Let us turn to Matthew 13, the Gospel according to Matthew, verse 44.
The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hidden in the field, which a man found, and hid; and in his joy he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a merchant seeking goodly pearls:
and having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
So shall it be in the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the righteous,
and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
Have ye understood all these things? They say unto Him, Yea.
And He said unto them, Therefore every scribe who hath been made a disciple to the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.
Let us have another word of prayer.
Dear Lord, we thank You so much because this is another wonderful opportunity that we may be here and may listen to Your word. We may be acquainted with the mysteries of the kingdom of God.
Lord, how much we need the spirit of revelation and wisdom, that we may know You in a fuller way. So, Lord, we ask You to breathe upon Your own word. May Your word really sink deeply into our hearts.
Lord, now we commit this time into Your hand. In the name of our Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen.
This morning we are going to share on the last four parables recorded in Matthew 13. We know that there are eight parables in Matthew 13, all connected in some way with the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.
These eight parables can be divided into two groups. The first four form the first group. Our Lord spoke these parables to the crowds.
Then we come to the second group: the last four parables—the parable of the hidden treasure, the parable of the costly pearl, the parable of the dragnet, and the parable of the scribe. Our Lord gave these four parables to the disciples in the house.
If we know the nature of the parables of the kingdom of heaven, we know that when the Lord spoke to the crowds, somehow it was with the intention that, “Seeing they see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.” In other words, somehow there was a veil between our Lord and His audience.
But when we come to the last four parables, they are different, because it is our Lord’s intention that we should understand them. That is why our Lord said, “Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.”
If we compare the second group of parables with the first group, we discover a difference. In the first four, somehow there was a veil. The people in the crowd could understand something of the kingdom of heaven, especially its outward appearance.
When they study history, they know that once upon a time in the history of mankind, you find Christendom. You discover many peoples associating their names with Christ, with Christianity, and so on and so forth.
For that reason, in the first parables we discover not only the inward realities of the kingdom, and not only the kingdom to come in manifestation; we are also occupied with its outward appearance. This is especially the emphasis in the first four parables.
When we come to the last four, however, they are addressed directly to the disciples. There is no longer any veil between our Lord and His audience. What does this mean? It means that the last four parables are more easily understood.
Not only that, but somehow we go deeper into other aspects of the kingdom of heaven. Our Lord shows us something more about the kingdom of heaven. If we read on, we discover that it is indeed so.
Let us take up the first parable in the second group: the hidden treasure.
The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hidden in the field, which a man found, and hid; and in his joy he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
First, we know what the field is. We know from the earlier parable that the field is the world. Here we discover that a treasure was hidden in this world. We want to ask: What is this treasure? And who is this man who found it and hid it?
Except for the parable of the leaven—actually, I should correct that—it is not merely the parable of leaven. It is the parable of leavened meal. I think that if you read many books, probably only G. Campbell Morgan puts it very correctly. He calls it the parable of leavened meal.
Last time, after the message, some sister approached me and wondered whether, when I said that purity is the principle, I referred to pure leaven or pure meal. Of course, from the parable we know that it refers to pure meal, because this parable is about leavened meal—three measures of meal.
You remember that this was the meal which satisfied the heavenly guests who came to Abraham, and one of them was God Himself. My brothers and sisters, pure meal can satisfy God Himself.
Sometimes we put some leaven into it to make it easier for some people. It may be helpful, and it may be very kind to some people too, but actually it hurts the heart of God. If somehow the work of the cross keeps us pure, then here we find something which satisfies our Lord, which satisfies our heavenly Guest.
We have already mentioned that, in the last four parables, the rule for understanding them should be very simple. Our Lord’s intention is for us to understand, not to be confused.
If we need something, the Lord definitely will give it to us. In the first parable, a man went out to sow; we know that is our Lord. In the second parable, a man went out to sow the good seed; we know that is our Lord. In the third one, we know that it is our Lord with the mustard seed. The fourth one is an exception because the Bible mentions the woman.
When we come back to the parable of the hidden treasure, again we discover that this man is no one but Christ Himself, the King of the kingdom. If we have settled these two points, the only thing left is the treasure. What is this treasure?
Within the immediate context, we do not find the answer. Therefore, we have to go through the whole Bible, especially related passages, to find answers. But we still have rules to guard against arbitrary interpretation.
We cannot go according to our own will. We cannot pick up anything from the Bible and make it say whatever we want. No, it will not work. Do not forget that we have read the whole parable within its context.
What does that mean? It means that somehow this treasure is connected with the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. It has something to do with the kingdom. Therefore, you cannot pick up any place in the Bible about treasure and say, “Okay, that is it; that is the interpretation.”
We still have to limit ourselves. Even if we pick up something from Genesis, Revelation, or any other passage, remember that if you find the word treasure there, it ought to be connected with the kingdom. Then, when you apply it, the result ought to reveal the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven in harmony with the whole Word of God.
Since we have said that this treasure ought to be connected with the kingdom, let us go to the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, some have spoken of a mediatorial kingdom of God: God reigning through David, through Solomon, and through Hezekiah. This is also connected with the kingdom.
If you go through the Old Testament and find a connection between treasures and the kingdom, then we begin to receive some answers. For example, in the kingdom of David we read:
And over the king’s treasures was Azmaveth the son of Adiel: and over the treasures in the fields, in the cities, and in the villages, and in the towers, was Jonathan the son of Uzziah.
—1 Chronicles 27:25
If you read that passage, you know that somehow treasure is connected with the kingdom. Treasure is a kingly thing. In fact, if you read all these Scriptures, you discover that it is connected with the glory of the kingdom.
For example, remember the story of Hezekiah. The king of Babylon sent ambassadors to him, and Hezekiah was glad of them and showed them the house of his precious things: the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious ointment, the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures.
There was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not.
—Isaiah 39:2
You know this story very well. Hezekiah received another fifteen years. He lived longer because God added fifteen years to his life. But sometimes you wonder whether an extra fifteen years really adds something to our life.
Within those fifteen years, Manasseh was born. Manasseh was the most wicked king recorded in the Old Testament. The Bible speaks of the sin of Manasseh. That is one point, of course, and Hezekiah could not help that.
But there is another point. Because he exposed his treasures to the ambassadors of Babylon, later the word of God came to Hezekiah that one day the people of Israel would be carried captive into Babylon. Why? Because Babylon had learned the secrets of the king’s treasure house.
Why did Hezekiah show them all these treasures? Because he wanted to display to them the glory of his kingdom. That was a terrible mistake, brothers and sisters. But here we find the connection between treasure and the glory of the kingdom.
The same is true with Solomon: “I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings.” If you read all these passages, it becomes very clear that the treasure hidden in the field speaks of the glory of the kingdom of heaven.
Here we have the kingdom’s glory. But this kingdom glory was hidden in a field.
If you know the mystery of the kingdom of heaven, you know that it was our Lord who discovered it. It was our Lord who found it. He was the first One to reveal the secrets of the kingdom of heaven to us.
The kingdom’s glory is such a glorious thing that it is supposed to be reserved until the very end of the age. What does that mean? It means that at the end of the age, at the return of our Lord, we shall see the kingdom come. We shall see the coming kingdom in manifestation with all its glory.
Then, my brothers and sisters, we discover that the Messiah is the most glorious One. He is the Lion of Judah. With a rod of iron in His hand, He will come into Jerusalem with all His splendor and all His glory. This will usher in the golden age, beyond anything the nation of Israel has ever dreamed of.
When we think about the kingdom, when we think of Messiah, then those rabbis were correct in one sense, and the prophets of the Old Testament were right. Why? Because when you see the coming kingdom, something will overwhelm you: the glory of that kingdom.
This glory is beyond our comprehension. Even the stars we see are far from us; their light may have traveled millions of years just to reach us. If we see even the vague light of those stars, how much more glorious must they be near at hand?
When the kingdom comes, there is no doubt that the glory of the kingdom is this treasure. Let us remember: when our Lord spoke of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, first of all He showed us the kingdom’s glory. This is the treasure our Lord has found.
There is something very interesting in this parable. The Bible says that a man found the treasure and hid it. How can we understand that? Even though we wait until the end of the age to see the wonderful glory of the kingdom, the Bible says that this treasure was found and hidden while the man was on earth.
Can we find a record in the four Gospels which gives us some idea that our Lord found that treasure and then hid it again? Thank God, yes.
You all remember the story of the Mount of Transfiguration. Before that story, our Lord spoke to His disciples:
Verily I say unto you, There are some of them that stand here, who shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in His kingdom.
—Matthew 16:28
This is a very important statement. Some who were standing there would not taste death until they saw the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. If we try to be faithful to the Word of God, there is no other answer except that, after six days, this was literally fulfilled in the story of the Mount of Transfiguration.
Even when you read Peter’s epistle, he confirms this point. After six days, our Lord was on the Mount of Transfiguration. According to Peter’s understanding, the Mount of Transfiguration was a foretaste of the kingdom of the Son of Man.
Peter, James, and John had a full taste of the kingdom in manifestation. The Lord knew that Peter would deny Him three times. He knew that James would be the first martyr. He knew that John would live almost a whole century, walking with the Lord.
Either you are privileged to be a martyr for the Lord, and need perhaps twenty minutes to be sustained by the grace of God, or you are like John, sustained by grace through the longest life among the disciples, following the Lord daily and taking up your cross daily as a living martyr.
For that reason, our Lord showed them the foretaste of the kingdom to come. This is exactly what we discover in that wonderful phrase: “the powers of the age to come.” We can experience the powers of the age to come today.
Yes, the kingdom in manifestation belongs to the age to come, but we live in this age. Today we may exercise a power that belongs to the kingdom in manifestation. On the Mount of Transfiguration, our Lord was transfigured before them. According to our Lord’s own interpretation, they saw the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.
Our Lord had found that great glory—the kingdom’s glory—and Peter, James, and John were witnesses to that glory. That is why Peter said that they had beheld His glory. They could never forget that wonderful sight: the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.
When you come to the Mount of Transfiguration, you not only see the glory of the kingdom; you almost see what the kingdom is. Our Lord was transfigured and was in glory. The disciples not only saw our Lord, but also Moses and Elijah.
Immediately, Peter had a formula in his mind. By way of illustration, Peter might have thought: the kingdom of heaven is the Lord Jesus plus Moses plus Elijah. But the heavenly voice was going to correct Peter and tell him that his formula was wrong.
The correct formula is this:
The Lord Jesus, plus Moses, plus Elijah, minus Moses, minus Elijah, equals the kingdom of heaven.
A bright cloud overshadowed them, and they saw no one but Jesus. Then there was a voice from the cloud:
This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him.
—Matthew 17:5
You see the introduction from heaven: “This is My beloved Son.” They saw no one but Jesus. Not only that, but they were told, “Hear ye Him.”
Peter and John’s eyes were blessed because they saw no one but Christ. Their ears were blessed because God said, “Hear Him,” and hear Him only.
What is the kingdom? The kingdom is a place where you see Christ and no one but Christ, and where you hear Christ and no one but Christ. That is the kingdom of heaven. That is heaven on earth.
Today we gather together on earth. If this is a place where you see Christ and hear Christ, then this is the kingdom of heaven. This is the glory of the kingdom of heaven.
What does the glory of the kingdom of heaven mean? It means that even the Lord’s servants—even Moses and Elijah—cannot stand on equal footing with our Lord. It is not that Christ is number one, Moses number two, and Elijah number three. Christ is number one; that is all. He is the First and He is the Last.
Where can you see this glory? When you meet a group of people and discover that, in this realm, you see no one but Christ—the incomparable Christ. He is so unique. He is the King.
Matthew, when he wrote his Gospel, had a favorite word: behold. It appears roughly sixty-two times in the Gospel. If you want to understand Matthew’s Gospel, especially young people, look for every occurrence of the word behold.
Then you will begin to understand the whole Gospel. Matthew wants us to see what he is seeing. Behold means that Matthew has seen something, and now he welcomes us, the readers of the Gospel, to see the same thing.
But something happens on the Mount of Transfiguration that does not happen elsewhere. Matthew uses behold twice in almost one sentence:
Behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold, a voice out of the cloud.
—Matthew 17:5
Here you see not only the kingdom of heaven, but also the glory of the kingdom of heaven. When we really enter into the kingdom in manifestation, its glory will be this same thing demonstrated on the Mount of Transfiguration: no one but Christ, the incomparable Christ.
As we know very well, when our Lord was on the Mount of Transfiguration and was transfigured in glory, that was the consummation of His human life.
If we especially follow Luke’s record, we find that Luke, as a doctor, had a keen observation of human life. He had seen many lives in this world: how one is born, how one grows old, and all kinds of life. But he tells us of one life—a perfect life.
Luke addressed his Gospel especially to the Greeks. Greek people pursued perfection. Even their gods were according to the image of human beings. Through the pen of Luke, we find a wonderful life, a unique life in the universe, described in this Gospel.
Luke tells us of the perfect Man according to God’s will: our Lord Jesus. If we follow the whole Gospel, we discover that it can be divided into three parts. At the end of every part, there is a voice or action from heaven.
From Luke 1 to Luke 4, we find the thirty silent years of our Lord. We see how He lived in the presence of God as a tender plant, like a root out of a dry ground. At the end, a voice came from heaven: “Thou art My beloved Son.”
Then, from Luke 4 to Luke 9, we come to the Mount of Transfiguration. Again we hear a voice from heaven: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” This section covers His public life, not merely His hidden life before God.
Because of His growth in the presence of God, He manifested His life, His grace, and His truth among His people.
When we study the Gospel, we find many paralyzed people, blind people, lepers, and those who could not speak. Sometimes we wonder how it was that wherever our Lord went, He encountered so many blind people, paralyzed people, lepers, and the dumb.
There is a reason. Here was the perfect Man walking on this earth. We never know the real condition of blindness unless we are in the presence of this perfect Man. We do not know what leprosy is until one day we are in the presence of this perfect Man.
When I was young and studying in New York, I studied at a university near the hippie camps. On the way to the university, I would pass a park full of hippies. Their hair was always very long.
At that time, I was so busy that I often forgot to have a haircut. I never felt that my hair was very long, because when I walked in that park, I knew somebody’s hair was longer than mine. So I never thought I needed a haircut.
But when I came to the meeting, there was a gentleman in our fellowship whose hair was always very short and whose shoes were always very clean. He was one hundred percent a gentleman.
Whenever I met with him, especially on Saturday when we prayed together, I would open my eyes and discover that my shoes were full of dirt. I did not realize it until my shoes were beside his shoes.
Do you see that? How can you define blindness? How can you define leprosy in this world? We encounter so much blindness and leprosy when the perfect Man of the universe comes to this earth. Wherever He goes, there you discover blindness, leprosy, and those who cannot speak.
That was the second period: three years in which our Lord came and did the will of God. He proved that He was indeed the perfect Man. Then the time came for heaven to speak out: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
That is why we believe that the Mount of Transfiguration was the first time in the history of mankind that God’s humanity had blossomed. It had never happened before.
G. Campbell Morgan suggests that if Adam had not fallen, if he had taken the tree of life, then at the mature growth of that life Adam and Eve would not have gone through the valley of death. They would simply have been transfigured and entered into a larger life.
I do not know whether you agree with Campbell Morgan or not; that is not the point. But when our Lord was on the Mount of Transfiguration, He came to the peak of His life. If that mountain was Mount Hermon, then our Lord truly reached a peak no mankind had reached.
When we talk about the kingdom of the Son of Man, we often think only in terms of Daniel’s prophecy or Ezekiel’s prophecy. Actually, we must also see it in Psalm 8.
Daniel 7 describes four kingdoms, compared with four beasts. These empires were violent, rude, and ruthless. But then comes the Son of Man. What is the kingdom of the Son of Man? It means that true humanity—God’s humanity—will rule. That is the glory of the kingdom of heaven.
The Mount of Transfiguration is one of the greatest events in the life of our Lord. If we do not understand that crisis, we simply do not understand the kingdom of heaven.
For that reason, our Lord had every reason to ascend from the Mount of Transfiguration. He had accomplished what He came to demonstrate. In the first thirty years and in the next three years, He demonstrated that He was indeed the perfect Man according to God.
He discussed His exodus with Elijah and Moses. He could have ascended from there and gone to heaven. There would have been nothing wrong with it. But how about us?
If the Holy Spirit convicts us because of sin, we understand that. But the Holy Spirit also convicts us because of righteousness. Why? Because here is a perfect Man who could have entered the presence of God from the Mount of Transfiguration. If our Lord had done that, we would have been under even greater condemnation before God.
But thank God, our Lord Himself had every right to ascend to heaven from the Mount of Transfiguration. Yet for your sake and for my sake, He had to come down from Mount Hermon, to descend and descend, eventually to the Mount of Calvary.
The last six months of His life, from Luke 9 almost to Luke 19, describe a way from Mount Hermon to Mount Calvary. This is the way of the cross. It is one of the most beautiful descriptions of the way of the cross.
Our Lord could have ascended to heaven from the Mount of Transfiguration, but He knew the will of God. He knew that without the cross, there could be no crown.
If our Lord had ascended to heaven right away, we would not understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. Everybody would know the glory of the kingdom, and there would be no secret.
But He came down from Mount Hermon. He concealed Himself. He covered His own glory. He did not want merely to give people glory; He wanted to give people grace.
This is the secret of the kingdom of heaven. He is the Lord, and He is full of glory. If you saw His face in unveiled glory, you would be afraid. But because of the will of God, He concealed Himself and covered His glory in order to give grace to others.
This is why we have the story of Peter’s fishing for the shekel. The temple tax was for the temple. If it was temple tax, then the Son of God was exempt. Yet our Lord told Peter, “Go and fish.”
Peter had never fished like that before. You wait for a fish to come to the hook, and when that fish opens its mouth, you find a shekel. The Lord said, “Take that, and give unto them for Me and thee.”
For Peter, we understand this. But for the Lord, why should He pay? Because our Lord was no longer displaying His glory on the mountain. He hid His glory. He was trying to give people grace.
If you want to learn any lesson in Matthew’s Gospel, especially after Matthew 17, you discover what discipleship is. We are going to learn how to conceal ourselves. If we want to be disciples and follow Him, there is no other way: we must give people grace.
The kingdom today is this: people do not realize that we are kings. Even as we behold Christ and are transformed from glory to glory, people see only the grace that issues from this wonderful life.
In the kingdom of heaven, people do not see the glory because our Lord has gladly chosen to hide the glory of the kingdom in Himself. He went His way to the Mount of Calvary. That way is called the way of the cross.
At the very end, our Lord was on the cross. When Peter mentioned the tabernacles, it gave a hint that the Feast of Tabernacles was near. When you think of the Feast of Tabernacles, you think of wine.
On the Mount of Transfiguration, our Lord may be compared to a grape full, beautiful, mature, and having reached the goal of that life. But then He had to go through the valley of humiliation. He had to go through the winepress, where the feet trod upon Him and pressed Him.
Then the wine flows from the upper vessel to the lower vessel. The upper vessel speaks of death; the lower vessel speaks of resurrection.
Why did our Lord have to come down from the Mount of Transfiguration? For Himself, He had already matured. But because of the maturity and ripeness of the fruit, there was a way of the cross.
On the one hand, He went to the cross to fulfill His mission and accomplish the work of salvation for us. On the other hand, He went there to give His life to us.
When grapes enter the winepress, life is poured out and distributed. Remember, this is the way of the cross.
Our Lord found that glory, but He hid that glory. According to the parable, “a man found and hid; and in his joy he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.”
Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out.
—Deuteronomy 33:18
This applies to our Lord. Our Lord went out rejoicing. Why? Because He wanted to sell all and buy that field. Thank God, He paid the price on the cross, rose again, and bought the field.
Luke’s Gospel is like a journey from manger to ascension. That is the life of our Lord. He came into the world horizontally, but He went out of the world vertically. We come into this world horizontally, and we leave it horizontally; but our Lord is different. He ascended to heaven.
Revelation tells us that there was a title deed of this earth in His hand. He is worthy to open its seals. As He opens the seals, events unfold in history. This is how we understand what is happening in the world: He has found the kingdom’s glory, hidden it, and gone out to sell all that He has and buy that field.
This is the parable of the hidden treasure.
If the parable of the hidden treasure speaks of the kingdom’s glory, then the second parable ought to speak of kingdom life.
Some people try to interpret the pearl as the church, but then they have a problem. The Bible says that the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he bought it.
If you say that the pearl means the church, how do you interpret the merchant seeking pearls? The universal church is singular. It would be ridiculous to apply this to local churches. There is no possibility of explaining the church here in that way.
If we compare it with the parable of the hidden treasure, we immediately discover that the pearl represents kingdom life. Kingdom life is a mature life. Kingdom life is a victorious life.
The sons of the kingdom are no longer children. This is the life of the Father, yes; but that life becomes more costly because it is more mature.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a merchant seeking goodly pearls:
and having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
—Matthew 13:45-46
We all know how a pearl is formed. We find a pearl in the shell of an oyster. When an oyster is wounded, especially when a grain of sand enters it, that intrusion becomes uncomfortable.
The first reaction is to cast it out, to reject it. But somehow the life of the oyster demands that instead of pushing it away, it tries to wrap it and embrace it.
It does not add only one layer. When it becomes more uncomfortable, it adds another layer, and another layer, and another layer. Finally, a pearl is formed.
What does this mean? The pearl is the result of injury done to the life that produces it. It is life out of death. The pearl is the answer of the injured one to the injury done.
This is kingdom life. This is the life that the Sermon on the Mount speaks about. This is the life that the whole Gospel of Matthew speaks about.
You remember that one day Peter asked the Lord, “If my brother sin against me, how often shall I forgive him? Until seven times?” The Lord said, “Not seven times, but seventy times seven.”
Peter was wonderful. On the one hand, he tried to tell the Lord, “Look how victorious I am. I can forgive my brother seven times.” On the other hand, he was giving a little report: “Look how Andrew has sinned against me.”
Peter was very good in accounting. On the one hand, he forgave; on the other hand, he kept the book. He knew that this was the seventh time he had forgiven his brother.
We learn how to forgive, but we do not know how to forget. What is the life of the pearl? It is kingdom life.
The Jews, I was told, learned to forgive three times a day. If that is true, Peter, with seven times, was even better than that. But the Lord said, “Seventy times seven”—four hundred and ninety times a day.
I did some calculation, even with a computer. That means almost two times every two minutes you have to forgive. Suppose somebody hurt you every two minutes. How would you feel?
But this is kingdom life. This is the life of the pearl. When people strike one cheek, we turn the other. We go the second mile. Then there is the first layer, the second layer, the third layer, and eventually the pearl is formed.
This is a great pearl. If you want to learn the violin, the student must pay the tuition. If you want to study with a great pianist, you must pay the tuition. You have never heard that the master pays the tuition.
But in order for us to learn such a wonderful lesson in the family, in society, and even in the kingdom today, who paid the tuition? The Master.
That is why we are told that, upon finding one pearl of great value, He went and sold all that He had and bought it. Thank God for that.
We are learning the lesson because our Master has already paid the price. When He died for us on the cross, on the one hand He died to save us and give us salvation. On the other hand, He wanted to gain such a pearl in us.
If one day we can turn the other cheek, or walk the second mile, it is not our work. It is all by grace. He paid all the tuition for us to learn in the school of Christ. That is the secret of the kingdom of heaven.
When we come to the parable of the dragnet, because of the shortness of time, I want to take only one phrase: Matthew 13:49.
So shall it be in the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the righteous.
—Matthew 13:49
This will happen at the very end of the age. When you follow the Sermon on the Mount, you have a question. If I turn the other cheek, yes, that is my lesson and my discipline before the Lord. But immediately you ask another question: Where is righteousness? Where is justice?
To understand this, remember that at the very end of the age, this question will be answered. If we lose our life for the Lord’s sake, we shall gain our life.
Do not think that if you lose everything today, you will never gain anything. You will discover justice. You will discover righteousness.
In this parable, one important point is that the angels take out the wicked from among the righteous. This is exactly different from what the Lord is doing today.
What is the Lord doing today? He is taking the righteous out of the wicked. That is how we were saved. We are separated from this world. As far as the world is concerned, we are crucified; and as far as we are concerned, the world is crucified.
The whole separating process is going on now. What is the church? The church means separation from the world. We have nothing to do with the world because the world is evil, corrupt, and beyond hope.
But thank God, this does not mean that God is powerless. One day will come when the whole procedure is different. At that time, the Lord will take out the wicked from among the righteous. Then only the righteous will remain.
What is the territory of the kingdom of heaven? Righteousness. This parable speaks of kingdom righteousness.
When we study the Bible, we find the phrase that we are looking for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. If you study Isaiah, you discover that the whole book speaks not only of the Messianic kingdom but also of the righteousness of God.
May the Lord be merciful to us, that we may see the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. We encounter the kingdom’s glory, kingdom life, and kingdom righteousness.
If we learn all these lessons, it is like a householder who brings the grapes together with the raisins of last year, the fresh figs with the dried figs, and places them side by side on the table.
This is exactly the picture of a householder who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.
What does that mean? It means that the revelation is complete. When we go through the Old Testament, we discover the wonderful kingdom of heaven. But when we come to the New Testament, especially when we listen to the words of our Lord, then we know what the kingdom of heaven is.
These are the things both new and old.
Because of time, I cannot go on anymore. The Bible says:
Therefore every scribe who hath been made a disciple to the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.
—Matthew 13:52
This scribe becomes a disciple of the kingdom of heaven. This is the desire of our Lord for every one of us: that we should be familiar not only with the Old Testament but also with the New Testament.
In the whole Bible, there are two lines of prophecy. One applies to Israel; one applies to the church of God. If you read the whole Bible, you discover there is no contradiction. We do not have to fight over postmillennialism, amillennialism, or premillennialism.
God wants us to become disciples of the kingdom. Here we find the call to decide to be a disciple of His kingdom. Have you heard this call?
Especially, turn to Luke 9. After the Mount of Transfiguration, when they were still on their way, after that foretaste of the kingdom in manifestation, our Lord called His disciples.
And as they went on the way, a certain man said unto Him, I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest.
And Jesus said unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head.
And He said unto another, Follow Me.
—Luke 9:57-59
That is discipleship. But let us go on.
But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
But He said unto him, Leave the dead to bury their own dead: but go thou and publish abroad the kingdom of God.
—Luke 9:59-60
The disciple is a disciple of the kingdom.
And another also said, I will follow Thee, Lord; but first suffer me to bid farewell to them that are at my house.
But Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
—Luke 9:61-62
May we all listen to the Word of God: no one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Dear Lord, we thank You for Your words. We prostrate ourselves before Your word of the kingdom, before Your word of patience.
Lord, we thank You so much. Forgive us. We simply need Your mercy for us to enter into the reality. We pray, Lord, impress this word in our hearts, that these words may dwell in us forever.
May these words truly make us disciples of the kingdom. Dear Lord, we pray that Your word of the kingdom may continually work in us and work deeply in our hearts.
Thank You, Lord. In the name of our Lord Jesus, we pray.