Rethinking the Parables of the Hidden Treasure and Pearl of Great Price

Is the "man" who buys the field to have the hidden treasure, and the "merchant" who buys the pearl of great price, the believer or God? In this video, I argue that WE are the treasure, we are the pearl, which our Father purchases to be his own. Along the way, we explore the parable of the net and explain how Christians are scribes who have been discipled in the kingdom of God. Join me this week for Reading the Gospels through Hebrew Eyes as we explore Matthew 13:44-52.

[@brightbite]

I always read it this way... that we ourselves are the treasure and the pearl, bought by Jesus at the price of His Own Blood. Hail, Lord Jesus Christ!

[@Logic807]

I read it the other way. Your way puts us at the centre and that is ALWAYS the wrong way. And the whole story from alpha to omega. It is about God looking for a bride for his son. So no, that treasure is Christ.

[@christopherducas3676]

Thank you! Changing the direction of my sermon. With this perspective you gave me another reason to be excited for Sunday.

[@gigi83578]

Ahhh yes I love this! I’ve always thought of this parable as the pearl representing us and the man who sold everything to buy the field as God / Christ. My name is Gretchen - which means “pearl” - so this parable has a special place in my heart, reminding me of how valuable I am to God ❤

[@meganbaute4254]

My name is Megan which can also be translated to “pearl” my dad told me he named me Megan because he saw me and his father standing in a field and his father said “her name will be Megan” this interpretation makes most sense to me and gives me great comfort ❤

[@ronniedrynum2410]

Mr. Bird, brother, thank you for all you do for us, the Church. God is truly magnified and glorified with this precious work of yours.

[@michaelkrause7807]

What a great lesson! Of course God is the man otherwise I can buy my own salvation. Thank you Pastor Chad.

[@ccapdepon]

tk you - there is nothing i can sell or give up to obtain the treasure

[@alexjoseph8200]

Oh my Goodness. Amazing interpretation. This makes more sense. i was thinking that its a man who sells all that he has and buys the Fields (Kingdom of God). I know only very few people living now who have done that. Its so rare. This interpretation makes more sense because Kingdom is God is not on sale and if it is no one can afford to buy that. This tears me up to see how much God loves me and Values me. He loved me first and found me valuable. Thank you for opening my eyes.

[@hayahwassa]

a new childrens parables from Jesus says we are the pearls He wants

[@terylbarrett8172]

Always so thankful for the way in which the Holy Spirit works through others to encourage and draw us closer to Jesus. Chad has this gift. Yes when he explains it this way it brings my weak and weary spirit to the One who loves me in spite of everything! It turns my eyes upon Jesus and takes them off myself with tears of joy. Thanks!!!

[@kims144]

This turns everything on its head . Both interpretations can not be right even one being more popular. One is man centric while other is God centric . This has made me worship our great Jehovah

[@terrytaerum7087]

I believe you have done a wonderful job of demonstrating the importance of context when understanding scripture - particularly a scribe bringing out of his house both old and new. You mention the OT reading, "it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers". We owe a great debt to Abraham who binds his son Isaac on Mount Moriah in obedience to the Lord. It is here where Jesus is crucified. It is Abraham who believes "and it is credited to him as righteousness". We are to believe "and it is credited to us as righteousness". The parables of the treasure and the pearl only make sense in light of God's love for his righteous re-creations.

[@Logic807]

I would argue that the parable of the sower, is the key , that is the right context. It is the soil of your heart. In Acts, the Berean were described as noble, they had the right soil. They examined the Scriptures to confirm Paul said was true and relying on him but to search it out themselves.

[@wayne4424]

Makes perfect sense. Redemption. Thank you. Never thought this way.

[@hansz27]

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl tells us that the kingdom of heaven is much more valuable than anything that we own here on earth. Our relationship with Jesus is very precious that we have to give utmost importance. We must be willing to surrender everything for Jesus. We love Him because He loved us first.

[@darrengarvie8832]

Thank you Chad you make things so easy to understand.

[@LRTrahan]

I really enjoy your commentaries. You likely covered your thoughts on the parable of the leaven elsewhere, but in this one, you interpret the woman who puts leaven in the flour as God. However, in keeping with his flow of parables here, I see it as, not God, but the enemy who hides leaven to corrupt the lot of flour. -just as the enemy came and hid tares among the wheat., and just as the birds came and hid among the mustard tree branches. I see this as a warning that false Christians will be among the congregations and will culminate in a sorting in the parable of the dragnet.

[@giovannimarteletto1678]

Thank you so much for your content. It would be super helpful if you could do an episode about Matthew 7:21-23, I personally have so many questions about this text, it gives me a lot of anxiety sometimes...

[@michelefortino3233]

This was extremely beneficial, shalom sir.

[@lindasatterlee1892]

Wow. A lot to digest and think about. Thank you. Amen.

[@jennjo822]

Thank you sir 🙏

[@stevehanner824]

That’s really good I better understand verse 52 thank you!

[@DiamondCyber1]

Amen❤😇✝️🙏

[@lindatabler]

Very helpful. Thank you!😊

[@stevecollins5290]

Excellent observations!! Very enlightening!

[@brandonrobertson1280]

Thank you!

[@paulsbelgium8202]

thanks

[@theremnant8721]

🙏🏼💜✝

[@johornbuckle5272]

Solid

[@savedwretch8711]

Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes.......

[@blank-964]

I think your right.

[@dlondon1144]

Thanks for this, Chad. I don't want to rain on your parade but something has bothered me about these parables for a while. I am led to think that we are missing something very important. It may be that we are too eager to put a happy gloss on the lessons. I rather think that perhaps they are meant as much to be a caution against treating the things of God as we treat the things of man. Each of the Kingdom parables has an element that seems to fly in the face of Jewish tradition. We need to start by looking at Christ's example, the parable of the Sower, where someone sows seed -- of which only a small portion comes to fruition. Perhaps what is being taught here is that the enemy will come and do whatever he can to pollute and pervert God's work. And this seems to be echoed throughout the following parables. 1. In the parable of the weeds, good seed is sown, but the sower's enemy comes and pollutes the crop to the point where the sower's servants cannot repair the damage. they are told to wait for the harvest. Only at that point - when the work is in he hands of the harvesters, can the tares be separated from the wheat. 2. When we come to the parable of the mustard seed, we find another perversion. The word used in the Greek text for the grain of mustard seed, specifies that the it the mustard plant (sinapis), not the mustard tree (salvadora perisica) which isn't properly mustard at all. The mustard plant typically only grows to a few feet in height. But the when the seed in this parable grows it becomes a monster of a tree, wherein birds come to roost. If we look at the word for birds - peteinon - we find elsewhere in the Bible that the character of peteinon is either not mentioned or is expressed as a form of evil (see the parable of the sower, for an example of this). 3. With the parable of the yeast, we tend to forget or completely ignore the implications of yeast in a biblical sense. It is, quite frankly, a symbol for sin -- specifically the sin of pride. Remember that at Passover, all traces of yeast must be removed before the start of the Passover Sabbath. This interpretation of yeast is, I believe, underscored by the fact that the woman does not add the yeast to the flour openly. She hides it. Do not forget Jesus' caution against the leaven of the Pharisees - pride - which, like yeast, corrupts by puffing things up. 4. When considering the parable of the hidden treasure, we find a considerable cultural disconnect. The Torah teaches that if you find something that doesn't belong to you, you are supposed to give it back. But in this parable, the man does the opposite. He conceals it, then contrives to keep it for himself by devious means. This is not a righteous act. Rather, it is a misappropriation of something for an evil purpose. 5. Next, in the parable of the pearl of great price, the merchant sells everything he has to buy a pearl... a gem created by something a Jew is forbidden to touch -- an oyster. However valuable the pearl may be in the world, it is, in Judaism, unclean. In buying it he makes himself unclean. I expect a strong case can be made here for the Lord taking something unclean (the Gentile believers) and making them clean - as in Peter's dream. But it still seems an odd thing for a Jewish Rabbi to teach as an example of intrinsic goodness. 6. When we finally get to the parable of the net, we are told unambiguously that by the time the day of Judgement arrives, God's kingdom will have become so corrupted by Satan that the angels of heaven will be needed to sort it all out. When viewed in this light, I find that these parables tend to support, accentuate and underscore Jesus' teaching elsewhere in the gospels, rather than present a pie-in-the-sky view of God's kingdom on earth before the Judgement. On the whole, I think these interpretations are more rational and consistent with Jesus' words elsewhere. Humbly submitted for your consideration.

[@Grace4rever]

Love your content and your interpretation of the treasure in a field and pearl of great price is a very possible. Nevertheless, I believe your over analyzing the traditional interpretation. In my view its simply about the value and worth of Christ, it's not about what we have to do but instead about how precious He is.

[@chadbird1517]

Thank you for watching, and for the honest feedback. God bless your studies. I'm glad to have you on my channel. One question, based on content: how do you explain the sudden change in subject, from all the preceding parables being what *God* does to what *we* recognize as precious?

[@Grace4rever]

@@chadbird1517 I guess I don't see the previous parables in the same black and white way as you. For example, in the parable of the sower, while the sower is the Son of Man, the focus seems to be on the condition of the heart for those who hear the word. It stresses the different responses. If you compare that to the man who finds a treasure and sells all he has to get it, Jesus seems to be highlighting a response to the worth of the treasure. This ties well into the idea of taking up our cross and dying to self to follow Jesus (we lay down our all) which means we actually find life, like we find the treasure. In the the parable of the leaven, you say that God is the woman in the story, I don't think that is made clear in the text, it seems more like a simple illustration to prove how the Kingdom will slowly grow. I am always caution about reading too much into specific details around Jesus' parables. I acknowledge I could be wrong but I lean towards Christ being the treasure and that it is a joy to surrender to Him, He is worthy, and that surrender to Him is an important response as Jesus states in Matthew 10:38 and Matthew 16:24.

[@ardentfire9481]

@@Grace4rever I was raised with the view of the believer being the one who finds the treasure as you reference. The thing I would point out is what do we, in our sin, have that we can use as capital to purchase anything? If the treasure is Salvation, and us dying to self is how we purchase it, then that is an extreme works based faith. Bare bones that would be suffering or denying self equals salvation.

[@Grace4rever]

@@ardentfire9481 it is a joyful surrender, it is a response to God's goodness. The evidence of our salvation is a surrendered life. If a Christian has not taken up their cross, they are not a Christian. We do not earn salvation by surrender, we respond to Christ and His goodness by willingly surrendering. It is bearing the fruit of repentance (Matthew 3:8). We do not earn anything by our deeds, but we show our faith by our deeds, faith without works is dead. Back to the parable, I believe Jesus is showing us the joy associated with our salvation, it is a joy to give all, not a burden. The focus is not on earning the treasure, the focus, in my opinion, is on the joy of discovering and gaining what is most precious, Christ.

[@garyzakian8901]

Just a thought - both views are appropriate, depending on whether we are talking about justification or sanctification. In order for us to become a member of the Kingdom of Heaven, it is God himself who paid the price through Jesus' death and resurrection to being us into His kingdom. Paying that price is all God's doing, and nothing we do. It is God who justifies us. On the other hand, once we are part of His Kingdom, the focus then shifts to us in our life of sanctification, that we remember the great price God paid to save us and, in thanksgiving for this great gift, we should be focused and desire to give up all to remain in His Kingdom.

[@dbrock1014]

Your interpretation is very intriguing. I love a fresh way to see scripture. Although I don't fully agree with you, it is worth considering. What Jesus said and meant in a culture we can only try to understand can be challenging. I have a couple of questions: 1. The gospel of Matthew was written about 50-60 years after Jesus' words were spoken. Were these parables spoken in this exact order, or were they placed in this specific order? The parable of the weeds that precedes the treasure and pearl parables and the parable of the net that comes after the treasure and pearl parables focus on the same topic. If what you're saying is true about the consistency of the characters, then wouldn't the same be true for the themes? Why the sandwich? 2. Starting at 8:10 in the video, you state that the treasure and pearl are the church, but Jesus stated that he came for Israel (Matt 15:24). In Jesus conversation with Nicodemus in John 3, he clearly states that anyone who is born again will see and enter the Kingdom. Did Jesus come for a "church," or did he come that all who believed would be saved? According to your interpretation, would the treasure and pearl (pre-existing in these parables) be all of humanity (preceding salvation) rather than the church (post-salvation)? 3. Could this all be about what an experience with God's love does to people? A new vision of existence within His love and mercy; how the kingdom inhabitants function out of that love and mercy; healing of a broken past; healing of a narrow-sighted focus on the value of temporal "stuff" compared to God's love, mercy, and re-created vision. If humanity is the treasure and pearl, what does that have to do with the surrounding parables of the reality of the world we're giving up? Seriously, I really appreciate your thoughts.

[@Logic807]

JESUS said the parable of the sower is the basis for all parables. It needs a good soil, a noble heart. The Bereans in Acts exemplify it and indeed parallel these parables.

[@vegasguydoingitlive3381]

To refer to us as the treasure is quite narcissistic and that is a slippery slope to go down. We think we are so valuable and we feel like God chose us because we are awesome. Once we start to sin and mess up, we believe our value is diminished and we run the risk of feeling like our salvation is dependent upon our righteous behavior.

[@chadbird1517]

God himself calls his people his “treasured possession” (Exodus 19:5), so we are on solid ground. He doesn’t seem to be worried about narcissism.

[@dlondon1144]

I think you have forgotten that God considered us precious long before Jesus paid our price. Remember that there is none that is righteous - not, not one. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. This does not mean that God love us because we are saved and cleansed of sin. It means that we are saved and cleansed of sin because God has ALWAYS loved and treasured us. We're going to sin and mess up all the way to the new millennium. But this doesn't diminish us -- remember that we can do NOTHING to save ourselves and that, apart from Jesus, we can do nothing that will please God. But when we are seen with and through Him, God takes great delight in us. We can never do anything to make God stop loving us because we never did anything to make Him start. He just did it Himself.

[@creativechristiancontent]

No it’s not narcissistic he’s right in what he said. Too many people throw around the word narcissistic wrongly. Just read the parable properly. The field is the world. John 3:16 for God so loved the world (the people) that He gave all he had which was himself in Christ. This is about Christians false humility is prideful you need to accept what God has done for you because of his great love.

[@rmvicary4215]

Chad, couldn’t the leaven represent sin or tares? It’s interesting this parable is a little different with being a woman and includes leaven. And what about the birds of the air in the mustard seed bush/tree? Would they represent wolves in sheep’s clothing?

[@NinjaMaGoo22]

We can't buy tickets to heaven. If you find pearls for sale, they are counterfeit.

[@sketchbook1]

Sorry, but Jesus talked about us selling all we have for the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is the treasure in that parable. NOT us or individual Christians or even the Church.

[@alexjoseph8200]

If kingdom of God is the treasure, can i afford to buy it? or is it on sale? also who has brought it by selling ALL that they had. i know only 1 person living who has done that. Brother Zac Poonen. If thats the case, i am doomed.

[@sketchbook1]

Jesus asked if of the rich young ruler. @@alexjoseph8200 And the parable is NOT about works righteousness or perfection. It's about the heart. If it's too difficult for us (yes, it is) then Jesus said He would give us His yoke, which is easy. What do you do with the verse where Jesus says we must love Him above all, and that if we don't hate all other things compared to him, we're not worthy? Is that not true either? We shouldn't sidestep the clear meaning of the text to fit our theological systems or traditions.

[@RaptureHead]

I wish you would read from the Holy Bible KJV as these other versions change the Word of the Lord, by adding or subtracting from it, which if you fear the Lord you would not do, as He warned not to do ! There is a channel on YT called Truth is Christ 2 He shows through scriptures along with the mathematical Devine through the Lord, that the Holy Bible KJV came BEFORE the Hebrew, Greek Bibles, it will blow your mind! Amen and all glory to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Amen🙏👰‍♀️😇