The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure - a new slant on the story.

I haven't often written about the parables of Jesus, concentrating more on the gospel to the Gentiles as espoused by the Apostle Paul.

But recently, in my personal devotions, I have been allowing the Holy Spirit to expand my thinking beyond the obvious and traditional interpretations and applications of the stories Jesus told in Israel.
And I thought I would share one of these more expansive thoughts today using the parable of the hidden treasure reported by Matthew in Chapter 13 verse 44.

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. [NIV]

Jesus was teaching his Jewish audience that the kingdom he was offering was so valuable that it was worth selling all a person had to obtain it.

The obvious and traditional interpretation of the main point of the parable is that for the enormous worth of the Kingdom any sacrifice, including all that one has, is not too great a price to pay.
Rarely are the other details, like hiding the treasure so others won't find it or buying the whole field, mentioned in these interpretations.

But how about this for a new slant?
Instead of teaching how a Jew ought to response to the good news about the kingdom of God coming near to him, and being prepared to sacrifice all to gain it, maybe Jesus was teaching something about himself.

In that case, Jesus was the man who sacrificed all that he had, not just to have the hidden treasure, the kingdom, but the entire field that contained it - indeed the whole world, as the field is called in a previous parable explanation. (Matt 13 : 38)

Maybe this one verse parable is a description of what Jesus was about to do.
 
Interestingly, after Jesus had been rejected by the Jewish leaders, he hid the kingdom from his public audiences by restricting his teaching to parables, only explaining them to his disciples in private.

The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?"
He replied, "Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
... This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: "'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
[Matthew 13 : 10 - 14  NIV]

Jesus deliberately hid the kingdom from this generation of the nation who was chosen to rule in it.

And what did Jesus do after hiding the kingdom?
He went and bought the whole field - the whole world - which he promised to do.

And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."
[John 12 : 32  NIV]

John also confirmed the Lord's world-wide mission:

 ... we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
[1 John 2 : 1 -2  NIV]

And so, eventually, Jesus would not only have the kingdom treasure, but the whole field through His purchase.

The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever."
[Revelation 11 : 15  NIV]

Have you heard such a slant on this parable before - Jesus telling a parable about himself and his purpose in coming to our world?

Blessings, Barry