Kingdom Pursuit (3)

“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

Worth the effort
People are motivated by compelling visions. Show us something big, something really desirable and worth whatever it takes to get it, then assure us that it can be ours, and we’ll go all out to attain it.

Jesus understood this. That’s why we find Him, in so many situations, casting a glorious and compelling vision of the Kingdom of God for His hearers. He commanded us to seek the Kingdom, and He enticed us in that pursuit by powerful images suggesting the beauty, majesty, greatness, and infinite value of the Kingdom of God.

In Matthew 13 the Lord piled parable after parable, image upon image, and metaphor on metaphor to convince His disciples and followers that seeking the Kingdom, while a struggle, is well worth the effort we will put into it.

Jesus began this litany of vision-casting parables by saying that the Kingdom of God has the potential to multiply the fruit of righteousness in those who receive it (vv. 18-23). Like a small and seemingly insignificant seed, the Kingdom of God can grow and flourish and become a haven of rest and spiritual nourishment for us and many others (vv. 31, 32).

He continued by saying that the Kingdom’s mysterious power can transform that which is unpalatable into something wholesome, delicious, and good (v. 31).

He explained that, like a treasure hidden in a field, the Kingdom of God is more valuable than everything we could ever own (v. 44).

Like a fisherman’s net it gathers up people from every walk of life for the purposes of the King (vv. 47, 48).

He concluded by saying those who embrace and seek this Kingdom gain a mastery over the Word of God that enables them to minister from every section of the Scriptures (v. 52).

Wheat and tares
Most compelling of all the parables in Matthew 13 is that of the wheat and the tares (vv. 24-30, 37-43). In many ways, this is Jesus’ most important parable. It covers all of history from the first preaching of the Gospel to the end of time. It addresses all the nations and peoples of the earth. And it hints at the struggle for primacy of place that must ensue between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world.

Jesus envisioned the world like a wheat field, where the Master of the field expects to reap a bountiful harvest at the end of time. According to Jesus, the world is not a weed field, waiting to be burned, but a wheat field, set to be sown, cultivated, guarded, and harvested in His time. For now, the Lord’s enemy, still determined to do what he can to thwart the Master’s project, sows the seeds of unbelief, temptation, wickedness, corruption, and deception wherever the seed of the Gospel has taken root – including in your heart and mine.

But when the Master returns to gain His harvest, He returns to a wheat field, invaded by weeds, and not the other way around, as so many “left behind” Christians would have us believe.

Dark days?
The Apostle John got this vision. He wrote – from a state of persecution and exile – that the Light of the Kingdom of God is advancing, rolling back the darkness and bringing righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit to nations and peoples everywhere (1 Jn. 2.8, 17). John did not allow his circumstances of exile and confinement to dissuade him from pursing a compelling vision of the advancing Kingdom of God. Nor should we.

We may think we’re living in dark days, that things are going from bad to worse, and there’s no end in sight. But the truth is just the opposite. Satan is back on his heels, bound and reeling; the rulers of this world are deceived and deceiving; the Church is complacent, at least in the West, but always a spiritual tinder box, ready for a new spark of the Spirit; and the Kingdom of God is advancing wherever men and women cling to Jesus’ compelling vision and seek the Kingdom of God as their highest priority in life.

If you’ve made the Kingdom turn, seek that vision of the Kingdom which Jesus proclaimed. Then take up the daily pursuit of that vision with all your soul and all your strength.

Next steps: Talk with a few church leaders. See if you can find out what you church is doing to project a bold and compelling vision of the Kingdom of God for its members.

T. M. Moore

Additional Resources

This week’s study, Kingdom Pursuit, is the fifth of an eight-part series on The Kingdom Turn, and is available as a free download. T. M. has written two books to complement this eight-part series. You can order The Kingship of Jesus by clicking here, and The Gospel of the Kingdom by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.