Jesus said, “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. 45Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
The question always arises when we come to this parable: who is the one doing the action? I would like to suggest that Jesus is the One who buys the treasure and the pearl. Why? Well, in the previous verses just before these parables, Jesus explained the parable of the wheat and the tares saying, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.” He then immediately goes into the parables of the hidden treasures that we are exploring today. This leads us to believe that Jesus also wants us to see Him as the One who seeks the treasure and the pearl.
When we think of this parable in this way, it frames the way we think of the Kingdom of Heaven. This parable, and everything that Jesus says about the Kingdom of Heaven, is what He does for you. He comes to you and gives up everything for you, even shedding His holy and precious blood. Why does He do this? He does it only out of His love and mercy, because you are His beloved possession.
And that’s the message our text has for us today: You are Christ’s treasured possession, bought with His own blood.
We might ask, why does Jesus go to such great lengths to save us? We might come to the wrong conclusion that it’s something about how great we are that motivates Jesus to save us. However, our Old Testament reading from Deuteronomy 7 speaks against this:
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers….”
It’s not because of how great we are that God came to save us. It is only out of His great love and mercy toward you that He saves you.
You can take comfort in the fact that God does all that is necessary for your salvation, and He does it out of His great love. You can also take comfort in the beautiful words that God chose you and predestined you, which we hear in our Epistle reading from Romans 8,
“29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”
See the strong language that God gives you regarding your salvation! You are not just an afterthought. Your salvation is not unsure or on uneasy ground. Rather, God foreknew, predestined, and called you to be His own child.
We must be clear because people are often confused about what the Bible says regarding predestination. Predestination does not mean that God chooses some people to go to heaven and then creates others with the sole eternal purpose of sending them to hell. This idea contradicts what God says elsewhere, “[God] desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Likewise, the famous words of John 3:16 tell us, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Predestination also should not make us panic about whether or not we’re “really elect.” Instead, if you believe in Jesus and call upon Him in faith, rejoice that these words about predestination are for you! God gives us these words about predestination for our comfort. He wants us to know just how much He loves us and just how secure our salvation is in Him.
In the same way, it is your great comfort to know what Christ has done for you. Like the man in the parables who gave up all that he had to purchase his treasured possessions, Jesus gives up all to redeem you, His treasured possession. Without Christ, you were lost in your trespasses and sins. You were the captive possession of sin, death, and the devil. Christ purchased and won you with His holy and precious blood shed on the cross. He withheld nothing from you, but gave up all, even His very life, for your sake.
Because Christ has given His life so you can be His, His grace and mercy now frame your entire life. He continually pours out His gifts on you. He gives you His forgiveness daily, joins you to Himself in Holy Baptism, and feeds you with His body and blood. You have the promise throughout your entire life:
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
What is the “good” that God promises to work in your life? It is your life and salvation with Him. So while this is not a promise that everything in your life will be easy and you will have no trouble, it is a promise that God will work everything for the salvation and eternal life of those who love Him.
This means that because you have the comfort that Jesus gave up everything to save you, you can have the confidence to face anything this life might throw at you with the assurance that Jesus will bring you through it and raise you on the last day. As St. Paul says in Romans 8:31-35,
“31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”
You are His treasured possession, and nothing can separate you from Him,
“37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
In all your afflictions and suffering in this life, you see Christ because you know that He bore that affliction and suffering for you. When you suffer, you are joined to Christ, because He is the One who suffered. He is the One who suffered and died, and passed through death into life. So you can have the confidence that when you are joined with Him in His suffering and death, you will be joined with Him in His life.
Nothing can snatch you out of His hand. Because He found you, loved you so much that He gave up all to purchase and win you. You are His treasured possession forever.
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