The
Hidden Treasure
And
The
Precious Pearl
By
Gerry Watts
“ The kingdom
of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it
again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”
“Again,
the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he
found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought
it.”
(Matthew
13:44-46 NIV)
Both of these parables are declaring certain aspects of the same truth, hence
they need to be considered together. Jesus is the man who finds the treasure
hidden in a field, and He is also the merchant looking for fine pearls. In
both instances the man purchases the precious things he has found through
personal sacrifice by selling everything he has – and He does this with
great joy! The basic truth revealed here is very simple really, but there is a
little more that can be gleaned from it. These principles of love and
sacrifice in accordance with God's righteousness are at the heart of the
kingdom of God. So not only do these things apply to the Master, Jesus, but
they also apply to His brothers, His followers, the sons of God.
Firstly, let us consider the treasure. This particular treasure is already
hidden in a field. In the Greek, it actually reads ‘the field’
rather than ‘a field.’ Now at the time when Jesus was telling these
parables to His disciples, He had left the crowd and gone inside the house
where He was staying. He had just revealed to them the meaning of the parable
of the Wheat and the Darnel. As we have learned earlier from this parable, the
field represents the whole world.
Exodus 19:5-6 shows us clearly that the nation of Israel is God’s treasure
in the world.
“Now if you
obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my
treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me
a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (NIV)
This
text indicates that the ultimate purpose of God, which began through Israel,
is to form an Ecclesia or more literally ‘a called out group’ commonly
called the Church, who will be a kingdom of royal priests ruling the earth and
the heavens as the sons of God. Israel according to the flesh could only
temporarily fulfil this purpose in the past, but it will be ultimately
fulfilled through the Body and Bride of Christ, which is composed not only of
a remnant of Israel, but a large remnant out of the nations as well, who are
the complement or fullness of Israel (Romans 11; Ephesians 2:11-22). This
Ecclesia of God is the Treasure and the precious Pearl, the heavenly
Israel of God.
Israel and the Nations – a Joint-Body
The
nation of Israel, who were originally given the promises and the covenants of
God, were scattered throughout the world, with the vast majority of them
hidden in the field. Then Jesus came as the Messiah of Israel and the world,
firstly, to seek and to save the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Yet those
of Israel who followed the true Shepherd of the sheep were again hidden in the
field of the world, while a new secret administration of grace was
introduced, during which time the secrets of the kingdom are being unfolded,
and the Gospel has been proclaimed to all nations.
In the
meanwhile, Jesus gave His own soul as the ultimate Sacrifice and Ransom,
selling all He had, to purchase the Treasure, the apple of His eye, the sheep
of His pasture. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross. Yet in doing
so, He not only purchased the treasure, He bought the whole field! The whole
world - in fact, the whole of creation - now legally belongs to Christ Jesus.
He holds the title deed to this earth, as well as the heavens.
This
truth about the Ecclesia of God is what the Apostle Peter was referring to in
1 Peter 2:9-10.
“Yet you are a chosen race, a “royal priesthood,” a
“holy nation,” a procured people…who once were “not a people” yet
now are the people of God.” (CV)
Nevertheless,
this little flock and ecclesia of Israel is not enough. There are others from
amongst the nations, those of another sheep pen, who are joining the remnant
of Israel to become one flock under the One Shepherd, Who gives His soul for
the sake of the sheep (John 10:14-16). This flock of faithful followers will
become the Firstfruits of a new humanity offered to God. They will become the
Wife of the Lamb, the heavenly Israel, ruling from the New Jerusalem as the
Body of Christ – a kingdom of royal priests ruling the heavens and the
earth. This is what Paul is ultimately revealing in Ephesians 2.
"Wherefore, remember that once you, the nations in flesh - who are
termed "Uncircumcision" by those termed
"Circumcision," in flesh, made by hands - that you were, in that
era, apart from Christ, being alienated from the citizenship of Israel,
and the guests of the promise covenants, having no expectation, and
without God in the world. Yet now, in Christ Jesus, you, who once are
far off, are become near by the blood of Christ. For He is our Peace, Who
makes both one, and razes the central wall of the barrier (the enmity in
His flesh), nullifying the law of precepts in decrees, that He should be
creating the two, in Himself, into one new humanity, making peace; and
should be reconciling both in one body to God through the cross,
killing the enmity in it. And, coming, He brings the evangel of peace to you,
those afar, and peace to those near, for through Him we both
have had the access, in one Spirit, to the Father.
Consequently, then, no longer are you guests and sojourners, but are
fellow-citizens of the saints and belong to God's family, being built on
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, the capstone of the corner being
Christ Jesus Himself, in Whom the entire building, being connected together,
is growing into a holy temple in the Lord: in Whom you, also, are being
built together for God's dwelling place, in spirit."
(Ephesians
2:11-22 CV)
So
what about the precious pearl? A pearl is a very precious gem that is formed
in an oyster shell, which comes from the sea. Throughout Scripture, the
nations and peoples of the earth are often symbolised as the sea (Isaiah
57:20; Revelation 17:15). So Jesus, the Merchant, finds one pearl of great
value and sells everything to purchase it. This ‘very precious pearl’ (CV)
represents the remnant of the nations who belong to the Body of Christ. Yet
the Treasure and the precious Pearl together represent the whole
Bride and Body of Christ as the kingdom of royal priests, composed of Jew and
Gentile, Circumcision and Uncircumcision, as clearly revealed in the above
text. Therefore we find that the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem are twelve pearls,
symbolising the governmental authority and mediatorial or priestly position of
the sons of God (Revelation 21:21).
The Kinsman-Redeemer
In the
book of Ruth we have the tender account of the role of a special kinsman
redeemer named Boaz, who, because of his love for Ruth, a woman of the
nations, yet daughter-in-law of his poor relative, Naomi, sets out to redeem
her. He was a man of renown and Ruth worked among the servant girls who
collected the wheat and barley from his field. In accordance with the Law, and
yet using much tact and wisdom, Boaz redeems Naomi’s property, which
included Ruth as well, and Ruth became his wife.
This
is a wonderful allegory of Jesus redeeming His bride. Christ is the
Kinsman-Redeemer. Not only did He become a Man so as to redeem man from his
poor, helpless state, but He was also born an Israelite of the tribe of Judah,
descended from David, to rescue Israel from their poor, helpless state of
condemnation under the Old Covenant. (Interestingly enough, Boaz and Ruth were
His ancestors according to the flesh, as Ruth was the great-grandmother of
David). The
law of the kinsman-redeemer can be found in Leviticus 25.
This
means that Christ has the legal right as a Kinsman-Redeemer to redeem not only
Israel, but also the whole of mankind. Yet His heart is set on a Bride, a
precious treasure and pearl, chosen from among those who serve in His field.
Yet the legal basis for this is the fact that Jesus is the rightful Heir to
the throne of David, and all of the covenants and promises given to Israel are
to be fulfilled in Him – the only One Who can establish the New Covenant due
to His own blood having paid the Ransom price.
Nevertheless,
we mustn’t forget that Christ has purchased the whole world, and He
is the Kinsman-Redeemer of all humanity. He truly is the Saviour and
Redeemer of all mankind. The law of the kinsman-redeemer in Leviticus 25 is
intimately tied up with the law of sabbatical years and the year of Jubilee.
These laws reveal the divine principle that no one is to be rejected forever.
Even those who have become poor and do not have the means to be redeemed are
to be set free in the year of Jubilee. In all of these things, Israel (and the
Church) is representing all of humanity as Firstfruits. They are a circle
within a larger circle, and God deals with them as an example to the rest of
mankind – as Firstfruits and Firstborn sons.
The
year of Jubilee was to occur every forty-ninth/fiftieth year and this would be
the year for cancelling all debts and restoring everyone to their original
inheritance. The Sabbatical years, which occurred every seventh year, were
also to be years of cancelling debts, but this was to apply only to fellow
Israelites (Deuteronomy 15), whereas the Jubilee included foreigners as well.
Both the Sabbatical year and the Jubilee were to be years of rest dedicated to
Yahweh.
These
are types of a special redemption during the ages (sabbatical years) and a
greater, fuller redemption and restoration of all at the end of the ages (the
Great Jubilee). The first includes a heavenly Israel, the Ecclesia of God, and
the latter includes all the rest of mankind. As far as God’s time clock is
concerned, the first coming of Christ was to occur within a
special period known as the Seventy Sevens or Weeks, which was revealed to
the prophet Daniel. (For further study of this subject, see the section The
Great Prophetic Plan Revealed). This period of seventy sabbatical
years (70 x 7) equals 490 years. This symbolises the fullness of the Jubilee
(49 x 10). At the conclusion of this period, Jesus had established the kingdom of God and secured the Ransom for the New
Covenant. This in turn has become the basis for the ultimate Redemption and
Restoration of all creation.
At His
first coming, Christ purchased the whole world by paying the correspondent
Ransom for humanity, and in turn, secured His hidden treasure and His precious
pearl, so that He legally owns the whole lot! At His return He will fully
secure His right to the whole earth and He will fully take possession of His special
treasure and pearl via the First Resurrection. This will be the first of
‘the Sabbath years for cancelling debts,’ metaphorically speaking. Another
release will occur again at the Second Resurrection at the Great White Throne.
Finally, at the consummation of the ages (during the ages of the ages), the
Great Jubilee will arrive, in which all of humanity will be released from the
Second Death. (God willing, I shall be considering these types in greater
detail in my book The Hidden Prophecies of the Seven Feasts).
Copyright © Gerry Watts 2005;
2007