The Treasure

I love to present my teachings to you in stories and parables. Usually that is what I do but today I will instead give you one of Yeshua’s parables to think on.

The 13th chapter of Matthew is in my opinion one of the most important and yet unappreciated chapters in the gospels. Yet, there is a great deal revealed in it that is still not understood by most.  Yeshua even takes the time to explain that what he is telling them is told in parables just so that those that lack understanding will continue to not understand. Let’s read.

13:10 Then the disciples came to him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 He replied, “You have been given the opportunity to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not. 12 For whoever has will be given more, and will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13 For this reason I speak to them in parables: Although they see they do not see, and although they hear they do not hear nor do they understand. 14 And concerning them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

‘You will listen carefully yet will never understand,
you will look closely yet will never comprehend.

15 

For the heart of this people has become dull;
they are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes,
so that they would not see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’

16 “But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

Later in the chapter we read the parable.

13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a field, that a person found and hid. Then because of joy he went and sold all that he had and bought that field.

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. 46 When he found a pearl of great value, he went out and sold everything he had and bought it.

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea that caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, they pulled it ashore, sat down, and put the good fish into containers and threw the bad away. 49 It will be this way at the end of the age. Angels will come and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

This is the part I want you to pay close attention to.

Yeshua is preaching about the gospel of the kingdom of YHVH and its secrets.

 The secrets of the kingdom of YHVH are hidden.

 Not everyone finds them because, some people hear but fail to understand. It is not given to them to find them.

The gospel of the kingdom is the secret. It is the treasure. It is the pearl of great price.

Once found it is of priceless value because it leads to eternal life and is worth giving everything else you have for.

So, would you like for me to let you in on the secret?

Ask your self, what is the gospel of the kingdom? Can you define it with certainty if someone asks you what it is? Few people can. Most people if asked will give you some vague explanation. Usually something about believing in the death burial and resurrection of Jesus and accepting him as your savior. I tell you the truth. There is far more to it than that.

Before one can believe in Yeshua and accept him you must know who he is. It does no good just to believe a man named Jesus existed and not know who and what he is. Let’s begin by seeing what the law and the prophets say about him. Deuteronomy 18:15-19 is in my opinion one of the clearest prophecies concerning him.

18:15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you—from your fellow Israelites; you must listen to him. 16 This accords with what happened at Horeb in the day of the assembly. You asked the Lord your God: “Please do not make us hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore or see this great fire anymore lest we die.” 17 The Lord then said to me, “What they have said is good. 18 I will raise up a prophet like you for them from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth and he will speak to them whatever I command. 19 I will personally hold responsible anyone who then pays no attention to the words that prophet speaks in my name.

Yeshua is the foretold prophet that we are required to listen to and obey it is not enough to merely accept and not obey. We were instructed by the voice of YHVH himself.

Luke 9:35 And then a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!”

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.

No one else’s words carry the same importance as those of Yeshua because he is “The Prophet”. 

He warned us not to build our hope of salvation on the words of others.

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

This is the treasure and the pearl of great price. You must listen to and obey Yeshua and no one else. He is the rock you can build your hope of salvation on. He alone is the cornerstone that the kingdom of YHVH is built upon. He is “The Prophet” and the chosen one of YHVH. Do not listen to anyone but him! Yes, he authorized the twelve apostles to go into all the world and proclaim “all that I have commanded you”. In other words, to teach what Yeshua taught them and to preach HIS WORDS. Yeshua spent three years teaching the twelve apostles and corrected them when they got something wrong. When he knew they were ready he authorized them to take his message to the world. When he left this world to go to his Father he said it is finished. He breathed on them and caused the Holy Spirit to come upon them equipping them to carry on the mission. No further revelation was necessary.

During his ministry Yeshua gave dire warnings that after he left the enemy would come and sow tares among the wheat and that false apostles and false prophets would arise. He proclaimed that when he returned to the earth that it would be like a bolt of lightning, that it would be sudden and from the east to the west all would see him. He warned us that those false prophets would claim they met with him in the wilderness or they met with him in an inner chamber but for us not to believe them. 

Far too many follow false prophets today. Jesus teachings are simple. Obey the commandments if you would have eternal life. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength and love you neighbor as yourself. Those who negate the commandments and teach anything other than this are false. I will be so bold as to name three of these false prophets. Joseph Smith, Mohammad and Paul of Tarsus. If you believe their words and accept them of equal or greater importance to the words of Yeshua then you have built your house on shifting sand and it will not stand. I will not elaborate much. All three claimed to have obtained secret teachings from God while in a secret place. All three teach something other than the words of Yeshua. Did you know that Paul only ever quotes Yeshua once in all his writings, never teaching anything from his parables or sermons? Has it ever occurred to you that he was not among the twelve authorized apostles? He was not even a follower of Yeshua during his ministry. He is the sower of the tares who causes discord among the brothers. In second Corinthians Paul mockingly calls the twelve “super Apostles” and says he doesn’t care what they are it makes no difference to him. (Galatians 2:6). 

All I’m saying is to put all your trust in Yeshua. There is no way you will go astray if you trust and obey his words only. 

Now you know the secret of the kingdom. Will you sell all and purchase it for yourself?