The Parable of the Treasure
The parable of the treasure and the parable of the pearl show us how valuable the Kingdom of Heaven is and how we are to make it a priority in our lives.
Many of Jesus’ parables are about the Kingdom of Heaven, so in this episode we spend some time looking into what that actually is, which will help us understand the 2 parables for this episode about treasure - The parable of the Treasure and The Parable of the Valuable Pearl.
195 countries in the world today.
What is a Kingdom anyway? Here are some definitions:
Country: an area of land that has its own government, army, etc.
Nation: a country, especially when thought of as a large group of people living in one area with their own government, language, traditions, etc.
Kingdom: a country ruled by a king or queen
We discussed this a bit in the Citizens of Heaven episode last term.
We are citizens of Heaven if we believe in Jesus. This means that we are part of the Kingdom Of Heaven. We belong to the nation of Heaven.
What do you think?
I want you to think about priorities. Priority means something that is very important and must be dealt with before other things. It is ranking things in order of importance for you and the things at the top of your list is of the highest priority.
Have you ever wanted something so badly that you would do anything to get it?
Have you ever watched Survivor? Or I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here? Or something similar? These people would do any crazy thing to get a reward like something to eat or a warm comfy bed for the night.
What have you ever wanted so badly that you would do anything to get? A toy? A video game? A holiday? Time off school?
If I said you could have it:
if you had to give me all your money first, all your savings, would you do it?
if you had to keep your room tidy for a month, would you do it?
if you had to eat a slug, would you do it?
If you said no to any of these questions, then do you really want this thing that badly? Is this thing really a priority to you?
Story Time!
During the gold rush in Ballarat around 1860, my great great great grandfather wanted to get rich and had heard many stories of people becoming wealthy beyond their wildest dreams. He walked from Sydney to Victoria (965km, 10 hour drive, over 200 hours walking, which would take 25 days if you were walking 8 hours each day. When he got there he mined for gold for about 6 months, got a small piece of gold but realised it was much harder to find now that all the gold had been found from the surface of the earth, so he walked all the way home. He used the gold to fashion a brooch for his fiancé.
Henry wanted the gold so badly he walked so far to get it, but not too badly as he didn’t stay for years like others, risking their lives in deep holes in the ground looking for gold.
Bible Passage - Matthew 13:44-46
“The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when someone finds a treasure hidden in a field and buries it again. A person like that is happy and goes and sells everything in order to buy that field.
The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a shop owner is looking for fine pearls.After finding a very valuable one, the owner goes and sells everything in order to buy that pearl.”
What are these people’s priorities? It is getting the treasure or the pearl. They were prepared to do anything to get this treasure, this pearl. God wants us to make sure that being part of The Kingdom Of Heaven is a priority, just like the pearl was a priority to the shop owner.
Question Time!
How much of a priority is it to you to be a part of the Kingdom of Heaven?
How can you change your heart to make the Kingdom of Heaven more of a priority?
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