Parables to the Disciples

Setting and Overview
After Jesus finishes explaining the parable of the wheat and tares, he proceeds to give the final four parables of the Parabolic Discourse, three parables about the kingdom and one about parables about the kingdom. While the subject is the same as those that preceded them, the audience is different as he is now away from the crowds and speaking to the disciples. Therefore he ends the parables with an exhortation to use their understanding declare the kingdom to others.

Exposition
Similar to the parables of the mustard seed and yeast, the parables of the treasure in the field and the merchant and the pearl should be seen as a pair. Although there are differences in some of the details, the major thrust of each is the same. In the former, a man comes across an unexpected treasure in a field that he does not own. While this was certainly not a common occurrence, it was something that the people would recognize as feasible. In a time before banks and safety deposit boxes, if someone wanted keep valuables safe from thieves, armies, or while they were away, burying the treasure was often the best solution. If someone was unable to return to their land, then the treasure would remain hidden, and if one searched long enough, they could certainly come across such treasure, and it could easily be worth more than all that they currently own. In the latter parable, a merchant comes across a valuable pearl not be accident, but through long searching. The result however is effectively the same as the pearl is worth more to him than all else that he owns, and so he eagerly sells everything that he has to buy it. While these parables may seem to be indicating that we somehow must purchase or earn our place in the kingdom, to understand them that way would be to miss their thrust. In both circumstances the good fortune comes in the man finding the valuable, and once he does, he is eager to give up everything that he has because what he has found is so much more valuable. This certainly aligns with how Scripture commands us to come to Jesus (Philippians 3:8, Matthew 10:37-39, Luke 14:25-33.)
The parable of the dragnet might sound a lot like the wheat and the tares as it emphasizes the good and the bad existing alongside each other. While the illustration is far different, the actions involved in the parable are similar and the interpretation that Jesus gives is almost word for word the same. While the parable talks about capturing the fish in the net, the fate of the good fish, and the fate of the bad fish, it is only the last that Jesus mentions in the interpretation, indicating that his focus for the parable is to warn of the fate of those outside of the kingdom. Although that is restating a point that he has already made, it is essential that the disciples understand it as the next parable will inform them of their duties to teach others. That parable compares one who is trained in the kingdom to a homeowner. Such an individual would have been responsible for managing, directing, and paying numerous people, and they would have to utilize their resources to do so. Similarly, experts in the law were expected to share their wealth of knowledge with others by teaching them Scripture. Here Jesus brings those pictures together by instructing the disciples to pull out of their treasury (a holding place for valuables) both what is old (the law and the prophets) and what is new (their fulfillment in Jesus), with the latter taking the place of greater importance (Matthew 5:17-20.)

Examination and Application
The first three parables together present a powerful picture to those who are outside of the kingdom, a picture that shows both the superior value of the kingdom and the terror of judgment that awaits those outside. The latter warning is given for the second time in this chapter, the third time in the Gospel, and will be followed by three more. This is a powerful call for those who hear to come to Jesus (Matthew 7:13-14, 11:28-30.) This is also a powerful call for those in the kingdom to share the Word with others (Matthew 10:27-28, 28:18-20, Romans 10:14.) We have a treasury of invaluable knowledge in the Gospel, and we are called to pull it out and share it with a world that needs to hear it. Finally, we are also called to open up such opportunities to share the Gospel by living out the kingdom at all times. If we recognize the superior worth of the kingdom, then it should transform how we live in every facet of our lives (Matthew 6:33) and should lead many others to be drawn to a community of believers that is constantly doing good deeds to the glory of God (Matthew 5:14-16.)