Matthew 13:44

"The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field, the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a merchant man seeking goodly pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it." Much as in the other place, the mustard seed and the leaven have but some little difference from each other, so here also these two parables, that of the treasure and that of the pearl. This being of course signified by both, that we ought to value the gospel above all things. And the former indeed, of the leaven and of the mustard seed, was spoken with a view to the power of the gospel, and to its surely prevailing over the world; but these declare its value, and great price. For as it extends itself like mustard seed, and prevails like leaven, so it is precious like a pearl, and affords full abundance like a treasure. We are then to learn not this only, that we ought to strip ourselves of everything else, and cling to the gospel, but also that we are to do so with joy; and when a man is dispossessing himself of his goods, he is to know that the transaction is gain, and not loss. Seest thou how both the gospel is hid in the world, and the good things in the gospel? Except thou sell all, thou buyest not; except thou have such a soul, anxious and inquiring, thou findest not. Two things therefore are requisite, abstinence from worldly matters, and watchfulness. […]

This treasure is indeed found without cost; for the Gospel preaching is open to all, but to use and possess the treasure with its field we may not without price, for heavenly riches are not obtained without the loss of this world.

The field is the world, the treasure is the preaching and knowledge of Christ. It is hidden in the world. For as St. Paul says, We preach a wisdom that is hidden (I Cor. 2:7). He who seeks knowledge of God, finds it. And all …

(Hom. in Ev. xi. 1.) Otherwise; The treasure hidden in the field is the desire of heaven; the field in which the treasure is hidden is the discipline of heavenly learning; this, when a man finds, he hides, in order that he may preserve it; for zeal and affections heavenward it is not enough that we protect from evil spirits, if we do not protect from human praises. For in this present life we are in the way which leads to our country, and evil spirits as robbers beset us in our journey. Those therefore who carry their treasure openly, they seek to plunder in the way. When I say this, I do not mean that our neighbours should not see our works, but that in what we do, we should not seek praise from without. The kingdom of heaven is therefore compared to things of earth, that the mind may rise from things familiar to things unknown, and may learn to love the unknown by that which it knows is loved when known. It follows, And for joy thereof he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. He it is that selleth all he hath and buyeth the field, who, renouncing fleshly delights, tramples upon all his worldly desires in his anxiety for the heavenly discipline.

The kingdom of heaven, dearest brothers, is said to be like earthly things so that from those things which the mind knows it may rise to things unknown, that by the example of visible things it may carry itself off to invisible things, and through those things which it has learned by experience, being as it were rubbed together, it may grow warm, so that through knowing how to love what is known, it may learn to love also things unknown. For behold, the kingdom of heaven is compared to a treasure hidden in a field, which when a man finds, he hides, and for joy of it goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. In this matter it should also be noted that the found treasure is hidden so that it may be kept safe, because the pursuit of heavenly desire is not sufficient to guard from malign spirits if one does not hide it from human praises. For in the present life we are as it were on a road by which we journey to our homeland. But malign spirits beset our journey like certain robbers. Therefore he who carries treasure openly on the road desires to be plundered. But I say this not so that our neighbors may not see our good works, since it is written: Let them see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven, but so that through what we do we may not seek praises from without. Let the work be in public in such a way that the intention remains in secret, so that we may both offer an example to our neighbors from our good work, and yet through the intention by which we seek to please God alone, we may always desire secrecy. The treasure is heavenly desire, and the field in which the treasure is hidden is the discipline of heavenly pursuit. […]

Above, the Lord showed parabolically both the impediment and the progress of the evangelical teaching; now he shows its dignity through certain parables, which he explained to the disciples. Its dignity is shown with regard to three things: with regard to its abundance, with regard …

That is, Let him understand who has understanding, because all these things are to be understood mystically, and not literally.

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hid in a field - The kingdom of God within us is a treasure indeed, but a treasure hid from the world, and from the most wise and prudent in it.

Again the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure,....

The parables of the “treasure hidden in a field” and the “merchant man seeking goodly pearls,” appear intended to convey one the same lesson. They vary, no doubt, in one striking particular: the “treasure” was found of one who does not seem to have sought it; the “pearl” was found of one who was actually seeking pearls. But the conduct of the finders, in both cases, was precisely alike: both “sold all” to make the thing found their own property; and it is exactly at this point that the instruction of both parables agrees.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field--no uncommon thing in unsettled and half-civilized countries, even now as well as in ancient times, when there was no other way of securing it from the rapacity of neighbors or marauders.

The parables of the “treasure hidden in a field” and the “merchant man seeking goodly pearls,” appear intended to convey one the same lesson. They vary, no doubt, in one striking particular: the “treasure” was found of one who does not seem to have sought it; the “pearl” was found of one who was actually seeking pearls. But the conduct of the finders, in both cases, was precisely alike: both “sold all” to make the thing found their own property; and it is exactly at this point that the instruction of both parables agrees. These two parables are meant to teach us that men who are really convinced of the importance of salvation will give up everything to win Christ and eternal life. What was the conduct of the two men our Lord describes? The one was persuaded that there was a “treasure hid in a field,” which would amply repay him if he bought the field, however great the price that he might give. The other was persuaded that the “pearl” he had found was so immensely valuable that it would answer to him to purchase it at any cost. Both were convinced that they had found a thing of great value: both were satisfied that it was worth a great present sacrifice to make this thing their own. Others might wonder at them; others might think them foolish for paying such a sum of money for the “field” and “pearl,” but they knew what they were about. They were sure that they were making a good bargain. We see, in this simple picture, the conduct of a true Christian explained. He is what he is, and does what he does in his religion, because he is thoroughly persuaded that it is worthwhile. He comes out from the world; he puts off the old man; he forsakes the vain companions of his past life. Like Matthew, he gives up everything, and like Paul, he counts “all things loss” for Christ’s sake. And why? Because he is convinced that Christ will make amends to him for all he gives up.

The kingdom of heaven - The gospel. The new dispensation. The offer of eternal life. See the notes at Mat 3:2. The Saviour in this parable compares that kingdom to treasure hid in a field; that is, to money concealed; or more likely to a mine of silver or gold that was unknown to the owner of the field. He hideth - That is, he conceals the fact that he has found it; he does not tell of it. With a view of obtaining this, Jesus says that a man would go and sell his property and buy the field. The conduct of the man would be dishonest. It would be his duty to inform the owner of the field of the discovery. He would be really endeavoring to gain property belonging to another at far less than its real value, and the principle of real integrity would require him to inform the owner of the discovery. But Christ does not intend to vindicate his conduct. He merely states the way in which people do “actually” manage to obtain wealth. He states a case where a man would actually “sacrifice his property,” and practice diligence and watchfulness to obtain the wealth which he had discovered. The point of the parable lies in his “earnestness,” his anxiety, his care, and his actually obtaining it. The gospel is more valuable than such a treasure, Psa 19:10; Pro 3:13-15. It is hidden from most people. When a person sees it and hears it, it is his duty to sacrifice all that hinders his obtaining it, and to seek it with the earnestness with which other people seek for gold. The truth often lies buried: it is like rich veins of ore in the sacred Scriptures; it must be searched out with diligence, and its discovery will repay a man for all his sacrifices, Luk 14:33; Php 3:8.