Matthews 13:44-50，1/23/2005，Sunday Joint Worship
【中文/卯思興；英譯/Victor Lin】
~^.^~~☆~^.^~~☆~^.^~~☆★★ ~^.^~~☆ ☆~^.^
At the end of last year, ten brothers and sisters from our church took a tour trip to Italy and its surrounding countries. Everyone felt that this was a very worthwhile trip.
Whether a trip turns out well or bad depends on many factors. One of the most influential factors is having or not having a “good tour guide”.
Going to Italy required a tour guide, because we are not familiar with the Italian people, culture or geography, so we needed someone to help us. If we look at human life as a journey, do we need a tour guide for human life? There is none among us who knows exactly what is going to happen tomorrow. If there were a God who controls tomorrow guiding us in our lives, it would be most secure.
We, Christians, in this life seeks and hopes that in the future when we have reached the end of our journey on Earth, we will be able to safely return to the home in heaven and meet with our love ones. However, we do not know what the home in heaven is like. Where is heaven? If we want to go back to the home in heaven, do we need to prepare anything? We need a heavenly tour guide to take us back to the home in heaven.
Today, I would like to share with everyone the topic: “Jesus, the heavenly tour guide”. Why is Jesus the heavenly tour guide? I can give you two reasons. First, “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.“ John 14:6. This explains that Jesus is the human life guide, Jesus is the guide of truth, Jesus is the guide of life. Jesus is the only guide who can bring us to see the Heavenly father.
Second, Jesus came from heaven to earth. He knows what heaven is like. He can tell us what we need. He said, “… I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:2-3). This explains that Jesus is the guide for the present as well as the next world.
Today’s scripture passage shows us how Jesus will introduce us to the kingdom of heaven. In Matthew chapter 13, Jesus used seven analogies. He used seven different perspectives to describe heaven. This tells us that Jesus really is a good guide of kingdom of heaven. Today we will only look at three analogies.
◎The Kingdom of Heaven is in the daily work. There is no free lunch.
In Matt 13:44, Jesus said: “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.” This tells us that the kingdom of heaven is in our daily work. The kingdom of heaven is not a far away unreachable place. Kingdom of heaven is also not a very mysterious place. The kingdom of heaven is where we work everyday. Today three analogies tell us the same thing. No matter whether it is farming, trading or fishing, the kingdom of heaven is in the daily work.
This analogy tells us that the person who found the hidden treasure did not come across it by accident or by better luck than others but it was by his hard work. Jesus said “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.” To find this treasure requires sustained work and one must dig very deeply into the soil, because digging only on the surface will not hit the treasure.
This tells us that there is no free lunch on earth. There is a cost to enter the kingdom of heaven. One must first “with joy go and sell all he had” before there is a chance to enter the kingdom of heaven. This explains that the “entering God’s kingdom” is a lifetime struggle, our biggest goal, and has the highest worth.
You probably really like to know in this analogy what does the treasure represent? It represents following God’s will. Have you thought that following God’s will is a treasure that we must work hard to obtain? This analogy tells us that in order to follow God’s will, we must joyfully accept discipline, have a spirit of sacrifice, and bear our own cross to follow Jesus. In this way and no other way could we experience peace in our heart today in this world and receive a glorious crown in the next world. In this passage, “sold all he had and bought that field” explains the attitude toward following God’s will.
◎Kingdom of Heaven is like a fine pearl
Continuing on Matthews 13:45-46, Jesus said, “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.” In the old times, pearls command a very special status in people’s mind. Even today in the 21st century, pearls still hold that special attraction.
The fact that this analogy puts the kingdom of heaven and a fine pearl on equal ground has a very significant meaning. Earlier we mentioned that to enter the kingdom of heaven, we need to accept and abide by the God’s will. To put it in another way, following God’s will is not a miserable thing but a very exciting matter. After we have experienced it, pay the price to follow God’s will, we will receive the greatest joy and peace in our hearts. This experience is similar to receiving a great valued pearl.
This analogy tells us that earth has many different kinds of pearls but the there is only one of great value. This is why that the merchant looked everywhere and when he found this great value pearl, he sold everything he had to buy this one pearl.
This analogy tells us that our values should be based on Jesus’ teaching, continually being refined and lifted up. There are many earthly pearls that we may think are good (e. g. our knowledge, art, science and technology, wealth, status, fame, welfare) but how can we differentiate what is essential and non-essential and what is that most precious pearl.
This analogy also tells us that great valued pearl is the truth of God’s kingdom. The Bible says that the pearl merchant searched diligently. It is possible that he spent a lifetime searching. Nevertheless whether it took only a short time to find the pearl or it was the result of a lifelong pursuit, he sold everything he had to buy the fine pearl. This tells us that when we have found the truth, when we have discovered God’s will, we need to do whatever it costs to follow it.
◎Kingdom of heaven at first gathers than at last separates
In Matt 13:47-50 Jesus provided another analogy, he said “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” This analogy tells us that at the beginning, the gathering of the kingdom of heaven is mixed and everyone is accepted but at the end, there will be a final separation. Like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish, but the fisherman “collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.” This says that inside the kingdom of heaven it is not that the good and bad are not separated. At the end of the world, the angles will come out to separate out the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
This analogy can be applied to the earthly church scene, the church at the beginning is mixed up, including various kinds of people, believers and non-believers, good and bad people, people with the life or Christ and those without, but at the end, a time will come to differentiate the righteous and wicked. This work to separate the good and the bad does not belong to man but belongs to God. The duty of the church is to gather everyone who is willing to come to church, no matter whether they speak Mandarin, Taiwanese, English, Hakka, Spanish, or Portuguese. Not only are we not to judge or accuse our brothers and sisters, we should not categorize them. We are to leave the final judgment and separation to God, who is the master of the Kingdom of heaven.
There is a story that says on April 14, 1912 evening, after Titanic hits the iceberg, among more than 1,500 who lost their lives, there is one person who was going to Chicago’s Moody Memorial Church to serve as its pastor. His name is John Harper. When ship was about to sink, he was not willing to board the lifeboat, and urged: “The women and the children on first, next are the people who have not yet believed!” He also encouraged the Christians passengers to give their life-saving jackets to those who are not yet saved!
When he was struggling in the sea, he bumped into a young person who was trying to survive in the sea. Pastor Harper asked that young person: “Young man, have you been saved?” The young man replied: “No.” Ocean waves separated them. After several minutes, they approached each other, the pastor asked him again: “Have you been reconciled with God?” He replied “No!” Ocean waves separated them. At last, when they approached again, Pastor Harper told him: “Jesus loves you!” He gave up the plank that he was holding on to for that young person, resulting in his own burial in the sea.
After two weeks, this young person stood up at a New York assembly and grateful said: “I am the final fruit of the heavenly guide the Pastor Harper.”
◎Conclusion: The heaven tour guide’s principle
We Christians all have a mission, which is to practice becoming a tour guide for heaven. The heaven tour guide most important work principle is: After we guide others to heaven, after we offer to God’s kingdom, do not remember, do not haggle over that, cannot turn over to the merit for oneself! What you do is not to let others look at you, remember you but to let others see Jesus.
Great evangelist Moody once guided millions of people to hear to the God’s message! This heaven tour guide is not just a person who explains religious doctrine, is also a prayerful person. In his life, he led at least seventy thousand individuals to kneel down together the prayer. After he left the world, his co-laborer Dr. R.A.Torrey went to visit these people to know their impression of Moody, from which he obtained such a conclusion: After people leave Moody for a period of time, they may forget who Moody is, but they actually deeply remember Jesus! This is the heaven tour guide’s work principle.
A good heaven tour guide is a leader who is completely absorbed in Jesus and invites others to look only at Jesus.【中文下週登】
Rev. Szuhsing Mao 卯思興牧師 
Leave a comment