Summary
Whose Face Is in the Parable?
In Matthew 13:44-46, Jesus tells two short kingdom parables: a man stumbles upon treasure hidden in a field and, in his joy, sells everything he has to buy that field; a merchant searching for fine pearls finds one of surpassing value and, likewise, sells all he has to obtain it. In Jesus' day, burying valuables in a field was an ordinary precaution against invading armies, and pearls were the most prized of all gems—worn by emperors' wives and, in tales of Cleopatra, dissolved in vinegar and drunk as a display of wealth. The treasure and the pearl, in other words, are presented as objects of staggering worth.
A natural first reading is to put our own face on the finder and on the merchant: we have discovered Christ, and we joyfully give up everything for the kingdom. Both parables open with "the kingdom of heaven is like," and joy genuinely belongs to those who are citizens of that kingdom by faith—Peter calls it "an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you" 1 Peter 1:4.
But look more carefully at the language of both parables. Each turns on purchase and exchange: something is sold, something is bought. And on that point Jesus is unmistakable elsewhere—"What will they give in return for their life?" Matthew 16:26. We have nothing to offer in exchange for eternal life. We cannot buy the reign of God in our hearts. That market is closed to sinners. So the face on the finder cannot be ours, and the face on the merchant cannot be ours either.
These are reign parables, and the rule for reign parables is simple: when there is one central figure, that figure is always God—more specifically, Jesus. He is the One who finds the treasure. He is the Merchant who sees the pearl. And He is the One who sells all that He has, going to the cross and shedding His blood, to make the purchase. Luther called this "the great exchange": Christ takes upon Himself all our sin and gives us in return His perfect righteousness, delivered to us in the waters of Baptism where we are joined to His death and resurrection.
If Jesus is the face in both parables, then we are the treasure and we are the pearl. That is our value—not a worth we generate, but the worth Christ assigns to us by giving His life to obtain us. A baby held at the font, face turned up toward a parent's familiar face, is a fitting picture: the Lord fixes His gaze on us, and in Baptism we come to know the face that has loved us first.
One day this knowing will be complete. Revelation 22:3-4 promises that the servants of the Lamb "will see his face." It is always lovely to put a face to a name—and the face on every page of the gospel, the face that purchased us at the cost of His own life, is the face of Jesus, whom we shall behold in glory. This is the heart of Our Value: "Face to Face" 2-15-26.
Video citations
- Our Value: "Face to Face" 2-15-26 — Would you open your Bibles, please, with me, to the Gospel of Matthew the 13th chapter. If you're using a few edition of Holy Scripture, you'll find in front of you or underneath you, the 13th…