התמלול המלא של 178: God’s Treasured Possessions (Walking with Jesus Series, #040: Matt. 13:44-52)

last three parables, there is a change of audience and even teaching venue. 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:27.439 If you look at chapter 13, verse 36, then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house, and his disciples came to him. 00:03:27.680 --> 00:03:36.159 After that, he then gives the interpretation of the parable of the wheat and tares and then gives these three additional parables. 00:03:36.639 --> 00:03:39.439 So Jesus is no longer addressing the multitude. 00:03:39.599 --> 00:03:43.199 He's now speaking only to his closest disciples. 00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:56.080 After explaining to them the meaning of the tares, he then gives these three more parables and it takes us beyond the church age, into the tribulation, and up to the return of Christ. 00:03:56.240 --> 00:03:58.800 At least that's how I understand these parables. 00:03:59.120 --> 00:04:05.120 It could be that Christ dismisses the multitude because these parables are even more difficult to grasp. 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:10.800 Or perhaps the crowds were not ready to hear the particulars of these next three parables. 00:04:11.439 --> 00:04:13.360 Now I've been helped somewhat. 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:25.439 I've done a lot of study on my own, of course, and read lots of commentators to get their input, but I've been helped a great deal by Arlen Chitwood in his book The Mysteries of the Kingdom, which is a book I highly recommend. 00:04:25.600 --> 00:04:26.959 You can get it for free on the internet. 00:04:27.279 --> 00:04:30.000 I'll advertise this again because it's free. 00:04:30.319 --> 00:04:33.279 Lampbroadcast.org. 00:04:33.439 --> 00:04:37.519 And that's all one word website, lampproadcast.org. 00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:44.639 His son John, who sometimes listens in to our sermons here, is the custodian of that now. 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:49.600 That Arlen has passed away, and I so appreciate him keeping those up on the internet for us. 00:04:50.079 --> 00:04:51.120 Amazing writer. 00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:53.120 Matthew 13, verse 44. 00:04:53.279 --> 00:05:04.240 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid, and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys the field. 00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:07.439 Now Jesus does not give us an interpretation. 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:09.680 So we're on our own here. 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:17.279 But thankfully we have some hints in the text, and we have the added advantage of the completed revelation of the Word of God. 00:05:17.439 --> 00:05:20.160 I think that helps us in the 21st century. 00:05:20.399 --> 00:05:25.759 Well, we do know from verse 38 the meaning of the field. 00:05:26.160 --> 00:05:29.120 We're told there the field is the world. 00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:35.600 And the word there is the word that refers to the inhabited earth, the cosmos. 00:05:35.920 --> 00:05:44.000 It's not Israel, it's not the church, it's the earth and all of its inhabitants and the world system. 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:48.079 What then is the treasure hidden in the earth? 00:05:48.319 --> 00:05:51.600 Or hidden in the field, is the way the parable puts it. 00:05:51.759 --> 00:05:55.920 Well, to answer that question, we can look at Psalm 135, verse 4. 00:05:56.160 --> 00:06:02.959 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel for his special treasure. 00:06:03.439 --> 00:06:08.639 I believe that in this parable, Israel is God's treasure. 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:16.160 In the parable, notice the man does not purchase Israel, the treasure, which he finds in the field. 00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:17.680 What does he purchase? 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:19.439 The field itself. 00:06:19.839 --> 00:06:21.199 Now hold that thought. 00:06:21.439 --> 00:06:22.879 We're going to get back to it. 00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:24.800 It's a very important thought. 00:06:25.120 --> 00:06:31.040 So he does not purchase the treasure according to the parable, he purchases the field. 00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:35.839 And the field represents the earth, the inhabited earth. 00:06:36.160 --> 00:06:38.319 Who is the man that finds the treasure? 00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:40.800 Well, I believe that's Jesus Christ. 00:06:41.439 --> 00:06:49.199 We believe he's the sower in the first parable, so why not the purchaser of the field in this parable? 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:52.079 Most are agreed on that. 00:06:52.240 --> 00:06:55.279 And I think that will become clearer as we go along. 00:06:55.680 --> 00:07:02.639 In what sense then does the man, Jesus, find the treasure, Israel, and then hide it? 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:12.160 When God called Abraham in Genesis chapter 12, he promised to make of him a great nation and through him to bless all the families of the earth. 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:16.480 In that sense, Jesus found the treasure. 00:07:16.800 --> 00:07:24.959 God later told Israel through Moses, Deuteronomy 7, verses 6 through 8, you are a holy people to the Lord your God. 00:07:25.199 --> 00:07:33.120 The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. 00:07:33.279 --> 00:07:42.319 The Lord did not set his love on you, nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples, but because the Lord loves you. 00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:49.680 So he found, chose really, the treasure hidden in the field. 00:07:49.920 --> 00:08:05.199 Furthermore, we know that when Jesus came to earth the first time he was born into a Jewish family of the seed of Abraham, and also having royal lineage descending from King David, so in that sense also he found Israel, the treasure. 00:08:05.759 --> 00:08:12.399 Once Christ's public ministry began, he focused his message on Israel, God's treasure. 00:08:13.279 --> 00:08:21.519 God's sentiment toward his people dates back to the founding of the nation shortly after the Exodus from Egypt. 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:25.839 And so we

read at the foot of Mount Sinai, Exodus 19, 5 and 6. 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:38.639 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people, for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:45.279 So at least three times already in the Old Testament, we've seen God say that Israel is his special treasure. 00:08:46.320 --> 00:08:50.559 But I want you to notice here in Exodus 19, this is a conditional promise. 00:08:50.799 --> 00:08:57.519 If you will obey, then you will be my special treasure above all people. 00:08:58.159 --> 00:09:00.240 So it's a conditional promise. 00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:08.799 Christ's public ministry to his people when he came the first time was all about calling them back to obedience. 00:09:09.039 --> 00:09:11.360 You disobeyed the Mosaic law. 00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:13.120 Get right with God. 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:16.480 In fact, he preached the message, repent. 00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:28.639 For the kingdom of the heavens is at hand, and as I've many times pointed out, it's the idea of get right with God, and you will once again be his peculiar treasure, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. 00:09:29.120 --> 00:09:37.360 Jesus offered Israel the privilege of ruling together with him in the heavenly ruling realm of the kingdom, but Israel rejected the offer. 00:09:37.840 --> 00:09:50.399 And so in Matthew 21, verse 43, we read, Jesus saying, Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation, ethnos, bearing the fruits of it. 00:09:50.559 --> 00:09:57.279 Now, of course, we know that other ethnos entity to be the predominantly Gentile church. 00:09:57.759 --> 00:10:01.759 I think now we can make sense of Matthew 13, verse 44. 00:10:01.919 --> 00:10:10.720 The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which a man found and hid, and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 00:10:10.879 --> 00:10:14.480 So the man is Jesus, the treasure is Israel. 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:22.559 Hiding the treasure signifies Jesus taking away the heavenly kingdom from the nation of Israel and giving it to the church. 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:28.879 National Israel essentially goes into hiding, quote unquote, in the church age. 00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:36.240 God's plan for Israel is put on hold temporarily while he deals with the church, this new entity. 00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:44.799 We have to wait until the fullness of the Gentiles become in before God will resume his plan for national Israel. 00:10:44.960 --> 00:10:50.399 And by the way, I say this all the time too: God does have a plan for national Israel. 00:10:50.720 --> 00:10:54.000 The church is not spiritual Israel. 00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:58.799 As so many believe today, including the mainline Protestant denominations. 00:10:59.039 --> 00:11:02.960 No, that's called replacement

theology, and it's not biblical. 00:11:03.279 --> 00:11:09.360 God has a plan for national Israel, and he's not fulfilling his plan for Israel through the church. 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:18.720 The church has its own priorities and objectives, but God has a plan for Israel in the future, and he will fulfill it when that nation comes back around. 00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:20.320 But that's not all. 00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:24.960 We're told in the parable that the man, Jesus, purchases the field. 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:27.039 Now, this is an interesting thought. 00:11:27.279 --> 00:11:29.279 And I was helped in some of this by Chitwood. 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:30.559 I think he's right. 00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:33.759 But I had to study it out for myself to see. 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:36.399 How does he purchase the field? 00:11:36.960 --> 00:11:39.279 By selling all that he has. 00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:46.480 Now, this is undoubtedly a reference to his death on the cross, his great redemption, when he gave everything to pay the price. 00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:55.279 However, notice that he doesn't purchase the treasure by his death, he purchases the field, the earth. 00:11:55.759 --> 00:11:56.879 The parable says that. 00:11:57.039 --> 00:12:01.440 He doesn't purchase the treasure, he finds the treasure, he purchases the field. 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:03.200 So how do we make sense of this? 00:12:03.360 --> 00:12:16.159 Well, I think the answer is found in Revelation 5, and that's why earlier I said we have the benefit of the completed revelation of Scripture to be able to see the fullness of this parable and its interpretation. 00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:19.519 Let me give you a little bit of the setting of Revelation 5. 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:29.200 God the Father is on his throne, and he's holding in his hand a scroll with seven seals, and nobody can open it. 00:12:29.440 --> 00:12:37.840 We read in Revelation 5, verse 3, no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look at it. 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:45.519 Now Arlen Chitwood refers to the sealed scroll as the title deed to planet Earth. 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:52.480 Purchased, bought back by the redemption of Jesus, but through the judgments. 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:57.200 And after thorough study on the subject, I think he's right. 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:06.879 John, we're told in Revelation 5, starts weeping because no one is able to open the scroll. 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:09.759 But then one of the elders tells him, Don't weep. 00:13:10.240 --> 00:13:16.799 The lion of the tribe of Judah, he's worthy to take the scroll from God and to open it. 00:13:17.600 --> 00:13:26.080 John looks and he sees in the midst of the throne not a lion but a lamb, as it had been slain. 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:33.279 An obvious reference to Jesus post-crucifixion after paying the price to purchase the field. 00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:44.399 But this is an obvious reference, Revelation 5, 6 and 7, to Jesus post-crucifixion, after he paid the price to purchase the field. 00:13:44.639 --> 00:13:47.120 He sold all that he had, so to speak. 00:13:47.360 --> 00:13:50.960 Indeed, he gave his own life to purchase the field. 00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:55.200 But he has not yet received the title deed to the earth. 00:13:55.519 --> 00:13:58.159 He will receive that during the tribulation. 00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:14.399 By opening the scroll, Jesus brings judgment upon the earth and upon Antichrist and his Gentile forces, and I should have added, and upon Satan, but ultimately upon Israel for the purpose of bringing the nation back to repentance. 00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:18.639 And why is Jesus worthy to open the scroll? 00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:40.000 Revelation 5, 9 and 10, they sing a new song saying, You are worthy to take the scroll and open its seals, for you were slain, and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign on the earth. 00:14:40.320 --> 00:14:42.000 Glorious thoughts here. 00:14:42.399 --> 00:14:47.279 He earned the right by paying the price at his crucifixion. 00:14:47.600 --> 00:14:57.919 We know from Old Testament prophecy that when Jesus returns, he will forever defeat Satan, taking crowns away from the evil one and his host. 00:14:58.080 --> 00:15:13.440 And we're told in Revelation 11, verse 15, the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever, literally to the ages of the ages. 00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:21.440 Jesus, we know, will then give those crowns to faithful, fruitful saints of the church. 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:33.039 People like you, if you're worthy, the ones he deems worthy at his judgment seat, and they will rule together with him in the heavenly realm over the earth in the millennium. 00:15:33.200 --> 00:15:34.799 Now, what about Israel? 00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:49.840 Well, because Israel rejected the offer of ruling in the heavenly kingdom at Christ's first coming, the nation will be consigned to ruling on earth, from the earthly promised land, which will be the full promised land, the borders will be expanded. 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:54.480 The earth that Jesus purchases back from Satan by his blood. 00:15:54.960 --> 00:16:02.639 Israel is called the sons of the kingdom, so they will rule on earth, but they will not rule in the heavenly kingdom because they forfeited that. 00:16:02.720 --> 00:16:21.600 And Matthew 8, 11, and 12 makes clear that they'll be in the darkness outside of New Jerusalem ruling, but faithful members of Israel, like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, probably plenty of others all throughout history, they will be in New Jerusalem with those faithful ones of the church age. 00:16:21.919 --> 00:16:27.919 That is when Israel has repented, comes back to Jehovah. 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:33.679 This is at the end of the tribulation,

and will become the wife of Jehovah once again. 00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:39.360 You realize from Jeremiah 3 that Jehovah has divorced Israel. 00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:41.279 Says that plainly. 00:16:59.679 --> 00:17:03.200 Notice it says gospel of the kingdom. 00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:13.359 The 144,000 Jewish evangelists will go around the world, pointing Jews and Gentiles too to salvation in Jesus. 00:17:13.519 --> 00:17:18.160 In other words, they have to realize he was the Messiah that they crucified the first time, the Jews do. 00:17:18.799 --> 00:17:23.200 And then they need to take him up on his offer of kingdom inheritance. 00:17:23.279 --> 00:17:37.920 And I actually believe that there will be a massive harvest of people during the tribulation who do believe on Jesus and take him up on his kingdom inheritance offer and will inherit the kingdom. 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:40.400 The martyrs, for sure. 00:17:40.799 --> 00:17:50.000 But many others, even that aren't martyred but are faithful during the tribulation, will also be found in New Jerusalem in the millennial age. 00:17:50.559 --> 00:17:57.039 And the 144,000 will also preach that repentance is required before the nation can be restored. 00:17:57.200 --> 00:18:01.599 Now you know the answer to this question, but does the nation repent and become restored? 00:18:01.839 --> 00:18:02.480 Yes. 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:11.759 Zechariah 12, verse 10, I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication. 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:14.400 Then they will look on me whom they pierced. 00:18:14.640 --> 00:18:19.759 Remember, Jesus has come back by that time, splits the Mount of Olives in two. 00:18:20.480 --> 00:18:23.200 They will look upon me whom they pierced. 00:18:23.279 --> 00:18:29.200 Yes, they will mourn for him as one mourns for his only son and grieve for him as one grieves for a firstborn. 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:35.440 In other words, Israel will be saved when Jesus returns the second time. 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:37.279 They're going to weep. 00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:38.799 They're going to repent. 00:18:38.960 --> 00:18:44.799 They're going to say, Oh, how foolish we were to have crucified our Messiah the first time he came. 00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:46.319 We didn't recognize him then. 00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:47.519 We recognize him now. 00:18:47.680 --> 00:18:48.960 We're so sorry. 00:18:49.680 --> 00:18:51.519 Oh God, forgive us. 00:18:52.400 --> 00:19:00.720 Paul said in Romans 11, 25 through 27, blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 00:19:00.960 --> 00:19:03.839 And so all Israel will be saved. 00:19:03.920 --> 00:19:07.359 As it is written, the deliverer will come out of Zion. 00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:14.319 He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob, for this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins. 00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:17.279 That's going to happen. 00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:19.519

That hasn't happened yet. 00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:22.559 It will happen by the end of the tribulation. 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:30.720 Israel will not only believe on Jesus as the Son of God, the nation will also repent of its past failure and turn to the Lord. 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:48.960 Thus, the parable of the hidden treasure, I believe, is about Jesus hiding, so to speak, Israel at his first coming, because they rejected his offer, and paying the price to redeem mankind, which is the field in the parable, or earth. 00:19:49.200 --> 00:20:04.480 Then at his second coming, taking possession of planet earth in its entirety, he gets the title deed to earth, the globe itself along with its inhabitants, and he reclaims his treasure, giving Israel rule over the millennial earth. 00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:10.319 And what a plan! Conceived in the mind of God before the foundation of the world. 00:20:10.559 --> 00:20:13.359 He knew what would happen and he planned this out. 00:20:14.160 --> 00:20:16.880 That should cause you to worship God all the more. 00:20:17.119 --> 00:20:20.559 His magnificent wisdom and power to carry this out. 00:20:20.799 --> 00:20:26.799 And I believe that plan is summarized in this one little parable. 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:29.200 Now all the details aren't given, clearly. 00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:33.200 We have that for us in the remainder of Scripture. 00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:36.880 That's why I said we're so privileged to have the full revelation of Scripture. 00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:38.319 We can see the fullness of this. 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:50.000 But I think this one little parable is summarizing, giving very skeletal details as to what God's future plan is for Israel. 00:20:50.799 --> 00:21:07.119 Thus we could say that the kingdom of heaven is about Jesus reclaiming earth, including its inhabitants, as his possession and ruling over it from New Jerusalem, with his treasure, Israel, ruling over the nations on earth. 00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:12.640 That is the day when God's will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:16.480 So that's this parable of the hidden treasure. 00:21:16.880 --> 00:21:18.960 Now let's look at the next parable. 00:21:19.359 --> 00:21:21.279 Matthew 13, 45 and 46. 00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:30.000 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. 00:21:30.160 --> 00:21:31.680 Do you know how pearls are formed? 00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:34.240 Some of you have a basic idea, I'm sure. 00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:40.319 I'm going to read this description from a website called the PearlSource.com. 00:21:40.559 --> 00:21:43.200 Sounds like they know a bit or two about pearls. 00:21:43.359 --> 00:21:46.319 Pearls come from oysters and mussels, they say. 00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:53.279 The process begins when a particle, or what is referred to as an irritant, gets inside the mollusk. 00:21:53.359 --> 00:21:54.960 Typically it's a grain of sand. 00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:59.839 This particle, in essence, functions as the nucleus of the pearl from a very early stage. 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:09.039 Once the irritant becomes trapped, the mollusk begins to coat it with nakre as a defense mechanism. 00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:19.680 The unique luster or glow of pearls comes from the naker. 00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:28.799 The mollusk coats the nucleus with thousands upon thousands of layers of naker, and over time a pearl begins to slowly form. 00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:34.240 How long it takes for a pearl to form is dependent on the growth rate of the naker. 00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:40.640 Most pearls typically take anywhere between two to four years to fully develop. 00:22:40.960 --> 00:22:41.839 End quote. 00:22:42.319 --> 00:22:43.680 That's interesting. 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:46.559 And we know that pearls are very valuable. 00:22:46.799 --> 00:22:48.559 You know, even small pearls. 00:22:48.799 --> 00:22:54.880 Of course, well-formed natural pearls are considered magnificent gemstones. 00:22:55.279 --> 00:22:57.599 Elizabeth Taylor, you know that name? 00:22:58.079 --> 00:23:07.359 She had a large single pearl on a necklace given to her by Richard Burton, the actor, her fifth husband, out of seven. 00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:10.720 He bought it for$69,000. 00:23:11.680 --> 00:23:13.680 This is way back in the 60s. 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:17.759 And it was appraised at her death for$11.8 million. 00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:22.720 Many women wear pearl earrings or a pearl necklace. 00:23:22.880 --> 00:23:25.519 My wife has some, but nothing like that value. 00:23:26.480 --> 00:23:29.200 She's worth it, but I don't have it, sorry. 00:23:29.920 --> 00:23:37.440 Now, depending on the quality and the number of pearls strung together on a necklace, they can be quite expensive because they're so scarce. 00:23:37.839 --> 00:23:39.759 Look again in verse 45. 00:23:40.160 --> 00:23:44.400 The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls. 00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:48.480 The merchant in this parable is Jesus Christ. 00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:53.839 Like in the previous parable, the man finds a treasure in the field, we believe is Jesus. 00:23:53.920 --> 00:23:57.920 In this parable as well, the merchant, he sells all that he has. 00:23:58.960 --> 00:24:03.599 Well, that signifies again, we believe Christ's redemptive death on the cross. 00:24:03.839 --> 00:24:11.440 The events of this parable occur after Christ's redemption on Calvary, not concurrent with it. 00:24:11.759 --> 00:24:17.200 So he pays the price, but then later on, we're going to see what happens in the parable. 00:24:17.359 --> 00:24:24.880 You remember in the previous parable, the hidden treasure, the purchase takes place chronologically much later than Christ's death. 00:24:25.039 --> 00:24:32.559 He pays the price at his death, but much later he purchases, in fact, that's

yet to happen in the future, when he gets the title Deed of Earth. 00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:38.799 And here the purchase is also chronologically much later, long after his finished work on Calvary. 00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:43.039 And that leads us to a question: what is the pearl of great price? 00:24:43.599 --> 00:24:48.319 That he purchases, having paid the redemption price. 00:24:48.640 --> 00:24:54.240 As we're going to see, he purchases the pearl at the same time that he purchases the field. 00:24:55.119 --> 00:25:08.640 But rather than Israel being the focus, as in the previous parable, I believe the church of Jesus Christ is the pearl of great price, particularly the faithful church. 00:25:08.960 --> 00:25:18.079 Now, as evidence of why I believe this is the church, pearls are the products of shellfish, which were considered unclean under the Old Testament Mosaic law. 00:25:18.240 --> 00:25:23.119 Furthermore, pearls are found in the sea, which is symbolic of the Gentile nations in Scripture. 00:25:23.359 --> 00:25:25.039 Many commentators will tell you that. 00:25:25.279 --> 00:25:33.039 Thus the pearl would be an inappropriate image to describe Israel, but it would be apropos as symbolizing the church. 00:25:33.279 --> 00:25:34.720 Something to chew on. 00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:42.880 Most specifically, the pearl represents the bride of Christ, the subset of the church that is found faithful at the judgment seat. 00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:49.599 Natural pearls of high quality suitable for fine jewelry are incredibly rare. 00:25:50.160 --> 00:26:00.400 For every 10,000 to 15,000 wild oysters that are fished out of the sea, only one or two of them will yield a pearl. 00:26:01.200 --> 00:26:03.279 Now I got to thinking about that. 00:26:04.079 --> 00:26:08.480 Think of all the believers there are in the Church of Jesus Christ. 00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:15.279 Maybe it's only a tiny percent of them that are pearls of great price. 00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:16.960 You see the point? 00:26:17.519 --> 00:26:19.119 The ones that will be rewarded? 00:26:19.440 --> 00:26:22.079 Because that's what this parable is about, as we'll see. 00:26:22.480 --> 00:26:26.079 More specifically, it represents the bride of Christ. 00:26:26.240 --> 00:26:31.359 Parables are not about the gospel of grace than the gift of eternal or age-during life. 00:26:31.519 --> 00:26:32.240 We have to remember that. 00:26:32.400 --> 00:26:35.839 They're about the word of the kingdom and how believers will respond to it. 00:26:36.160 --> 00:26:47.440 So it would be inconsistent with the sequence of parables in this chapter if the pearl were to represent all believers, regardless of their obedience and faithfulness. 00:26:47.680 --> 00:26:57.839 Thus, in the context, the pearl of great price seems to represent those faithful, fruit-bearing saints found worthy at the judgment seat, who become Christ's bride and co-regent. 00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:02.799 They are the sons to glory, the mature firstborn inheritors of the kingdom of heaven. 00:27:03.039 --> 00:27:07.759 Now, Arlenchewood adds a dimension to this, which I really appreciated about him. 00:27:08.079 --> 00:27:11.039 Have you ever wondered about the book of Ruth? 00:27:11.599 --> 00:27:13.519 Why is it in the Bible? 00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:15.200 It's kind of odd. 00:27:15.440 --> 00:27:23.920 Well, we do know that, you know, Boaz, what he does for Ruth is a picture of what Christ does to redeem his church, to save them. 00:27:24.160 --> 00:27:37.920 But Chitwood said something a little more that I appreciate These two parables, the ones we're looking at today, are drawn from a somewhat simple type in the Old Testament, a type set forth in the fourth chapter of the book of Ruth. 00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:50.640 Boaz is seen redeeming a forfeited inheritance, that's the property that had previously belonged to Ruth's former husband, with Ruth becoming his wife through his redemptive act. 00:27:50.799 --> 00:28:03.200 And this chapter in the book of Ruth relates the complete story of events seen relative to the purchases in the parables of the treasure and the pearl, along with that seen in Revelation 5 through 19. 00:28:03.759 --> 00:28:09.920 And by the way, I would add that Ruth was not an Israelite, she was a Moabitus. 00:28:10.480 --> 00:28:12.880 Did you catch what Chitwood is saying? 00:28:13.039 --> 00:28:41.519 Just as Boaz redeems Ruth's family property and marries Ruth as part of his redemptive act, so Jesus will redeem the earth, taking title deeds, so that Israel can be restored as the wife of Jehovah and set to rule over the nations on earth in the Messianic kingdom, and through his redemptive act he will also marry his bride, the sons de glory, who have been found worthy to rule together with him in the heavenly realm of the kingdom. 00:28:41.680 --> 00:28:42.720 What a picture. 00:28:42.960 --> 00:28:45.759 Now the book of Ruth really comes alive. 00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:47.599 Makes complete sense. 00:28:47.920 --> 00:28:49.279 Now I'm going to make a statement. 00:28:49.519 --> 00:28:53.119 If you're sitting there thinking, oh, Pastor Hollinsworth, come on, this is all a stretch. 00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:57.200 This interpretation of these two parables, it's a stretch. 00:28:57.279 --> 00:28:58.480 And I'd say, that's fine. 00:28:58.880 --> 00:29:01.680 You have to determine what you think the scriptures are teaching. 00:29:01.920 --> 00:29:09.279 But if you take that approach, then I'd like to know, please, what would you suggest as an alternative for interpreting these parables? 00:29:09.759 --> 00:29:10.960 See me afterwards. 00:29:12.880 --> 00:29:17.440 Parables can be tough, but the Lord wants us to work through them. 00:29:17.920 --> 00:29:23.839 And I'm sure being human and fallible, we're not going to get everything right, every detail that is. 00:29:24.160 --> 00:29:41.359 But I think when you take a good look at the two parables we've looked at today,

thus far, in light of kingdom inheritance teaching we've done in our church, I think the two interpretations we've given today are reasonable, in line with Scripture. 00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:47.759 So if you disagree, do your homework and let me know if you come up with something else I'd like to know. 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:54.640 Well, we come now to the final parable in this chapter, the last of the seven, and it's found in verses 47 through 50. 00:29:54.880 --> 00:30:06.720 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which when it was full they drew to shore, and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. 00:30:06.880 --> 00:30:08.799 So it will be at the end of the age. 00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:17.920 The angels will come forth and separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire, there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:22.000 I call this the parable of the fishing net. 00:30:22.319 --> 00:30:27.440 Like the previous parable, it takes matters out to the very end of the age. 00:30:27.680 --> 00:30:30.880 And once again, the kingdom of the heavens is in view. 00:30:31.039 --> 00:30:32.319 We're told that. 00:30:32.720 --> 00:30:36.880 Specifically, it's the offer of kingdom inheritance. 00:30:37.279 --> 00:30:48.480 As seen in the parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price, Jesus first offered the kingdom of the heavens to Israel, but when they rejected it, Jesus took it from that nation and gave it to the church. 00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:54.079 In this parable of the fishing net, we find the response of the church to Christ's kingdom offer. 00:30:54.319 --> 00:30:56.720 So it takes it all the way out to the end, as we'll see. 00:30:56.960 --> 00:30:59.839 A fishing net is thrown into the sea. 00:31:00.160 --> 00:31:04.640 All those in the net are believers of the church age. 00:31:04.880 --> 00:31:09.519 They've been caught from the sea, which we said earlier represents Gentiles. 00:31:09.759 --> 00:31:14.960 They're now part of the church, an entity distinct from Israel and from the Gentile world. 00:31:15.200 --> 00:31:17.759 The focus in the parable is not on the catching. 00:31:17.920 --> 00:31:18.960 Did you notice that? 00:31:19.119 --> 00:31:20.480 It's on the sorting. 00:31:20.799 --> 00:31:31.839 So the emphasis is not on salvation per se, but on responses to the kingdom offer, which we're told several times in the text is the word of the kingdom, or the kingdom of the heavens. 00:31:32.079 --> 00:31:35.200 The message about that, the offer of kingdom inheritance. 00:31:35.359 --> 00:31:42.720 Now notice at the end of verse 47 we read, There are gathered some of every kind. 00:31:43.599 --> 00:31:55.119 This is likely a reference to the parable of the four types of ground at the beginning of this chapter, which represent four types of responses to the kingdom of the heavens offer. 00:31:55.279 --> 00:31:59.440 They're all believers in the net, but there are different kinds. 00:31:59.519 --> 00:32:06.319 That is, different types of believers with respect to their response to the kingdom inheritance offer. 00:32:06.400 --> 00:32:08.640 That's the nature of this whole chapter. 00:32:08.960 --> 00:32:14.960 According to verse 48, the catch is sorted into good and bad. 00:32:15.119 --> 00:32:16.559 Did you catch that? 00:32:16.960 --> 00:32:19.440 You say, well, how can Christians be bad? 00:32:19.759 --> 00:32:22.880 Well, have you ever read 2 Corinthians 5.10? 00:32:23.519 --> 00:32:35.920 For we must all, believers, that is, he's writing to believers, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 00:32:36.799 --> 00:32:40.240 I had a Bible professor in high school that should have known better. 00:32:40.559 --> 00:32:44.640 He had a PhD from a major Bible university. 00:32:45.119 --> 00:32:48.640 And he said that word bad literally means good for nothing. 00:32:49.039 --> 00:32:56.000 And then he went on to explain, essentially, if I could paraphrase, and it struck me that day as odd. 00:32:56.160 --> 00:32:57.519 I didn't think it sounded right. 00:32:57.680 --> 00:33:02.480 But he went on to explain, you know, that we're all going to appear at the judgment seat and we're all going to be rewarded. 00:33:02.720 --> 00:33:06.559 But some will be rewarded more than others, because they did pretty well. 00:33:06.880 --> 00:33:12.160 He never really dealt with bad except to say it means that which is useless or good for nothing. 00:33:12.319 --> 00:33:13.759 But I looked up the word later. 00:33:13.920 --> 00:33:15.039 It doesn't mean that. 00:33:15.200 --> 00:33:17.039 It means wicked or evil. 00:33:17.359 --> 00:33:22.880 So these are believers who didn't live for Jesus, but who lived for self and sinned. 00:33:23.440 --> 00:33:26.480 And the implication is they didn't confess their sins. 00:33:26.640 --> 00:33:28.640 They continued to live in sinning. 00:33:28.960 --> 00:33:30.480 Those are the bad. 00:33:30.799 --> 00:33:40.079 Now in the parable, the good are called just in verse 49, and that literally means righteous, so these are those who live uprightly. 00:33:40.400 --> 00:33:42.880 They're fruit-bearing saints. 00:33:43.200 --> 00:33:49.599 And the bad in verse 49 are called wicked, which literally means lawless or disobedient. 00:33:49.920 --> 00:33:54.799 Their behavior as believers has not been righteous, it's been disobedient and licentious. 00:33:54.880 --> 00:34:05.759 Now we all sin, but the point is, are you striving to please the Lord, cooperating with him in sanctification, and when you sin, realize, oh, that's awful. 00:34:05.920 --> 00:34:10.400 I confess it to the Lord and ask him to forgive me and then move on again. 00:34:10.800 --> 00:34:13.840 That's not bad in our parable.

00:34:14.480 --> 00:34:18.159 Those are Christians who are striving to live for the Lord and please him. 00:34:18.639 --> 00:34:21.599 The bad are those who don't make things right with the Lord. 00:34:21.679 --> 00:34:31.679 They're those who keep on sinning, who don't confess their sins, who are self-focused, who don't really have a heart for the things of the Lord or the things of the next age. 00:34:31.920 --> 00:34:36.400 If I've just described you, then you're one of the bad in the net. 00:34:36.639 --> 00:34:39.360 And you'll be sorted out, as we'll see in a moment. 00:34:39.679 --> 00:34:45.119 So the bad are the carnal saints that do not take the kingdom offer of Jesus seriously. 00:34:45.280 --> 00:34:47.039 And there's consequences to that. 00:34:47.280 --> 00:34:49.039 Well, now the interpretation. 00:34:49.360 --> 00:34:50.880 49 and 50. 00:34:51.199 --> 00:34:52.960 So it will be at the end of the age. 00:34:53.119 --> 00:34:58.239 The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. 00:34:58.400 --> 00:35:00.719 There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 00:35:00.880 --> 00:35:04.480 Now remember, these are all believers, because they're all in the net. 00:35:05.119 --> 00:35:07.199 The unbelievers are still in the sea. 00:35:07.360 --> 00:35:08.960 They're not in the net, see. 00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:23.280 But we're told here that the angels come at the end of the age to separate into these two categories, bad, which is wicked or lawless, and good, which is just or righteous, carrying out the judgment seat verdicts of Christ. 00:35:23.760 --> 00:35:28.239 So they come to separate believers of Christ's church. 00:35:28.559 --> 00:35:34.800 And I think that the judgment seat verdict has happened at this point, because Jesus is the one who judges, not angels. 00:35:34.960 --> 00:35:37.199 The angels are just carrying out his verdicts. 00:35:37.519 --> 00:35:46.639 And notice, in like manner, as in the Wheaton Tears parable, that this judgment happens at the same time for both good and bad. 00:35:46.800 --> 00:35:47.920 That's significant. 00:35:48.079 --> 00:35:49.199 Here's why. 00:35:49.519 --> 00:36:02.239 That means it cannot refer to believers and unbelievers, because the scriptures are clear that unbelievers are judged after the millennium, which is at least a thousand years after this sorting out happens. 00:36:02.480 --> 00:36:04.239 It's important to catch that. 00:36:04.719 --> 00:36:10.960 So even these bad ones are believers, but notice the disposition of the bad, they're thrown away. 00:36:11.199 --> 00:36:15.920 And by the way, the Greek word is exo, which means cast out. 00:36:17.039 --> 00:36:24.559 This is apparently a reference to the outer darkness, the darkness outside Christ's bright heavenly ruling realm. 00:36:24.800 --> 00:36:27.920 And the darkness outside we know is the earthly realm of the kingdom. 00:36:28.000 --> 00:36:31.760 So they're not included in the intensely bright New Jerusalem. 00:36:31.920 --> 00:36:33.679 The Lamb is the light of that place. 00:36:33.760 --> 00:36:35.199 They're outside of that place. 00:36:35.599 --> 00:36:39.280 Notice in verse 50, they're cast into the furnace of fire. 00:36:39.440 --> 00:36:42.960 That's not a reference to hell or the lake of fire. 00:36:43.199 --> 00:36:45.599 It's a reference to the judgment seat fires. 00:36:45.679 --> 00:36:48.880 We looked at that in the previous parable, so you should be well acquainted with that. 00:36:49.119 --> 00:36:50.639 Parable of the wheat and tares. 00:36:50.880 --> 00:37:01.760 1 Corinthians 3, 13 and 15 says specifically to us as Christians or believers, the fire will test each one's work of what sort it is. 00:37:02.000 --> 00:37:09.519 If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved yet so as through fire. 00:37:09.760 --> 00:37:12.880 So 1 Corinthians 3 is a judgment seat passage. 00:37:12.960 --> 00:37:20.239 Jesus is going to use some type of fiery testing furnace at the Bima seat. 00:37:20.320 --> 00:37:22.000 And we don't know the details of this. 00:37:22.159 --> 00:37:23.280 We just take it by faith. 00:37:23.360 --> 00:37:24.719 That's what God says. 00:37:25.039 --> 00:37:30.400 Now don't let the term furnace of fire deter you from interpreting this parable correctly. 00:37:30.559 --> 00:37:32.880 Remember, parables are metaphors. 00:37:33.119 --> 00:37:37.920 So the fiery furnace is some type of metaphor for the judgment seat fires. 00:37:38.000 --> 00:37:46.079 In the same manner, Jesus used Gehenna as a metaphor for temporal judgment with the Jewish leadership, because they knew that metaphor. 00:37:46.639 --> 00:37:50.960 The bottom line is that these believers are left outside of New Jerusalem. 00:37:51.039 --> 00:37:55.280 They're not given the opportunity to dwell with Christ, to rule with him in his millennial kingdom. 00:37:55.360 --> 00:37:55.679 Why? 00:37:55.920 --> 00:37:58.400 Because they rejected his offer to repent. 00:37:58.960 --> 00:38:02.400 Repent of their sins to bear fruit for the glory of the Lord. 00:38:02.559 --> 00:38:06.480 So when they receive their verdict at the Bhima, they're going to wail and gnash their teeth. 00:38:06.639 --> 00:38:12.400 And I've said many times, this is an oriental way of expressing grief and sorrow. 00:38:12.639 --> 00:38:14.480 They're going to be heartbroken. 00:38:14.800 --> 00:38:18.719 That they will not be included in New Jerusalem because of the way they lived. 00:38:18.960 --> 00:38:24.639 They're going to be down on earth when they could be walking on streets of gold and gates of pearl. 00:38:25.920 --> 00:38:27.760 Pearl of great price. 00:38:28.400 --> 00:38:35.760 So they're going to cry out loud, they're going to grit their teeth in regret, those who have to be in the darkness outside of that place. 00:38:36.320 --> 00:38:42.639 Well, Jesus closes this chapter and all these seven parables

with verse 52. 00:38:42.719 --> 00:38:44.159 So we're going to close with that. 00:38:44.400 --> 00:38:55.199 Then he said to them, Therefore, every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old. 00:38:55.360 --> 00:38:57.599 Now here's my paraphrase. 00:39:08.880 --> 00:39:12.480 Well, that begs the question: what are things old and new? 00:39:13.039 --> 00:39:24.079 I think, in the context here, the old truths or the old things are truths regarding kingdom inheritance that have already been understood and embraced by the student of the word. 00:39:24.719 --> 00:39:29.679 The new things are new aspects of kingdom inheritance that were not previously known or understood. 00:39:29.840 --> 00:39:33.760 The student is learning something fresh and new and vibrant from the scriptures. 00:39:33.920 --> 00:39:36.000 You know the word of God is like a mine. 00:39:36.960 --> 00:39:40.880 There are gems and nuggets that can be yours if you'll keep digging. 00:39:41.199 --> 00:39:43.199 Man, I'm amazed by that. 00:39:43.440 --> 00:39:47.840 I'll read a text of scripture and I'll go, wait a minute, I didn't see that before. 00:39:48.400 --> 00:39:50.480 I think God plans it that way. 00:39:50.880 --> 00:39:52.320 He wants us to dig. 00:39:52.559 --> 00:39:54.800 He's not going to lay it all out on the surface. 00:39:55.760 --> 00:39:57.199 You have to really dig. 00:39:58.079 --> 00:40:10.559 And when you dig and you're careful with the word, you're not just inventing things that you want to be there, but you test it according to the whole of the word of God, you're going to find things that will make you marvel. 00:40:11.280 --> 00:40:12.639 Happens to me all the time. 00:40:12.800 --> 00:40:15.360 I'm sure many of you experience that as well. 00:40:15.760 --> 00:40:24.639 Those who are not open to the word of the kingdom teaching, who refuse it or resist it, they live in a box, and the box is all they know. 00:40:24.880 --> 00:40:27.199 Now, I don't know about you, but I don't want to live in a box. 00:40:27.280 --> 00:40:28.960 That's not very freeing. 00:40:29.360 --> 00:40:31.360 It's rather confining. 00:40:31.920 --> 00:40:34.960 They live in their little traditional box. 00:40:35.360 --> 00:40:39.679 Everything I've been taught, they often don't do any homework of their own. 00:40:39.760 --> 00:40:47.119 They only take what others say and have said throughout their life, and it's their little traditional box, and they're confined there. 00:40:47.280 --> 00:40:51.679 Their storeroom does not have old and new treasures, only old ones. 00:40:52.159 --> 00:40:58.239 And in their case, the old ones are old traditions regarding the meaning of the kingdom of the heavens. 00:40:58.400 --> 00:41:03.599 In other words, the wrong interpretation, because that's all they've been taught. 00:41:03.760 --> 00:41:07.599 I know I was taught the wrong interpretation for many years of my life.

00:41:07.760 --> 00:41:15.760 And shame on me for not doing my homework sooner than learning the real correct interpretation and meaning. 00:41:16.079 --> 00:41:25.119 So those then are narrow in their thinking, those who are resistant to these truths, and they're resistant to something new from God's word. 00:41:25.599 --> 00:41:27.840 By the way, truth is not new, okay? 00:41:28.000 --> 00:41:29.519 There's no new revelation. 00:41:29.679 --> 00:41:31.039 Don't misunderstand me. 00:41:31.280 --> 00:41:33.599 Truth has been around for at least two millennia. 00:41:33.679 --> 00:41:34.880 It's called the Word of God. 00:41:35.039 --> 00:41:36.800 But we don't always see it. 00:41:37.199 --> 00:41:38.480 That's the problem. 00:41:38.719 --> 00:41:50.079 So I believe this verse is teaching that those who receive the word of the kingdom or call it kingdom inheritance understanding, whatever you want to call it, they're always going to discover new, fresh truths from God's word that they had not seen before. 00:41:50.159 --> 00:41:52.400 And it may not all be about the kingdom. 00:41:52.960 --> 00:42:00.880 But because you have pursued, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all these things will be added unto you. 00:42:00.960 --> 00:42:09.280 And yeah, yeah, I know in Matthew 6, the all these things, the direct application is food, clothing, shelter. 00:42:09.920 --> 00:42:12.800 But could it not also apply to spiritual things? 00:42:13.280 --> 00:42:17.280 You seek first the kingdom of God, and he's going to always give you something from the word. 00:42:18.239 --> 00:42:22.159 You'll learn more about the kingdom, but you'll learn more about the Christian life in general. 00:42:22.320 --> 00:42:26.159 You just keep growing, growing, growing, becoming more like Jesus. 00:42:26.400 --> 00:42:27.679 That's wonderful. 00:42:28.000 --> 00:42:32.480 But not those who are close to this basic truth, which is so critical. 00:42:33.119 --> 00:42:36.400 They close their mind toward it, they're not going to see other things. 00:42:37.119 --> 00:42:37.760 Wow. 00:42:38.159 --> 00:42:42.960 I close with this little bit lengthy quote from Arlen Chitwood. 00:42:43.360 --> 00:42:50.639 Quote, the word of the kingdom, the message surrounding the kingdom of the heavens, is the central message of the New Testament. 00:42:50.719 --> 00:42:52.079 And to that I say amen. 00:42:52.159 --> 00:42:53.119 He's right. 00:42:53.519 --> 00:43:05.519 Whether studying the gospels, the book of Acts, the Epistles, or the Book of Revelation, an individual will be studying scriptures dealing centrally with a message pertaining to the kingdom. 00:43:05.840 --> 00:43:11.360 This is why an individual instructed in the word of the kingdom can be likened to a householder in the text. 00:43:11.599 --> 00:43:25.280 He now possesses a key to the scriptures, a key which will open numerous passages of scripture to his understanding passages which otherwise would have remained closed. 00:43:25.519 --> 00:43:32.880 Here's the point understanding the word of the kingdom is the key to understanding the whole Bible. 00:43:33.360 --> 00:43:34.559 You miss this key? 00:43:34.719 --> 00:43:37.119 You don't understand the whole of the scriptures. 00:43:37.519 --> 00:43:41.599 At least you might think you do, but you really don't. 00:43:41.920 --> 00:43:43.679 You have to have this key. 00:43:43.920 --> 00:43:45.360 I think Shay was right. 00:43:45.679 --> 00:43:52.559 So I wonder this morning: are you one of God's treasured possessions, one of his priceless pearls? 00:43:53.920 --> 00:44:02.719 And remember, God considers pearls of great value after he even makes the gates of New Jerusalem out of mighty big ones. 00:44:03.679 --> 00:44:05.280 Imagine the value of those. 00:44:06.800 --> 00:44:09.039 Beyond imagination. 00:44:10.639 --> 00:44:12.079 There's much at stake. 00:44:12.800 --> 00:44:17.599 This now dominates my ministry because I feel it's the number one theme of the Bible. 00:44:17.920 --> 00:44:21.360 For believers, obviously, and I believe the Bible is directed at believers. 00:44:21.840 --> 00:44:25.280 Live for him because the next age depends on it. 00:44:25.679 --> 00:44:28.639 If you don't, well, it won't go so well for you. 00:44:29.360 --> 00:44:30.320 Think on these things.