© 2026 Tony Garlanda
44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for 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 beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. (Matthew 13:44-46)
The MacArthur Study Bible and Ryrie Study Bible provide examples of the most-common interpretation of these parables.4
These two parables have identical meanings. Both picture salvation as something hidden from most people (see note on v. 11), but so valuable that people who have it revealed to them are willing to give up all they have to possess it. -- John MacArthur, ed.5
The parables of the treasure and pearl indicate the incomparable value of the kingdom, which will cause a man to do everything possible to possess it. -- Charles Caldwell Ryrie6
Both study bibles suggest the purchaser in each parable represents a the believer, who gives up everything to obtain that which is valued. The MacArthur Study Bible suggests the treasure and pearl represent salvation whereas Ryrie suggests they represent the kingdom. Another popular idea is that the treasure and pearl represent Christ Himself.
The popular interpretation sounds reasonable on first-blush, but upon additional thought some nagging questions arise:
Every Christian agrees that salvation and the kingdom and Christ are immensely valuable and there is a cost to truly following Christ, but is that what this parable is about?
Remember: we aren’t looking for a possible interpretation, but the best interpretation—the one that does justice to all the contextual clues.
When it comes to real-estate, the saying goes, value depends upon "location, location, location!" We might say something similar concerning the meaning of scripture: meaning depends upon "context, context, context!" Another way to say it is, context is king when it comes to understanding a passage.7
We can view context as a bullseye of concentric circles. The innermost circle is the passage or pericope (see below) itself. The outermost circle is the entire Bible. By methodically gleaning relevant information within each circle, we obtain a more accurate understanding of what the passage is conveying. As with a bullseye, the innermost circle has the greatest importance (relevance in determining meaning).
Each circle represents a "contextual region" which contributes to an understanding of the immediate passage, spanning from most-relevant (the passage itself) to least-relevant (the rest of the Bible).
The analogy of faith is the foundational principle behind a very important interpretive practice: Scripture interprets Scripture. This principle applies within every concentric context.
Hermeneutically, “analogy of faith” is defined as the “general harmony of fundamental doctrine that pervades the entire Scriptures.” Two degrees of analogy are acknowledged: (1) the positive, something so plainly stated and based on so many passages that there can be no question as to the meaning (e.g., sin, redemption, and omnipotence), and (2) the general, something not based on explicit declarations but on the obvious scope and import of Scriptural teachings as a whole. . . . Bernard Ramm defines “analogy of faith” in terms of one and only one system of doctrine taught by the Bible. This, he says, forbids pitting one author against another or finding doctrinal contradictions within the Bible." -- Robert L. Thomas9
No theological doctrine should be based on a single passage of Scripture in isolation from the whole counsel of God. McQuilkin remarked, “It will not do to determine the meaning of a passage independent of the rest of Scripture. . . . To study only one element of a revealed truth in a single passage may lead to a distortion of that truth. Inconsistencies, omissions, and wrong emphases may go undetected.” [Robertson McQuilkin, Understanding and Applying the Bible (Chicago: Moody Press, 1992), 209, 219] -- Steve Lewis10
No passage contradicts another passage. We may not always understand how these passages harmonize, but any perceived problems or contradictions are from the perspective of finite humans. They are not true contradictions. -- Michael Vlach11
We believe they [the scriptures] contain one harmonious and sufficiently complete system of doctrine; that all of their parts are consistent with each other; and that it is our duty to trace out this consistency by a careful investigation of the meaning of particular passages. -- Loraine Boettner12
We affirm the unity, harmony and consistency of Scripture and declare that it is its own best interpreter. We deny that Scripture may be interpreted in such a way as to suggest that one passage corrects or militates against another. We deny that later writers of Scripture misinterpreted earlier passages of Scripture when quoting from or referring to them. -- J. I. Packer13
Ian Murray cites Spurgeon who coined the phrase "Grasshopper Method" to describe an unreliable yet commonly-encountered approach to interpreting scripture:
The “Grasshopper Method” of interpretation or exegesis must be avoided. There is no form of evil doctrine or practice that may not claim apparent Scriptural sanction and support from isolated passages taken out of their context, but no erroneous doctrine can ever find support in the Word of God when the whole united testimony of the Scriptures is weighed against it. -- Iain H. Murray14
When interpretation bypasses context, all manner of mischief can result.
The fact of the matter is you can make the Bible say whatever you want it to say if you don’t care about context. I’ve used this example before: Judas went out and hung himself, go thou and do likewise and what you do, do quickly. So wow, the Bible supports suicide, right? Well, not if you care about the context of those verses. But anybody can string together a bunch of out of context verses and make it sound any way they want. -- Andy Woods15
It is my view that the popular interpretation of these parables has an already-arrived-at destination in mind and pours that meaning into the passage. This isn't as troublesome as Spurgeon's "Grasshopper Method," but I believe it still leads us astray.
Let's consider how concentric context helps us understand these two parables.
In this case, the author only wrote a single book of the Bible so we don't have additional books by the same author to mine for other contextual clues.
Since Jesus mentions the scribe "is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old" (Mat. 13:52), we can expect to find clues to understand the parables in the "things old" — the Old Testament. What does the Old Testament say about treasure in a field (the world)?
We find that Israel is said to be God's treasure, in comparison with all other people in the world (field):
What does the Old Testament have to say about purchasing the treasure?
Israel was redeemed from Egypt (2S. 7:23) in close association with the Passover—a picture of the spiritual redemption achieved by a future Passover Lamb (John 1:36, 39). Thus, the Old Testament establishes Israel as God’s treasure which He purchased out of Egypt. In purchasing the nation Israel from Egypt, God typified His ultimate purchase of believing Jews among Israel on the cross.
However, when believing Jews were purchased by The Son of Man, so too were believers of all nationalities.
What does the Old Testament (“things old”) reveal concerning the pearl of great price?
We know from the Parable of the Hidden Treasure that in the process of purchasing His people Israel, Jesus also paid the purchase price to redeem the entire world. That parable implied that redemption was available both for believing Jews as well as for believing Gentiles. . . . Since the previous parable focused on the redemption of Israel, it seems likely that this parable completed the picture by focusing on the redemption of Gentiles using the metaphor of a pearl. -- Steve Lewis31
The message of the Parable of the Pearl is that the redemption which Jesus provided was sufficient, not only for His people Israel, but also for believing Gentiles. At the beginning of the age during which the kingdom is postponed, Jesus will give the ultimate sacrifice to purchase both His treasured people as well as “taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name” (Acts 15:14-18). -- Steve Lewis32
The Lord died for that nation, and still the results of that death are not yet manifested. Israel is hid in the field, in the world. The Lord will come again and return to the field, the world, once more. He comes to claim His inheritance. Then He will lift the treasure, then He will claim His people Israel and they will rejoice in His salvation. During this age, the age of an absent Lord, Israel is kept hid in the field. This is one of the mysteries in the kingdom of the heavens. . . . Israel is the Lord’s peculiar treasure. He has purchased His earthly people. They shall yet be His peculiar treasure, displaying in the earth, in the coming age, all the excellencies of Himself. They will be a justified, a separated and Spirit-filled people. . . . The Lord died for that nation, and still the results of that death are not yet manifested. Israel is hid in the field, in the world. The Lord will come again and return to the field, the world, once more. He comes to claim His inheritance. Then He will lift the treasure, then He will claim His people Israel and they will rejoice in His salvation. During this age, the age of an absent Lord, Israel is kept hid in the field. This is one of the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens. -- Arno C. Gaebelein35
This identification of Israel as the treasure seems to be the most plausible explanation for the subject of this parable. But if the treasure is God’s people Israel, then why would they be described as hidden? And why, once the man found them, would they be hidden again? One commentator explained it this way: When God chose Israel to become His treasure, it was not because they were better than other nations. God wanted a people to represent Him, to be a repository for His Word, and to be an example of what a nation ought to be. God intended Israel to show to the rest of the world how any nation can be blessed with peace and prosperity through a right relationship to Himself. … In this parable Israel is His treasure. However, when Christ came, Israel was no longer a shining example of what a people in fellowship with God should be. For more than seven hundred years Israel had been the military target of other nations. The people had violated God’s laws and become involved in various forms of idolatry. As a result of their backsliding, God allowed them to suffer defeat at the hands of their enemies. When the Lord Jesus Christ appeared in His first advent, His treasure was hidden, that is, the people were scattered without a king. A remnant that returned from their latest captivity was then chafing under the bitter yoke of Rome. God’s treasure had failed to fulfill her role. … He uncovered His treasure, but only for a brief period of time. When they said they would not have Him and openly rejected Him, He hid the treasure again. [Lehman Strauss, Prophetic Mysteries Revealed, Loizeaux Brothers (1980): 92, 93, 94.] -- Steve Lewis36
Our investigation of these two parables demonstrates the importance of considering all the contextual circles when interpreting passages in Scripture. This is particularly important when reading the words of Jesus in the New Testament. As members of the pearl (church-age believers who often lack familiarity with the Old Testament), it is all too easy for us to overlook important clues from the "things old."
Now that we've considered the context, we have found:
Among the more insightful summaries of these parables comes from the pen of the late Dr. John Walvoordb.37
PARABLE OF THE TREASURE, 13:44 - . . . A common interpretation, such as is advanced in Trench's work on parables, is that the man who finds the treasure is the believer who finds Christ, with the same interpretation carried over to the merchant who finds the pearl. Everyone agrees that Christ is a treasure whom all the world has not discovered, but upon close examination, the interpretation is shallow and unsatisfactory. In the parable, the man was represented as hiding the treasure and selling all he had to buy it. The facts are, of course, that a believer in Christ has nothing to offer and the treasure is not for sale. The believer does not buy a field, representing the world, in order to gain Christ. Further, upon discovery of the treasure, a believer shares it with others rather than hides it. The key to the parable is to determine what the treasure was that was held in the field. Although the interpretation should not be dogmatically held, there is scriptural evidence that what was referred to here was none other than the nation Israel. Although Israel is an obvious factor in the world, apart from scriptural revelation, no one would recognize Israel as a treasure, and especially a treasure for which anyone would sell all that he has to buy. Scriptural support is given for interpreting the treasure as Israel . . . Ex. 19:5 . . . Ps. 135:4 . . . The fact that Israel is a treasure not recognized by the world and therefore hidden is all too evident today. Even among evangelical Christians, there are those who question whether Israel is an important biblical nation today with a prophetic future. Yet as we trace the gospel narratives, it is clear that Jesus came with a special purpose of redeeming Israel, although at the same time He reconciled the world to Himself. It was Jesus, therefore, who sold all that He had in order to buy the treasure, Israel, and to purchase it with His own blood (Php. 2:7-8; 1Pe. 1:18-19). During the present age, Israel is a hidden entity in the world, only to emerge at the end of the age as a major factor in the prophetic fulfillment leading up tot he second coming of Christ. -- John Walvoord38
PARABLE OF THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE, 13:45-46 - In this parable, the same thought was presented as in the preceding one; only here, the pearl seemed to represent the church rather than Israel. . . . The parable emphasized that the church has been made possible by the merchant who sold all that He had to secure the great pearl. So Christ, leaving the glory of heaven, made the supreme sacrifice of dying on the cross in order to make possible the formation of the church. . . . In the treasure and the pearl are the two major purposes of God for Israel and the church from a spiritual point of view, and His purposes for both are realized, even thought there is a dual line of development of good and evil culminating in the second coming of Christ. -- John Walvoord39
Sat Mar 28 18:53:44 2026
SpiritAndTruth.org Scan Codec
contact@SpiritAndTruth.orgd
Endnotes:
| 1. | https://spiritandtruth.org/teaching/topics_by_tony_garland_02/21_The_Parable_of_the_Hidden_Treasure/index.htm |
| 2. | Unless indicated otherwise, all Scripture references are from the New King James Version, copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. |
| 3. | Ref-1640, Mat. 13:44-46 |
| 4. | To his credit, Ryrie also mentions the interpretation we derive here. “Another possible interpretation equates the man with Christ (as in v. 37) who sacrifices His all to purchase His people.” -- Charles Caldwell Ryrie3 |
| 5. | Ref-0089, Mat. 13:44 |
| 6. | Ref-1640, Mat. 13:44-46 |
| 7. | A common, but unwise pursuit, attempts to leverage minutia within the original languages—word meaning and grammatical subtlety—to determine meaning, while paying insufficient attention to the context. But the Biblical languages are like all other human languages where grammar and individual word meanings play a secondary role to the context within which they are found. See Q387 : Misusing Greek when Interpreting a Bible Passagee. |
| 8. | DeMoss, Matthew S, Pocket dictionary of the Study of new Testament Greek (Lisle, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2006), 96. |
| 9. | Ref-0231, 64. |
| 10. | Ref-0785, Steve Lewis, "The Doctrine of the Trinity - Part 1," Volume 12 Number 35, March 2008, 47 |
| 11. | Ref-1631, 36 |
| 12. | Ref-0096, 51 |
| 13. | CSBH, Article XVII |
| 14. | Ref-1324, Dan. 1:1 |
| 15. | Woods-Kingdom, Part 53 |
| 16. | Ref-0015, 283. |
| 17. | Actually there is only one witness: Jesus, but two similar aspects to the parable. |
| 18. | Some may object that one shouldn't attribute importance to this detail within the parable. Indeed, this is a general principle: “Determine the one central truth the parable is attempting to teach. This might be called the golden rule of parabolic interpretation for practically all writers on the subject mention it with stress. ‘The typical parable presents one single point of comparison,’ writes Dodd. ‘The details are not intended to have independent significance.’ Others have put the rule this way: Don't make a parable walk on all fours.” -- Bernard Ramm16 But in this case, we have two parables with very similar content: a valued item found and purchased by an individual. But in only one of the parables, the valued item is hidden after having been purchased. This singular contrast between the two parables seems significant enough warrant further exploration. This is why the interpretation of parables is not a science, but an art—a single set of principles cannot be universally applied: judgement is required on behalf of the interpreter. |
| 19. | The passage in Isaiah has multiple referents. It applied to those in his own day, but also applies to the generation which rejected Messiah Jesus. |
| 20. | For more examples of being given over to one's own desires by God, see Ps. 81:12; Isa. 66:4; Acts 7:42; Rom. 1:26.28; 2Th. 2:11. |
| 21. | The word of here, speaks of the origin of the kingdom, not its location as might be assumed (Dan. 7:13-14, 22, 27). |
| 22. | This is also evident from Jesus' comment closing out the "kingdom of heaven" parables, . . . every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old. (Matthew 13:52b). The old things are found in the Old Testament, the new things are found within the new revelation just given by Jesus concerning the interadvent age. |
| 23. | For more on the significance of the threefold division of Matthew's genealogy, see my presentation on The Times of the Gentilesf, and especially lesson 5, Presentation of the Kingg. |
| 24. | In actuality, Jesus' power over the demonic realm represents a reversal of The Fall and a foretaste of conditions in the coming kingdom when demonic influences will be absent—one reason why Jesus said, 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. (Mat. 13:28) |
| 25. | And such remains the spiritual condition of Israel down to our day. |
| 26. | Although it will be the focus of preaching once again prior to his return (Mat. 24:14). |
| 27. | This is not to say that the death of the King was unknown to those familiar with the Old Testament (Ps. 22; Isa. 53; John 1:23,36). |
| 28. | We discuss the significance of the conditional aspect mentioned in Exodus 19:5 later in the presentation. |
| 29. | This association continues in the New Testament (Rev. 13:1; 17:5). |
| 30. | “The one pearl is still in the dark waters of the sea. How many more members will be added to this one pearl we do not know. How long it will be yet, before the Lord takes her unto Himself into the air, to adorn Himself with that precious pearl, none can tell.” Ref-1643, 52 |
| 31. | Lewis-1, 5 |
| 32. | Lewis-1, 6 |
| 33. | Israel broke the Mosaic Covenant: Deu. 29:25; 31:16, 20; 1K. 19:10; Isa. 24:5; 33:8; Jer. 11:10; 22:9; 31:32; Eze. 16:59; 44:7; Hos. 6:7; 8:1; Heb. 8:9. |
| 34. | “One of the transitions taking place in the text is that Israel, due to its rejection of Christ through its leaders, is being rejected for a time, while Christ does some work that is unexpected, namely the calling out of many unanticipated sons of the kingdom throughout the world. . . . the focus of joy by the man in the parable (Christ) shows that He has a heart for the world (the field) in light of the treasure itself. This is in keeping with the theological understanding of the mission of Israel as a light to the world (e.g., Isaiah 49:6) and the Pauline portrait of Israel’s judicial blindness as a boon to the Gentile mission (Rom 11). If this way of taking the passage is valid, it would harmonize well with Matthew’s own comprehension of the shift from the focus on Israel to the Gentiles.” Ref-0055, 355 |
| 35. | Ref-1643, 50-51 |
| 36. | Lewis-1, 2 |
| 37. | Our own Steve Lewis and myself can be seen standing behind Dr. Walvoord in the linked image. |
| 38. | Ref-1268, 104-106 |
| 39. | Ref-1268, 104-106 |
Sources:
| CSBH | J. I. Packer, Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics, https://spiritandtruth.org/reference/chicago_statement/hermeneutics.html accessed 2026-03-27. |
| Lewis-1 | Steve Lewis, The Private Parables, https://www.spiritandtruth.org/teaching/Matthew_13_by_Steve_Lewis/006_Matthew_13_44-52/20240331_006_Matthew_13_44-52_notes.pdf, accessed 2026-03-24. |
| Ref-0015 | Bernard Ramm, Protestant Biblical Interpretation (MI: Baker Book House, 1970). |
| Ref-0055 | Michael Stallard, "Hermeneutics and Matthew 13: Part 2", Conservative Theological Journal, vol 5 (Dec. 2001) |
| Ref-0089 | John MacArthur, ed., The MacArthur Study Bible (Nashville: Word Publishing, 1997). |
| Ref-0096 | Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination (Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1932). |
| Ref-0231 | Robert L. Thomas, Evangelical Hermeneutics: The New Versus the Old (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2002). |
| Ref-0785 | Journal of Dispensational Theology, Fort Worth, TX: Tyndale Theological Seminary. [www.tyndale.edu]. |
| Ref-1268 | John Walvoord, Matthew: Thy Kingdom Come (Chicago, IL: Moody Bible Institute, 1974). ISBN:08024-5189-6h. |
| Ref-1324 | Iain H. Murray, The Forgotten Spurgeon (Edinburgh, Scotland: Banner of Truth Trust, 1966, 2009). ISBN:978-1-84871-011-5i. |
| Ref-1631 | Michael Vlach, He Will Reign Forever: A Biblical Theology of the Kingdom of God (Silverton, OR: Lampion House Publishing, 2017, 2020). ISBN:978-1-7345067-0-9j. |
| Ref-1640 | Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Ryrie Study Bible: King James Version (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1994). ISBN:9780802438591k. |
| Ref-1643 | Arno C. Gaebelein, The Seven Parables - Matthew 13 (Los Angeles, CA: The Bible House of Los Angeles, 1906). |
| Woods-Kingdom | Andy Woods, The Coming Kingdom, Part 53 - Kingdom Now Passages, Part 11 (John 18:36), https://www.spiritandtruth.org/teaching/The_Coming_Kingdom_by_Andy_Woods/53_kingdom_now_passages_11/20181017_53_coming_kingdom_transcript.html accessed 2026-03-25. |