Parable of the Hidden Treasure

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure is a well known parable of Jesus, which appears in Matthew 13:44, and illustrates the great value of the Kingdom of Heaven, which is mankind. Mankind is the treasure hidden in the field and the man who sold all he had to buy the field for the treasure, is God. It immediately precedes the parable of the Pearl, which has a similar theme. The parable has been depicted by artists such as Rembrandt.

The brief parable of the hidden treasure is as follows:

The setting here presupposes that someone has buried a treasure and later died. The current owner of the field is unaware of its existence. The finder, perhaps a farm labourer, is entitled to it, but is unable to conveniently extract it unless he buys the field. For a peasant, such a discovery of treasure represented the "ultimate dream."

This parable is generally interpreted as illustrating the great value of the Kingdom of Heaven, and thus has a similar theme to the parable of the pearl. John Nolland comments that the good fortune reflected in the "finding" reflects a "special privilege," and a source of joy, but also reflects a challenge, just as the man in the parable gives up all that he has, in order to lay claim to the greater treasure he has found.

John Calvin writes of this parable:

The first two of these parables are intended to instruct believers to prefer the Kingdom of heaven to the whole world, and therefore to deny themselves and all the desires of the flesh, that nothing may prevent them from obtaining so valuable a possession. We are greatly in need of such a warning; for we are so captivated by the allurements of the world, that eternal life fades from our view; and in consequence of our carnality, the spiritual graces of God are far from being held by us in the estimation which they deserve.

The hidden nature of the treasure may indicate that the Kingdom of Heaven "is not yet revealed to everyone."

However, other interpretations of the parable exist, in which the treasure represents Israel or the Church.

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