Hide and Seek

One of the problems with reformed Christians—that's our tribe in the Christian family—is that we confuse being sinful with being worthless. We confuse total depravity with total trash. That is not Christianity. God loves us and treasures us even in our sin. He never calls us trash, worthless. That's a distortion of our doctrine. He says our righteousness is like garbage, but you are his treasure. You are the pearl of great price. You are the one he came looking for. He gave everything for you. Do you have any idea how much he loves you? You are his pearl.

The word redemption is a Bible word we use a lot in the church. It's a financial word—to redeem something, to buy it back. That's what the merchant's doing. That's what Jesus did at the cross, shedding his own blood for you to buy you back from hell, from the devil, from death, from sin. You are his treasure. Brothers and sisters, don't let anybody take that away from you.

This is Christ the King's sermons. Christ the King's sermons is a ministry of Christ the King Presbyterian Church located in Raleigh, North Carolina. CTK is a community rooted in the depth of the gospel, refined by hard conversations, fueled by meaningful relationships, and committed to redemptive work in Raleigh.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who on finding one pearl of great value went and sold all he had and bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad. So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire. There men will weep and gnash their teeth. — Matthew 13:44-50

This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

A Revival in Silicon Valley

Last week, the New York Times published a story about the revival of Christian faith in a very unusual place: Silicon Valley. The New York Times is not the first to cover the story, but the fact that I've heard of this from several people, and the fact that this is now appearing in the Times, says this is catching a lot of attention.

It started back in 2023 at a fortieth birthday party for Trey Stevens held at his vacation home in New Mexico. A lot of leaders from Silicon Valley—friends—gathered out there for a weekend long of roasting and toasting the birthday boy. They had an evening of roasts, making fun of him, and then a night of toasting him. And then Sunday morning was a brunch, and the theme of the brunch was the Holy Spirit—kind of unusual.

At the brunch, Peter Thiel—it's pronounced Thiel, but it looks like Theo—the Silicon Valley billionaire delivered a talk about miracles and about forgiveness and about Jesus Christ, and the room was riveted. Michelle Stevens, the wife of the birthday boy, recalls the response. She said, "Here's a room of over 220 people, mostly in tech and venture capital, and they're all coming up to us to say, 'Oh my goodness, I didn't know that Thiel was a Christian.' And here it is boldly stated, and particularly from a man who has everything the world has in terms of wealth and power."

It began something that's sort of caught on. Michelle Stevens started a group called Acts Seventeen, which has met weekly since to gather with others in Silicon Valley and talk about faith. There's something—a revival—going on in Silicon Valley.

Now I share this because I want to remind you of something. The good news about Jesus is still good news, and people are still hungry for it. This is the movement that flipped upside down the Roman Empire and has continued to be the most dominant force for people finding freedom and joy, finding life.

You know, in the South where we have churches everywhere, you sort of forget this. Or maybe you've heard lots of news over the last few years about deconstruction. You have lots of friends who are no longer part of this church or other churches, and you think, "Man, what is going on? Is this really good news? Is this really true? Is this really good?"

Today, as we wrap up this series on the missionary heart of God, here's the main idea. Here's where I want us to look today. The main focus is this: you cannot commend to others what you don't cherish. You won't gush about things that you don't treasure. Or to put it another way, we love to talk about what we love, like Peter Thiel did. We love to talk about what we love.

So this passage we read, if you open up a Bible—my Bible that I was looking at this in—had a heading. You know, editors put headings over sections, and the heading of this one was really helpful: "Three Parables."

Really great observation there, bible editor, whoever you were that put that in there. Thank you for that. Really descriptive. And yet, I'll make a true confession: I didn't know this was three parables until I studied for this sermon. There's something in my head where I sort of fused the first two together—the one about a man who finds a treasure in a field and the merchant with the pearl of great price. I kind of smooshed them together. But there really are three parables. There's one about a man in a field with a treasure. There's one about a merchant with a pearl. And then there's one about fish. They all go together, and Jesus introduces all of them the same way: "The kingdom of heaven is like..." the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant. The kingdom of heaven is like a net. So that's my outline for today. We're just going to go through each of these parables and how they build on top of one another.

The Treasure and the Pearl: Key Differences

First, the treasure. It's really important for me personally to distinguish between these two parables that are both about somebody finding something and going and spending all they have to go get it, because they're very different. The only thing they have in common is somebody spending all they have. So I want to consider just before we try to understand it—let me contrast these two.

There are different people. There are different types of people in the first two parables. The first one is about a common poor man. This is not somebody of means. This is a man who's maybe digging in the field to dig up something to take home and eat, or happens to be cutting through this field, but this is a poor laborer. I'm going to pick a Hebrew name for this, a nod to my App State friends today. Let's call him Yosef. But the other person in the second parable is a merchant. Exactly the opposite person on the social spectrum—somebody who is a person of great means, a person of great wealth.

Second difference: the process. Notice in the first one, Yosef is walking through a field and we don't really know what happens. Maybe he sees something shiny. Maybe he stumbles over something and actually trips. But somehow he comes upon a treasure that he was not looking for. He just happens to be on his way somewhere else. But in the second one, the merchant is actively searching. The merchant knows what he's looking for and is actively going to find it. This is his trade. He knows what's worthy of a lot of money and what's not. He knows what to look for because he's going to turn around and sell it.

So many people may ask about the first parable: why was the treasure in the field to begin with? Good question. I know. Thank you for bringing that up. Why was it there? Well, in that day there were no banks. People would take their wealth, family heirlooms, accumulation of money. They would sometimes hide it under their house, but more often in a day of real unsettledness like first century Palestine, they would hide it somewhere else. If marauders come, if soldiers come and search the home, it's not there. So it would be put out in a field with some kind of marker, some kind of geographic place that they would remember. "That's exactly where I buried it." But if someone died, if that secret wasn't passed on to the next generation, that treasure would go unfound. And so that's what's likely going on in the story. Yosef is walking through this field and finds treasure that someone has not remembered.

Third difference: the value. When Yosef goes to buy the field, it's a secret. The value of the property is not known to the owner. The owner doesn't know that there's a treasure hidden there. So Yosef goes and gathers all he has. He sells off whatever sheep he has and takes everything he has and buys this one piece of land that everybody knows. That piece of land—nothing doesn't grow on that piece. What was Yosef doing? What an idiot, right? Everybody knows, except for Yosef. Yosef is like, "No, there's a secret about this land. There is something hidden there of great value. It's worth everything I have. In fact, getting it is a deal."

But the pearl merchant—both the pearl merchant and the person selling the pearl both know the value. Both of them are very aware of how valuable this pearl is. And yet still, the merchant is like, "This is unbelievable. This is something like I've never seen before. I need to have this for myself," and goes and gets it.

Now some are wondering: why didn't Joseph just take the treasure? Would you just take the treasure? Thanks to a couple of honest people. Thank you for being honest this morning. Good question. Why didn't he just take it?

Well, in Israel, there was sort of a rule that's still true on the playgrounds in America: finders keepers, right? Finders keepers, losers. But at this time, Israel is being run by Rome. Rome has a vast legal code, and Yosef knows if he shows up with this treasure in his possession, somebody's gonna recognize this and end up taking him to court. So he thinks, "I've got to make sure that this is really nailed down." He buries it. He goes and sells everything he has. He buys the land so nobody can contest in the Roman court system his right to what he has.

You know, it's a treasure that is beyond all treasures, and this is where I want to begin to think about interpreting this first parable. Because this first parable is about you and it's about me. It's about what it means to be a human in this world. We're going through our life and we stumble upon something that's of incredible value and we weren't really looking for it.

We heard a testimony of someone raised in a Christian home this morning—Noah's story. Noah wasn't looking for that. That was held out to him. This is a treasure. Nobody comes into this world really searching for God. Maybe offered to you, but it takes a process for us to realize that is valuable. Jesus is this valuable.

God put something on our pathway and suddenly we begin to understand the gospel—the good news of how much Jesus, God so loved the world that he sent his son to live a life that we couldn't live, to die a death in our place. Yeah, that's what's valuable. That is what is valuable. That's the treasure beyond all treasures.

The Joy of Finding the Ultimate Treasure

You ever met a celebrity? True confession: I kind of get stupid when I meet a celebrity. Several years ago, this man was eating breakfast at Big Ed's downtown. Kind of a C-rate celebrity, I'll be honest. This is Sinbad. He was really well known a while ago. So he's having breakfast at Big Ed's and James comes up to the office and says, "You're never gonna believe it. Sinbad's having breakfast at Big Ed's." I jump up and ran over to Big Ed's. I walked in and went to his table and said, "You're Sinbad." And he's like, "Yeah, I am." And that was the conversation.

I think that this is the joy that many people have in coming to Christ as a new believer. We come to Christ with that same wonder and joy—like, "You're Jesus." And he's like, "Yes, I am." And we're like, "Yeah."

Jesus is the ultimate treasure. He is, and like Yosef, he's worth giving everything you have. Of course, the gospel comes to us for free. There is nothing that we can do to merit it. Nobody is good enough. Nobody has enough stock with God to merit or earn salvation. It is entirely a gift, and yet being a Christian, following Jesus means you give up everything to follow him.

Like the early disciples, it's all yours, Jesus. You have authority over me and all my things and my time and my money and how I spend the weekends and who I spend time with and what I talk like and the things that I watch and the things I put into my mouth. Lord Jesus, you are in control of everything. I give you everything. That's what it means to follow Jesus. And like Yosef, you find this treasure, it feels like a bargain. You do it with joy. It's not like, "Oh, I gotta follow Jesus. This is gonna really stink." No, you're like, "This is worth it. Can you believe the treasure?"

When the Joy Fades

But over time, we forget. This is what happens with lots of Christians. It's the day to day of life. It's the slow obedience in the same direction. There's a weariness. There's a sense in which, "I didn't know that I was signing on for all of this." Anybody feel this? Days when you forget the joy of your salvation, when you forget that Jesus is the treasure.

We become like Robert Cutchaw. Now I had to go back a long way to get this one, but Robert Cutchaw—this is from 1987—was a man who was a rockhound from Andrews, North Carolina, that county way out by Murphy. He owned a little roadside store where he collected rocks. He found the value of them and he resold them. He knew enough about rocks to decide what to pick up and sell, but it never made a lot of money. He had to moonlight chopping wood regularly every year during the wintertime.

So while on a dig in the sixties, he cut out a rock that he described as "pretty and big." He tried unsuccessfully to sell it and couldn't get any money for it. So he took the rock and put it in his closet. Couple times he thought about trying to sell it again. Big blue chunk, you can see it in his hand right there.

He tried to sell it again because of being behind on rent, paying his power bill. That's how close he got to hawking what's now known as the Star of David Sapphire. In 1987 it was worth $2,750,000. Here's somebody who didn't know what he had. For years, he just kept it in his closet, and I think it's a great parable for many Christians. When we come to Christ, we're like, "Yeah, the treasure above all treasures," and we forget. We forget the value of what we have. We forget that Jesus isn't just the rock—a rock. He's the Star of David. He's the real thing.

So I got good news for you. Are you kind of cold this morning on the inside toward Jesus? Are you tired or bored? Jesus has something for you today, and it's parable number two.

The Merchant

Let's look at the merchant. I've heard people try to teach this by referencing a person, but I don't think this is a parable about a person. I think the merchant in this is God. I'll say that for a couple reasons. One is because the merchant knows what he's looking for. He understands the value from the very beginning. You can't argue that a person spiritually searching knows exactly what they're looking for, or even the value of Jesus. And he is wealthy. He has wealth to be able to acquire it. And again, you can't argue that a person spiritually searching has anything to bring to the equation.

But I'm going to go with the other interpretation of this: God is the merchant. More specifically, Jesus. If the first parable is about somebody who's going along and stumbles and finds Jesus the great treasure, the second one is this: God in Jesus Christ came knowing exactly what he was looking for. What's his mission statement? To seek and to save the lost. He knows exactly what he's searching for. He's the seeker. He's the one who's searching. He's the fisher of men.

And what is he looking for? Who is he looking for? He is looking for you. He's looking for you. He's looking for me. This is what he came looking for. You are his great treasure.

I bet some of us are uncomfortable with me saying that. I thought it would be hard for some of you to say, "I am Jesus' great treasure." Let's try that out together. You ready? One, two, three: I am Jesus' great treasure.

Does that feel weird? If that feels weird to you, then it shows, like me, that there's some things that haven't sunk in all the way yet. That is not Christianity. God loves us and treasures us even in our sin. He never calls us trash, worthless. That's a distortion of our doctrine. He says our righteousness is like garbage, but you are his treasure. You are the pearl of great price. You are the one he came looking for. He gave everything for you. Do you have any idea how much he loves you? You are his pearl.

The word redemption—it's a Bible word we use a lot in the church. That's a financial word. To redeem something is to buy it back. That's what the merchant's doing. That's what Jesus did, going to the cross and shedding his own blood for you, to buy you back from hell, from the devil, from death, from sin. You are his treasure. Brothers and sisters, don't let anybody take that away from you. Don't let anybody argue that away from you. Don't doubt that away.

Do you know how much you are God's treasure? I hear people say this all the time: "I'm kind of damaged goods." And I know what they mean by that. We are damaged. We've damaged ourselves in sin. We've been damaged by other people. But listen, you are the pearl of great price in his eyes. God doesn't just love sinners in general. He loves you and you and you and you and you. You are his pearl.

One of the great twentieth century theologians was asked in an interview with 60 Minutes, "What is the greatest theological statement of the twentieth century?" He thought long and hard about it. He said, "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so." It's that simple.

The Connection Between the Parables

Do you get the connection between parable one and parable two? Now, this is the pay dirt, folks. I want to make sure you understand it. Do you get the connection between the parable of the man who trips over the treasure in the field and the merchant?

Listen. You only treasure Jesus when you understand how much you are his treasure. You only treasure Jesus like the man in the first parable when you understand that he's the merchant, and he sold everything to get you. He is your Star of David when you see how much you are his Star of David. Does that make sense? How valuable you are to him.

The Third Parable

So now we're ready for the uncomfortable ending. Parable number three. The last parable isn't about a finder, it's not about a seeker, it's about a net and fish. At the end of the age, God is going to clean out the ocean. He is going to sort the fish. It's one of several such parables that Jesus tells about his second coming and the final judgment.

There are several of these parables—the wheat and the tares, the sheep and the goats, the net and the fish. A great division will come at the end of history and sort all people. Now, don't get confused here when it talks about good fish and bad fish. We have spent seven long weeks in the prodigal son story. We know that God does not distinguish as people distinguish between good and bad, moral categories. We saw that the only difference between the older son in the prodigal son story and the younger son was one was a bold sinner and one was a timid sinner. There was no good or bad in that. If God is looking at a moral accounting, everyone in this room is carp.

Rather, righteous is the operative word in this passage. The righteous—and there is no righteousness except for that which God gives us in Christ Jesus.

There's no one righteous, not one. — Romans 3:10

The righteousness that we have, the goodness we have, is a gift to you from the Lord Jesus Christ—his own righteousness given to you. And this is what makes us righteous. This is what's the focus of the division in this passage. At the end of history, God is going to clean out the ocean, and he's going to divide the fish based on those who are in Christ and righteous and those who are apart from Christ and have only their own righteousness, which is none to count for them.

And the stakes are so high. Everybody that you know will spend eternity someplace. Your roommate, your parents, your kids, your extended family, the people next to you in class, the person next to you at the office, the person who's selling you milk this afternoon, the person who delivers your mail, that annoying neighbor who does the leaf blower at 7:30 in the morning on Saturdays—everybody will spend eternity somewhere.

The language of the Bible right here about an eternity apart from God is metaphorical language: weeping and gnashing of teeth, a place of incredible torment. And it's metaphorical language because we can't imagine it. And it's not metaphorical to be cutesy; it's probably, if anything, a gloss over the reality. Everybody will spend an eternity in the new heavens and new earth with God—the very focus of our heart's delight, treasured by the one who is worth all—or apart from him.

Christians throughout history have longed for the judgment to come. God, bring the day that you clean out the ocean. Make things right. We're so weary. We're groaning for you to come.

So What Are You Going to Do About It?

Jesus is the great treasure above all treasures. He's worth everything. You are God's treasure. That's what the gospel says about you. And finally, eternity is real.

So my question is: What are you going to do about it? Do you understand that other people need to know Jesus all around you? There are people all around us who don't know him, who have no idea that there is a merchant who's looking for them—how valuable they are to God.

I have a story for you by way of closing. This is from Stephen Colbert, a children's story called I Am a Pole and So Can You.

I am a pole. That much is clear to me, but just what type of pole is it that I should be? I know I have a purpose. I'm sure this may sound odd, but a pole without a job is really just a rod. So I've spent a lot of time in search of one clear goal: finding out where I fit in. What is my true pole role?

My cousin Bob's a lamp pole, but he doesn't seem that bright. So what is it that I can do? There must be something. Right?

First, I helped a barber selling shaves for hairy necks. Then I tried tetherball, but the rules were far too complex. I'm not a pole for vaulting because for that I'd need to bend, and I'd love to be a ski pole, but for that I'd need a friend. I wish I was the North Pole and marked the home of Santa or even just a Gallup Pole calling voters in Atlanta.

I tried and failed at other things I shouldn't talk about—like that summer when the phone polls got totally strung out. I searched and searched so many days, but now I know what kind of pole it is that I'm supposed to be. I'm an American flagpole. Pledge allegiance to me.

I love that story about a pole because it's a great parable for us. Every life in this room is a flagpole of some sort or another. We show people all the time what we value. It comes out of our mouths, comes out in what we laugh about, what we spend money on, what we sacrifice to go to, what we make sure we don't miss. Our lives are constantly flying a flag for something.

Brothers and sisters, you are his great treasure. What he has given you is value above anything anybody knows in this world. And the calling for you this morning is to simply put Jesus up the flagpole.

To hear the calling, to let him be what other people see in your life. Not calling you to be weird, calling you to be genuine and authentic with your faith, and live in such a way that other people know what it is that you treasure. You are his treasure. Treasure him. In the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit. Amen.

Let's pray together. Father, we pray today. We thank you for Jesus. Thank you that he is the treasure above all treasures. Give us hope today, father, to live in such a way that we reclaim the joy of our salvation. We live out of that in ways that draw all people to you. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.

Thank you for listening to today's sermon. If you have questions about our content or if you want to engage more deeply with our church, visit our website at ctkrally.org. This has been Christ the King Sermons, a ministry of Christ the King Presbyterian Church located in Raleigh, North Carolina. CTK is a community rooted in the depth of the gospel, refined by hard conversations, fueled by meaningful relationships, and committed to redemptive work in Raleigh.