“The King and the Kingdom”

(Matthew 13:44-58)

Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

September 22, 2019

The Passage

Matthew 13:44-58

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. 46 When he found one priceless pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it.

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea. It collected every kind of fish, 48 and when it was full, they dragged it ashore, sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but threw out the worthless ones. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out, separate the evil people from the righteous, 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

51 “Have you understood all these things?” They answered him, “Yes.”

52 “Therefore,” he said to them, “every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom treasures new and old.”

53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he left there. 54 He went to his hometown and began to teach them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? 55 Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 56 And his sisters, aren’t they all with us? So where does he get all these things?” 57 And they were offended by him.

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his household.” 58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

Introductory Comments:

I’m part of a group that centers around physical fitness and team building while wearing rucksacks, or backpacks. It’s really not that special, we walk around like a bunch of kids with backpacks on, but we pay money to do it. Well, this company, which is called GORUCK has created their own backpacks, or rucksacks. They’ve created lots of different ones over the years in different sizes and colors. In order to make a little extra spending money I buy and resell these rucksacks when I can. It’s sort of a fun challenge to see if I can turn a profit. Well, among these people that buy and resell these a term has developed concerning the rucksacks. The terms is unicorn. A unicorn is a rare rucksack that you hardly ever see. Perhaps it’s a certain model, size, or color that’s not made any more. Well, if you can find a true unicorn rucksack, you can find something of value. Something that’s worth a lot (relatively speaking). 

Today, in Matthew 13, we’re going to hear from Jesus some more parables which speak about the value of the kingdom of heaven. In part, we’re going to learn what the kingdom really is worth. 

Before we do, let’s pray together and ask God to speak to us. 

(prayer)

Jesus is in the middle of a flurry of parables that teach us more about the kingdom of heaven.

The people of God have heard about the kingdom before, but now they are hearing about it in a new and revolutionary way. Jesus is revealing more and more and the wheels are spinning faster and faster as the kingdom of heaven starts to come to light. 

Now, Jesus is going to show us even more. Let’s learn these four revelations today about the kingdom, four things that Jesus will reveal to us:

The first revelation, . . .

I. The kingdom is priceless (vv. 44-46) [on screen]

Listen now as Jesus now as Jesus speaks to this. Let’s look at Matthew 13:44-46. 

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. 46