THE PARABLE OF HIDDEN TREASURE

[DougE]

[Matthew 13:44 KJV] 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.

I have come across varying interpretations of this parable; some say the treasure is Christ, some say the gospel, and some say us the church.

Jesus is once again speaking of aspects of the kingdom of heaven.

The kingdom of heaven is the prophetic Davidic kingdom on earth in which, believing Israel will reign with Christ for a thousand years.

This parable is conveying to Israel that to enter the kingdom they have to sell all.

[Mat 19:21 KJV] 21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go [and] sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come [and] follow me.
[Mar 10:21 KJV] 21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
[Luk 12:33 KJV] 33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
[Luk 18:22 KJV] 22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

 

[bdavidc]

I have come across varying interpretations of this parable; some say the treasure is Christ, some say the gospel, and some say us the church.

Jesus is once again speaking of aspects of the kingdom of heaven.

The kingdom of heaven is the prophetic Davidic kingdom on earth in which, believing Israel will reign with Christ for a thousand years.

This parable is conveying to Israel that to enter the kingdom they have to sell all.

You’re mixing categories in a way the text itself doesn’t support. Start with what Jesus actually said: “the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field… for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field” ~Matthew 13:44. The focus of the parable is not on a command being given, but on the value of the kingdom and the response to it. The man isn’t being told what to do. He’s showing what someone does when they truly see the worth of it.

Your interpretation turns it into a requirement: sell everything to enter. But Scripture does not teach that as the condition of salvation. That would contradict clear passages like “For by grace are ye saved through faith… not of works” ~Ephesians 2:8-9 and “to him that worketh not, but believeth… his faith is counted for righteousness” ~Romans 4:5. Selling possessions is a work. It cannot be the basis of entering the kingdom.

Now look at the passages you tied in. When Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all ~Matthew 19:21, it wasn’t a universal entry requirement. It exposed his idol. The man loved his riches more than God. Jesus put His finger on the one thing keeping him from true repentance and faith. That’s why he walked away sorrowful. The issue wasn’t money itself. It was the heart.

Scripture keeps this consistent. Salvation comes through faith in Christ, and when that happens, the heart changes. That’s why believers are described as those who “rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” ~Philippians 3:3. When someone truly sees the value of Christ and His kingdom, everything else loses its grip. They don’t cling to it the same way anymore.

So what is the parable showing? It’s showing that the kingdom is of such surpassing worth that when a person truly finds it, they gladly part with anything to have it. Not because they are buying salvation, but because they’ve found something infinitely greater.

That’s the line your interpretation crosses. You’ve turned a picture of joyful response into a condition for entry. Scripture never does that.

 

[DougE]

Your interpretation turns it into a requirement: sell everything to enter. But Scripture does not teach that as the condition of salvation. That would contradict clear passages like “For by grace are ye saved through faith… not of works” ~Ephesians 2:8-9 and “to him that worketh not, but believeth… his faith is counted for righteousness” ~Romans 4:5. Selling possessions is a work. It cannot be the basis of entering the kingdom.

Jesus was teaching Israel about the kingdom of heaven, which is the promised Davidic earthly millennial kingdom. Israel was under covenant to obey the law to be priests in the kingdom *********** [Exodus 19:5 KJV] "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth [is] mine:"
[Exodus 19:6 KJV] "And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These [are] the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel."

Paul didnt preach grace to Israel at this time nor does it apply to Israel at this time. They were under law not grace

 

[DougE]

So what is the parable showing? It’s showing that the kingdom is of such surpassing worth that when a person truly finds it, they gladly part with anything to have it. Not because they are buying salvation, but because they’ve found something infinitely greater.

Salvation is not just being saved for eternal life
Israel had to meet commandments to enter the earthly kingdom:
They had to believe on Christ by believing in his name; they had to believe he was their Messiah, the Son of God. This is how they had eternal life, by believing on his name.

They had to be water baptized

They had to be fruitful

They had to keep the law

They had to sell all

They had to endure til the end to be saved to enter the kingdom ********** [Matthew 10:22 KJV] "And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved."

 

[Gerbolski]

The term kingdom of God, is used in many ways in the bible, not just to refer to the millennial kingdom.

In many things bible, context is key.

 

[DougE]

The term kingdom of God, is used in many ways in the bible, not just to refer to the millennial kingdom.

In many things bible, context is key.

[Matthew 13:10 KJV] "And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?"
[Matthew 13:11 KJV] "He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given." ********* Jesus said the parables were about THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

[Matthew 4:17 KJV] "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
[Matthew 8:11 KJV] "And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven." ******** The promised Davidic kingdom on earth is what was in view and was expressed in the sermon on the mount and the parables

 

[bdavidc]

Jesus was teaching Israel about the kingdom of heaven, which is the promised Davidic earthly millennial kingdom. Israel was under covenant to obey the law to be priests in the kingdom *********** [Exodus 19:5 KJV] "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth [is] mine:"
[Exodus 19:6 KJV] "And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These [are] the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel."

Paul didnt preach grace to Israel at this time nor does it apply to Israel at this time. They were under law not grace

This is where you need to stop and deal honestly with what the text actually says, not what a system is trying to force onto it.

That rich young ruler walked up confident. Moral. Clean on the outside. “All these have I observed from my youth” ~Mark 10:20. He thought he had done enough. Jesus didn’t give him a new checklist to earn life. He drove a knife straight into the man’s heart and exposed his god.

“Sell whatsoever thou hast… and come, take up the cross, and follow me” ~Mark 10:21.

Why? Because “he had great possessions” ~Mark 10:22. That was his idol.

Now face the point. If that command was a literal requirement for salvation, then every saved person must liquidate everything. But Scripture never says that. Instead, Jesus turns to the disciples and says, “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God” ~Mark 10:23. They are shocked. Why? Because if the moral, disciplined, commandment-keeping man cannot make it, who can?

Jesus answers it so plainly you have to ignore it to miss it: “With men it is impossible” ~Mark 10:27.

Impossible means impossible. Not difficult. Not rare. Impossible.

That crushes your entire framework. Law-keeping cannot save. Selling everything cannot save. Human effort cannot save. If it could, Jesus would not have said it is impossible.

You’re trying to rebuild what Christ just tore down.

The law was never given as a ladder to climb into life. It was given as a mirror to show you you’re already condemned. “For by the law is the knowledge of sin” ~Romans 3:20. It shuts your mouth. It leaves you guilty before God.

That young ruler didn’t fail because he refused a special “kingdom requirement.” He failed because he would not let go of his sin and come to Christ empty-handed.

And that is exactly where you are being pressed right now.

You can talk about covenants. You can divide Israel and the church. You can try to relocate grace to a later time. But the question is not academic. It is personal.

What are you trusting?

Because Scripture draws a hard line. “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ” ~Galatians 2:16. Not Israel by law and others by grace. Not then by works and now by faith. Not two roads.

One way.

And if you try to bring law back in as the basis, even partially, God’s Word cuts it down without apology: “if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace” ~Romans 11:6.

You don’t get to mix them.

The rich young ruler walked away with everything he owned and lost the one thing he needed. That is the warning sitting in front of you.

So strip it down. No systems. No categories. No excuses.

Are you coming to Christ as a sinner who cannot save himself, or are you still holding onto something you think will count in your favor?

Because Jesus already told you the truth. With you, it’s impossible.

With God, salvation is a gift.

 

[bdavidc]

Salvation is not just being saved for eternal life
Israel had to meet commandments to enter the earthly kingdom:
They had to believe on Christ by believing in his name; they had to believe he was their Messiah, the Son of God. This is how they had eternal life, by believing on his name.

They had to be water baptized

They had to be fruitful

They had to keep the law

They had to sell all

They had to endure til the end to be saved to enter the kingdom ********** [Matthew 10:22 KJV] "And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved."

Hear the Word of the Lord plain and sharp. You’re building a system that tells Israel they must believe and be baptized and keep the law and sell all and endure to the end to enter the kingdom. That is not the gospel. That is another gospel, and Scripture thunders against it.

Paul did not mince words: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” ~Galatians 1:8. He repeats it in the next verse. Your checklist turns the rich young ruler’s story into a works contract for Israel, but Jesus used that man to show the impossibility of any flesh being justified by doing. The ruler thought he had kept the commandments, yet his money was his god. Jesus exposed the heart, then said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible” ~Mark 10:27. That is the point. No man, Jew or Gentile, enters by climbing a ladder of commands and endurance.

The same Lord told Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” ~John 3:3. No law-keeping added. No selling possessions. No endurance clause. To the thief dying beside Him—zero baptism, zero law-keeping, zero goods sold—Jesus said, “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise” ~Luke 23:43. That single sentence wrecks every multi-step plan for Israel or anyone else.

Abraham was counted righteous by faith before the law ever existed: “And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness” ~Genesis 15:6. David, under the law, rejoiced in the same: “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth righteousness without works” ~Romans 4:6. Paul asks the Galatians who had started mixing law with faith, “Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” ~Galatians 3:3. That question lands on your teaching too.

This is not splitting dispensations. This is adding to the cross and calling it obedience. It comforts the flesh that wants to contribute something. But the Holy Ghost says through Paul, “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ” ~Galatians 2:16. One way. One gospel. Faith in Christ alone. Anything else leaves the conscience still guilty and the soul still lost.

Search your own heart right now. Are you resting in Christ crucified, or in a system that tells men they must help finish what He already finished? “It is finished” ~John 19:30 was not a suggestion. Turn from this mixture and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Eternal life is the free gift to whosoever believeth, not to whosoever believeth plus does the list.

 

[DougE]

You’re building a system that tells Israel they must believe and be baptized and keep the law and sell all and endure to the end to enter the kingdom.

I dont know if you mean to but you are making it sound like I am talking about Jews today
This was during Christ's earthly ministry when the kingdom was being offered

 

[DougE]

Hear the Word of the Lord plain and sharp. You’re building a system that tells Israel they must believe and be baptized and keep the law and sell all and endure to the end to enter the kingdom. That is not the gospel. That is another gospel, and Scripture thunders against it.

It is another gospel
Jesus preached it and sent Peter and the disciples to preach it
It's not our gospel in this dispensation however

 

[DougE]

To the thief dying beside Him—zero baptism, zero law-keeping, zero goods sold—Jesus said, “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise” ~Luke 23:43. That single sentence wrecks every multi-step plan for Israel or anyone else.

[Luke 23:42 KJV] "And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." ********** the thief confessed Jesus was Lord and believed the kingdom was being preached

 

[DougE]

That crushes your entire framework. Law-keeping cannot save. Selling everything cannot save. Human effort cannot save. If it could, Jesus would not have said it is impossible.

These were required to enter the earthly kingdom not salvation unto eternal life

 

[Twistie]

by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

For we walk by faith, not by sight.

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

U⁠ ⁠´⁠꓃⁠ ⁠`⁠ ⁠U

 

[DougE]

by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

For we walk by faith, not by sight.

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

U⁠ ⁠´⁠꓃⁠ ⁠`⁠ ⁠U

I dont see what this has to do with the parable

 

[Twistie]

I dont see what this has to do with the parable

Its alright.. submit yourself to the Lord n He will guide your way..lean not on your own understanding..

Hope alls well!!
◉⁠‿⁠◉

 

[bdavidc]

I dont know if you mean to but you are making it sound like I am talking about Jews today
This was during Christ's earthly ministry when the kingdom was being offered

I understand the distinction you are trying to make, but the problem is that Scripture does not present two different ways of entering God’s kingdom, one for Israel during Christ’s earthly ministry and another for people today.

Jesus did preach to Israel, no question. He said, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” ~Matthew 15:24. But the message still centered on repentance, faith, and entering the kingdom through Him. He told Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” ~John 3:3. That was not merely a Jewish national program. That is the necessity of new birth.

The danger is making Christ’s words sound like they belong to some other group in some other system, instead of recognizing that the same Lord Jesus is revealing the truth of salvation and the kingdom.

Yes, the historical setting matters. Jesus was ministering to Israel. But His words still stand. “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” ~Matthew 24:35.

So the issue is not whether Jesus was speaking during His earthly ministry. He was. The issue is whether we are allowed to divide His teaching in a way that makes His kingdom message sound disconnected from the gospel. I do not believe Scripture gives us that right.

 

[bdavidc]

It is another gospel
Jesus preached it and sent Peter and the disciples to preach it
It's not our gospel in this dispensation however

This is where the problem becomes serious.

If you call what Jesus preached “another gospel,” you have stepped into dangerous ground. Scripture never gives us permission to separate the gospel of Christ from Christ Himself.

The Bible says, “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God” ~Mark 1:14. That is not a false gospel. That is not an inferior gospel. That is the gospel preached by the Lord Jesus Christ.

And after His resurrection, Jesus did not send the apostles out with a disconnected message. He said, “Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations” ~Luke 24:46-47.

Peter did not preach salvation apart from Christ’s death and resurrection. He preached, “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken… and slain: Whom God hath raised up” ~Acts 2:23-24. Then he called them to repent.

Paul did not preach a different Savior or a different saving foundation. He said the gospel he preached was “that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” ~1 Corinthians 15:3-4.

So no, we should not call Jesus’ gospel “another gospel” as though it belongs in a separate saving category from the gospel of Christ crucified and risen. The setting develops. The revelation becomes clearer after the cross and resurrection. But salvation has never been by law-keeping, national status, or human merit. It has always centered on God’s promise, received by faith, fulfilled in Christ.

If a system makes Jesus sound like He preached a gospel that is not “our gospel,” then the system needs to be corrected by Scripture. Christ is not divided. His gospel is not a mistake to be quarantined in another dispensation.

 

[bdavidc]

These were required to enter the earthly kingdom not salvation unto eternal life

That distinction sounds neat on paper, but Scripture will not let it stand.

The rich young ruler did not ask how to get into an earthly administration. He asked, “Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” ~Matthew 19:16. Jesus answered him, exposed his idol, and when the man walked away, Jesus said, “That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven” ~Matthew 19:23. Then the disciples understood the issue and asked, “Who then can be saved?” ~Matthew 19:25.

There is no fog there. The text ties together eternal life, entering the kingdom, and being saved.

So when you say these things were “required to enter the earthly kingdom, not salvation unto eternal life,” you are making a separation the passage itself does not make. That is not rightly dividing Scripture. That is cutting apart what God joined together.

Jesus was not teaching salvation by selling possessions. He was putting His finger on the man’s false god. The issue was not money alone. The issue was lordship, repentance, and a heart that loved treasure more than Christ. That is why Jesus said, “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible” ~Matthew 19:26.

That kills human merit stone dead.

No man enters God’s kingdom by law-keeping. No man buys his way in by selling all. No man earns life by endurance. But no man enters while clinging to an idol and refusing the King either.

Christ did not preach a defective gospel. Peter did not preach a different Savior. Paul did not clean up Jesus’ message later. The same Lord who said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” ~John 3:3 is the same Lord whose gospel Paul preached.

If a doctrine forces you to say Jesus preached requirements for kingdom entrance that are not tied to salvation, then the doctrine is not clarifying the text. It is dodging the force of it.

The plain question is this: why are you working so hard to protect a system from the words of Christ?

 

[DougE]

The rich young ruler did not ask how to get into an earthly administration. He asked, “Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” ~Matthew 19:16. Jesus answered him, exposed his idol, and when the man walked away, Jesus said, “That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven” ~Matthew 19:23. Then the disciples understood the issue and asked, “Who then can be saved?” ~Matthew 19:25.

There is no fog there. The text ties together eternal life, entering the kingdom, and being saved.

So when you say these things were “required to enter the earthly kingdom, not salvation unto eternal life,” you are making a separation the passage itself does not make. That is not rightly dividing Scripture. That is cutting apart what God joined together.

[John 3:15 KJV] "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."
[John 3:16 KJV] "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
[John 3:18 KJV] "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
[John 20:31 KJV] "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name."
[1 John 5:13 KJV] "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." ******** Israel for eternal life had to believe on his name, that he was Christ, the Son of God

[Matthew 19:17 KJV] "And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? [there is] none good but one, [that is], God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." ******For believing Israel their life was by entering into the kingdom, but not to obtain it

 

[DougE]

If a doctrine forces you to say Jesus preached requirements for kingdom entrance that are not tied to salvation, then the doctrine is not clarifying the text. It is dodging the force of it.

To enter the kingdom and have authority in it they had to:
Believe Jesus was Christ, the Son of God
Be water baptized
Confess Christ openly among men
Keep the law and teach it
sell all and forsake all