Matthew 13:44–52

⁴⁴"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. ⁴⁵"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, ⁴⁶who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. ⁴⁷"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. ⁴⁸When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. ⁴⁹So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous ⁵⁰and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁵¹"Have you understood all these things?" They said to him, "Yes." ⁵²And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."

Sometimes, you just need a word of encouragement. Sometimes, you just need to be built up. Sometimes, you just need some comfort.

The disciples needed that comfort and encouragement. Things were starting to change, and not for the better. For a while, Jesus' popularity had grown and grown. He did miracles. He taught with authority. He healed people. He cast out demons. The crowds got bigger.

To illustrate his popularity in the context of today's world, one might think of the social media site Facebook. For those not familiar with Facebook, that's where someone can post a picture or say what's going on that day. You can learn when someone's had a baby or show off a pet doing something funny. Someone can put up an inspirational saying or a short video that makes you laugh. If you enjoyed the post on Facebook, you can click on the word "Like" to show you approve, and Facebook will keep track of how many people have "Liked" what you said or your picture or what happened that day to you. If Facebook had been around in the early days of Jesus' ministry, he would have been getting lots of "Likes." Hundreds and thousands of people would have heard about a miracle and clicked on Like. They would have heard him teach—more Likes. They would have been healed of some awful disease—bunches of Likes. The counter would be soaring upward. Get the idea?

Then Jesus' teaching began to get more challenging. He was calling for deep commitment on the part of his followers. Not just going along for the ride and looking for social times in the church, but lives committed to serving him and other people. The religious leaders were turning against him. Jesus challenged their teachings and the ways the leaders had used their positions for power and money. You can imagine what reaction that brought.

So now, facing opposition and hostility, you can imagine a change in his Facebook ratings. You see, on Facebook you can also "Unlike" someone or something. The counter can go down instead of up. By the time Jesus preached this series of parables in Matthew 13, the Likes would have slowed to a stop. The number of Likes would have been going down—slowly at first, but then picking up speed. Can you picture the counter just spinning backward?

Things were getting downright hostile. The crowds were getting smaller. Resistance to Jesus was becoming threatening. Can you imagine the disciples' reaction? "Hey, what's going on here? This isn't how it's supposed to be. The crowds are supposed to get bigger. If the Romans start to show their muscle, Jesus is supposed to just to flick them away. Opposition is to be crushed. The Pharisees and priests who get in the way, well, they'll be replaced."

But that wasn't happening. The disciples were feeling vulnerable, even attacked. Some might have been wondering, Is this what we signed up for? Discouraged. Confused. Afraid. The disciples needed some encouragement, some comfort, some reassurance.

Do you ever feel this way? That this isn't the way it's supposed to be with those who follow Jesus?

Cooper, Huffman and Adlerstein: in an article from The Wall Street Journal, say that Christianity is the most persecuted faith in the world. In the Middle East, especially in Muslim countries, Christians are second-class citizens with few rights and protections. Churches are burned down. Pastors and priests are beaten or imprisoned. That's frightening.

It's not that bad in the United States, but you can feel the shift that's been going on. In some college classes, professors openly attack what we believe. And those professors who are Christians may not get a promotion, tenure, or published because of what they teach about creation or life. Jesus' name is systematically being removed from everyday life. That's discouraging.

Each year, many churches have Life Sunday during which we affirm God's gift of life for all ages and conditions. However, the sanctity of life as God created it has been taking a beating. The abortion statistics are alarming and persistent. You can see this disrespect for life in how those who are approaching the end of life are treated. In how the youth in urban areas are at such a disadvantage that they've lost hope. In how teenage girls are taught that they need a certain body shape or way of dressing if they're to be of any value. In how rampant pornography on the Internet has turned women and men alike into objects for others to abuse. All that is disturbing.

Perhaps you're embarrassed by what's going on in the Church itself. That small family that calls itself the Westboro Baptist Church pickets funerals of soldiers or those who've been shot in a school or theater. What a bad name those few give the Church. Or consider the scandals with embezzlement or sexual misconduct involving Church leaders that hit the news. All that makes you drop your head.

Or it could be the churches that have closed for lack of members. Or the empty seats in a pew, or empty pews in a service. The crowds are getting smaller and smaller, while those who say they have no religious affiliation are growing in number in our country. That's hard to take.

We can certainly feel just like the disciples did back then. We are confused. We wonder. We're discouraged. It's not supposed to be this way. We need a word of encouragement. We need some comfort. We need to be reassured.

So Jesus tells the disciples—and us—two parables. They're very short parables. A man finds a treasure in the field and gives up everything to buy the field. A man finds a precious pearl. He gives up everything to buy the pearl.

Now who is the man and who is the treasure? Well, we certainly couldn't buy our way into God's presence. Heaven isn't something that we could get by giving up everything. So the man is Jesus. He will give up everything. He will give up his place in glory. He will give up his power and prestige to be born in this world. He will give up his popularity and safety to complete his mission. He will give up his life. He will go to the cross to suffer the punishment in hell for your sins. He will give up everything for the precious pearl, for the treasure.

Know what that means? You are the treasure in Jesus' eyes. You are the pearl he so wants that he'll give everything. We are the treasure in Jesus' eyes. He gives up everything for us.

Jesus tells these parables to give a word of encouragement. He wants to reassure us that what's going on is not the way things really are. He treats us with that special dignity that comes from being God's wonderful creations, formed in our mothers' wombs. Jesus treats every person with a total sanctity of life. He will sort things out at the end of time. Those who have persecuted the Church will find out who is Lord of all. Those who've done evil in his name will learn that their works did not please him. And those who are faithful to the end will rejoice in his glory as he comes back for us.

But until that Last Day, we need encouragement. We need some comfort.

Have you heard the phrase "comfort food"? When people are feeling down, they eat a certain food to make them feel better. Perhaps it's mac and cheese. Perhaps a favorite dessert. Or hot buttered popcorn. Or chocolate. But for us in the Church, Jesus gives us the ultimate comfort food. We go up to the Lord's Table and receive everything he gave for us. His body. His blood. Given and shed for us. We are welcomed to eat this comfort food and know that Jesus is truly present in our lives just as he was with the disciples so long ago. Risen from the dead. Alive. Working his wonderful gifts of life and salvation in us. Now that's a comfort.

Some people like to use water to feel better. A hot bath. A hot tub. A vacation on the beach. We have water too. In the baptismal water, Jesus came to us and said, "You are mine. I gave everything, paid it all, so that you will always be precious in my sight." In the baptismal liturgy we welcome the newly baptized with these words: "In Holy Baptism God the Father has made you a member of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and an heir with us of all the treasures of heaven in the one holy Christian and apostolic Church" (LSB, p 271). Now that's encouraging, comforting.

And there are times we just need a word of encouragement, something to reassure us that despite what we see happening in the world, in the country, in the Church, Jesus still sees us as his pearls of great price. We need to hear the words of forgiveness of sins. We need to hear that Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins and save us from God's anger and punishment in hell. We need to hear that God justified us by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Listen to these passages.

Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. John 1:29.

By grace you are saved through faith. Ephesians 2:28

God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Pet 2:9)

But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine." (Is 43:1)

Sometimes, you need a word of encouragement. Sometimes, you need to be built up. Sometimes, you need some comfort. Today you've heard it. We are Jesus' treasure! He gives up everything for us, and now

Jesus Provides the Encouragement We Need

with Comforting Food: Water and Words.

Amen.