Our Value: "Face to Face" 2-15-26
Overview
Our Value: Face to Face
In Matthew 13:44-46, Jesus tells two short parables: a man who finds treasure hidden in a field and, in his joy, sells everything to buy that field; and a merchant searching for fine pearls who, on finding one of great value, sells all he has to acquire it. In the ancient world without banks, burying valuables in fields was common practice, and pearls were considered the pinnacle of wealth—worn by emperors' wives and prized above all gems. So it is natural to read these parables and picture ourselves as the joyful finder, discovering the kingdom and giving all to gain it.
But look closely at the language: both parables turn on purchase and exchange. And eternal life is precisely the market we cannot enter. Jesus himself asks in Matthew 16:24-26, "What will they give in return for their life?" The answer is: nothing. We cannot buy the reign of God in our hearts. These are kingdom parables, and the rule for kingdom parables is that the central figure is always God—always Jesus. The face on the man in the field is Jesus. The face on the merchant is Jesus. And that means we are the treasure. We are the pearl. Christ is the one who gave up everything—his very life on the cross—to obtain us.
This is what Luther called "the great exchange." On the cross, Jesus took all of our sin upon himself, paid the debt we could never pay through his shed blood, and gives us in return his perfect righteousness—delivered to us in the waters of baptism, where we are washed in the victory of the cross and the empty tomb. As Peter writes, we have an inheritance "imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you" 1 Peter 1:4. The joy in these parables belongs first to Christ, who counted you worth everything.
It is a sweet thing to put a face to a name. The face of the One who sold all to have you is the face of Jesus—and one day, as Revelation 22:1-4 promises, his servants "will see his face." Until then, rest in this: your value is not measured by what you can offer in exchange, but by what Christ has already given to make you his own.
Transcript
Would you open your Bibles, please, with me, to the Gospel of Matthew the 13th chapter. 2s
If you're using a few edition of Holy Scripture, you'll find in front of you or underneath 8s
you, the 13th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew is found on page 13 in the New Testament. 13s
Matthew the 13th chapter. 19s
It is always lovely, is it not to put a face to a name? 23s
Perhaps a family member is sharing about someone and that name keeps coming up. 32s
And then one day you meet them and that allows you then to be able to have a face associated 40s
with that name. 50s
It's nice to put a face with a name. 52s
You think of Biblical portrayals, stage productions or films, all of a sudden you see an 58s
actor portraying that character. 67s
And if you ever thought to yourself, that is exactly what I thought Peter would look like. 70s
It was exactly what I thought Paul would look like. 76s
Or yep, Mary Magdalene, that was the image I had in my mind, or perhaps as you're viewing 80s
that, you say, that's not the image I have of Peter or Paul or Mary Magdalene or whoever 86s
the character is. 92s
It's nice to put a face to a name. 95s
Here's my question this morning. 101s
As we study these two stories of Jesus, do you see your face on the first person in the 103s
parable and do you see your face in the second parable on the merchant? 115s
As we study our stories today, do you see your face in the one 126s
in the first parable? 132s
Do you see your face on the merchant in the second parable? 135s
So let's open up our Bibles then to the 13th chapter of Matthew and let's look at verse 141s
Jesus said, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in the field which someone found 150s
and hid. 157s
Then in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 158s
There's a little bit of the backstory of that. 165s
In ancient day there were no banks. 168s
You just didn't go down to the bank with your money. 171s
You buried your money. 173s
In fact, you buried valuables. 175s
People would bury money and food and furniture and clothing. 178s
In fact, in Palestine, that had been in war for centuries here. 185s
So people would bury their things to keep it from enemy soldiers that would come and 190s
they would plunder. 197s
They would bury things in the ground. 199s
Then at night, if they needed access to it, they would go, they would dig it up and 201s
then they would take it back. 207s
They would bury things in the field. 210s
That was a common practice. 213s
So here then you have this person in the story that Jesus is telling us who finds this 217s
treasure buried in the field. 224s
Let's look at the second parable. 232s
Verse 45. 233s
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. 235s
On finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. 242s
That were there for merchant. 252s
It means a whole-sale dealer. 254s
One that would buy and one that would sell. 256s
There was no more valuable gem in biblical day than the pearl. 260s
The pearl was the pinnacle. 267s
The wife of a Roman emperor would wear pearls in her hair and around her neck and on her 274s
fingers and on her wrists to show off the wealth. 282s
Why? 291s
It is said of Cleopatra that she had two pearls that if you translate it to today's 291s
money would have been worth millions upon millions of dollars. 299s
wealthy people in ancient day would sometimes take a pearl and they would drop it in vinegar 306s
to dissolve the pearl and then pour that into wine and to drink it. 311s
They were so wealthy they could just destroy the pearls and drink it. 317s
So here you have one that then discovers this pearl of great price sells everything to get that 326s
pearl. 340s
Notice both the stories that Jesus is giving notice how it starts verse 44. 343s
The kingdom of heaven is like then drop down to 45 again the kingdom of heaven is like. 352s
There is joy associated with the kingdom of heaven. 361s
There is joy in being a citizen of this kingdom through faith. 366s
So do you see your face? 374s
Do you see your face on the face of that one who discovered the treasure do you see your face 379s
on the one who had discovered the pearl of great price do you see your face? 387s
Joy in association with discovering such a treasure such a pearl? 398s
This joy associated with the kingdom of heaven. 406s
Peter writes that we have an inheritance that's imperishable, undefiled and unfaithing, 412s
kept in heaven for you. 425s
Thomas Guthrie, 19th century Scottish preacher said this, 430s
in the blood of Christ to wash out sins, darkest stains, in the grace of God to purify the 436s
foulest heart, in peace to calm life's roughest storms, in hopes to cheer guilt's darkest hour, 446s
in a courage that defies death and descends calmly into the tomb. 456s
In that which makes the poorest rich and without which the richest are poor indeed, 466s
the gospel has treasures greater, far than east or west unfold and its rewards more precious 474s
are than all the stores of gold. 484s
See your face? See your face and that one and the first parable. See your face 493s
on the merchant in the second parable. You see your face? 501s
But wait. Look, please, at verse 44 again. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, 513s
hidden in a field, which someone found and hid, then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has 528s
and buys that field. 45. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine 540s
who he went and sold all that he had and bought it. You notice what's in both parables there? 557s
What's in both parables there is the language of purchase and exchange, purchase and exchange. 570s
But Jesus says in Matthew the 16th chapter, if anyone want to become my followers, 585s
let them deny themselves take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life 592s
will lose it and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will the prophet 599s
if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life catch this or what will they give 606s
in return for their life? What will they give in return for their life? 618s
We can't give something in exchange for eternal life. We can't buy the rain and 634s
rule of God in our hearts through faith. purchase and exchange language. We're very calm. 650s
It's very common. We're very familiar with that. But purchase and exchange here. 660s
With regard to eternal life, that's a market we can't be in because of our 668s
mindfulness. Both the parables talk about buying something and getting something. 676s
That's an impossible market for us. 691s
The face on the one in the first parable, it can't be us. 699s
The face of the merchant in the second parable, it can't be us. 711s
So whose face is it? Whose face is it? 725s
Well, the most wonderful things in congregational life is when a baptism occurs. 736s
It's just a joyous time not only for the family but also for the congregation. 743s
When a baby is baptized, I always tell the parent or the parents. Always tell them. 752s
Then when it comes time for the baptism, hold the baby just to inch or so above the water 762s
with his face or her face looking at your face. Say it every single time. 770s
His face or her face looking at your face. 778s
I put it that way because I found it's an easy way for them to remember when they come up to the 784s
font how to hold the baby. His face or her face looking at your face. 791s
There's also some other benefits to it because the baby is looking at a familiar 799s
face. They know that face. They know the lines, they know the contours, they know that face 808s
because a baby's vision is very limited. It's very short and then as they grow, it becomes 821s
in greater length of what it is you can see but a little baby there they can't see very far. 829s
I think it's one of God's ways of fixating in that mind of the baby. Their mother, their father. 836s
His face or her face looking at your face. So they recognize the face. 852s
Look closely. Look closely at the parables. Who's face is it? It's the face of one 864s
and you know. Look again at verse 44. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field 884s
which someone found and hid then it is joy. He goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 900s
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls on finding one 909s
pearl of great value. He went and sold all the head and bought it. These two parables are part of 916s
what are called rain parables. R-E-I-G-N rain parables. And here's the key to rain parables. 927s
When there is one central figure in a rain parable, it's always God. 936s
More specifically, it's always Jesus. And in rain parables when you have multiple characters 945s
but one central character, that central character, it's always God. It's always Jesus. 954s
When the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross, a great exchange occurred. In fact, Luther called it 970s
the great exchange. When Jesus went to the cross, he took upon himself all of our sin and 977s
in shedding his blood on the cross. He paid the price that we could never pay. He paid the debt of our sin. 987s
So he took all of our sin upon him and through his shed blood by dying in the cross in our place, 997s
the wrath of God laid upon Jesus for the sin of the world. He took all of our sin 1005s
paid for it by shedding his blood. And he gives us in exchange his perfect righteous life. That's 1015s
what we receive in the waters of baptism. When we are washed in the victory of the cross and the 1027s
unity, that's a great exchange that occurs. Who then is the face of the one in the first parable? 1034s
It's Jesus. Who's the face you put on the merchant in the second parable? It's Jesus. 1052s
Then what does that make us? We are the treasure and we are 1068s
the pearl that Jesus will give up everything for, 1081s
including his life, dying for us, and rising for us. 1093s
The face is Jesus and the treasure and the pearl. It's us. 1106s
It's nice to put a face to a name and one day we're going to see him face to face. 1122s
Revelation, the 22nd chapter. It says this, the angel showed me the river of the water of life. 1133s
Bright is crystal flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, Jesus. 1141s
Through the middle of the street of the city, on either side of the river is the tree of life with its 12 1148s
kinds of fruit. Producing it's fruit each month and the leaves of the tree are for the healing 1156s
of the nations. Nothing occurs will be found there anymore, but the throne of God and of the Lamb 1164s
will be in it. And his servants will worship him. They will see his face. 1174s
Jesus is the face of the one in the first parable. Jesus is the face of the merchant. 1193s
And you know them what that makes us. It's nice. It's nice to put a face to a name. 1202s