Gospel in Art: The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure, attributed to Rembrandt and Gerrit Dou © Collection Esterhazy, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest/Wikimedia

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 30 July 2023
Matthew 13:44-46

Jesus said to the crowds: 'The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which someone has found; he hides it again, goes off happy, sells everything he owns and buys the field.

'Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls; when he finds one of great value he goes and sells everything he owns and buys it.'

Reflection on the painting

Our painting attributed to Rembrandt and Gerrit Dou is divided diagonally in half (from the top right corner to the bottom left). The upper left half depicts a landscape with mountains and a city in the distance. The right lower half shows a man in front of a treasure he has just discovered. However, he is not looking at the treasure, but he is looking away at the upper left half, at the landscape, at the horizon, in a meditative pose. This man is past the point where the rich treasure initially impressed him. We can see him already thinking of what to do next: now that he has found the hidden treasure he longed for, he is resolved to sell everything he has so that he can buy the field.

The treasure the man discovered is Christ Himself. Besides the shovel of the man lies a bunch of wild acanthus, symbolic for enduring life… This affirms that the treasure we find in Jesus is everlasting.

The parable of today demonstrates how we are to seek the treasure of Jesus. But just like the man needed to make sacrifices to then buy the field, we are invited too to part with certain things, in order to obtain something inestimably greater. The value of salvation far surpasses any amount of what we may be able to scrape together. Rembrandt had a lot of trauma in his own life: three out of his four children died within months of their birth; his wife passed away seven years after their marriage; he went bankrupt a few years later, etc etc… No-one better than Rembrandt would have understood how important it is to search for the 'true treasure', Jesus Christ… the only constant, unchangeable, solid certainty in life. If we truly believe that his treasure is priceless, then the value of everything else we possess is insignificant by comparison.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-13-44-46-2023/