Matthew 13:44-46 The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
“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.
The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls,who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Jesus is telling these parables to his disciples to encourage them. The disciples have walked away from thriving businesses, comfortable homes, families who love them and who don’t understand what they are doing. The longer Jesus’ ministry goes on, the more likely it is that the religious authorities are going to conspire with the Romans to wipe out Jesus and his disciples as well. What can Jesus say that will encourage these men to remain faithful? These two parables are the answer.
Many of those hearing these parables will eventually pay with their lives for their commitment, but not before the good news of Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection has begun spreading throughout the known world.
Unless you are a student of mission literature, you may never have heard of William Borden, but you should. Borden was born into a very wealthy family in Chicago in which prayer and Bible reading were daily events. At age seven Borden committed his life to Christ. By the time Borden began college at Yale, he was a deeply committed Christian. At Yale, Borden started prayer groups that eventually involved 1,000 of the 1300 students then at Yale. Using his family’s fortune, Borden founded the Yale Hope Mission to minister to the drunkards, tramps, and vagabonds of New Haven, a port city.
During Borden’s first year at Yale, he attended the Student Volunteer Movement conference in Nashville and heard Dr. Samuel Zwemer beg for workers to reach the huge Muslim population in China. Zwemer warned that responding to this call might result in the death of the missionary. Borden immediately began preparing to minister to the Chinese Muslims, earning a master’s degree in Theology from Princeton. Borden left America for Egypt in December 1912 to study Arabic in Egypt. While in Egypt, Borden began adapting national dress and circulated throughout the city where he was living with a family and learning Arabic.
Tragically, Borden died from spinal meningitis on April 9, 1913, barely five months after his arrival; however, he bequeathed one million dollars to China Inland Mission and other groups. In addition, Borden wrote three phrases in his Bible that sparked an enormous response from others. “No reserve. No retreat. No regrets.”
Since Borden’s death more than a century ago, his story has continued to inspire thousands, if not millions, to answer the call of Christ to take the Gospel to the world. Only in eternity will we know how many people have come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ because William Borden turned his back on family wealth and position to go to Egypt.
John 12:24-26 tells us, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.”
Notice that when Jesus is telling these stories, he refuses to sugar coat things. Both the magnificent pearl and the field containing the treasure demand their buyers sell all they have first before they can gain the treasure. Jesus is warning all disciples-and would-be disciples-that being heralds of the Kingdom will cost them everything. But when disciples lay down their lives to follow Jesus, the reward will be eternal life.
How did Jesus’ original disciples die? The writer of the Faith On Hill blog gives this answer: (https://www.faithonhill.com/blog/what-happened-to-the-12-disciples)
PETER-Peter was crucified around 66AD in Rome under the persecution of Emperor Nero. There are all kinds of unverified traditions about his death, most notably that he was crucified upside down because he didn’t consider himself worthy to die the same way Jesus did.
JAMES-James was the first of the 12 to be put to death. King Herod had him killed by the sword in Jerusalem (Acts 12).
JOHN-The writer of the Gospel of John, the book of the Revelation and three epistles bearing his name, John is the only one of the 12 that history says was not put to death for his faith, although he suffered greatly because of Jesus throughout his long life. Tradition says he ended his life ministering in the region around Ephesus in modern day Turkey and is buried there.
ANDREW-The brother of Peter, Andrew traveled north, bringing the good news to what is now Russia and the western regions of the former Soviet Union. He later traveled through modern day Turkey and Greece where he was martyred.
PHILIP-Philip ministered in North Africa and then Asia Minor. Traditions says that a Roman Proconsul was so enraged that his wife had converted to Christianity because of Philip’s preaching that he had Philip brutally put to death.
BARTHOLOMEW/NATHANIEL-Bartholomew was apparently someone who loved to travel. Some accounts have him going to India with Thomas, then Armenia before heading along the trade routes between Ethiopia and the southern Arabian regions. While we are not sure how he met his end, tradition agrees that he was martyred for his faith. In some places he is listed as “Nathaniel” which could have been a family name or a name he was known by in the church.
MATTHEW/LEVI-The gospel writer who had previously been a tax collector, Matthew traveled to modern day Iran and then down to Ethiopia, probably following established trade routes and preaching the gospel along the way. While some accounts do not include how he died, others say he was stabbed to death in Africa.
THOMAS-Although he doubted the resurrection at first, Thomas’ faith in the risen Jesus was strong enough to send him traveling east to Syria and Iraq to preach the gospel, eventually ending up in India were the Marthoma Christian tradition considers him to be their founder. The Marthoma tradition says that Thomas died by stabbing at the hands of four soldiers.
JAMES THE SON OF ALPHAEUS-Very possibly the brother of Matthew/Levi, James is believed to have preached in the regions north of Israel. A non-Christian historical account says that he was stoned and then clubbed to death
SIMON THE ZEALOT-Simon’s ultimate end is somewhat unclear. … there are non-biblical traditions regarding the apostles. In the 12th century, a Spanish bishop began to promote the idea that James had come to Spain, despite the account of James’ martyrdom in Acts 12. The same is true with Simon the Zealot with different groups and agendas making claim to Simon’s legacy. The majority view seems to be that Simon was sawn in half in Persia.
PHILIP-Little is known about Philip’s life after Acts 2…Tradition says that he preached in the Phrygia region of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) and was martyred for his faith in Jesus in the town of Hierapolis.
JUDAS THADDEUS-The early church father Jerome called Jude “Trinomius” which means three names. Mark and Matthew list him by his family name “Thaddeus”, while Luke refers to him as Judas the brother of James. Some have tried to link him with Jude, the half-brother of Jesus who wrote the book of the same name but we reject this view. Tradition holds that he preached the gospel in the area we could think of as Northern Syria, Iraq and Turkey. He was said to have been killed with arrows in Turkey’s mountainous northern region.
MATTHIAS-Tradition says that Matthias traveled north, possibly as far as the Caspian Sea. He was martyred for his faith although the method of his death is unclear.
PAUL-Paul suffered for the Lord throughout his life. In addition to imprisonment and multiple threats to his life, Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 11:25 that “Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea.” Paul was beheaded in Rome in 66 AD, possibly at the same time as Peter.
JUDAS-Judas committed suicide after betraying Jesus. I mention this because every one of Jesus’ followers died. 10 of them as martyrs. John died of old age. But Judas chose a cursed path. He was not the only one who betrayed Jesus; all of the other disciples abandoned Jesus, Peter directly denied knowing him. Paul persecuted Jesus’ followers. Yet all of them embraced the grace and forgiveness of God and that same grace was available to Judas.
If you’ve read this and have ever felt like Judas, thinking there is no hope, you need to know that each and every apostle was at some point in a place of “no hope,“ but un like Judas they turned their eyes to Jesus and embraced his grace. The same is available to you.”
The disciples were just ordinary men until they met Jesus. William Borden might have become a captain of industry, might have married a society beauty, and might have sired a large family and added to their wealth. But once Borden met Jesus at the age of seven, he turned his life over to Jesus completely and from then on, his course was determined. Listen to the words from another missionary, Jim Elliot, martyred at the hands of Auca Indians in 1956. “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
What will you give for the priceless treasure of eternal life? Say “yes” to God’s invitation! You will never regret it.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, we want to give You our lives, but we are afraid. We fear for ourselves and for our families. Lord, help all who read these words to realize that when we turn our lives over to You, You give us everything we can possibly need and more, including eternal life. Help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. In Your mighty and precious Name, King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
September 22, 2024 at 12:44 pm
Very Good Devotional, and a fascinating read about the disciples and how they died. I had not read that in some time. Thank you for sharing. God Bless, Martin