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A Treasure and a Priceless by Peter L. DeGroote |
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Notes for Bible Talk: August 10, 2005 Please read: Matthew 13: 44-45 |
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Bible Talk is an informal
discussion of biblical passages, ideas, and related material. The discussions are on Wednesday
evenings at 7:30 pm, following the Service of Word and Table. Occasionally,
they will not be held due to special events. These Notes are intended to
assist participants in thinking about the passages and some of their implications
prior to the gathering. Usually, the Notes are
prepared and the discussion is led by Rev. Peter L. DeGroote The sources for biblical quotations are
labeled as follows: NRSV: The New
Revised Standard Version, Copyright ©1989, The National Council of
Churches of Christ in the SV: The Scholar’s Version; i.e., The Five Gospels, The Search for the
Authentic Words of Jesus, Robert W. Funk and Roy W. Hoover, and The Jesus Seminar, Copyright © 1993 by Polebridge Press. TM: The
Message, The New Testament in Contemporary Language, Copyright ©
Eugene H. Peterson 1993. navpress,
M: My paraphrase. |
Some Background: The books of the Bible are sometimes called
“the Canon.” It comes from the Greek word for "rule" or
"standard." When we speak of the Bible as the canon, we are
referring to those books accepted as authoritative by the church. The first list of
books that looked like today's Bible appeared in the mid-4th
Century. There have been many debates over the centuries. Current discussion
focuses on issues of writings categorized as Apocryphal, meaning “set aside”
from the main canon. Most of us know of the Apocrypha as a collection of
books from the Hebrew tradition that have often been completely overlooked by
Protestants, although Roman Catholics have considered them worthy of reading. Little known to
most of us is a rather large collection of Christian works that are not part
of the Christian Bible, although some have been very influential in the
development of church traditions. They are often consulted by scholars for
insights into those books that are included in the canon, as well as for
information on early church history. 1 The Parables of
the Treasure and of the Priceless Pearl appear only in Matthew, although they
can also be found in the Gospel of Thomas, a collection of sayings and
parables of Jesus that was not accepted into the canon of the New Testament.
As Matthew was written at the end of the 1st Century, we have to
conclude that the author(‘s) of Matthew found them in one or more of three
possible sources: §
The
Gospel of Thomas. §
Another
source known to Matthew’s authors that we do not have. § The oral tradition passed on over the 2 to 3
generations since Jesus had been teaching. 1. Matthew placed these two
parables in a set. It is useful to consult the Scholar’s Version: “Heaven’s
imperial rule is like treasure hidden in a field: when someone finds it, that
person covers it up again, and out of sheer joy goes and sells every last
possession and buys that field.” Using heaven’s
or God’s imperial rule reflects the realities of the Roman Empire of Jesus’
day. Later translations spoke of kingdoms rather than imperial rule,
reflecting the kings and kingdoms of their day. More importantly, we see
again the irony of applying the notions of royalty and authoritarian rule to the
way God works. The existence of imperial rule or of a kingdom is not
something to be discovered and then hidden for later acquisition. Clearly,
Jesus’ understanding of the ways of God was much different than the language
was able to handle, both then and now. It is worth observing that language is
a reflection of the concepts that we humans use to understand reality and
organize our lives and societies. Jesus seems to have been telling us that
our concepts of rule, authority, and power cannot be applied to God. 2. Each parable begins with
a person finding something of great value. In order to acquire it, each must
sell everything they have. The selling illustrates the need to change our
ways, to get rid of much in our lives, if we are to live in harmony with God
and God's creation. In other words, the parable is about repentance or the
need to change the direction of one’s life in order to follow the Way of
Jesus. 3. In the first, a person
finds a hidden treasure in another’s field. Some think of him as a hired man
who came across the treasure while plowing. Other commentators describe him
as aimless wanderer who discovers purpose for his life. We can also think of
the person as one with little purpose in life other than going along to get
along. Filled with joy
at his discovery, he covered (hid) the treasure and sold everything he owned
in order to buy the field. The point is obvious, having come into contact
with the activity of God, his response was to rid
himself of all in his former life that was a barrier to living a new life in
harmony with God. Many suggest that his
failure to tell the owner of the treasure was unethical. Also, some have
found Roman case law to suggest that it may also have been illegal. One
doubts that those peasants listening to Jesus knew or cared about the legal
details. Likewise, it seems to miss the point. The parable is not meant to
introduce an intellectually stimulating discussion of ethics regarding
property. It is about the far more challenging and uncomfortable subject of
repentance; of changing the values and direction of one’s life if we are to
follow Jesus. 4. The second parable reads,
"God’s imperial rule is like a merchant of beautiful pearls who finds
one that is priceless and sells everything he owns to buy it." (SV) As
today, pearls were of great value; although some believe today's comparison
would be to diamonds. Different from
the other man, the merchant's business represents a person with goals that
provide clear definition to his life. It is contrary to all common sense to
expend all of his hard earned capital and inventory on a single pearl with no
intention of selling it. Again, his reaction to God’s activity was to change
his way of life, his whole value system. 5. In both, the message is
that our response to God's presence or activity takes us to a new place,
either defining an ill-defined life, or redefining who we have become. 1. There is a comprehensive, if scholarly discussion of
the Apocrypha from both Hebrew and Christian sources in The Anchor Bible
Dictionary, Vol. 1, pps292-296. NY: Doubleday, 1992. Peter L.
DeGroote |
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