Parable of the Hidden Treasure

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a painting of the parable by Rembrandt

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure was given by Jesus in the New Testament (Matthew). It only consists of a single sentence, and it directly precedes the Parable of the Pearl.

From Matthew 13:44

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Like the Parable of the Pearl, the intent of this parable is to convey that some rewards are great enough to be worth great sacrifices: the man may have to sell all that he had in order to be able to buy the field, but when he buys the field, he gains the treasure in it, which is worth more than all that he sold. Jesus told this parable to express the idea that even if living according to God's commandments was a difficult thing to do and demanded great sacrifices, they would result in the reward of the Kingdom of Heaven. An alternate interpretation is that Jesus is the man who buys the field, paying for it with His blood to attain the hidden treasure, i.e. Israel or the Church.

While interpreting and applying this passage some have found it difficult to place ourselves in the role as the 'man' in this parable since several scripture verses teach that the kingdom of heaven cannot be purchased. Another way to read this parable is to place Jesus in the role of the 'man'. Jesus may, in fact, be talking about himself since it is he who, according to the scriptures, purchases His church. So, an alternate reading would imply the journey that Jesus is on, the process that is going on and ultimately the 'purchase' that Jesus will make. Supporting this purchase are other scriptures; 1 Corinthians 6:20 says "you were bought with a price.." 1 Corinthians 7:23 says "you were bought with a price...". 2 Peter 2:1, 1 Peter 1:18.^{[citation needed]}

A similar parable appears in the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas (Patterson-Meyer Translation):

109. Jesus said, "The (Father's) kingdom is like a person who had a treasure hidden in his field but did not know it. And [when] he died he left it to his [son]. The son [did] not know about it either. He took over the field and sold it. The buyer went plowing, [discovered] the treasure, and began to lend money at interest to whomever he wished."

Note - The Pearl of Great Price is found in the Gospel of Thomas as well, but does not follow this parable as in the Gospel of Matthew. Instead, it is 33 verses before (verse 76)