For our discipleship class with Harvest Time Ministries last Wednesday, we studied Matthew 13:44-46, two illustrations-parables Jesus used to describe what “the kingdom of heaven is like” (vv. 44, 45). In gathering the basic information from the text, the line “in his joy” emerged as a key to unlocking the message for the day. “In his joy” refers to a human being who, after finding and hiding a treasure in a field, “in his joy” went and sold “all that he had and bought it” (v. 44). Because the human being, exactly like the “merchant” in the second illustration in Jesus’ pairing, sold “all that he had” in order to get the “treasure”—or, as in the second illustration, the “one pearl of great value”—we the readers/listeners are left to wonder what was so significant about that treasure or that one pearl of great value. Why did the human being, why did the merchant, sell “all that he had” in order to acquire only “one” thing? Indeed, it seems that the human being had many things, perhaps many of them also of great value. Why then did he forsake such great treasure for the treasure he did not yet have?
It seems that the answer is because of “his joy”. Though he had many things, the sale of which was enough to acquire a thing of “great value”, the many things did not bring him joy. Though many is more than one, the many things he possessed could not bring him the joy that the one thing he “found” did. Therefore, “in his joy”, he went and sold “all that he had.”
“The kingdom of heaven is like this.”
When we “find” it, when we experience the presence of God, through his Word, in Jesus, the glory of earthly possessions begins to fade. Their value is not “great” in light of God’s value. The joy they bring is not joy in light of God’s joy. For that joy, the human being will sell all that he has.
Who then are disciples? First and foremost, disciples are people of joy, people who have an all-consuming passion, love, hunger for God and his righteousness—no matter the cost (cf. Mt. 5:6, 6:33; Heb. 12:2).
-Joe
"Because of his joy": I pondered this gem, and thought about how in different societies different things "bring us joy". Some people and cultures need very tangible things and evidence to bring joy; others find that it is the more intangible things that bring joy. How might this effect the disciple of Jesus?
ReplyDeleteWayne Hochstetler
Thanks, Wayne. I think God certainly intended that physical things would bring us joy, since he, though Spirit, made us with flesh. I think Jesus' basic point was that "the human being does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." This is to correct our inclination to ascribe the power of life to material things rather than to where it actually resides--in the Spirit of God who "knit us together in our mother's womb", that is, before we ever became dependent on food, drink, clothes, or any other material thing. The challenge is: on whom are we ultimately dependent and, if our material things would suddenly be taken away from us, would we still find joy?
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