The following is a sermon transcript from our Sunday Service at The Rock Church in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. Each week, we gather to worship, learn from God’s Word, and grow together. This transcript is provided as a free resource to encourage and equip you in your walk with Christ. While you’re welcome to read and share this content for personal use, we kindly ask that it not be redistributed or published elsewhere without prior written consent from The Rock Church.
Matthew 13:44 — the parable of the hidden treasure.
So the parable that Corey just read is part of a really large grouping of parables in this chapter of Matthew. There are a lot of parables that Jesus is hitting his disciples with here. Not just his disciples. He had just been preaching to crowds on the Sea of Galilee. And then he was retreating now into Peter’s house—this is really what historians and theologians say is most likely the setting of these parables that he’s giving just to his twelve.
He says things differently when he’s just with his twelve. There’s a way that he preaches to the crowds that is different than when he’s with his core group of guys. And it’s really confusing to the crowds and his twelve disciples.
“Why are we being taught in parables, Lord? Why are you talking to us with word pictures and fictional characters? And why are you speaking vaguely to us?”
Well, Jesus tells them very plainly why he is speaking to them in parables. He says in verse 11 of chapter 13:
“To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.”
That’s something to chew on for about the rest of the day if we need to. But the point there is that God’s kingdom and the knowledge of it—it is not for every single person. Knowledge of it is a gift. It is a gift that we have to be given.
And even when Jesus gives us the gift of knowledge of his kingdom, even the ones that are meant to receive it, it is far too glorious for us to understand. He can’t tell us exactly what the kingdom of heaven is, so he has to tell all these parables.
It’s like looking at the sun—you can’t stare directly at it. You’ve got to kind of side-eye it, give it glances. You don’t look at it for too long.
So Jesus is giving his guys insight into the kingdom of heaven and how glorious it is.
Why Parables?
Let’s face it—in the listener’s mind, in my mind—the kingdom’s glory is just too small to us, is it not? We have not beheld the fullness of it. We can’t. We’re very limited, finite, weak people.
So instead, Jesus gives his disciples parables. He’s giving them glimpses, snapshots of the kingdom of heaven.
And he speaks in analogy. That’s what this language is when he says: “The kingdom of heaven is like…” He’s saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to…” It’s not exactly this, but it shares some attributes with these symbols in the parables.
Actually, it’s more than analogy—it’s allegory. An allegory, if you asked your sixth-grade English teacher, is a story that uses symbolic characters to draw the reader’s attention to deeper meanings. And frequently, it’s not just one deeper meaning. It’s multiple layers.
That’s the power and genius of Jesus’ words in the Bible. His ability to show us many wondrous things about his kingdom in relatively few words. And bringing it down to a level that the listener can understand.
He speaks to us in pictures from our lives.
A Warning About Parables
It is commonly said that you should wait 20 years in ministry before you preach on a parable.
I’ll show them.
I’m sure that advice is for other people. (I’m kidding.)
But what it is—it’s a warning. It’s a warning that parables are easily misunderstood. And this is not a puddle of knowledge about God’s kingdom. It is a deep well. It is a deep well, and the closer you look into it, you might just fall in.
The Gift of Understanding
As we start looking into this particular well, let’s remind each other of what Jesus said in verse 11:
“To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.”
We can understand something because it has been given to us—God’s people—to understand the secrets of the kingdom.
But the understandings that we do attain in his kingdom, we must recognize: those are gifts. Gifts from God himself. He reveals his secrets by sending his Spirit in power to help us understand.
The Main Idea
So here’s my main idea for this parable:
When you find Christ, your search for meaning and value in this world is complete.
Because Christ is the ultimate find. He is your destination. He’s not just a phase in your life’s journey. He’s not a tool for your toolkit. He is the whole thing.
And when you find him—you don’t have to look anymore.
The reason the search is over is because what you find in Christ is so much higher than what you found before. So much better, to such a degree, that you know you will not find anything better if you keep looking.
Two Supporting Points
- Knowing Christ has all-surpassing worth to the true believer.
- The saints in the church are of all-surpassing worth to Christ.
Those are the two things we’ll keep in mind as we go.
Christ’s All-Surpassing Worth to the Believer
Let’s read again Matthew 13:44:
“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.”
Is the Kingdom of Heaven Real?
Let me ask you—the kingdom of heaven, is it real?
No.
Of course it is! It’s real.
It’s not material, but it’s real. Real in a way that you, in your finite mind, cannot even comprehend yet.
When Jesus says in John 18, “My kingdom is not of this world,” he does not mean it doesn’t include this material world. It certainly does.
Now, this material world unfortunately has been given over temporarily to the power of Satan. But God’s sovereignty and his kingdom as a whole still include this world.
And we know from experience: the spiritual is always interacting with the material. They’re not separated.
That’s why we often call this church our little outpost of the kingdom of God. Why? Because this space here—this is sovereign territory. An actual geographically bounded space under the rules of the kingdom of heaven.
Yes, we recognize the authority of our mayor, governor, president—but we know all that authority is utterly submissive and underneath the higher authority of God himself, ruling on his throne.
How the Kingdom Differs from the World
The kingdom of heaven contains the institutions of the world, but it looks nothing like them.
- The kingdom of heaven is holy, pure, uncorrupted.
- It has completely different rules.
- It turns the world’s values on their head.
Want to be first? You must be last.
Want to be exalted? You must humble yourself.
Want to enter? You come not with wisdom and knowledge but with the trust and faith of a child.
That’s different from what the world says.
And here’s another difference: all the money in the world cannot compare to the value of this kingdom.
Why? Because this kingdom never passes away.
That’s what makes it so real. It’s eternal. Everything you see before you is passing away. Empires rise and fall—but God’s throne endures forever.
So yes, the kingdom of heaven is real. More real than anything you’ve ever known before—because it lasts.
The Four Elements of the Parable
We’re going to learn something about this kingdom through the story’s four elements:
- The Treasure
- The Fiel
- The Man
- The Joy
The glimpse of the kingdom of heaven here is not just the treasure. Even though Jesus says “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure…”—it’s actually the totality of those four elements and how they interact. That’s the painting of the kingdom we’re given.
The Treasure
Let’s start with the treasure.
When I was a kid, there was a big construction site behind my house. Backhoes, bulldozers dug up rocks, gravel, dirt—and I thought, all the hard work has been done for me! Surely there’s a treasure just beneath the surface waiting to be found.
Because there’s something in our hearts—we long to find something of worth, something of value.
And what do we imagine treasure to be? Gold, silver, rubies, cash. Things other people see worth in, so we say, oh, that must be valuable because they think it is.
But that’s not always true. People are not rational.
Case in point: my brother-in-law sold a box of unopened Pokémon cards this year for $40,000. Forty thousand dollars—for cardboard!
So why do we assign worth to rocks, metal, cardboard? It’s not the thing itself—it’s that we see it as a vehicle to get something deeper that our souls long for.
What we actually crave isn’t gold or cardboard. It’s:
- Peace
- Comfort
- Safety
- Identity
- Pleasure
- Status
But when we try to use material treasure to reach those longings—it fails. Every time. Whatever comfort or thrill it gives, it’s gone in an instant.
That’s the treasure.
The Field
Next, the field.
And the implication is clear: this is not the man’s field. It belongs to someone else. Probably the very field where he works daily, laboring to put bread on the table for his family.
That’s why Jesus frames it this way—he’s speaking to an agrarian culture. Farmers, shepherds, vine dressers, field workers. He puts the story into terms they can immediately identify with.
If Jesus told this today, maybe he’d say: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a cubicle.”
The Man
The third element is the man.
This one’s easy: he’s just like you or me. A sojourner in this world. Working, trying to get by.
The Joy
And the last element—joy.
It’s joy so great that it motivates the man to sell everything he owns just to buy that field.
That’s the interaction between the elements. He stumbles on a hidden treasure. He sees its worth. He hides it again to protect it. And then—motivated by joy—he makes a plan to obtain it.
Because finding and obtaining are not the same thing.
Joy vs. Sorrow: Why the Rich Young Ruler Walked Away
Notice the difference in outcome here.
The man in Jesus’ parable finds the treasure, sees its worth, and “in his joy” sells everything to obtain it.
Now compare that with the real-life story of the Rich Young Ruler (Matthew 19, Mark 10, Luke 18). He comes to Christ and asks, “Lord, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus says, “Great—you’ve kept the commandments. Now go, sell everything you own, give to the poor, and follow me.”
And what happens?
He walks away sad.
He knew what eternal life was. He heard it directly from Christ. But instead of joy, his heart filled with sorrow.
So why could the man in the parable joyfully sell everything, while the rich young ruler couldn’t?
The Key Difference: Joy
It’s right there in the text. Joy.
The parable says: “Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
Joy was the fuel, the motivator. Not fear. Not guilt. Not obligation. Joy.
That’s the difference between duty-driven religion and gospel-driven delight.
The man in the parable had actually seen the treasure. He beheld it. He glimpsed its worth. And because of that vision, his heart erupted in joy.
The rich young ruler? For him, eternal life was still just an abstract idea. He couldn’t see it. He couldn’t taste it. And without joy, he couldn’t let go.
Why Joy Changes Everything
When you truly behold Christ as your treasure—when God opens your eyes to see His worth—you don’t just grit your teeth and say, “Fine, I’ll give things up.”
You say, “Take it all—because I’ve found something infinitely better.”
That’s why joy is so critical. It creates urgency. It motivates surrender. It fuels sacrifice.
And notice—joy itself is not something we manufacture. Scripture tells us: “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). God Himself puts joy in the believer’s heart as the energizing engine to unclench our grip on the world.
Psalm 4:7 says: “You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.”
Did you catch that? God puts the joy in. It’s His action. Our sacrifice is the reaction.
The Trap of Misreading the Parable as Law
Now let me give you a warning, because there’s a trap my flesh sets for me every time I read this parable.
My heart is deceitful above all things. It wants to justify itself. It wants to turn everything into a checklist for me to prove myself worthy.
So when I read “he went and sold all that he had and bought that field,” my sinful instinct says:
- “This is a command. I have to give up everything to be saved.”
- “If I haven’t abandoned enough, maybe I’m not really a Christian.”
- “Maybe I need to go be a missionary in China, otherwise I’m not in the kingdom.”
That’s how my heart misuses the text. It turns gospel into law.
Seeing the Treasure Comes First
But notice what actually happens in the parable.
The man doesn’t sell everything first in order to find the treasure.
He finds the treasure first. He sees it. He beholds its worth. And then—in his joy—he sells everything.
The order matters.
It’s not: “Do enough, then maybe you’ll inherit the kingdom.”
It’s: “See Christ, and when you do, joy will drive you to let go.”
This is not law. It’s gospel.
God’s Sovereign Action Comes First
Think about it:
- How did the man find the treasure? God directed his steps to it.
- How was he able to see it? God gave him spiritual eyes.
- How did joy erupt in his heart? God put it there.
Even joy is not self-generated. It’s a sovereign gift.
Psalm 4:7: “You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.”
God acts first. Our letting go is the response.
Salvation Is Not a Bargain Transaction
If you read this parable as though Jesus is saying, “You’d better sell everything or else you’re out,” you miss the point.
This isn’t a transactional bargain where you scrape together enough to buy your way into the kingdom.
This is about beholding something so glorious, so valuable, so life-altering, that you can’t help but let go of everything else.
It’s not a law commanding you to sell. It’s a gospel promise: “When God opens your eyes to Christ, joy will loosen your grip on lesser things.”
Flipping the Parable: We Are Christ’s Treasure
Now let me turn this parable around completely.
We’ve been looking at it from our perspective—we find Christ as treasure, we give up everything in joy. And that’s true.
But what if there’s another angle?
Remember that old drawing you may have seen in school—the one where you can see either a beautiful young woman or an old woman, depending on how you look at it? Same lines, same drawing, but two totally different perspectives.
I think this parable works like that.
A God-Centered Perspective
What if the man in the parable isn’t just us?
What if the man is the Son of Man—Jesus Himself?
Let’s reread it with that in mind:
“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.”
Who is the man? The Son of Man.
What is the field? Jesus already told us in Matthew 13:38—“The field is the world.”
What’s the treasure? You.
Christ Gave Up Everything
Now think about it.
Jesus is the One who gave up everything—His glory, His comfort, His throne. He humbled Himself, entered this broken world, suffered, bled, and died.
Why? To purchase the whole field.
Why buy the whole field? Because you were in it.
He saw treasure hidden in the world, and for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2).
You Are the Treasure
Let that sink in: Christ calls you His treasure.
Not because you’re shiny. Not because you’re impressive. But because He placed His love on you.
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son…” Why did He love the world? Because you were in it.
He paid the highest price imaginable—not for gold, not for rubies, but for you.
We don’t often think of ourselves as treasure. We’re quick to self-loathe, to forget our worth. But Christ doesn’t forget.
He treasures you so much that He gave up everything to make you His.
The Unspoken Ending
And here’s the unspoken ending of the parable.
What happens after the man buys the field and secures the treasure?
He doesn’t leave it buried forever. No—he waits for the right time, then he raises it up.
That’s what Christ will do at the end of the age. He will raise His treasure—His people—from the ground and bring us into eternal glory with Him.
That’s the promise.
Application: The Joy of Being Treasured
So what do we take away from this parable?
Whether we see it from our perspective—finding Christ as treasure—or from God’s perspective—Christ finding us as His treasure—the theme is the same: joy.
True Christianity is not drudgery. It’s not about grim duty lists or guilt-driven sacrifices. It’s about joy.
- Joy in seeing Christ’s surpassing worth.
- Joy in knowing that He treasures us enough to give up everything.
- Joy in belonging to a kingdom that can never pass away.
That joy is what fuels obedience. It’s what loosens our grip on worldly attachments. It’s what carries us through suffering with hope.
Why Gathering Matters
And this is why the church is so important.
Week after week, we gather here not to get a checklist, not to grind through religious motions, but to be reminded of joy.
To hear again that Christ is enough.
To see again the treasure that never fades.
To remember again that we are His beloved treasure.
That’s why David prayed in Psalm 51:12, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation.”
When you come here, when you hear the Word, when you sing with the saints—God is answering that prayer.
The Treasure We Always Hoped to Find
And that’s why this parable is so powerful.
It’s telling us that Christ is the treasure we always hoped to find.
He’s the answer to every longing.
He’s the fulfillment of every desire.
He’s the end of every search.
And He will never let His treasure go.
Closing Prayer
Great Heavenly Father, we come together, your saints, to say with one unified voice: You are enough. Your grace is sufficient. We can’t add to it. Show us your beauty. We want to see You more. We need You more and more every day. And we thank You that You are faithful—that Your promises are true, that You will answer every question in its perfect time, satisfy every longing in its perfect time, and that the kingdom we look forward to is eternal. It has already begun, and we await its fullness. Come, Lord Jesus, come. In His name we pray. Amen.
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