Daily Devotional For Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Good morning Southside! Hope your week has begun with a great start in the Lord. We are making our way through the Gospel of Matthew. Today, we come to Matthew 13:44-46:
“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. (45) Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, (46) and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. (NASB).
Jesus was a master teacher and He knew that at times even when we hear something, we do not get it or understand it. There can be numerous reasons for this, but He goes back to the teaching about the valuableness of the Kingdom of God. Jesus compared it to a treasury hidden in a field which is found accidentally by a man. The word used here for the man is a reference to a day laborer. Rabbinic law required that if a day laborer came across a hidden treasure in a field, and lifted it out, it belonged to the owner. In this story the day laborer was careful not to lift the treasure out of the field.
But before he would dig up this hidden treasure, he would have to quit his job so that he was no longer working for the land owner. Then, he would have to go back home and estimate that if he sold everything he had, would he have enough money to go buy the field? If he could, and bought the field, then being the owner, when he dug it up, it was rightfully his. Some have had questions about the ethics and morality of a person obtaining a treasure in this way. Jesus was not attempting to teach a lesson in ethics and morality here.
He was emphasizing the value of this treasure and how one’s commitment and sacrifice to obtain it. The Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of heaven is far more valuable than anything else we can have and everyone must be willing to give up everything to obtain it. Then in verse 47, Jesus gives another illustration about the Kingdom of heaven with the use of pearls. Just like in our day, pearls were extremely valuable. This man found one pearl, and he sold everything he had invested everything he had in order to buy it. Again, Jesus is stressing the commitment to part of the Kingdom of heaven. The Kingdom of heaven requires a total investment of discipleship from anyone who wants to be in it.
Matthew 13 is unique in that Jesus tells one parable after another to help people understand what is required to be in the Kingdom of heaven. The treasure and pearl parables tell of the joy of finding peace with God. There’s no other word to express it. Both stories involve people who very happily find the answer to their life’s hopes and dreams. That’s what becoming a Christian is about: deepest needs met, deepest longings satisfied, deepest hurts bandaged, and a future and a hope unlike any other. It all adds up to joy! If your faith is grim and your life bleak, let God put some of this wonderful happiness back where it should be. If you have not yet trusted Jesus as your Lord, grab this precious pearl today.
Each of these parables shows the transformative power the Kingdom of heaven through Jesus can make in a person’s life. We were once going left, and now right. We were once lost, but now found. We were once going to hell, but now heaven. We were once indecisive, but now disciplined. There is obvious visible fruit that shows this. Old Scottish preacher Thomas Gutherie wrote this in his book in 1867:
“The Gospel alters both our character and condition—making the rude gentle, the coarse refined, the impure holy, the selfish generous—working a greater transformation than if a felon of the prison were to change into a courtier of the palace, or the once ragged boy who had been educated to crime on the streets were to wear a star on his manly breast and stand in the brilliant circle that surrounds a throne” (Source: Thomas Gutherie, The Parables Read In The Light Of The Present Day, pp. 212-213).
Assignment: What are you committed to today that proves you are committing all to the pearl of the Kingdom of heaven? Genuine discipleship cannot be a half-way commitment. How would you answer the following questions to the Lord right now? How are you any different today in your walk with Christ than you were 6 months ago or a year ago? What is your prayer life like? What is your personal daily Bible study like? What is your personal evangelism like? How is your joy as a child of God?
Scripture To Meditate On: Luke 14:33, “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple” (ESV).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, I really do want to be totally devoted to you in every area of life, even those secret places I keep only to myself. I do not want to conform to my culture, but I want to be transformed by Christ. I want the joy of my salvation to be knowing I am more and more consistent in my discipleship with You. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly