Treasure : Matthew 13:44; Pearl : Matthew 13:45-46; Seed : Mark 4:26-29
The Kingdom
All three of these parables are offered as examples of what the Kingdom of God is like, how it works and also its worth. The Kingdom is a much debated term within Christian theology and it is difficult to give it a precise definition. It involves the reign of God being made real for all people and it is drawing close, breaking in and upon us at different moments.
The Treasure
Although only a short parable it’s message is of great importance to us. The details are simple, a man finds a treasure in a field, he hides it, and then joyfully sells all he has so he can buy the field and own the treasure.
It’s important to stress that this man was not looking for the treasure, he wasn’t out in search of it but just happened upon it. He could have been walking in the field and tripped over it or working there and came across it as he dug in the soil. This was an accidental find and not for something long searched for.
Another danger of this parable is that we misinterpret the buying of the field in order to own the treasure. This way of thinking has led to one of Christianity’s major heresies in which it was believed we had to pay for our salvation through prayer, attending mass, confession and other efforts of the flesh. This stands against the truth of God’s grace that means there is nothing we can do to purchase salvation. It is a gift.
What this parable does tell us is this, that the kingdom of God once discovered challenges us to make a choice. Do you leave the treasure and walk away? Do you hide it and sell everything in order to own it for yourself? For the man in the parable this is an easy choice. We are told he ‘joyfully’ went away to sell everything and buy the field.
The Pearl
The parable that follows straight on from the treasure seems to tell exactly the same story, though there are some subtle differences. Again a man finds a pearl, sells all he has and buys it.
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The difference are that we know this man is from a wealthy background, he is a merchant who buys and sells pearls. The other significant difference is that this man is on the look out for fine pearls. Where as the first man stumbles on the treasure this man is looking for it.
The response to the discovery in both parables is the same, once found everything is done to own it. The merchant sells all he has to own this one pearl of great price. Again the challenge to us is how we respond to discovering the kingdom. Do we think it to great a risk or recognise its true value and see that even if we sell everything we have still gained.
Jesus does tell duel parables in other places like the mustard seed and yeast or the building of a tower and a king who goes to war. Often there is a connection between the parables that make them similar but also set them apart. In these two we have an accidental discovery and something sort out, one is discovered by an ordinary man with no description to tell us who he is, the other a rich merchant. The parables are the same but they teach us slightly different things.
The Growing Seed
This parable is only found in Mark’s gospel and starts in a similar way to the parable of the soil (sower). A man scatters seed, and no matter what he does then the seed grows. Night and day it slowly forms itself into a stalk and brings forth more grain. The man has no idea how this happens it just does and when the grain is ready he harvests it.
In the treasure and the pearl we see how people can come across the kingdom of God and respond to the challenge. Here we see how God is working in the world and in the lives of others even when we don’t see it or understand it.
The farmer sows the seed and expects a harvest but he doesn’t know how the seed germinates or how it forms. It is the same when we share the good news with others, we sow the seed but we do not the effect it has in the lives of those who hear. We can’t always see it taking root but God’s Spirit moves and that seed grows.
The other important part of this parable is at the end when the farmer harvests the wheat as soon as it is ready. The immediate response of the farmer to the grain ripening tells us that he was ready and waiting for this moment. There was an expectancy that the seed that had been sown would at some point produce fruit. Again, we need to hear the message. When we share the good news and spread the seed of the gospel there will be a harvest, and we need to be ready and prepared for it.
Credits – ‘Pearl’ by Webponce under CC BY-NC 2.0