Matthew 13:44

Treasure Trove

The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in the field. Matthew 13:44.

Not long since some of us were very much interested to read about the wonderful treasure that had been discovered on Mr. Balfour's estate at Whittinghame in East Lothian. On the side of a hill is an old camp, and for some years men had been digging on this camp to find out what traces had been left by the men who occupied it more than fifteen centuries ago. And one day they came upon a pit which contained a most marvelous treasure the most wonderful treasure that has ever been found in this country. It consisted of silver vessels of all kinds bowls, and plates, and chalices, and flagons, and spoons, along with many old coins. Some of the vessels seemed to have been stolen from monasteries on the Continent and the whole treasure had evidently been hidden there by pirates who in some way were prevented from returning.

Such finds are rare in this country, but they are fairly frequent in Palestine.

Every now and then we hear of the discovery there of strange old vaults and tombs which have lain buried for hundreds even thousands of years. We read of old urns and vases being upturned, of chests of gold coins being found under the soil.

There is more than one reason why Palestine is so rich in treasure. It was a land frequently visited by earthquakes, and in the upheavals much that was valuable was hidden and lost. Again, in ancient times it was often invaded, and there were also many quarrels between tribe and tribe. The safest bank was Mother Earth, and in times of disturbance men concealed their treasure in the ground. Very often these men were killed or died in exile, and their secret died with them. Ages later some fortunate ploughman tilling the soil came upon the golden store.

It was of such a man that Jesus spoke in His parable of the hid treasure. A poor ploughman was one day busy in his master's field. Suddenly his ploughshare struck something hard. It was an old chest containing precious coins. What a grand discovery a discovery that would make him rich beyond his wildest dreams! It was worth while giving up everything he possessed to make it his. So the man went home, and sold all that he had to buy the field in order that all it contained might be his.

Now seeking for earthly treasure is not always a good thing. It has sometimes awakened the worst passions of men greed, covetousness, jealousy, hatred. Men have killed each other to get gold; men have sometimes taken their own lives when they had spent their last penny in a vain search for treasure.

And the quest for gold has often caused great misery. Away back in the Middle Ages gold was discovered in Bohemia. And do you know what happened? Many of the peasants gave up farming for mining, and as there were not enough people left to till the soil, there were frequent famines in the land. Don't you think, to these peasants, gold would be a poor exchange for bread?

But there is one Treasure that can do us only infinite good. It lies near to all of us and it is so precious that if all the world were ours it would be worth giving up that, and much more, to gain it. Yet although this wonderful Treasure has been so close beside us for years, although it is ours for the taking, some of us have not yet discovered it, and some of us have heard about it but have not tried to make it ours because we have not realized its preciousness.

Have you ever heard the story of how the Koh-i-noor diamond was lost and found again? It was once the largest diamond in the world, and it was presented to Queen Victoria by the East India Company. When it was first received it was given into the keeping of Sir John Lawrence. He was rather an absent-minded man, and, being busy and anxious at the time, he slipped the little box which contained the jewel into his waistcoat pocket. Then he went on his way and forgot all about it.

Six months later, a message came from Queen Victoria ordering that the gem should be sent to her at once. Then Lawrence remembered his carelessness.

He called his native servant and asked him if he had found a little box in one of his pockets some months before. Oh yes, the man had found the little parcel and put it in one -of the Sahib's boxes. Search was made, and the parcel was found. But what do you think the old servant said? He had not in the least realized the value of the jewel he had had in his hands. “It is nothing, Sahib,” said he “nothing but a bit of glass.”

Have you guessed the name of the wonderful Treasure that is offered to us all? It is the Treasure of Christ's love. It is ours for the taking, but some of us have not yet realized how very precious it is, and we throw away this wonderful jewel as if it were “a bit of glass.”

Will you go back for a minute to the story of the parable? What would you have thought of the ploughman if, when he found the treasure, he had said, “Oh, it's not worth bothering about; why should I sell my belongings to possess it?” What would you have thought of him if he had covered it up, and gone on with his ploughing, and remained a poor laborer all his life?

Well, that is what some people are doing with Christ's Treasure. They think it is not worth troubling about, or that they would have to give up something they like very much to possess it.

And there are some things we must give up if we would follow Jesus. We must give up everything mean, and dishonest, and unworthy; we must give up bad companions, and bad habits, and bad thoughts; but He will help us to give them up, and He will pay us back a thousand times for all we renounce for His sake.

And now I want you to think what Jesus gave up to win His treasure. For Jesus has a treasure too the treasure of our souls yours and mine. To gain them He left His beautiful home and came down to earth to live among men and to suffer with them. To gain them He endured a shameful death upon the Cross. He bought them with a price the price of His love, and life, and death. But He cannot possess them unless we yield them up. Are we going to deprive Jesus of His treasure?