TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles - Morning Manna - Nov 27, 2025 - Matthew 13:44-46 - The Treasure and the Pearl (Part 1)

Episode Date: November 27, 2025

In this special replay of the June 19, 2023 Morning Manna broadcast, we revisit two of Jesus’ shortest and most powerful parables—the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price (Matthew 13:44–46). These twin stories reveal the incomparable value of God’s Kingdom and the radical joy that compels true discipleship. A man stumbles upon treasure and sells everything with gladness; a merchant searches for the finest pearl and gives up all he possesses to obtain it. In this teaching, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart explore the nature of kingdom desire, the cost of genuine commitment, and the surpassing worth of Christ Himself, who remains the greatest treasure a believer can ever find. Teachers: Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart You can partner with us by visiting FaithandValues.com, calling 1-888-519-4935, or by mail at PO Box 399 Vero Beach, FL 32961. MEGA FIRE reveals the ancient recurring cycles of war and economic collapse that have shaped history for 600 years. These patterns predict America is now entering its most dangerous period since World War II. Get your copy today! www.megafire.world Get high-quality emergency preparedness food today from American Reserves! www.AmericanReserves.com It’s the Final Day! The day Jesus Christ bursts into our dimension of time, space, and matter. Now available in eBook and audio formats! Order Final Day from Amazon today! www.Amazon.com/Final-Day Apple users, you can download the audio version on Apple Books! www.books.apple.com/final-day Purchase the 4-part DVD set or start streaming Sacrificing Liberty today. www.Sacrificingliberty.com

This is the day which the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Hello, everybody. My name is Rick Wiles, and this weekday television program is devoted to making ready a people prepared for the Lord. That's because King Jesus will return to earth someday to gather his elect. And you and I must be remnant ready when he arrives. Jesus Christ has a remnant church that will triumphantly endure to the end. Now, we invite you to join us every weekday morning to study the Word of God.

Serving God is much easier than many people think. Remember the words of the old hymn, trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. We have a simple motto here at Morning Manna, shine brightly, taste salty, love everybody. Well, Dr. Raymond Burkhardt and I have been studying the parables of Jesus for several weeks, and today we will discuss the parable of the hidden treasure and the parable of the Pearl of Great Price. Doc will open the Bible study by reading from the 13th chapter of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, according to St. Matthew versus 45, excuse me, verses 44 and 45. Thanks, Rick. So if you've got your Bibles, open again to Matthew chapter 13 as we begin a brand

new week, a Bible study. Again, the kingdom of heaven is likened to treasure head in a field. The which when a man hath found, he hith. And for the joy thereof, goeth and sellth all that he hath and by that field. And then the following verse, it's the parable of the parole of great price. And it says, again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man seeking goodly pearls who when he had found one pearl of great price went and sold all that he had and bought it. So two parables there often paired together and Jesus connects them by saying again. Again. And so he's emphasizing the same point two times. So this is where we're at in our Bible study for this brand new week

here. I love studying the parables. Yes. Really my favorite topic in the Bible. Right. And Jesus said, is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. And the parables are meant to teach us on the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.

Therefore, we have the promise of God that we will understand the parables. Right. And so we can ask, the disciples ask the Lord for an understanding of it. And we now, through the Holy Spirit, we can ask. And we also have the word, too. the Word of God, the words that Jesus spoke and that the apostles wrote, the Apostles doctrine, and we can use the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to help us discern what the parables are saying for us today. And we have something else that the disciples did not have

at the time that Jesus spoke the parables. We have the Holy Spirit in us. They did not at the time he spoke. Now they received the Holy Spirit later, Pentecost, but at the time that he taught, the first time when he taught the parables, they didn't have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of them. So let's go back. I want to set the stage for our study of these two parables today because for the past two weeks we've been talking about the parables in the 13th chapter of Matthew and what we see are in the beginning of Matthew, there are four parables. Right. The parable of the sower, the parable of the tares, the parable of the mustard seed, and the parable of the yeast.

Right. Now, those parables, Doc, this first four, Jesus delivered them to the general public. That's right. It was at the seaside. He was on the boat and was teaching openly these four parables. Yeah, so Matthew 13 verses 1 and 2 and 3, that same day Jesus went out of the house. He was in his house. Right.

He went out of the house. The crowd was outside. Jesus sat beside the sea. Great crowds assembled around him so that he went into a boat and sat there. And the whole assembly stood on the shore. then he told them many things in parables. And then started the one with the parable of the sore from that point. That's right, which we learn in the gospel according to Mark, that's the master key.

You have to understand the parable of the sore if you're going to unlock the meaning of all the other ones. So then in verse 10, the disciples came and said to him, why do you speak to them in parables? So apparently they were on the boat with him, maybe. so he was on the boat teaching and so where they were very close but they were puzzled this is new boss

he hadn't done this before right this was a totally new this was a game changer you're right about that this was the first time he had introduced his parabolic teaching

method and so they were puzzled and so after he had delivered the parable of of the sewer his disciples came to him and said why are you speaking to the crowds

in parables? In other words why are you talking to them in riddles? They don't understand we don't even understand what you're talking about and then this is when Jesus said it is given to you to know the mysteries

of the kingdom of heaven right there my dear friend you have the promise of Jesus Christ that you will understand the mysteries of his kingdom. You don't ever say, I'm ignorant. I don't understand these things. This is too hard for me.

Jesus said, it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. But to them, pointing to the general public, it is not given. He said, for to him who has more will be given, and to him who has and he will have abundance but from him who has not even what he has will be taken away in other words

those who are pursuing knowledge of God will be given more those who don't care what little bit of knowledge that they have God will take it from them and I know that is difficult for some people to understand but that's what Jesus said

if you don't appreciate him if you don't value him he'll take what little knowledge you have of him and he'll take it away from you right so so now he goes to he explains the parable the sewer and and he's explained this to the public then he gives the parable the weeds then the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the yeast and then you get down to verse 34 jesus said all these things to the crowds and parables yes this is all being spoken to the public and another thing i want you to remember if a preacher

comes on tv and he's got a book for sale that unlocks the mysteries and he's only he's got the mysteries he's got the key to the mysteries and you got to give him twenty five dollars to get the key just turn to channel just turn to channel god god doesn't have any mysteries that he's keeping from you and me and giving it to one person. He said it is for the whole church to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. So don't fall for that line. When you see somebody selling you merchandise that promises to share with you the mysteries that only this one preacher has, that's a lie from hell, God said it's for you to know the mysteries. Nothing. secret. He put it all in a book. That's right.

It's all here. Look, everything you need to know is in this book. It's all right here. And all you have to do is pursue knowledge of God. First, this is where you learn him the most. Learn him through his word. He is the word.

The word is him. You can't separate it to do. So you get down to verse 34, Jesus said all these things to the crowds in parables. And without a parable, he did not speak to them. Right. Doc, from this point on, if he didn't deliver a parable, he kept his mouth shut. Right.

Unless it was interchange with the Pharisees or something like that. Right. But when he was teaching. Yes, he used parables from this point on. He'd been a preacher up to this point, basically giving sermons, answering questions, teaching. But now he's changed his method. That's right. And then he says,

I will open my mouth in parables. I will say things which have been kept secret since the foundation of the world. So what things have been kept secret since the foundation of the world, Rick? The kingdom. That's right. The mystery of the kingdom. Because up to this point, the idea of a kingdom was a physical, you know, you have a king, you have a possession of land.

It has a boundary, it has a people, but in a physical sense. The only thing that the Jewish people knew it at that time about a kingdom was the Davidic kingdom. Right. King David. They wanted all of their being, they wanted God to restore the Davidic kingdom. They wanted the power, the glory, the land, the wealth, the prestige of the Davidic kingdom. And they were waiting on a Messiah who they believed. would deliver them, deliver the kingdom back to them.

But for the Jews, they were waiting for a political kingdom. Yes. And Judas was one of them. He was a zealot. I believe the reason Judas betrayed Jesus is that he came to the conclusion, Jesus is not going to take on the Roman Empire. He's not going to be backing. I think he's, we're back in a loser.

And he went to the Jewish rulers and said, you know what? He's not going to do it. He's not going to take on the Roman Empire. I'm with you guys. But they were looking for a physical king. And Jesus came as the king, but he was lowly and meek. And he offered them the kingdom of God. And they didn't want it because they couldn't understand it.

They couldn't grasp what he was offering them. And that's what the parables are about. And so now we get to this part. Verse 36, then Jesus. then Jesus sent the crowds away going home go go go go all right that's it for today go home I'll talk to you tomorrow

then Jesus sent the crowds away and went back into the house yes and his disciples came to him saying explain to us the parable of the weeds the parable of the tears right of the field so then so then he explains

The Parable of the Taras. It's interesting, Rick, that Jesus publicly explained the parable of the soar. He publicly explained it. But he did not publicly explain these other parables that were listed here. That's right. So what are your thoughts on that? Because he's now teaching, he's now teaching at a deeper level how his kingdom will be contaminated by the world

on earth the kingdom of heaven is in that gap between his first advent and the second advent that's the kingdom of heaven so John the Baptist was proclaiming repent for the kingdom of heaven is come

and then Jesus came and he's saying repent the kingdom is nigh the kingdom is here if you're still waiting on the kingdom it's already here the kingdom of heaven is now and if you're a believer and you follow the teachings of jesus christ you are a citizen of that kingdom you've got a passport yes you've got a driver's license you've got everything yeah you're in you're in personally i believe you know what's the difference kingdom of heaven kingdom of god i believe the kingdom of heaven i believe the kingdom of heaven is a subset inside the kingdom of God. The kingdom of heaven is for this church age between the first Advent and the second Advent. That's my personal belief about it. That when

Christ comes back, you no longer have the kingdom of heaven because the full manifestation of the kingdom of God has arrived. Plus heaven and earth will have passed away. Yes. There's no longer a necessity for a kingdom of heaven on earth. There you go. Good point. Very good point. So at this place, Jesus has gone back into the house. His disciples ask him, hey, tell us the meaning of the parable of the tears. He gives the interpretation, which talks about the end of the world. And what we learned about this is the reaper angels are going to come and pull up those that pretend to be Christians that look alike wheat.

that are mingled in with the wheat, and they're going to be pulled up on the day of judgment. This is not a secret pre-trip rapture. This is the one and only time Jesus Christ comes back. He doesn't pull up weeds and then come back seven years later and get the wheat. Happens at the same time. Or maybe I should reverse that. He doesn't come and put the pre-trip rapture. He doesn't come and pull up the wheat and then come back seven years later to get to weeds.

Yes, that's a problem. He does it all at the same time. It's simultaneous. Now we get to the parable of the hidden treasure. So at this point, Doc, before coming back into the house when he's outside. Right. He's taught four parables to the public. Yes.

He then comes into the house and teaches four parables in the privacy of the house. He teaches the parable of the hidden treasure. Right. The parable of the Pearl Great Price, the parable of the net, and the parable of treasures new and old. Right. That's all inside the house. Public didn't hear any of it.

And that's, so today, we're talking about the parable of the hidden treasure and the parable of the pearl of great price. And it's interesting he taught these two parables immediately after he gave the interpretation of the parable of the tears. of tears. Tears. We're talking about the end of the world. The parable the net also talks about the end of the world too. Absolutely. I can't wait to get to that one. That's tomorrow. And he gives the interpretation of that. But these two are right between those two parables there. So do you think there's a connection to the end times, the last days for these parables

compared with the others? I think all the parables. teaches about the last days. I agree with you. I think they all do. It's prophecies in the parables. And that's why we should study them to understand the kingdom now

and the second coming of Jesus Christ. So let's look at the parable of a hidden treasure. We'll put it back up on screen. This is verse 44. Yes. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a

treasure hid in the field to which one a man hath found he hideeth and for joy thereof goeth and sellth all that he hath and buyeth that field. Okay so we go back to our key

all right our we've been teaching for two weeks that the figures the elements the objects that are in the parables always remain the same the field

doesn't mean one thing in this parable and something else in another parable. A sewer is not one person in this parable and another person in another parable. They're always the same. Right. So with that understanding, we look at this, the kingdom of heaven is like

treasure hid in a field. All right. Now we've heard about fields before in parables. Where have we heard a field before, Rick? In the sewer. Right. And the tears. Yes. Because in the sewer. Jesus is the sewer. Sowing seed

in the world, in the field. The field is the world. He tells us the field is the world. In verse 38, he makes it very clear. The field is the world. And then in the parable of the tears, there are two sowers, but they're both sewing in the same field. And the field is the world. He makes that clear in that as well. Now, what is the standard general interpretation by most people of this particular verse, Rick. I know I've heard various interpretations and everything.

What do you think is the most common explanation that most teachers give today on this? The one I was always taught, and I just assumed that it was true, and you shouldn't assume anything is true. You should find out, is that the treasure is salvation. The treasure is,

the kingdom of God and it's hidden and there's a man who discovers salvation and he gets so excited about salvation he goes and you know sells everything he's got

and gives up everything so he can have salvation that's what I've been taught one other explanation I've heard is that the the treasure is the Word of God and the field is men's hearts and that you know when you experience by faith the Word of God you do anything you can to grab a hold of that treasure even you know sell everything that you have to have that treasure however I've not heard that one yeah

so so these are a couple different there's different ones in this too but the but But probably the standard one in most churches is that the treasure is salvation. Right. Or the treasure is Jesus. And the man is our sinners. The man represents sinners who discover Jesus, discovers salvation and gets excited about the fact that all their sins can be forgiven, they can be saved. and they give up everything to believe in Jesus. That, to me, is the predominant interpretation of that scripture. However, those interpretations ignore the explanation that Jesus gives about understanding the parables. As you said, we have to understand the parable of the sword to understand all parables. So he gave us that information first.

And he gave an interpretation for that parable to everybody that was listening at that particular time. So he made it clear. You have to understand this, and you have to understand the word pictures I'm using, and I use the same thing over and over again. In this, he talks about a field. So if that's the case, if there's a field here, then what is the field? If it relates to the same field that's in all the other parables? The field is the world.

It's as plain as night and day. Then the standard interpretation would mean that, salvation is hidden in the world. Well, you'd have to take it that way, unless they're wrong about what's being hidden in the field and who the man is. So that's what we need to discern. What we do know is that the field is the world.

So what is being hidden in the world? A treasure it says. And that word treasure is interesting because it's the same word that we use for the source. You know, a the source where you find similar words. words and everything. It's a, a thesaurus is a treasury of words. Oh, okay. Okay. So that's where we get that

same word from. And Jesus talks about treasure and other scriptures as well. You know, whatever you treasure in your heart, that, you know, that's what you will serve. And even in the parable of the talent, so word treasure

comes up as well, too. So it's a common word that Jesus uses in a number of these parables, some that be talking about later on. But it means a container that holds treasure. Think of, I like to think it like a pirate chest, you know. It wasn't a pirate chest, but I like to think of it that way. It's a big container that holds something valuable. And one, I saw several teachers that talked about this that, you know, here's a man, he's walking a field and he stumbles across this treasure.

accidentally stumbles across it. Look what I found here. I found a treasure. And now I'm a treasure that had been hidden. And I'm going to take this treasure. I'm going to hide it somewhere else. I've heard that explanation too, Rick. And that just didn't make any sense either.

But if you understand that the field is the world, then you have to ask yourself, who is the man? Well, in the other parables, the man is Jesus. That's right. So you have to conclude that the man, is Jesus Christ, he is in his field the world, and he sees a treasure that's hidden in the world. Yes. And he buys, he sells everything that he has, which would be Jesus.

That's right. Jesus sells everything that he has so that he can buy the treasure. All right. So if we follow that logic, if Jesus sells everything that he has, well, now, the only thing of real value that Jesus had to give was his life. His blood. That's right. I was bought with a price.

That's right. You were a purchase. You purchased that. Jesus basically purchased the field so he could get the treasure. So now we need to ask. Were we not ransomed? Were we not ransomed? By a price, yes. He paid the ransom.

What this means, my dear friend, is that this parable means, that Jesus Christ saw you as the treasure. That's right. You were in the world. And he saw you and he said

that person, that man, that woman, that child is treasure to me. I will give all that a half. I'll pay whatever price in order to buy this treasure. That's right. What was the price he paid? He hung on a cross. cross. He was crucified. His blood poured out of him. He descended into the place of the dead

all for you to buy the treasure. Man Doc, it's exciting. It is. And I like that interpretation better than the standard one. And then when you go to verse 35 in the parable of the pearl of great price, it says, again, the king of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls, who when he'd found one pearl of great price, went and sold all they had and bought it. And so once again, Jesus is reinforcing this idea of something of a tremendous value that is being purchased at the cost of everything. My understanding, and I might be wrong on this, but my understanding is that in ancient times, the Jewish people did not trade in pearls.

And so when Jesus said this to an audience of Jews, mostly Jews, they were wondering, why are pearls of great value? But to the Greeks. Now that's interesting. To the Greeks who were in the audience, the Greeks traded in pearls. What? That a preach, won't it? preach now. Wow. The pearl represents Gentiles. Oh my goodness. Now you see why they're back to back. Right. Yes. And this was hidden from the beginning. This is hidden from the foundation of the

world. Paul teaches extensively about the salvation of mankind, particularly the Gentiles being saved as mystery. As a mystery. Wow. Now, now, I'm learning something new today here. And then in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek. We are one in Christ, a new creature in Christ. But Jesus Christ looks at the Jews and he says a great treasure. He looks at the Gentiles. He says, a great treasure.

A pearl. A pearl. I will give everything that I have to buy them. And he did. He paid the price for. for all Jews to be saved. He paid the price for all Gentiles to be saved. He paid the price for you to be saved,

for me, for Doc to be saved. Because you are a treasure to him. You're not trash. You're not junk. You're treasure. You're more valuable to God than you understand. And he gave everything that you would be saved. Don't deny him the pleasure of saving your soul.

surrender to Jesus Christ and ask him to save your soul. I'll see you tomorrow.