Matthew 13:44 (ESV) … “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
To teach the inestimable value of the kingdom of heaven and of being part of that kingdom, Jesus described it as a treasure hidden in a field. The man who found the treasure would have been a day laborer who could get possession by quitting his job and then returning to recover his find.
According to rabbinic law, if a worker came across buried treasure in someone else’s field and lifted it out, the treasure would belong to the owner. In this story, the laborer was careful not to lift out the treasure. To obtain this treasure, which far surpassed the value of all he had, he would have to sell everything he had so he could buy the field. He did this joyfully.
The man who discovered the treasure in the field stumbled upon it by accident but knew its value when he found it. Some have wondered about the morality of a man obtaining a treasure in this way, but Jesus was not teaching a moral lesson. He was merely showing the value of this treasure that is worth every sacrifice and commitment to obtain. The kingdom of heaven is more valuable than anything else we can have, and a person must be willing to give up everything to obtain it.[1]
