宝藏的寓言

马太福音 13 章第 5 章的预言寓言

：隐藏

宝藏的寓言。

“天国又好像宝贝藏在地里。人遇见了，就把它藏起来，欢欢喜喜地去变卖一切所有的，买这块地。”（马太福音 13:44）

加尔文主义者和阿米尼乌主义者对这个寓言的共同解释与我完全确信的其真实含义相差甚远，就像他们对马太福音 13 章中前面的寓言的解释一样。约翰·吉尔博士告诉我们，这个寓言中的宝藏是“福音”，宝藏藏在的田地是“圣经”，寻找和找到宝藏的人是“一个被拣选和被唤醒的罪人”。令人惊讶的是，这样一个圣经的解经者，一个深受上帝教导的人，在听到这个寓言时竟然会误入歧途。首先，“田地”在前面两个比喻中都提到过——撒好种子的田地和种满稗子的田地；而基督在本章第 38 节告诉我们，田地就是世界。那么，为什么在同一章的第五个比喻中，田地意味着完全不同的东西呢？此外，在前两个比喻中，我们已经看到一个“人”——一个在田里撒好种子的人（第 24 节）。主耶稣自己已经告诉我们那个人是谁：“撒好种子的就是人子”（第 37 节）。那么，如果第二个比喻中的人代表人子，那么为什么在这个第五个比喻中，没有任何相反的话语，我们就要理解他指的是一个完全不同的人呢？

针对对这个比喻的普遍解释，我们提出以下反对意见：首先，如果主耶稣在这个比喻中阐明了救赎之道，教导觉醒的罪人需要热心和勤奋才能获得宝藏（这个宝藏是隐藏的，不让拖延和粗心的人获得），那么这则比喻没有在众人面前说出来，真是太奇怪了！相反，我们被告知基督已经打发众人离开，进入了房子，只对他的门徒讲了这个比喻。其次，在这个比喻中，宝藏被藏在“田地”里，正如我们所见，田地就是“世界”。基督或福音隐藏在世界上的意义是什么？第三，当这个人找到这个宝藏时，他又把它藏了起来：“人找到后，就把它藏起来。”如果宝藏代表福音，田地代表世界，如果寻找宝藏的人是一个觉醒的罪人，那么我们的寓言教导我们，上帝要求觉醒的罪人在找到平安并获得救赎之后，出去把它藏在世上！多么荒谬！基督清楚地告诉他的门徒，让他们的光芒闪耀，这样人们才能看到他们的善行，并荣耀他们在天上的父。第四，在寓言中，我们被告知，这个人找到宝藏后又把它藏起来，然后去“卖掉他所有的一切”并“买下它”。一个觉醒的罪人要卖什么，他要买的又是什么？肯定不是世界！这种松散的解释可能适合和满足那些懒惰的人，他们太拖延，无法自己仔细研究这个寓言，但对于那些靠上帝的恩典成为虔诚和勤奋的圣经学生的人来说，这肯定不行。不用说，任何包含此类荒谬内容的解释都应被立即驳斥。

现在，这个比喻的第一个关键在于，它是基督在遣散众人，将门徒带进屋子之后说的。这个比喻与前面四个比喻不同，它只对门徒说。那些门徒一定对基督描绘的他离开后他的王国将在这个世界上呈现的阴暗景象感到困惑和沮丧。他告诉他们，或者至少他曾让他们听到，他们将出去散播好种子，但收效甚微。他已经开始的播种将由他们继续，他警告他们，虽然应该在整个田地里进行广撒，但只有一小部分好种子会生根结实。其次，他说魔鬼会变成农夫，在田地里播下稗子。他们被禁止拔除稗子：稗子和麦子要并排生长，直到收割的时候，稗子的数量会非常多，所以必须把它们捆成“捆”！第三，他警告他们，他在地上宣扬的事业会发展得如此广泛和迅速，就像一粒芥菜种子长成一棵草本植物，最终长成一棵树，枝条繁茂；但魔鬼和他的代理人会在他们的身上找到庇护所；第四，他宣布，一种外来的腐烂元素会偷偷地、秘密地被引入到象征他纯洁真理的饭菜中，最终的结果是整个饭菜都会发酵。

是的，这些可怜的门徒有充分的理由感到困惑和沮丧。然后主耶稣（就像他一样）把他们分开，用宝藏和珍珠的比喻来安慰他们的心。他告诉他们，尽管基督教在地上的外在宣称会发展得如此悲惨，但上帝绝不会失败。他告诉他们，有两个团体，两个选民，他们在他眼中无比珍贵，通过他们，他将在他统治的两个领域——地上和天上——彰显他无穷无尽的恩典和荣耀。两个不同的选民团体，一个是藏在田里的“宝藏”，象征着真正的以色列国；另一个是一颗“珍珠”，象征着拥有天国召唤、命运、公民身份和遗产的团体。接下来这两个比喻的顺序是：“先给犹太人，再给希腊人。”因此，藏在田里的宝藏，以色列的象征，被放在珍珠之前，珍珠是教会的象征。

解开我们面前的比喻和随后两个比喻的第二把钥匙，表明了主划分整个系列的方式。总共有七个比喻，他把它们分成四个和三个：四个是在海边讲的，众人都听得见，后三个是在屋内讲的，只对门徒讲。四是地球、世界的数字。上帝在上面打上了“四”的印记。指南针有四个点；地球的一年有四个季节，等等。那么，四就是地球或世界的数字；因此，在马太福音 13 章的前四个比喻中，基督描述了天国在世界上的样子，就像它在地球上的表现一样。三是三位一体的数字，因此在最后三个比喻中，我们从上帝的角度看待天国。我们对它有上帝的想法，我们看到了上帝在天国里拥有的东西——一个隐藏的宝藏，一颗价值连城的珍珠。

有了这段略长的介绍，让我们详细地讨论一下这个比喻。“天国又好像宝贝藏在地里。”如果允许用经文来解释经文，那么发现这个“隐藏的宝贝”实际上和明确的含义将毫不困难。回到出埃及记 19:5，“现在你们若听从我的话——我曾对雅各家、以色列人说——遵守我的约，就要在万民中作属我的子民，因为全地都是我的”——与“宝贝”所在的“田地”相对应！再说“因为你归耶和华你神为圣洁的民，耶和华拣选你特作自己的子民”（申命记 14:2）。这节经文中的希伯来语与出埃及记 19:5 中的相同。再者，“至高者将地业（即他们在地上的产业）分给列国，将亚当的众子分别出来，就照以色列人的数目，立定万民的疆界。耶和华的分本是他的百姓，他的产业本是雅各”（申命记 32:8）：也就是说，在地上，因为上下文只谈论地上的事——将地分配给列国。再一次：“耶和华拣选雅各归自己，又拣选以色列特作自己的产业”（诗篇 135:4）。这些经文与当前时代的圣徒或作为基督身体的教会毫无关系，而是谈论肉身意义上的地上的以色列。他们是上帝在地上的财富，是祂在地上的选民。我们寓言中“宝藏”的定义得到证实，因为新约二十一封书信中从来没有使用过“宝藏”这个词来形容教会！它从来不适用于现今时代的圣徒。

现在，马太福音 13:44 告诉我们关于这个宝藏的第一件事是，它被藏在田里，而田地就是“世界”（见第 38 节）。这正是上帝开始与地上的选民打交道时，他们所处的状况。这个比喻以藏在田里的宝藏开始，而旧约以以色列藏在田里开始！从肉体上讲，谁是以色列的父亲？亚伯拉罕。回到亚伯拉罕生命的起点。当上帝的手第一次按在他身上时，他在哪里？他是否生活在与周围偶像崇拜者隔绝的地方？不，他隐藏在他们中间——他们中的一员！再看他们早期历史的后期。亚伯拉罕之后是艾萨克，以撒之后是雅各，因为以扫不在选民的谱系中。看看雅各，远离应许之地，流亡在巴旦亚兰，为一个没有原则、不信神的外邦人工作——因为他实际上就是这样。看看雅各，他隐藏在拉班的仆人中间，没有任何迹象表明他是神最宠爱​​的人之一。

再往前走一点。亚伯拉罕和雅各的后裔已经繁衍生息，人数已达两百万。他们在哪里？在埃及的砖窑里工作，一群奴隶。有什么可以区分他们？有什么可以表明他们是神特别的宝藏？确实没有：宝藏是“隐藏的”。这就是比喻的开始，也是他们作为一个民族的历史的开始——仿佛被埋在埃及的垃圾中。这就是我们读到的。 “你到了耶和华你神所赐你为业之地，得了那地居住的时候，就要从耶和华你神所赐你的地上取初熟的出产来，装在筐子里，往耶和华你神所选择要立为他名的居所去……你要在耶和华你神面前宣告说：我的父亲是一个将要灭亡的亚兰人。”（申26：1，5）是的，财宝起初是藏在田里的。从以赛亚书 51:1,2 中，我们了解到，在以色列历史的后期，上帝提醒他们，他们出身卑微，作为一个民族，他们一开始就很卑微：“你们追求公义、寻求耶和华的，要听我言。要追想你们被凿而出的磐石，和被挖而出的岩穴。要追想你们的祖宗亚伯拉罕，和生养你们的撒拉。”关于这一点的另一段经文是：“耶和华的分本是他的百姓，他的产业本是雅各。耶和华在旷野，在荒废吼叫的旷野遇见了他。”（申命记 32:10）这里再次提到了他们出身卑微：宝藏被“藏”在田里。

回到我们的经文，让我们来看其中的第二个细节：“天国又好像宝贝藏在地里，人找着了。”这是下一个要点，找到宝藏。这非常简单，不需要解释。这里的“人”是基督本人——正如第 24 节中的“人”是基督，见第 37 节；以及接下来的比喻，第 45 节。基督“找到”的“宝藏”是指祂在地上传道的日子。约翰福音 1:11 告诉我们，“他到自己的地方来”；这并不意味着祂在灵性上属于自己，因为我们读到“自己的人倒不接待祂”。根据肉体，那是祂自己的子民。正如祂在马太福音 15:24 中对迦南妇人所说，“我奉差遣，不过是到以色列家迷失的羊那里去。”基督，这个“人”，来到以色列，即犹太人那里。祂的传道仅限于他们。 “宝藏”被“找到”了——当基督来到世上时，它不再被隐藏了。犹太民族与摩西在埃及的时代不同。雅各的儿子们在自己的土地上。他们有自己的圣殿；祭司制度仍然完好无损。而这个人，基督，就是对他们而言的。

“天国又好比宝贝藏在地里；人遇见了就把它藏起来。”每个条款都有一个独特的步骤。他“隐藏”了它。这是本章中最庄严的词，除了火炉之外。记住马太福音第 12 章中我们面前的内容，它为第 13 章提供了关键。在马太福音第 12 章中，基督向犹太人显现，犹太人拒绝了他，由于他们的拒绝，他拒绝了他们，对他们宣判了厄运——邪灵回来，带走了七个比他更邪恶的灵，“这邪恶的世代也要这样。”然后，在这一章的结尾，基督暗示他不再承认任何纽带或联系，任何亲属关系，除了精神上的亲属关系——“凡遵行我父旨意的人”：这是基督切断了肉体上将他与以色列联系在一起的纽带。所以在这个比喻中：首先，我们看到宝藏藏在田野里：那是旧约时代以色列民族历史开始时的状况。其次，我们看到一个人来到宝藏前：那是基督在地上的传道工作。第三，我们看到宝藏再次被隐藏：那是基督对以色列的拒绝。宝藏的“隐藏”是指犹太人最后一次分散和散布到整个地球。而且，他如此有效地“隐藏”了宝藏，以至于十二支派中有十个仍然迷失！是的，他们被隐藏了，隐藏得如此牢固，以至于至今无人知道他们在哪里！

圣经中有一段经文可以证明我们上面所说的基督“隐藏”以色列：“因为他们是愚昧的国民，心中毫无聪明。但愿他们有智慧，能明白这事，顾念自己的结局。”（申命记 32:28,29）关于这一点的布道经常被宣讲，好像它适用于地球上的每个人，而他的“结局”则被理解为他的临终！但这里的“结局”是指以色列国，是他们在地球上的历史的结局。现在读下一节经文：“若不是他们的磐石出卖他们，耶和华将他们困住，一人怎能追赶一千人，二人怎能使一万人逃跑呢？”是的，他们以三十块银子“出卖”了他。但“人种的是什么，收的也是什么”，上帝把他们交在外邦人的手中！他们的磐石“出卖”了他们，“耶和华将他们困住”。这与宝藏的“隐藏”相对应。它们被“封闭起来”。当某物被封闭起来时，你就看不到它了，它就隐藏在人们的视线之外。

现在让我们来看经文中的第四点：这是比喻中最令人费解的细节。仔细看看：“天国又好像宝贝藏在地里。人遇见了，就把它藏起来，欢欢喜喜地去变卖一切所有的，买这块地。”购买是在宝贝被“藏”之后进行的，正如我们所看到的，宝贝的藏匿与基督对以色列的审判以及祂将他们分散到世界各地有关。现在翻到约翰福音 11:51, 52：“耶稣这话不是出于自己，是因他本年作大祭司，所以就预言。”他预言了什么？“就是耶稣要为”——为谁？——“为这一国死，不但为这一国死，并要将神四散的子民都聚集归一。”现在还有什么比这更清楚的呢？我们有两个不同的目标，两个不同的群体——“那个国家”和分散在各地的“上帝之子”中的聚集。将分散在各地的上帝之子中的聚集在一起是上帝在当前时代所做的，从外邦人中选出一群人归于他的名，并将他们聚集到一个身体里。这就是我们在第六个比喻中看到的——一颗珍珠。但在此之前，我们在约翰福音 11:51 中被告知，他也为“那个国家”而死。这就是你在第五个比喻中看到的，地上的人，藏在田野、世界、地球上。这是上帝的地上选民，“那个国家”。在第六个比喻中，珍珠，你有他的天上选民，一个身体。但比喻中告诉我们，“他因这事欢喜去变卖一切所有的，买那块地。”翻到彼得后书 2:1，“从前在百姓中有假先知起来，将来在你们中间也必有假师傅，私自引进陷害人的异端，连买他们的主也不承认。”这些假师傅是堕落之人，然而这节经文却说主买下了他们。许多人在这里自找麻烦，因为他们没有区分赎回和救赎。主“买下”了世界，但他并没有“救赎”世界。这两件事有很大的不同。第一个亚当被置于世界的首位：上帝说“你要统管万有”：但他失去了它，他丧失了它；魔鬼从他手中夺走了它：而最后一个亚当，作为人——“天上的第二个人”——需要买下亚当失去的东西；因此他买下了这块地。他买下了整个世界，但他并没有救赎它。特定的救赎只针对上帝的选民，但赎回、买下则更为广泛。他买了这块地——“否认买了他们的主”——你无法逃避这一点。那么，现在，他买下这块地也是因为地里藏有财宝。地里的财宝就是以色列。比喻中的人就是基督。他去变卖了他所有的一切。他从富人变成了穷人，买了这块地。之所以在重新埋藏地里的财宝之后提到这一点，是因为：犹太人直到这个时代结束之后才享有基督赎罪的价值和好处。直到千禧年，以色列才能享受到他购买地所带来的好处。他买下这块地是因为地里有财宝，这就是为什么在重新埋藏地里的财宝之后提到购买地的原因。

总结一下。首先，宝藏被藏在田里：这让我们回到以色列作为一个国家的历史的开端。其次，我们发现了宝藏的人；这是基督来到这个世界上，将他的信息传达给巴勒斯坦的犹太人。第三，我们发现了宝藏的人；这是基督对以色列的审判，因为他们拒绝了他，指的是他们被分散到世界各地。第四，我们发现了购买宝藏和发现宝藏的整个田地的人，指的是基督的死亡。现在，你有没有注意到省略了第五点？——这个比喻的逻辑完成应该是这个人真正拥有他所购买的宝藏。他把它藏起来，然后他买下了它。从逻辑上讲，这个比喻需要这一点来完成它——这个人拥有并拥有宝藏。为什么省略了这一点？因为它超出了马太福音第 13 章的范围。这一章涉及“天国的奥秘”，与基督教的历史有关。它描述了基督在世期间在地球上的事业，因此这个比喻中没有提到以色列的复兴和主拥有他的地上财富，因为那是在这个时代结束之后，在基督教世界的历史结束之后，在新时代即千禧年开始之后！圣经在省略方面多么完美！有关基督的恢复和拥有财富的段落，请参阅阿摩司书 9:14、15；使徒行传 15:17。在适当的时候，犹太人将显现为上帝在“地上”的特殊“财富”——见以赛亚书 62:1-4。

google translate from: https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/articles/index.php?view=article&aid=25582

Chapter 5.

The Parable of the Hid Treasure.

"Again the kingdom of Heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; that which when a man has found, he hides, and for joy thereof goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field" (Matthew 13:44).

The common interpretation of this parable, both by Calvinists and Arminians, is as far removed from what I am fully assured is its true meaning as is the explanation they give of the earlier ones in Matthew 13. Dr. John Gill tells us that the treasure in this parable is "the Gospel," that the field in which the treasure is hidden is "the Scriptures," and that the man who sought and found the treasure is "an elect and awakened sinner." It is amazing how such an exegete of the Scriptures, and a man so deeply taught of God, could wander so far astray when he came to this parable. In the first place, the "field" is mentioned in two of the preceding parables—the field in which the good Seed was sown, and the field that was over-sown by tares; and in verse 38 of this very chapter Christ has told us the field is the world Then why should it be supposed that the field means something entirely different in this fifth parable of the same chapter? Again, we have already had a "man" before us in the first two parables—a man who sowed good Seed in his field (v. 24). The Lord Jesus Himself has told us who that man is: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of man" (v. 37). If, then, the man in the second parable represents the Son of man, why, in this fifth parable, without any word to the contrary, are we to understand Him to point to someone entirely different?

Against the popular interpretation of the parable we advance these objections: First, if in this parable the Lord Jesus was setting forth the way of salvation, teaching that earnestness and diligence are needed on the part of an awakened sinner if he is to reach the treasure and make it his own (which treasure is hidden from the dilatory and careless), then how strange it is that it was not spoken in the hearing of the multitude! Instead, we are told that Christ had sent the multitude away, had entered the house and spoke this parable to His disciples only. Second, in this parable the treasure is hid in "the field," and, as we have seen, the field is the "world." In what possible sense is Christ or the Gospel hidden in the world? In the third place, when the man had found this treasure he hid it again: "the which when a man has found, he hides." If the treasure represents the Gospel and the field be the world, and if the man who is seeking the treasure be an awakened sinner, then our parable teaches that God requires the awakened sinner, after he has found peace and obtained salvation, to go out and hide it in the world! How absurd! Christ plainly told His disciples to let their light, so shine that men might see their good works and glorify their Father which is in Heaven. In the fourth place, in the parable we are told that after this man had found the treasure and then hid it again, that he went and "sold all that he had" and "bought it." What does an awakened sinner have to sell, and what is it that he purchases? Surely not the world! Such a loose interpretation may suit and satisfy lazy people who are too dilatory to carefully examine the parable for themselves, but it certainly will not do for those who, by the grace of God, have become prayerful and diligent students of the Word. We need hardly say that any interpretation that contains such absurdities must be promptly dismissed.

Now the first key to this parable is found in the fact that it was spoken by Christ after He had dismissed the multitudes and had taken His disciples into the house. This parable, unlike the four which precede it, was spoken to the disciples only. Those disciples must have been perplexed and dismayed at the gloomy picture which Christ had drawn of the form which His kingdom was going to assume in this world after His departure. He told them, or at least He had said in their hearing, that they would go forth and scatter the good Seed broadcast, but, with meager results. The sowing which had been begun by Him was to be continued by them, and He had warned them that, though there should be a broadcast sowing throughout the field, only a fractional portion of the good Seed would take root and bear fruit. Second, He had said that the Devil would turn farmer and over-sow the field with tares. And they were forbidden to pluck them up: the tares and the wheat were to grow side by side until the harvest, and then the tares would be found in such quantities it would be necessary to bind them in "bundles!" Third, He had warned them that His professing cause on earth would develop so extensively and rapidly that it would be like a little mustard-seed growing up into a herb, ultimately becoming a tree, with wide spreading branches; but that the Devil and his agents would find shelter in them; Fourth, He announced that into the meal, which was the emblem of His pure truth, a foreign and corrupting element would be introduced, stealthily and secretly, and the outcome should be that ultimately the whole of the meal would be leavened.

Yes, there was every reason for the poor disciples to be perplexed and dismayed. Then the Lord Jesus (it was just like Him), took them apart, and in the parables of the treasure and pearl He spoke words to reassure their hearts. He made known to them that, though the outward professing cause of Christianity upon earth would develop so tragically, yet there will be no failure on the part of God. He tells them there are two bodies, two elect peoples, who are inexpressibly precious in His sight, and that through them He will manifest the inexhaustible riches of His grace and glory—and that, in the two realms of His dominion—on the earth and in Heaven. Two distinct elect companies, one the "treasure" hid in the field, symbolizing the literal nation of Israel; the other, the one "pearl," symbolizing the one body which has a heavenly calling, destiny, citizenship, and inheritance. The order of these next two parables is this: "To the Jew first, and also to the Greek." Therefore, the hidden treasure in the field, the symbol of Israel, is given before the pearl, which is the figure of the Church.

The second key which unlocks the parable before us, and the two which follow, is indicated in the way in which the Lord divided the whole series. There are seven parables in all, and He divided them into four and three: the four being spoken by the seaside in the hearing of the multitudes, the last three being spoken inside the house to the disciples only. Four is the number of the earth, the world. God has stamped "four" upon it. There are four points to the compass; four seasons to earth's year, and so on. Four then, is the number of the earth or the world; hence in the first four parables of Matthew 13 Christ has described the kingdom of Heaven as it appears in the world, as it is manifested here on earth. Three is the number of the Holy Trinity, and therefore in the last three parables the kingdom is looked at from God's viewpoint. We have God's thoughts upon it, we are shown what God has in the kingdom—a hidden treasure, a pearl of great price.

With this somewhat lengthy introduction, let us take up the parable in detail. "Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field." If scripture is allowed to interpret scripture there will be no difficulty whatever in discovering what this "hid treasure" actually and definitely signifies. Go back to Exodus 19:5, "Now therefore, if you will obey My voice—it was the house of Jacob, the children of Israel that was addressed—and keep My covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is Mine"—corresponding with "the field" in which the "treasure" is found! Again "For you are a holy people unto the Lord your God and the Lord has chosen you to be a peculiar treasure unto Himself" (Deuteronomy 14:2). The Hebrew in this verse is the same as in Exodus 19:5. Again, "When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance (that means their earthly portion), when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. For the Lord's portion is His people; Jacob is the lot of His inheritance" (Deuteronomy 32:8): that is. here, on earth, for the context is speaking solely about earthly things—the apportioning of the earth to the nations. Once more: "For the Lord has chosen Jacob unto Himself, and Israel for His peculiar treasure" (Psalm 135:4). These passages have no reference at all to the saints of this present dispensation, or to the church which is the body of Christ, but speak of the earthly Israel according to the flesh. They are God's treasure on earth, His earthly elect people. Confirmation of this definition of the "treasure" in our parable, is found in the fact that never once in the twenty-one Epistles in the New Testament is the word "treasure" used of the Church! It is never applied to the saints of this present dispensation.

Now the first thing we are told in Matthew 13:44 about this treasure is that it was hid in a field, and the field was "the world" (see v. 38). This is precisely the condition in which God's earthly elect people were found at the beginning of His dealings with them. The parable starts with the treasure hid in the field, and the Old Testament begins with Israel hidden in the field! Who was the father of Israel according to the flesh? Abraham. Go back to the starting-point in Abraham's life. Where was he when God's hand was first laid upon him? Was he living in separation from the idolatrous people around him? No, he was hidden away among them—one of them! Take a later point in their early history. After Abraham came Isaac, and after Isaac Jacob, for Esau was not in the elect line. Look at Jacob, away from the promised land, an exile in Padan-aram, working for an unprincipled godless Gentile—for that is virtually what he was. Look at Jacob there among all the servants of Laban, hidden—nothing to indicate that he was one of the high favorites of God.

Proceed a little further. Abraham's and Jacob's descendants have become a numerous progeny, until they number some two million souls. Where are they to be found? Working in the brick-kilns of Egypt, a company of slaves. What was there to distinguish them? What was there to denote that they were God's peculiar treasure? Nothing, indeed: the treasure was "hidden." That is where the parable begins, and that is where their history as a nation began—buried, as it were, amid the rubbish of Egypt. That is why we read. "And it shall be, when you are come in unto the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance, and possess it, and dwell therein; that you shall take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which you shall bring of your land that the Lord your God gives you, and shall put it in a basket, and shall go unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose to place His name there . . . And you shall speak and say before the Lord your God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father" (Deuteronomy 26:1, 5). Yes, the treasure was hidden in the field at the beginning. From Isaiah 51:1,2, we learn how, at a later point in the history of Israel, God reminded them of their lowly origin, of the humble start that they had as a people: "Hearken to Me, you that follow after righteousness, you that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence you are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence you are dug. Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bear you." One other passage on this point: "For the Lord's portion is His people; Jacob is the lot of His inheritance. He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness" (Deuteronomy 32:10). There is their lowly origin mentioned again: the treasure was "hid," buried in the field.

Coming back to our text let us turn to the second detail in it: "Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man has found." That is the next point, the finding of the treasure. That is so very simple it needs no interpretation. The "man" here is Christ Himself—as the "man" is Christ in verse 24, see verse 37; and in the parable that follows, verse 45. The "finding" of the "treasure" by Christ refers to the days of His earthly ministry. We are told in John 1:11, "He came unto His own;" that does not mean His own spiritually, for we read that "His own received Him not." It was His own people according to the flesh. As He said to the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:24, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Christ, the Man, came to Israel, the Jews. His ministry was confined unto them. The "treasure" was "found"—it was no longer hidden when Christ came here. The Jewish nation was not as it was in the days of Moses in Egypt. The sons of Jacob were in their own land. They had their own temple; the priesthood was still intact. And it was to them, this Man, Christ, came.

"Again the kingdom of Heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man has found, he hides." There is a distinct step in each clause. He "hides" it. That is the most solemn word in the chapter, with the one exception of the furnace of fire. Remember what was before us in the 12th of Matthew, which furnishes the key to the 13th. In Matthew 12 Christ presented Himself to the Jews and the Jews rejected Him, and because of their rejection He rejected them, pronounced sentence of doom upon them—the evil spirit coming back and taking with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, "Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation." Then at the close of the chapter Christ intimated He would no longer acknowledge any bond or tie, any kinship except a spiritual one—"Whoever shall do the will of My Father": it was Christ severing the link which, according to the flesh, bound Him to Israel. So here in the parable: first we have the treasure hid in the field: that was Israel's condition at the beginning of their national history in Old Testament times. Second, we have the Man coming to the treasure: that was the earthly ministry of Christ. Third, we have the treasure hid once more: that was Christ's rejection of Israel. The "hiding" of the treasure referred to the last dispersion and scattering of the Jews throughout the whole earth. And, so effectually has He "hidden" the treasure that ten out of the twelve tribes are still lost! Yes, they are hidden, so securely hidden that no man to this day knows where they are!

One passage of Scripture in proof of what we have said above on Christ's "hiding" Israel: "For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them. O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end" (Deuteronomy 32:28,29). How often is a sermon preached on this as though it applied to every man on earth, and his "latter end" is made to mean his deathbed! But the "latter end" here is of the nation of Israel, and it is the latter end of their history on this earth. Now read the next verse: "How shall one chase a thousand and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up!" Yes, they "sold" Him for thirty pieces of silver. But "whatever a man sows that shall he also reap," and God delivered them into the hands of the Gentiles! Their Rock "sold" them, and "the Lord shut them up." That is parallel with the treasure "hidden" again. They are "shut up." When a thing is shut up you cannot see it, it is hidden from sight.

Consider now the fourth point in our text: which is the most puzzling detail in the parable. Look at it closely: "Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man has found, he hides, and for joy thereof goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field." The purchase is made after the treasure had been "hidden," and, as we have seen, the hiding of the treasure had respect to Christ's judgment upon Israel and His dispersion of them throughout the earth. Turn now to John 11:51, 52: "And this he spoke not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied." What did he prophesy? "That Jesus should die for"—for whom?—"for that nation, and not for that nation only, but that He also should gather together in one the children of God that are scattered abroad." Now what could be plainer than that? We have two distinct objects there, two distinct companies—"that nation" and also the gathering together in one of "the children of God" that are scattered abroad. The gathering together in one of the children of God that are scattered abroad is what God is doing in this present dispensation, taking out of the Gentiles a people for His name, and gathering them together into one Body. That is what we have in the sixth parable—one pearl. But before that, we are told here in John 11:51, He also died for "that nation." This is what you have in the fifth parable, the earthly people, hid in the field, the world, the earth. This is God's earthly elect, "that nation." In the sixth parable, the pearl, you have His heavenly elect people, the one body. But we are told in the parable that "for joy thereof He goes and sells all that He has and buys that field." Turn to 2 Peter 2:1, "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them." These false teachers are reprobates, yet this very verse says the Lord bought them. Many have created their own difficulty there in failing to distinguish between ransoming and redeeming. The Lord has "bought" the world, but He has not "redeemed" the world. There is a big difference between the two things. The first Adam was placed at the head of the world: God said "Have you dominion over all": and he lost it, he forfeited it; the Devil wrested it from his hands: and the last Adam, as man—"the second Man front heaven"—needed to purchase that which Adam had lost; therefore He bought the field. He has bought the whole world, but He has not redeemed it. Particular redemption is for God's elect only, but ransoming, purchasing, is much wider. He bought the field—"Denying the Lord that bought them"—-you cannot get away from it. Now, then, He bought the field also because of the treasure that was hidden in it. The treasure in the field is Israel. The man in the parable is Christ. He went and sold all that He had. He who was rich became poor, and bought the field. Now that is mentioned after the re-hiding of the treasure in the field for this reason: the Jews do not enter into the value and the benefits of Christ's atonement until after this age is over. It is not until the Millennium that Israel will enjoy the benefits of that purchase of His. He bought the field because of the treasure that was in it, and that is why the purchasing of the field is mentioned after the re-hiding of the treasure in it.

To summarize. First, we have the treasure hid in the field: that takes us back to the beginning of Israel's history as a nation. Second, we have the Man finding that treasure; that is Christ coming to this earth and confining His message to the Jews in Palestine. Third, we have the Man hiding the treasure; that is Christ's judgment upon Israel because of their rejection of Him referring to their dispersion abroad throughout the earth. Fourth, we have the Man purchasing the treasure and the whole field in which it was found, referring to the death of Christ. Now, have you noticed there is a fifth point omitted?—the logical completion of the parable would be the Man actually possessing the treasure that He purchased. He hid it, then He purchased it. Logically, the parable needs this to complete it—the Man owning and possessing the treasure. Why is that left out? Because it lies outside the scope of Matthew 13. This chapter, dealing with the "mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven," has to do with the history of Christendom. It describes the cause of Christ on this earth during the period of His absence, and therefore there is nothing in this parable about the restoration of Israel and the Lord possessing His earthly treasure, because that comes after this dispensation is over, after the history of Christendom has been wound up, after the new age has been inaugurated, namely, the Millennium! How perfect is Scripture in its omissions! For passages treating of Christ's recovery and possession of the treasure see Amos 9:14, 15; Acts 15:17. In due time the Jews shall be manifested as God's peculiar "treasure'' on "earth"—see Isaiah 62:1-4.

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