In the fifth parable the Lord said, “The kingdom of the heavens is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid, and in his joy goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field” (v. 44). The field here refers to the world in the positive sense; it signifies the earth that God created and desires to gain for His kingdom. According to the Old Testament, a treasure refers to the wealth of a nation, as seen in King Hezekiah’s showing all the treasures of the kingdom of Judah to the envoys sent by the king of Babylon (2 Kings 20:13). Thus, the treasure in this parable signifies the kingdom. The treasure hidden in the field signifies God’s authority, that is, the kingdom, hidden on the earth that God created and desires to gain. This shows that the reason God created the earth is to gain the earth so that He may have the ground to rule on the earth and establish His kingdom. Hence, the kingdom is a treasure in God’s eyes.
The kingdom is the treasure hidden on the God-created earth; it was hidden from the foundation of the world and was found by a man at a certain time. This man was the Lord Jesus; He found, or discovered, the kingdom. When the Lord came out to preach, He found the kingdom that had been hidden by God from the foundation of the world. However, as a result of His being rejected by the Jews, the Lord hid the kingdom again. Prior to chapter 13 the Lord found the kingdom, but in chapter 13 He hid it again.
The parable in Matthew 13:44 reveals that from the foundation of the world God never made this kingdom known to man. It was not until the Lord Jesus came that someone found it. After the Lord found the kingdom, He hid it again and then sold all that He had by going to the cross in order to redeem the God-created earth. Because the Lord has redeemed the earth, naturally, He will one day gain the treasure on the earth. The treasure being hidden in the field shows that since the foundation of the world, man has been able to see only the earth created by God, but not its significance. Its significance has been a mystery hidden from the foundation of the world. Those in the Old Testament, such as Abraham and Isaiah, did not see this treasure. It was not until the Lord came to the earth that a man found it.
In verse 44 the word man is in the singular form; it refers to the Lord Jesus. The Lord came to obtain the kingdom but was rejected by the Jews. Because they rejected Him, Matthew 11:25 says that the things concerning the Lord were hidden from the wise and intelligent. Because the lawyers and Pharisees thought that they were the wise, the Lord hid these things from them. At the same time, the Lord revealed them to the foolish, that is, to the disciples, who were lowly fishermen.
In the fifth parable there are two “hidings.” The first is “hidden in the field,” and the second is “found and hid” (13:44). These two hidings can be explained by using the Scriptures. The first hiding is related to the hidden things mentioned in verse 35; the kingdom was hidden from the foundation of the world. The explanation of the second hiding is found in 11:25, which says, “You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent.” The hiding in this verse took place because the Jews forsook the Lord. Although the Lord did many signs, the Jews still would not believe. The Lord’s doing signs was a matter of authority; His sending the disciples to cast out demons was also a matter of authority. Authority is the kingdom. In Matthew 12:28 the Lord said to those Jews, “If I, by the Spirit of God, cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” However, because they rejected the kingdom, the Lord again hid it.
In chapter 11 this second hiding was not yet fulfilled. It was fulfilled in chapter 12 when the Lord cast out demons by the power of the Holy Spirit, showing the coming of the authority of the kingdom, yet the Jews said that He cast out the demons by the ruler of the demons (v. 24). Hence, the Lord said that they would not be forgiven (v. 32). From that time on, the Lord made a break with them and put them outside the kingdom. The Lord told them clearly that His casting out the demons by the Holy Spirit was the kingdom of God coming upon them, yet they rejected the kingdom. Thus, the Lord hid the kingdom from them and shut them outside the kingdom. At the end of chapter 12 the Lord said, “Whoever does the will of My Father who is in the heavens, he is My brother and sister and mother” (v. 50). This was the Lord’s rejecting of His relatives in the flesh, that is, the Jews. It showed that He would hide the kingdom from them and reveal it to those who do the will of God.
Following this, in chapter 13 the Lord spoke in parables concerning the kingdom in order to hide the kingdom from the Jews. On one hand, He spoke in parables in order to hide the kingdom, and on the other hand, He explained it clearly to the disciples. This was to hide it from the wise and reveal it to the humble.
The parable of the treasure unveils that the kingdom has been hidden twice. It was absolutely hidden the first time and was not at all manifested. It was half hidden the second time, meaning that it is hidden to the people without but revealed to the people within. Today even the great figures in the world do not understand the meaning of this treasure. After the Lord concealed this treasure the second time, He gave up all that He had in order to purchase the field (the earth) so that He could obtain the kingdom, which is hidden on the earth. However, in order for God to obtain the kingdom, He must first gain a group of people. It is not enough for God to have only the earth as the sphere; He must also gain man in order that man might rule on the earth. Hence, there is the sixth parable, the parable of the pearl.