Great Joy in the Kingdom of Heaven

Scripture

“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.”--Matthew 13:44 (ESV)

Too often, my priorities get out of line, and I focus too much on the things of this world. The parable of the hidden treasure in Matthew 13:44 shows that Jesus is worth more than anything else and that His kingdom is the greatest treasure. May we realign our priorities, placing Jesus first, and run toward him like the man in this parable.

We sat in a shady patch of grass on a warm summer day, picking weeds and chatting about all the random things the brain of a five-year-old boy can conjure up. I pointed toward a weed he had missed, but he protested to plucking its roots from the ground. “That is a weed, son,” I kindly assured him. “Yes, momma, but it is also a flower,” he said as he pointed to tiny yellow buds that ran up the stem. Of course, to my child’s delight, I let the flower grow.

My son had found a hidden treasure that I overlooked, just as the man discovered the priceless treasure of the kingdom of heaven in our key verse, Matthew 13:44. Jesus taught the Parable of the Hidden Treasure privately to his disciples in a house in or near Capernaum right after teaching great crowds on the beach from a boat.

The Kingdom of Heaven is the Same as the Kingdom of God

This story illustrates the immeasurable worth of the kingdom of heaven, which is synonymous with the kingdom of God, or Christ’s saving and redeeming reign and rule over the universe (Psalm 103:19). Heaven was often used in place of the divine name of God due to Jewish traditions to prevent using His name in vain.

Jesus used a scenario familiar to the disciples to teach that His kingdom is the greatest treasure. People regularly hid valuables in the dirt during this period, when wars and other uprisings were common and traditional banks did not exist. If a person found a treasure, they could legally possess it by purchasing the property.

The treasure and its worth were hidden from some, embodying the message Jesus taught in John 3:3-5, that believers must be born again, born of water and the Spirit, to see and enter the kingdom of God. The parable does not specify whether the man was actively hunting for treasure or stumbled upon it, but he immediately recognized its significance and joyfully sold everything he owned to gain the kingdom of heaven.

Scripture tells us that salvation is a gift, bought by the blood of Christ, that cannot be purchased or earned (Ephesians 2:8-9).

The transaction in this parable is simply showing the posture of this man’s heart. “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21, ESV). It begs me to question myself: Do I always treasure the kingdom more than anything else?  Do I prioritize my relationship with Jesus over everything else? 

While studying, I became captivated by the different prepositional phrases used to describe the nature and origin of this man’s joy across the various translations.

Because of, out of, for his, for the, in great, and from joy are all used to precede “joy” in this verse.

In his excitement, the man moved toward Jesus, knowing full well that he had discovered the greatest treasure.

This parable mirrors the wisdom Paul gave us in Philippians 3:7-8, “Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”

In God’s upside-down kingdom, it is a beautiful paradoxical reality that we can be poor in worldly possessions and still be rich in Christ. May we all love Jesus and treasure His kingdom with such passionate joy.

Question for Reflection

1. When I read this parable, I envision the moment the man realizes the magnitude of what he has found. I picture him with an ear-to-ear grin as he pulls up his robe to run as fast as he can to secure the treasure of the kingdom. Can you recall a time when the joy of knowing Christ overwhelmed your spirit?

Let's Pray

Dear Father, thank You for welcoming me into Your kingdom with open arms through the gift of salvation bought by the blood of Jesus. I am not worthy of Your grace and mercy, and yet You freely give both. My greatest desire is to treasure You above everything else, for You are worthy of all my love, praise, and worship. Open my heart, mind, and soul to all the jewels of wisdom You graciously give me in Your Holy Word. In Jesus’ name, amen.  

More to Explore in this Verse

It is interesting to note that the Parable of the Hidden Treasure is the first parable in Matthew 13 taught privately to the disciples. All seven parables in Matthew 13 center on the growth, value, and future judgment of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus used these short metaphorical stories to reveal heavenly and kingdom secrets to truth-seekers. In Matthew 13:10-15, Jesus tells the disciples that the secrets of the kingdom are granted to them, but not to the hardened, critical crowds.

The disciples are truth-seekers and receptive students of Jesus’ teachings, yet they still held misconceptions about the kingdom and the Messiah. Jesus takes His disciples aside and uses the story of the hidden treasure, along with the Parable of the Pearl (Matthew 13:45-46), to emphasize that the kingdom of heaven is priceless and worth sacrificing everything to possess it. There is a cost to discipleship, but eternity with Jesus is the greatest treasure. “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it” (Matthew 16:25, NIV).  

Jesus is worth more than anything else, and His kingdom is the greatest treasure.