Do turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 13.
Matthew chapter 13.
And we're finishing off a series on the parables in Matthew 13.
! I head off on holiday on Thursday,
!
Now someone was telling me that when they became a Christian,
their girlfriend lost all respect for him.
She was utterly baffled that he had given his life to Jesus.
It was like she thought he'd gone soft in the head,
and so a relationship that mattered very, very much to him
slowly went wrong and was over.
And maybe today you look at your colleagues in work,
and for them in work, their career is everything that matters to them.
Work matters to you, but not in the way it matters to them.
You want to bring honour to Jesus,
but you're not driven in the same way to get to the top,
at all costs.
And so you sometimes look at their holiday,
you look at their successes,
and look at the holidays they go on with a kind of wistfulness,
a bit of envy.
You think,
it could have been me,
if I hadn't been following Jesus.
Maybe it's friends at school,
or people in your family,
and following Jesus has made you feel rather different from them.
Maybe there's this drip, drip, drip of mockery,
and it hurts.
And moments like that,
we begin to wonder if following Jesus really is the right thing to do.
Maybe we've not consciously articulated it,
but over time,
living in the midst of that,
we've just eased off the Christian life a little bit.
Once we were like the guy in verse 44,
can you see him?
In verse 44,
this guy discovers Jesus,
in his joy,
he goes and says,
all that he has,
whatever it cost to buy that field,
whatever it cost was nothing besides the value of that treasure.
It was joy.
But now maybe the thrill has gone.
Or maybe you're like the merchant in verse 45,
of all the pearls in all the world,
that pearl was the one worth having.
It was the one worth having more than any other pearl.
But now a few years,
maybe a few decades down the track,
well, there are other pearls.
And we don't want to miss out on them.
It's a curious thing, isn't it?
If you have an athlete or a sports person
who is totally devoted to winning a gold medal,
or totally devoted to winning that trophy,
we admire them.
They're all out for it.
They're all in for it.
And we admire them.
But if we talk about being totally devoted to the Lord Jesus,
it sounds just a bit unhinged, doesn't it?
And I guess that's because we've muddled the price tags up.
A gold medal seems worth it.
A trophy seems worth it.
Success in work seems worth it.
But Jesus, well, we're not so sure.
And by the time you get to the end of chapter 13,
I think it is a bit of a puzzle.
Jesus, you say that following you is like treasure.
Jesus, you say you are the one,
that you're the pearl worth having,
but it doesn't look like it.
And if we're going to understand
the puzzlement of the disciples
at the end of chapter 13,
you've got to go back right to the beginning of the Bible.
The story of the Bible, you know it,
is the story of a God who is the creator of the world.
And because he's the creator of the world,
he's the ruler of it.
He made us,
and so he's the one that knows how we're to live.
He has the authority to say who is right
and who is wrong
and what is right and what is wrong.
But the story of humankind
is a story of rebellion.
It's a story of us saying,
we will not have you as our king.
We will not recognize you as our king.
We want to go our own way.
We don't want to go your way.
We want to do our own thing.
And so his kingdom has been taken over by rebel forces.
And whenever rebel forces take over a kingdom,
there's bloodshed.
There's always chaos and fear on the streets.
And that is what the world has become.
But back in the Old Testament,
in the midst of that confusion,
God had promised that he would send his king into the world.
He would send his king into the world to rebuild it,
to rebuild his kingdom.
And he gives to us a beautiful vision
of a king who will put down the rebellion,
who will deal with all things that are wrong
and put all things right.
And he will wipe away every tear dry.
And all that is broken will be fixed.
Everything will be restored
to how the king wants it to be.
And people will be restored to a right relationship
with the king they were created for.
It will be paradise.
That's the end of the story of the Bible.
The Old Testament ends with 400 years of waiting,
400 years of nothing.
No sound.
And then there's a guy called John the Baptist
who gets up and he says,
get ready because the king is coming.
People are looking round for the Lord of the universe
to step onto the stage
and up steps Jesus of Nazareth.
And he says,
here I am.
I'm the one you've been waiting for.
I'm the one who will bring in the kingdom of heaven.
And that phrase comes up again and again and again,
doesn't it,
in Matthew chapter 13.
This is what it means.
This is what the kingdom of heaven is like.
It is God the king
keeping his promise
to restore all things
to how they were meant to be.
It is God the king
keeping his promise
to restore all things
to how they were meant to be.
And Jesus is saying,
I am that king.
At first,
the disciples,
they are so excited
to be part of this.
They drop everything literally
and follow Jesus.
It started off brilliantly.
Jesus teaches
and thousands sit spellbound.
He heals the sick.
He stills the storm.
He even raises
a little girl
back from the dead.
And the disciples are thinking,
this is God's king.
He's got the power
and he's got the authority
to put this broken world
back together again.
To quash rebellion.
And then things take a strange turn.
Jesus starts warning his followers
that he will get arrested.
John the Baptist,
he gets thrown into prison.
Jesus performs miracles
in Chorazin
and Bethsaida
and Capernaum
and people do not acknowledge him
as king.
And the religious authorities,
they start to plot
to kill him.
And Jesus says
to his disciples,
follow me,
come and be part of what I'm doing
to restore all things
to how they were meant to be.
This is treasure.
This is the one cause
worth living for
and dying for
and giving up everything for.
But the question is,
are you sure, Jesus?
Because if you really are the king
and if you really do have authority
and power to deal with what's wrong
and you really can put things right,
how come things are going so wrong?
How come life is as it is?
Look at verse 47.
Jesus says,
again,
the kingdom of heaven
is like a net
that was thrown into the sea
and gathered fish of every kind.
When the net was full,
men drew it ashore,
sat down
and sorted the good
into containers,
but threw the bad away.
Two points this morning.
The first thing is this.
Jesus wants you to remember
that the kingdom of God
is treasure
when you remember
the day that's to come.
Jesus wants you to remember
that the kingdom of God
is treasure
when you remember
the day that is still to come.
The picture Jesus paints
is that there are all kinds of fish
swimming in the lake.
There are sardines,
there are catfish,
fish,
there's cod,
there's sea bass,
there's tuna,
whatever there is
else on sailing little.
And there's a great net.
There are two boats, actually,
and the net is put
between the two boats
and they trawl through the lake.
And they sweep up the fish.
It's dragged along.
And then the net
is dragged onto shore
and they sort the fish.
There is the good fish.
There's the fish
they can sell.
And they keep them
and they put them in a basket.
And they're the fish
that are ready for market.
But there's also the bad fish.
Bad fish that they can't sell
because no one will eat them.
And the bad fish
get thrown out
and the good fish
get eaten.
Neither option
is particularly appealing,
is it?
Which is just a
great reminder, isn't it?
You need to remember
when you come to the parables
that we're not meant
to push the parables
into different directions.
The simple point is this.
Jesus is saying
there's going to be
a day of sorting out.
Today there are
two kinds of fish.
There are the good fish
and the bad fish
and they're swimming around
in the lake together.
But today
is not the end of the story.
There's a net coming
and one day
all the fish
will be sorted.
And Jesus is saying,
isn't he,
there are two types of people.
There are the wicked
and the righteous
and the wicked
are those who continue
to rebel against the king
and the righteous
are not those
who are better
than everyone else
but they are those
who put down their weapons.
They've turned
from their rebellion
and they've got right
with the king
and they've been restored
to a right relationship
with the king
and they are following Jesus.
And the thing is,
if you are following Jesus,
you are swimming around
in the lake of this world.
And you are looking around
and you are thinking,
I thought,
I thought the king
was meant to love his people.
I thought the king
was meant to love
and protect them.
But we all seem to be
swimming around
in the same lake.
And when there's a war,
the righteous
get caught up
in the same war
as the wicked.
And when there are redundancies,
the righteous get laid off
the same as the wicked.
And both groups
suffer injustice.
Both groups get sick.
Both groups get sad.
And there are still tears.
And often it's the very fact
that we are following Jesus
that has caused the tears.
Look through the lens of today
and it makes you wonder,
does this king
actually have the authority
that he says he has?
I mean,
we've thrown our lot
in with the right guy,
have we?
But today is not
the end of the story.
There's a net coming.
And there's going to be a day
when the king sorts everyone
and everything out.
Just like the fishermen
lower their net
into the lake,
Jesus says he will send
his angels
to gather up
all the people in the world.
They'll gather up
presidents and prime ministers
and all the people
of every tribe
and nation
and language
and all your friends
and all your family
and everyone in your
whole school
and all your colleagues
and the people you love
and the people you envy
because they seem to have it all.
and he will gather them
all up
and sort them.
Look what it says
in verse 49.
So it will be
at the end of the age
the angels will come out
and separate the evil
from the righteous
and throw them
into the fiery furnace.
In that place
there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.
And those are very hard words
to hear aren't they?
How can he say this?
How can anyone
so full of love
like Jesus
speak words
as brutal as this?
We often think
don't we
that the fact
that there's a final judgment
shows that he is bad.
No it shows
that he is good.
Because we long
for justice to be done.
Here is the promise
justice
will be done.
He will put things
right.
But by putting
things right
he will deal
with the things
which are wrong.
He will deal
with all that opposes
his rule
which means
that he will deal
with all the people
who oppose his rule.
And I take it
the reason he tells us
and he tells you
this morning
is because he loves us.
And he wants us
to be part of his kingdom.
And he doesn't want you
to walk away this morning
thinking that his kingdom
is not really worth it
after all.
That his kingdom
is not precious.
He wants you
to see the sort of kingdom
that you are part of.
We see in the New Testament
the kingdom of God
what it's going to be like.
And then we look around
the world
at poverty
at sickness
and injustice
and we can be tempted
to think
that he's failed.
But he's not failed.
He's not yet finished.
The net is coming.
He is the king.
He has started
the restoration project
in this room.
Look around you.
There are people
who were once rebels
who've been restored
to the king.
Every church
that meets
in the name
of the Lord Jesus
and calls on his name
today
is evidence
that the resurrection
that the restoration
project has begun.
People are being right.
Being put right.
But it's not finished.
And Jesus wants you
and I to know
that one day
he will call a halt
to this old world.
And one day
he will sort
everything out.
And that is when
he will wipe away
every tear.
And there will be
no more death
and no more mourning
or crying
or pain
because the king
will finally
sort everything out.
And we will see him
face to face.
And we will be with him
and enjoying him
in all his beauty.
And we will enjoy
the fact that
he is our king
and we belong to him.
What a blessing
that will be.
So do you see
how Jesus is reassuring
his followers
this morning?
You might be
looking around
this morning
looking around
at your life
and thinking
it is not worth
following Jesus.
He's failed.
But know
the net is coming.
One day
the king
will sort everything.
He's not failed.
He's just not finished.
And Jesus is saying
in the light
of that fact
that the net
is coming
the real treasure
is not that
you've got a place
on the team.
it's not
that you've got
a place
on the graduate
scheme.
It's not even
that you've got
a place
in the country
even.
The real treasure
is that you've got
a place
in the kingdom
of God.
And on the day
when the king
comes back
to sort out
those who are his
look what Jesus
says about the people
he will throw
into the furnace.
He says
there will be
weeping
and gnashing
of teeth.
it's a picture
of total despair.
And the fact
that they were
very very popular
and they went
to all the best
parties
will be
no consolation
to them.
They thought
they had
treasure
but they were
desperately wrong.
They had
trinkets.
The real
treasure
Jesus says
is when you
have a place
in the kingdom.
And so often
those of us
who are Christians
those of us
who are in the
kingdom
we look across
at others
and all that
they seem to
have
and we tie
ourselves
in knots.
And maybe
we think
that in following
Jesus
we're missing
out on life
and there are
days when we
think that
and we think
I don't know
whether it's
worth it.
I don't think
he is worth it
but do you see
what Jesus is
saying?
He's saying
remember the day
that is to come.
And if you
have a place
in the kingdom
it may cost
you friendships
it may cost
you promotion
it may cost
you your
reputation
if you live
in certain
parts of the
world today
it may cost
you your
freedom
it may cost
you your
life
but when the
net comes
and all the
fish are
sorted
you will be
in no doubt
whatsoever
that it was
worth it.
as you see
when we look
at today
in the light
of the day
that is to
come
it changes
today.
It's not just
that one day
there'll be
treasure
but do you see
the treasure
you have
anticipating that
breaks into the
future.
Think about
if you're going
to a gig
if you've got
tickets to a
concert
that you've
been really
looking forward
to or you're
really looking
forward to
the big
sporting event
it's not just
the then
that you enjoy
is it?
You look
forward to it
you might
maybe have
the tickets
in your hand
you look
forward to
the then
now
you enjoy
the fullness
of the gig
or the concert
and the sports
event then
but now
you enjoy
the prospect
of it.
the fact
that you
are going
on holiday
maybe later
this week
means that
today is
very different
isn't it?
You look
forward to
the prospect
of it
and Matthew
has been
saying to us
in his gospel
think of
who Jesus
is.
He is the
king.
He is the
king who
is all
powerful
all knowing
and all
wise
and totally
just and
completely
pure
and he's
gentle
and he's
kind
and he's
patient.
He's the
king who
keeps all
his promises.
He's the
king who's
going to sort
everything out.
The king of
a kingdom
that will
last forever
and it will
be wonderful.
He's the
king who
has the
authority
over who
can and
can't be
part of
that kingdom.
And this
king has
forgiven you
and this
king loves
you and
this king
says you
are his
that you
are a member
of his
kingdom
and that on
that day of
sorting you've
got nothing
to fear.
to know
that you'll
be with
him and
that you're
going to
enjoy him
in his
kingdom
forever.
That is
precious.
And that
is treasure
that's not
just for
the future.
That is a
treasure that
makes today
different.
We are
rich.
The kingdom
of heaven
is treasure
and when you
remember the
day that is
to come
then Jesus
says in
verse 51
have you
understood all
these things?
Have you
got what I'm
talking about?
Have you
understood the
kind of
kingdom that
I'm going
to bring
in?
Have you
seen why
you cannot
walk away?
Have you
seen that
it is
treasure?
And they
say verse
51 yeah.
And so
Jesus says
well if you
have therefore
every scribe
who's been
trained for
the kingdom
of heaven
is like a
master of
a house
who brings
out of his
treasure what
is new and
what is old.
And so
what he's
saying secondly
is this that
the kingdom
of heaven if
the kingdom
of heaven is
treasure therefore
share it with
others.
If the kingdom
of heaven is
treasure therefore
share it with
others.
That's how it
goes in life
isn't it?
You know
something is
treasure if you
know something
is treasure you
can't help but
pass it on.
I recently
have had three
lovely opportunities
to speak about
how great a
thing Park
Run is.
How it's
great for
children.
It's good
for the
community.
There's
obvious
health benefits.
You can
do it
anywhere in
the country
or around
the world.
You can
get
milestone
t-shirts.
You can
get your
stats and
track your
progress.
That if
you look
at Park
Run
in one
way it's
very much
like
church life.
In
other
ways it's
a paradigm
for Roman
Catholicism
I'm
very
good at
telling
people
about
Park
Run.
About how
you need
to get
registered
and get
your
barcode
and what
you can
do
with
your
barcode.
But you
know
I've never
been on
a course
that helps
me to
explain the
virtues of
Park
Run.
I've never
had training
on how to
speak about
Park Run.
It just
tumbles out
of my
mouth.
My heart
is so full
of it I
open my
mouth and
I speak
of it.
And what
happens is
when we
lose the
sense of
the good
news of
the Lord
Jesus being
treasure our
hearts are
not that
full so
our mouths
don't speak.
And what
Jesus is
saying here
is if we
understand
what a
treasure it
is we
will not
be able to
keep our
mouths shut
about it.
He says
if you're a
teacher of
the law
and you've
been instructed
about the
kingdom of
heaven you're
like the
owner of a
house and
the owner of
the house
well he's a
wealthy sort
of guy.
Owners of
houses in
Matthew's
gospel are
nearly always
wealthy and
he's a
little bit
like the
merchant that
we looked
at last
week.
He's built
up an
art collection
and he's
got a
jewel encrusted
sword from
Athens.
He's got
gold bracelets
from Alexandria.
There's this
beautiful vase
that he picked
up in
Damascus and
there's a
whole series
of matching
plates in
Corinth.
And these
things are
so beautiful
that he
doesn't keep
them in a
storeroom
hidden away
from people.
He brings
them out.
He puts
them on
display.
He shares
them with
everyone.
One of
Matthew's
themes as
you read
through his
gospel is
that Jesus
has come to
fulfill the
Old Testament.
And what
Jesus is
saying here
is if you
were an
ordinary
teacher of
the law
you would
share the
treasure of
the law.
But if you
are a
teacher of
the law
and you're
instructed about
the kingdom
there's something
new to teach.
But it's
not just
something new
that has
come along
so we can
bin the
old.
That wasn't
up to
much.
Let's
talk about
the new
teachings of
Jesus.
It's not
that.
He's
saying if
you understand
the kingdom
of heaven
you will
teach the
Old and
New Testament
and you'll
see that
the old
has not
been
binned
but it's
been
fulfilled
by the
Lord
Jesus.
If you
understand
what I'm
saying
Jesus
is saying
I'm
not just
another
guy who's
turned up
out of
the blue
with some
new
teachings
that might
be of
some
interest
to some
people
I'm
the one
who's
fulfilled
the
Old
Testament.
I'm
the king
who was
promised
to bring
into the
kingdom
and if
you understand
how the
old has
been fulfilled
in the
new
then you
can't
keep it
to yourself
you'll
share
it.
You'll
teach
it.
He's
telling you
that Jesus
is not
some
hobby
horse
that people
bang on
about.
Maybe
you're
into
Formula
One
I
couldn't
care less
about
Formula
One
I
don't
understand
it.
You
talk to
me
about
Formula
One
I'm
not
interested
in it.
It's
good for
you but
it's
not
good
for
me.
Jesus
is not
like
that.
No he
is the
one that
the Old
Testament
promised.
And the
one that
the Old
Testament
promised
is not
some
religious
leader
who
might
work
for
some
people
but
not
work
for
other
people.
He
is
God's
king
over
the
whole
world.
And
one
day
every
knee
will
bow.
And so
when someone
shares the
Lord Jesus
with you
if you're
not a
Christian
this
morning
they're
not
doing it
to be
pushy.
It's
because of
who he
is.
The
king who
will
gather
up
gather
up
his
people.
He's
the one
who will
sort
all
things
out.
And that
means not
just some
people who
are into
this sort
of thing
need to
hear him
but everyone
every single
person needs
to hear
about him.
Everyone
needs to
know.
Jesus
said the
kingdom of
heaven is
like
treasure
and he
uses the
same
words
in verse
52.
If you
understand me
and my
kingdom you're
like the
art dealer.
You've got
treasure and
you can't
keep it
hidden away
in a
storeroom.
You've
got to
get it
out.
You've
got to
share
it.
And if
you do
not share
it,
Jesus is
saying you've
not understood
it.
Because if
you understand
who I am,
Jesus is
saying,
you will
share it.
Jesus is
for everyone.
It's not
Jesus is
helpful for
me.
I find
him really
helpful.
But it's
not for
the person
next door
to me at
work or
my next
door neighbor
or my
father or
my neighbors.
It's not
really that
kind of
thing.
If you're
saying that
this morning,
Jesus is
saying to
you,
you've
not
understood
who I
am.
And so
these
disciples who
said yes
understood who
he was and
went round
preaching the
message of
the kingdom.
And most
of them were
killed for
it.
Why did
they do
it?
You may
know this.
In the
16th century,
there were
some young
men who
would leave
Geneva in
Switzerland to
go and plant
churches in
France.
Their life
expectancy was
six months.
That's how
hostile the
reception was.
In the
19th century,
there were
British and
American
missionaries
who would
head for
West Africa
and they
would pack
all their
belongings into
a coffin because
they know that
they would need
it soon.
And when the
news came
back that
people had
died and
been killed,
more people
stepped up to
go.
Why?
In Cambodia
in 1979,
when the Khmer
Rouge was
massacring
Christians,
a 14-year-old
boy by the
name of
Chen had
escaped the
country and
he was in a
refugee camp
where it was
safe.
But he
discovered who
Jesus was and
when it struck
him that there
were people in
his village who
had not heard
the good news
about Jesus,
he decided to
go back.
Chen was dying
of stomach
cancer, he was
weak and he
was frail and
armed with
leaflets explaining
the Christian
message, he
walked back to
his village in
Cambodia through
minefields to
tell his fellow
villagers.
One can hardly
imagine the
amazement of
those villagers.
With this
pathetic looking
little 14-year-old
lad leaning on
two crutches
standing before
them, holding
out gospel
tracts.
Most of them
would have given
all that they
had to be in
the place that
he had just
left.
A secure
refugee camp
complete with
food and
medicine and
possible sponsorship
to America.
What was it that
compelled him to
return?
Why did he do
it?
Why did he do
it?
Because he had
understood that
the good news of
King Jesus is a
message that
everyone needs.
He'd understood
that the net was
coming.
And so in the
light of that
day, more than
anything else in
the people of the
world, the people of
the world needed
the treasure of the
good news of how to
be right with the
King.
To be ready for
the day when he
comes.
For many of us,
as I speak this
morning, you, like
myself, are worried
what people would
think.
You're worried about
the loss of a
friendship.
Worried about the
demands that this
puts on you.
Worried about the
comfort that you
would have to give
up.
Worried about the
time that it would
take to be involved
in a ministry that
would tell people
about this.
Worried maybe about
what it would mean
for your job.
And we immediately
think, don't we,
what it will cost
us.
Jesus says,
don't think like
that.
If you have the
gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ, if you
have entered into the
kingdom of heaven, you
might lose all the
trinkets of this
world, but you have
treasure.
You have treasure.
And the fact that
we've forgotten its
treasure means we've
forgotten its value.
And so we think of
our friends and our
family and our
neighbours and our
work colleagues and
we think, they don't
need this.
But Jesus says to you
and I this morning,
there's a net coming.
And in the light of
the net, if they do
not have a place in
the kingdom, they are
poor.
And in our
storeroom, we've got
the treasure that
they need.
The picture is
encouraging, I
think.
Rejection often
makes you stop,
doesn't it?
And give up.
You think people
don't get it.
But this little
picture tells us, no,
the gospel is a
treasure.
It is priceless.
Remember the
coronation service?
Take this, the most
valuable thing that the
world affords.
The king was given a
Bible.
It's very striking,
isn't it, that there
is nothing more
valuable that I can
share with anyone
else than the good
news of Jesus.
And so pray with me
that we would see the
treasure that we have
and that we would share
it with those around
us.
That the Lord would
fill our hearts
and so we'd open
our mouths.
Let's pray together.
Thank you.