Matthew 13:44, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field…’
In this picture, I wanted to focus on the ‘hiddenness’ of the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God—the reign of the risen King—is a treasure, to be sure; it is a treasure worth all that we are and have. And yet, it is a *hidden* treasure. It is not readily perceptible, it is not obvious to the natural eye, it is, rather, a chest of diamonds buried—as in a grave—beneath an unattractive and seemingly worthless veil of earth.
Why is this the form that the Kingdom of God takes in this world? Many answers could be given, but I think the central answer is that the Kingdom is hidden because the King is hidden.
The King of this Kingdom—the King from whom the Kingdom itself receives all of its value and glory and character—the King of this Kingdom is the One who ascends to the cosmic throne as He is lifted up on a Roman cross; the One who wields the scepter of divine sovereignty in a nail-riven right hand; the One who tramples every enemy down under feet transfixed to the tree; whose chrism is His own blood, whose crown is His people’s curse, whose victory shout is a dying cry, and whose final breath is the life of the world.
This is the ‘Hidden King’ of the ‘Hidden Kingdom,’ and to the natural eye, the cross of Christ is nothing but a barren field, a scene of death. However, to the eye of faith—the eye that sees by the light of the *resurrection* of the crucified one, the eye instructed by the Spirit whom the risen Jesus pours out from on high—to the eye of faith, the cross of Christ is the jewel encrusted throne of heaven, the diamond studded chariot of divine victory, the judgment seat of the Son of Man where Death is damned and Life opened out to all who would bow and receive *this one* as Lord and God.
Where the Roman crowds saw a man hanging on a cross, or deluded disciples destroyed by the beasts, the eyes of resurrection-illumined faith see the King of Heaven and the Kingdom of God, descending to the earth in power. May we also see this King and this Kingdom, and— renouncing everything—receive it in joy.
