Rev. Charles Lehmann + Matthew 13:44-52 + Pentecost 10
In the Name of + Jesus. Amen.
The world loves to listen to Jesus' parables because it hears in them some
sort of basic worldly wisdom instead of what the Lord is really teaching.
Since the world does not believe the Word of God, it is able to find in the
parables a Jesus who is just a good moral teacher. The world wants Jesus to be
a first century Oprah or Dr. Phil. The world wants him to give advice on
relationships and make them feel good about themselves. The world might even
listen to Jesus for some basic financial advice, but it doesn't want God in the
flesh.
The world doesn't want God to come into our sinful world to redeem us from
what eternally separates us from Him. The world doesn't want to learn about
the kingdom of heaven. The world wants Aesop or the brothers Grimm.
Of course, there is a place for stories that teach us some sort of moral
lesson or proverb, but one rarely finds that sort of story in the Scriptures.
The Scriptures are about Jesus. The Scriptures are about your Savior. The
Scriptures are about God in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. They are
about His love for you on the cross.
But the world thinks it's doing alright, so it isn't interested in this
Savior business. The world doesn't want to hear about sin or the forgiveness
of sin. The world wants a self-help book. So when the world reads the parable
of the treasure in the field, the world hears about someone who was a shrewd
businessman. He knew what the field was worth and managed to pull one over on
the landowner. He raised the necessary capital and made an offer. He beat the
real estate market in a big way. He turned a huge profit on what probably
looked like an insane investment. But the world gets it all wrong. That's
just not the story that Jesus is telling at all.
When the Man in Jesus' story finds the treasure hidden in the field, He
sells all that He has and buys the whole field. This is not a good business
move. He could have gone to the landowner and tried to negotiate for just the
plot where He found the treasure, but strangely, He doesn't even consider that
option. Instead, the Man buys the whole field. The Man doesn't lowball His
offer and enter a long negotiation process to get the best deal possible. He
sells all He has and uses every penny to buy the field. The treasure is worth
it to Him. He will not allow any sort of enlightened self-interest to turn Him
aside from His prize. He will not risk losing any of the treasure because He
didn't buy the whole field He found the treasure in.
So much for sound business principles. So much for worldly wisdom. The
man in the parable is taking an all or nothing approach. That doesn't get you
very far in a world where the other guy is in it for himself and is always
going after the very best deal. In the best of circumstances this approach
will probably lead to bankruptcy. In the worst it can lead to prison or death.
There's another way the world can hear this parable, and it's even worse.
The treasure in the field is the kingdom of heaven, and you should give up
everything you have to get it. Nothing should stand between you and attaining
your heavenly prize. This can initially sound pretty good. Heaven's better
than anything we can imagine, right? It's really what we should ultimately be
trying to get, isn't it? The problem, dear Christians, is not in valuing
heaven. Heaven is worth valuing. Heaven is eternal communion with your
Savior. It is bodily living in the loving and gracious presence of God for all
eternity. Valuing that isn't a problem. The problem would be in thinking that
you can get it for yourself.
If we absolutely knew that by giving up everything we would receive heaven
as our reward, I'd like to think that we wouldn't even give it a second
thought. We'd sell all we have, give the money to the poor, and wait quietly
and patiently for our heavenly reward. It wouldn't matter to us if we starved,
got sick, or were ridiculed by our family. We'd be sure of our reward and
would know that what came in heaven would be far better than anything that we
had given up. And, on top of everything else, we'd know that we earned it. We
wouldn't have gone on some free ride to paradise. We would proudly be able to
say that we did our part and earned our one way ticket to the pearly gates.
But even if we were completely sure, we probably still wouldn't do it.
But it's still an attractive thought to have it all in our hands. We want
to have control over our future. That's why we save money, invest in
retirement, and plan for contingencies. The world wants to apply those same
ideas to eternity. Work hard, prepare for the future, and everything will be
fine. It's all in your hands. But we know that a crisis can come that we
haven't prepared for. It can wipe out our savings and throw all of our plans
into absolute ruin. The same can happen spiritually. What if the Lord demands
your life before you've done all that you were doing to prepare for eternity?
What then? How far can your works get you? What sort of certainty for
eternity can come from your plans? None... none at all... But some still
strive to earn the kingdom of heaven.
Some who have thought this way in the past have become monks. They had
been taught that the monastic life was the most certain way to get to heaven.
So they gave all their possessions away, took vows of poverty, and spent their
lives hidden away from the world. They thought that living a life of poverty
with all their wealth gone was the most sure way they could earn heaven. They
were offering everything they had so they could buy the treasure in the field.
But everything isn't enough. No one has enough to buy entrance into
heaven. You could sell everything you have and go into as much debt as you can
imagine and you wouldn't even be close. You wouldn't even be close if you
worked for a hundred thousand lifetimes. There is no price that you can offer
that would be enough for the field, let alone the treasure that is in it.
But fear not, dear Christians! You are not the Man in the parable. You
need not buy the field. This Man who shows outrageous desire for the treasure
can afford the price, and He has not held back a single penny or a single drop
of His holy precious blood. The Man, people loved by God, is Jesus. The
treasure in the field, dear Christians, is you.
Consider for a moment what we learn in Luther's Small Catechism. “I
believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and
also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord. Who has redeemed me, a lost
and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from
the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious
blood and with His innocent suffering and death.”
You live in a world that is filled with sickness and death. Your own sin
wants to enslave you to the whims of that world. Unless you were rescued, the
pain in which you languish now would never end. It would only get worse until
finally it killed you. And after you were dead the pain would only increase
for all eternity. That's what it would be like if the Man hadn't bought the
field. That's what it was like until Christ redeemed you, a lost and condemned
person, purchased and won you from all sins, from death, and from the power of
the devil. And how did your Savior purchase you? He gave all that he had.
Not his possessions, which are the whole universe. Death could demand nothing
from the Lord of Life. What Jesus gave in payment for you, the treasure in the
field, death couldn't even dare to demand. He gave His life. He offered for
the redemption of the whole world His own precious blood and His innocent
suffering and death. He
didn't count the cost. He gave everything. He didn't buy one small plot in
the field. He redeemed us all. No one was outside the reach of the Savior's
outrageous love.
Jesus redeemed you so that you might be His own and live with Him in His
heavenly kingdom. He did it so that you would live in everlasting innocence
and blessedness even as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all
eternity.
You do not need to worry about whether you've given up enough to get the
treasure in the field. You don't need to fret about a landowner who will
demand too much of you. You are the treasure. You are so precious to your
Savior that He gave up His very life to possess you. You are the pearl of
great price. Jesus treasures you.
The payment of blood has been made. Your heavenly mansion is prepared.
Your Lord has gone to the cross and saved you. Fear not, people loved by God!
There is nothing that can be done that your Lord and your God has not already
done for you.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts
and minds in faith in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Rev. Charles R. Lehmann
Pastor, Saint John's Lutheran Church, Accident, MD
http://chaz-lehmann.livejournal.com
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