Matthew 13.44 (NIV)
In the tourist guide for
Amsterdam, there is a place included as well worth a visit You follow the guide
book through the streets and over the bridges of old Amsterdam, and you
eventually come into a quiet old Dutch gracht, that is, a street with a canal
running down the middle. The houses here, along the canal, stand three or four
storeys high. You can see right away that they are old, three, even four
centuries old. There’s a surprise
waiting, however,
behind
the door of one of these old houses.
You step through the front door,
and find yourself in a very interesting old interior, there’s a box bed in the
corner, on old fireplace, wooden chairs and cupboards. But the surprise comes when
you climb the old staircase in the corner of the room, and step through the
door at the top.
Through that door at the top of the stair -
suddenly you step into a incredibly, large, beautiful
chapel.
It is perfect in its proportions, it has a gallery all around, exquisite wood
carvings, decorated in the most beautiful colours.
Not only are you struck by the
scale of Church you’ve just stepped into,
you are also struck
by the fact that it is hidden behind a door, in this quiet house.
hidden
from the quiet street with its canal outside, here you stand gazing round this
beautiful Chapel,
hidden
from the passer by outside;
the
space, colours, the carvings, the gold
leaf, inside,
there
outside the front door, the street
here
hidden, architectural, historical treasures
Hidden treasures..........
this is the way Jesus describes the kingdom of heaven......... In the gospel of
Matthew alone, Jesus speaks of the kingdom of heaven nearly fifty times, in
many parables. Jesus teaches that the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed,
tiny, but growing into a full branched tree. The kingdom of heaven is like
yeast, which disappears in the flour, making the whole loaf rise;
and............., in Matthew 13, The
kingdom of heaven, Jesus says, is
like treasure hidden in a field, which a man stumbles across and of course
the man gets together everything he has, his life savings and buys the field !
Again, Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like, a unique pearl - one day in a market, a dealer in precious stones, who spends his life travelling across land and sea - suddenly sees before him the most perfect pearl, more
beautiful than anything he has ever seen - he goes, sells all he has to buy that one pearl.
This, Jesus teaches us, is what
the kingdom of heaven is like - like treasure in a field, like a unique and
valuable pearl.
And this must intrigue us - Jesus’ message is clear:
there is something here
of very great value...............
to be in the kingdom
of heaven,
it is to know joy,
delight, it is to find what we’ve been looking for..........
everything we’ve been
looking for..........
it is to find the
most valuable thing we will ever find,
it is to find the
gospel.
In 2 Corinthians 4,
Paul writes to the Church at Corinth about the light that God gives us, the
light that shines into our lives, the light of the knowledge of Jesus Christ
that is God’s gift to us. Paul then pauses for a moment, caught up in a vision
of the glory of Jesus, puts down his pen, and then picks it up to write
passionately about the “unsearchable riches” that God has given us the
inexpressible gifts that He gives us. This, Paul declares, is treasure, the treasure. And when Paul uses the
word treasure, here, he is taking it directly from the word of Jesus about the
riches of the kingdom............
Let us think, for a moment,
as Paul does, of the riches we have been given in the gospel
! In those times when we wonder what life is about, the word of Jesus
comes to us, I am the way, the truth, the life - and we find our purpose
renewed. When we are wearied, disappointed,
anxious, Jesus declares - Your Father in heaven knows what you need - do not be
so concerned about these things.
When we are burdened
down with guilt, and realise how sinful we are,
we turn to the Cross of
Jesus, and know that he has taken up our sin, and taken it away........... that there is no condemnation ...
When fearful of the
future......... we know that Jesus has ascended into heaven and the victory
over all things is His.
The gospel of Jesus
Christ comes to this confused, chaotic, bewildered world, and
tells of the coming into history of a force of immeasurable range
which literally brings new dimensions to life,
transforms human life. No wonder the New Testament speaks of the
treasures, the riches, there are in what God has given us, and is giving us !
Paul writes to the Church at
may you be encouraged in
heart, united in love, may you have the full riches of complete understanding,
may you know the mystery of God, Jesus Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge...........!
the
treasures of the kingdom, the treasures of riches and knowledge......
there
have been two responses to this, the
first is:
to point to the very big contrast, too big a
contrast between Church as it actually is, and the riches of the Gospel. We
might look at the Church, today, and find, as so often in history, that it really doesn’t show much sign of
unsearchable riches............... of unconquerable confidence, of never
failing hope.....!
And the second is:
to say, well if these unsearchable riches are ours,
let us try and make the Church look the part............. if we have
unsearchable riches, if the gospel is a treasure, let us build a strong Church,
a confident Church, a great Church, so that everyone will see what riches we
have......
What would Paul say to this
kind of question ?
“The Church doesn’t look as if
it has unsearchable riches,”
or “The Church should do everything it can to be strong and confident......”
Paul’s answer is actually
there in 2 Corinthians 4.
may you be encouraged in heart, united in love, may you have the full
riches of complete understanding, may you know the mystery of God, Jesus
Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge...........! Indeed !
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, jars of clay, in our
weakness and frailty.... and there is a purpose in this: it is to show that the
all surpassing power is from God and not from us...........!
The treasure has
been put into earthen vessels, not by
mistake, not because nothing better was available. It has been put
there deliberately. Because, as Professor James Stewart once said: it is upon human weakness, not human strength, that God chooses to build His Kingdom. God can use
the Church best when in faith it will offer to Him precisely its
weakness, its ordinariness, its utter helplessness, saying
“Lord, take us earthen vessels, and let the world see that all the glory of the power is from You
not from us”
Hear once again, the
declaration of Scripture we have this
treasure in earthen vessels, jars of clay, in our weakness and frailty....and
there is a purpose in this:
it is to show that the all surpassing power is from God,
and not from us...........
Surely, that is our great need today: we need a far deeper sense
of the riches we possess, a far deeper sense that the all surpassing power is
from God, and not from us, a deeper, more loving knowing of Jesus Christ and
His Cross, for here are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge...
Let us ask God, in His loving mercy and grace,
to give us, to grant us, more of these unsearchable riches............
in Jesus Christ
AMEN