Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

Text and Content

These are two of the seven parables collected in Matthew 13, and they do not appear in the other Gospels. After leaving the crowds and going into a house, Jesus explains the Parable of the Tares to his disciples (Matthew 13:36) and then tells these two parables, followed by the Parable of the Net.

• The Hidden Treasure (13:44): The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man finds it, he hides it again, and for joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys the field.
• The Pearl (13:45-46): The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking goodly pearls. When he finds one pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.

In Matthew's Gospel, the "kingdom of heaven" has the same meaning as the kingdom of God.

Background

Burying valuables in the ground to protect them from war or plunder is thought to have been common in ancient Palestine. Pearls were regarded as extremely precious gems in the ancient world. The word translated "merchant" is the Greek emporos, which refers not to a local shopkeeper but to a trader who traveled widely and conducted large-scale business.

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

Both parables follow the same sequence: discovery, joy, and the selling of everything in order to buy. This pattern shows that the kingdom of God is more valuable than anything else. The theme connects with the teaching to lay up treasure in heaven (in the context of Matthew 6:24-34) and with the account of the rich young man, who was told to sell his possessions and follow Jesus. Paul's confession that he counts all things but loss for the knowledge of Christ (Philippians 3:7-10) is also often read alongside these parables as an expression of the same theme.

Interpretations and Issues

• The man as the believer: This is the most widely known interpretation. It holds that the parables portray the faith and devotion of a person who encounters the kingdom of God and joyfully gives up everything. Some proponents of this view explain the difference between the man who unexpectedly comes upon the treasure and the merchant who has long been searching as two different ways in which people come to the kingdom of God.
• The man as Christ: This interpretation reads the one who sells everything as Jesus Christ and the treasure and the pearl as the people he purchased at the cost of the cross. Some dispensationalist interpreters are also known to identify the treasure with Israel and the pearl with the church.
• The question of grace and cost: Regarding the first interpretation, some are concerned that the phrase "sells all that he has and buys" makes it sound as though salvation were obtained by works. Those who hold this interpretation respond that the focus of the parables is not the price of salvation but the value of the kingdom of God and the joy of discovering it. This issue receives particular attention in traditions that emphasize grace.
• What the text does not address: It is generally held that whether it was morally right to buy the field without informing its owner is not the concern of the text. Interpretations that link the pearl directly to the gates of pearl in Revelation 21 rely on connections from outside the text.
• The apocryphal Gospel of Thomas is also known to contain similar stories, recorded separately.