants all of them. But, not all people receive His righteousness. Not all people want His salvation. And so, again, he gives them what they want. They want to be evil, He will cast them aside.
Have you understood all of these things? The Lord’s judgment is coming. He has told us that it is. In today’s reading, He gives us a picture of what that will be. For you, it will be just fine. You have been found. You have been bought with a price. You have been caught by the net laid out by Jesus and the apostles and the prophets. You belong to Christ.
But it will not be satisfying for all people, for some are cast aside. Rest then on Christ, and what He has done. Revel in your Baptism, that you are a child of God forever, being made into His image. Delight in the Supper, that you are transformed from that which is rotten to that which is beautiful and conform to the mind of Christ. Enjoy the forgiveness of sins that is declared to you each and every time we gather. These are the judgment of Christ; they are a foretaste of the feast to come. And if you receive these gifts from His hand by faith, if you welcome His good will towards you, if you belong to Him, then you are indeed the treasure of Christ. He has laid down everything to bring you to Himself. If you are here, He has done that, you have been brought to Christ. You are His forever, and the day of judgment for you is already done, and you have been found to be righteous for Christ’s sake. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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