“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Matthew 13:44.

Some teach that the man in this parable is the person who finds Christ and accepts the gospel of salvation; then as a Christian they sell all that they have (completely reject their old lifestyle) for His sake.

This sounds noble enough but it is inconsistent with the teaching of both this and all the other parables.
Jesus reveals Himself as the man who sows the good seed in His field in the parable of the wheat and the tares, Matthew 13:37-43.

“He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.” Matthew 13:37b-38.

It is strongly implied that He is the man who sowed the mustard seed in His field. Which if the parable is to be rightly interpreted as the mustard plant being the church (the body of Christ) the man has to be Christ, see Matthew 13:31-32.

The Lord has interpreted His field in the parable of the wheat and tares as the world. Again, to maintain consistency the mustard seed planted in His field would also be the world. So again, “a field” most likely would represent a treasure found hidden in the world.

Many, including myself in the past, have interpreted the treasure as being Israel, “which a man found and hid”, but this too is inconsistent with the narrative.

Jesus came to Israel and presented Himself as their promised Messiah. He did many miracles, and gave many proofs as to His identity, but they rejected their King.

Israel is not hidden; they have been rejected until as Jesus stated:

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” Matthew 23:37-39.

This national awakening of Israel will occur at the end of the tribulation when the battle of Armageddon is nearly over; not during the current church period.

“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they have pierced; they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.” Zechariah 12:10.

Though it may sound anti-Semitic I do not believe the Jews are specifically highlighted in this parable at all.

The reason being that having been rejected by His own, the Lord’s disciples soon turn to the Gentiles and declare the gospel.

Even then the Jews hounded the disciples at every turn and the Apostle Paul (himself an Israelite) finally said of them:

“…the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.” 1 Thessalonians 2:14b-16.

Still, these are God’s chosen people and we must respect that, praying for their safety and salvation always. Anti-Semitism is rampant in the world today; it is demon energized, and wrong.

The Christian in particular has no business hating Jews, not only because they are the chosen of God, but because they are, as we, loved by God. And Jesus, who was born of Israel, gave Himself for the sake of all mankind.

The reason I do not believe Jews are mentioned in these parables is that the parables are concerned primarily with “…the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven”, the church age, and the Jews are not part of the church having been set aside.

As a result the Jew who accepts Christ as their Savior may be one genetically but is no longer a Jew inwardly, they are a new creature.

“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – whether Jews or Greeks [Gentiles], whether slaves or free – and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:13.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17.

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision [Jews] nor uncircumcision [Gentiles] avails anything, but a new creation.” Galatians 6:15.

“There is neither Jew nor Greek [Gentile], there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28.

So then, what is the treasure? Again I owe a great deal to Ada R. Habershon (1861-1918) who wrote an excellent book on the parables of the Bible entitled, “The Study of the Parables”, published by Kregel Publications, for pushing me in the right direction.

My copy was published in 1963, so I am not sure it is still in print. I also have a companion book to this called, “The Study of the Miracles”, published in 1957.

She describes the treasure as containing a variety of things such as gold coins and different kinds of jewels. Thus the treasure represents not just mankind but its variety indicates that all the races are included.

That the man (Christ) finds this treasure in the field (world) should not come as a surprise since family treasures were often buried in hopes of protecting it from neighbors or robbers.

The treasure then would include everyone from Adam and Eve, Israel, and on through the end of time until the very last person is saved after the tribulation, and during the millennium.

It seems odd to think of those who died before the flood of Noah’s day as being part of the many for whom Christ died on the cross.

Yet they may number in the hundreds of millions, even though there is almost nothing said about them in Scripture, and nothing in the historical records.

If you trace the lineage of Christ back in the book of Luke 3:23-38 you will find that it starts with Jesus Christ and goes backward through all the patriarchs, through Shem, the son of Noah, through Noah back to Adam meaning that the line is unbroken all the way back to the beginning.

What makes this of interest is that if God had said I have had it with these people and destroyed everyone including Noah and his sons, Christ’s lineage would only go back to the flood.

God would have had to repopulate the empty earth by creating a new Adam and Eve to start over and the lineage of Christ would have begun right there.

If the line of Christ had not included those born before the flood they would all have perished in hell because His blood, while it covers all of mankind, would only have covered the group born after the flood.

These post flood people would have no relation at all to the pre-flood group. God is long-suffering and He is faithful.

If then the treasure hidden in a field represents all of the saved of all time which the man (Christ) found and hid then went and sold all that He had to purchase the field.

By Jewish law the treasure could be rightfully claimed by the new owner. The field, by the way, would have been valued according to what the land would produce in crops.

The next question would be what did He sell considering the fact that Jesus had nothing, only the clothes on His back?

Jesus gave Himself on the cross to purchase from every tribe and tongue and people and nation the hidden treasure.

“And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You [Christ Jesus] are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation…’” Revelation 5:9.

While it must be remembered that this is not a morality tale, but rather a parable; still one wonders if it would be fair to buy a field from someone knowing that there is a treasure on their property.

Being a parable, this could be ignored, but Miss Habershon asked the question anyway.

Her solution to the dilemma is eye opening. What if the land had belonged to the man originally and it was taken from him, hidden treasure and all, by a usurper?

This theory fits the facts pretty well. In the beginning God deeded the earth to Adam and Eve, see Genesis 1:26-30.

When they sinned by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they gave up their ownership, and Satan, the usurper took the deed away from them, Genesis chapter 3.

However, not only was the world deeded to Satan, Adam and Eve and their descendants, being occupants of this world also came under bondage to him.

Further evidence of Christ’s former ownership is in the wording that the Lord uses in these parables.

In the parable of the wheat and the tares, Jesus says that a man (referring to Himself) sowed good seed in “his” field. In the parable of the mustard seed Jesus also says that a man (also referring to Himself) sowed a mustard seed in “his” field.

In both of these parables the man, Jesus Christ, owns the field which He describes as representing the world, in which He (Jesus) sows the seed.

However, the field in which the treasure is hidden, is described as “a” field, indicating a lack of ownership of the land which the Son of Man is about to buy back for Himself.

Satan’s right to ownership is confirmed by his own words during the temptation of Christ in the wilderness when he showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world.

“And the devil said to Him, ‘All this authority I will give to You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.’” Luke 4:6.

“And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.’” Matthew 4:9.

Jesus Christ did not argue with Satan over his claims of ownership, indicating that the devil really did own everything.

“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” 2 Corinthians 4:3-4.

“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham [those who believe as Abraham].” Hebrews 2:14-16.

Finally, concerning the purchase of the field, Satan may have known of the treasure in the field.

But it is very likely that he was totally blindsided when it turned out that it was Jesus’ blood, shed on the cross which the devil put Him on, that bought back the field.

“Save me [Jesus], O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary with my crying; my throat is dry; my eyes fail while I wait for my God. Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; they are mighty who would destroy me, being my enemies wrongfully; though I have stolen nothing, I still must restore it.” Psalm 69:1-4.

“Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink; let me be delivered from those who hate me, and out of the deep waters. Let not the floodwater overflow me, nor let the deep swallow me up; and let not the pit shut its mouth on me.” Psalm 69:14-15.

“You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor; my adversaries are all before You. Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. They also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” Psalm 69:19-21.

“For He made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21.

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [believers], let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2.

Treasure in a Field taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 12-30-14, updated on 7-13-23.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.