July 30, 2023
Pastor John Hering
Matthew 13:44-52
Matthew 13:44-52
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again. In his joy, he goes away and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls. 46 When he found one very valuable pearl, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48 When the net was filled, they pulled it onto the shore. They sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but threw the bad ones away. 49 That is how it will be at the end of the world. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous who are among them. 50 And they will throw the wicked into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 51 Jesus said to them, “Did you understand all these things?”
They answered him, “Yes.”
52 He said to them, “Therefore every expert in the law who has been trained as a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure both new things and old things.”
He had been carrying a 4.0 grade point average and was ranked ninth in his class. He downloaded sample ACT exams and studied like crazy before taking them and scored a thirty-one. He earned top scholarship money, graduated from college magna cum laude, but couldn’t hold a job. Why? He was book smart but didn’t know how to relate to people. Next, she dropped out of high school to care for her ill mother. But she knew the word on the street, knew who to talk to, picked up her GED, got a job in sales, and soon became one of the top salespersons in the company. Why? She didn’t have an in-depth formal education, but she was street smart.
I suppose you could debate which is more marketable, book smart or street smart. The obvious answer is both. But in the end, in the big picture, and I mean not just in the big picture of life, but in light of eternal life, neither one will count. What counts is being “kingdom smart.” That’s what Jesus wants for us, and that’s why he strings together four little parables, four little stories, about the kingdom of heaven in the gospel lesson for this day.
Before we go any farther, we have to understand what the kingdom of heaven is. Please listen carefully. The Bible talks about the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of Power, and the Kingdom of Grace. However, the writers of the Bible were inspired to use specific words at specific times and at first glance, when you hear Jesus say, “The kingdom of heaven is like” most people might assume that the kingdom of heaven is up there somewhere in the clouds, the place where God dwells in his glorious majesty and love – heaven. But, the context has to determine the meaning that is being used. Therefore, the kingdom Jesus is talking about is not a place. It is an activity. Singing is not a place. It’s an activity. Walking is not a place. It’s an activity. Ruling is not a place. It’s an activity. In the same way, when you hear the phrase, “kingdom of heaven” today, Jesus is not talking about a place but an activity of God. It is where God operates with his love in the hearts of people. Thus, the kingdom of heaven exists wherever the Holy Spirit is using the Word, Water, Wafer and Wine to wrap his people up in his arms of the gospel and holding on to them. May the Holy Spirit guide our thoughts this morning as we listen to these four little parables from the Savior which have one purpose:
Jesus Wants Us to Be Kingdom Smart
Getting into God’s kingdom
Let’s say you have no money in your pocket. You’re thirsty. You’re starving. You’re alone, and you happen to be walking along Jerry Jones’ house. You hear laughter and beautiful music, and you gaze up through the decorative drive-way fence and over the hedge to catch a glimpse of delightful gathering of smiling people under the light of a glimmering chandelier standing around a dining room table loaded with hors d’oeuvres. Your thinking, “How could I ever get in there?” A valet is nearby, ready to park the cars of arriving guests. You ask him, “How would I ever get in there?” “Oh!” he says, “You have to have a ticket. But the owner is the only one who hands them out. And even if tickets were for sale, you couldn’t afford one.” Just then a breeze blows a piece of paper floating through the tree branches, down the street, and smacked it against into your palm. You stare at it in wonder and ask the valet, “Is this it?” He replies, “Why, yes! You’re in!” What did you do to acquire that ticket? Nothing! Similarly, what did you do in order to get yourself born into this world? Nothing! And what did you do to get born into God’s family? Nothing! That’s the same as asking, “What did you personally do to get into God’s kingdom, to enter into the sphere of his saving love? Nothing! That’s because by nature the Bible describes us as spiritually dead, blind, enemies of God. Dead people don’t do anything and they don’t go anywhere. So Jesus teaches us about getting into God’s kingdom in the first two little stories—Getting into God’s kingdom. “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again. In his joy, he goes away and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (44). He wasn’t looking for a huge treasure. He wasn’t expecting it. It just fell into his lap, and, oh, was he ever thankfully excited! “45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls. 46 When he found one very valuable pearl, he went and sold all that he had and bought it” (45-46). He was looking for good pearls, but he wasn’t looking for the most expensive pearl in the world. He didn’t expect to come across it. It just fell into his lap, and, oh, was he ever gratefully excited!
Dear Christian friends, Jesus bought your ticket into God’s kingdom there on the cross. Jesus gave you the treasure of God’s forgiveness. Jesus hands you the pearl of greatest value. Jesus put you into the sphere of God’s saving mercy, into the kingdom of heaven (objective justification). I guess the only question we need to address is, “What is our appropriate reaction?” How about gratitude? Especially when we consider what we deserve and where we’d be without out Jesus. For the sins we commit, we deserve hell. That’s where I would end up if there were no Jesus. I am shocked that God would love me that much to send his Son to die on the cross for me. How about you? Are you shocked, stunned, and thankfully excited? Without his perfect life credited to our account we are damned. Without his payment for our sins we are damned. No wonder Jesus wants us to be kingdom smart, and the first thing is to review how we get into God’s kingdom. Answer? Nothing! Jesus did it! You and I are in! Believe it! Thank God!
Staying in God’s kingdom
What do you do to stay in shape? To keep your singing voice? To keep your marriage strong? To stay on top of your game at work? To keep your house up? To keep dust off your shelves? You go to the gym, practice the scales, attend the seminars, pick up continuing education units, pull out the paint brush, and swish around walls, floors, and corners with the Swiffer. You work at it. Use the tools available to keep what you have.
Getting us into God’s kingdom is his activity. Staying in God’s kingdom we do by the power of the Holy Spirit and using his tools. The Holy Spirit miraculously brought us to faith using these tools (Gospel in Word and sacrament) and he uses these same tools to keep us in the kingdom. You are spiritually alive and the Holy Spirit gives you the joy to use the tools to stay in God’s Kingdom! So use them! Listen to God’s Word. Remember your baptism. Eagerly wait to celebrate the Lord’s Supper! Use the tools God has given you to Stay in God’s Kingdom.
Some people might wonder, “Why is that so important? Why not just sit back and relax with the spiritual knowledge we have already acquired? What’s the worst that can happen?” What they aren’t taking into account is that they are living in DFW! There really is a devil, really is our sinful flesh, and really is a sinful world that wants to tempt us to leave God’s kingdom for idols. We all have our little idol making factory in our hearts. We love Jesus, and we also love drinking too much (idol trap). We love Jesus, and we also love our family and prioritize them over worship (idol trap). If you leave God’s kingdom you’re not going to end up under an alternative plan like switching insurance companies. If you jump out of God ‘s loving arms, you’ll end up in Satan’s clutches, and that old devil will try to make you think it’s not that big of a deal. But he’s a liar. What the devil has in mind for you Jesus describes here as ending up like smelly, rotten fish. I caught a blue crab while on vacation, but the bubbler quit working and the crab died. I put it on the edge of the beach because of the awful smell. You know that smell of a fish with eyes bugged out, guts bloated, flies buzzing around the gills, and the smell! Whoa!
“47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48 When the net was filled, they pulled it onto the shore. They sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but threw the bad ones away. 49 That is how it will be at the end of the world. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous who are among them. 50 And they will throw the wicked into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 51 Jesus said to them, “Did you understand all these things?” They answered him, “Yes.” (47-50).
You see, we can’t do anything to get into God’s kingdom, but laziness, apathy, and indifference can get us tossed out into the fiery furnace. No wonder Jesus wants us to be kingdom smart. Our gracious God brought us into his kingdom using the gospel in Word and sacrament, and he keeps us in his kingdom using the same. Stay in God’s kingdom by using the tools available to you to keep what you have.
Spreading God’s kingdom
So, let’s talk about “tools.” Do you have a neighbor like Fred or Ray? He is Mr. Fix-it for everyone in the neighborhood. His garage is a treasure chest of tools. Do you need some kind of new-fangled, battery-operated electric drill? He has it. Do you need some kind of old-fashioned, reliable, no-longer-manufactured handsaw or chisel? He has it. He has a tool for every occasion. That’s what Jesus meant when he said to his followers and to us, “52 He said to them, “Therefore every expert in the law who has been trained as a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure both new things and old things.” The way we stay in God’s kingdom and spread his kingdom to others is by using the tools, the message about sin and Jesus’ saving mercy. With the message of Scripture we have the tools we need for every possible occasion both for our own spiritual strength to stay in God’s kingdom and for extending God’s saving love to others.
How big do you think the kingdom of heaven is? Oh! Did I catch you? Were you thinking of a place again? Was your mind wandering to try and grasp the measure or the boundaries of some heavenly haven? Remember, God’s kingdom is not a place but an activity. Asking how big God’s kingdom is would be like asking how many people have lived on the earth since the beginning. So how big is God’s kingdom? It spreads as far and as wide as God’s people can take the message about his love for sinners because that message is the tool God uses to expand his kingdom, to widen the sphere of his saving activity. Are we so selfish that we have to keep Jesus’ love all to ourselves? How about sharing that love with others who don’t know about it? How about praying for those missionaries who go with those tools to places we cannot go? How about generously supporting with our gifts to make it possible for kingdom activity to spread? How about encouraging young people to consider full time service in God’s kingdom! No wonder Jesus wants us to be kingdom smart. He wants us to be part of spreading God’s kingdom, widening his touch on the souls of more and more people.
You won’t find a Bible passage that will give you the definitive answer on whether to be book smart or street smart in order to move along in your career. But you will find plenty in Scripture to help you be kingdom smart. That’s what Jesus wants for us. Let’s be gratefully thankful that Jesus brought us into his kingdom, stay in that kingdom, and share that kingdom with others! Amen.
