![]() ![]() The New Testament scholar Adolf Jülicher offers a deceptively simple explanation of the parable. ![]() He it is that sells all he, has and buys the field, who, renouncing fleshly delights tramples upon all his worldly desires in his anxiety for the heavenly discipline. ![]() 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 goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. When I say this I do not mean that our neighbors should not see our works, but that in what we do, we should not seek praise from without. Those therefore who carry their treasure openly, they seek to plunder in the way. For in this present life we are in the war which leads to our country, and evil spirits as robbers beset us in our journey. This, when a man finds, he hides, in order that he may preserve it for zeal and affections heavenward it is not enough the we protect from evil spirits, if we do not protect from human praises. The Fathers also identify that the field in which the treasure is hidden is the discipline of Heavenly learning: Thomas Aquinas' Catena Aurea, he compiles the comments of some of the Church Fathers on this passage, who point out that like the treasure hidden in the field, the Gospel comes without cost, and is open to all – but to truly possess heavenly riches, one must be willing to give up the world to buy it. īuried treasure is unearthed a fortune is within his reach. However, other interpretations of the parable exist, in which the treasure represents Israel or the Church. The hidden nature of the treasure may indicate that the Kingdom of Heaven "is not yet revealed to everyone." We are greatly in need of such a warning for we are so captivated by the allurements of the world, that eternal life fades from our view and in consequence of our carnality, the spiritual graces of God are far from being held by us in the estimation which they deserve. The first two of these parables are intended to instruct believers to prefer the Kingdom of heaven to the whole world, and therefore to deny themselves and all the desires of the flesh, that nothing may prevent them from obtaining so valuable a possession. John Nolland comments that the good fortune reflected in the "finding" reflects a "special privilege," and a source of joy, but also reflects a challenge, just as the man in the parable gives up all that he has, in order to lay claim to the greater treasure he has found. This parable is interpreted as illustrating the great value of the Kingdom of Heaven, and thus has a similar theme to the parable of the pearl. For a peasant, such a discovery of treasure represented the "ultimate dream." Interpretation The finder, perhaps a farm labourer, is entitled to it, but is unable to conveniently extract it unless he buys the field. The current owner of the field is unaware of its existence. The setting here presupposes that someone has buried a treasure and later died. A depiction of this parable (left) paired with that of the pearl (right) on a stained glass window in Scots' Church, Melbourne. ![]()
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