For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
— Luke 19:10 (NIV)
Jesus came with a mission and purpose in mind. Here he is telling us of his mission. Last week we saw that Jesus is the man who finds the treasure, sells all he has (twice) to buy the treasure.
This shows us his mission, Jesus is the seeker. He is seeking to save. We see this in the parables of the lost treasure, the lost coin, the lost sheep, and in the pearl of great price. He is the subject seeking that which is lost. Jesus said that he came to seek and save the lost.
The seeker is looking for something. To seek means to be active, to look for and it is not just a scan of the area to find it. Rather, it is going into the dark places, looking into the corners and shadows of darkness. The seeker is intentional going after the treasure to find it. He puts his hands in the dirt finding the treasure and pulls it out.
Jesus is the one seeking, and looking. He knows it is there. He is doing all that is necessary to find it and when he does, he goes in and gets it. He did this when he became one of us, coming into our world and into our darkness to rescue us.
What is a treasure? A treasure is something of value and the value is expressed in what one is willing to give to gain the treasure. A treasure is shiny, it is meant to be honored, brought out into the light to be appreciated, valued and placed where it can be seen.
The treasure in this field had been discarded and forgotten. It was buried under rubbish and vegetation in a cattle grazing ground covered in dirt, worms and bugs. However, it did not lose its value. Although it was forgotten and tarnished, it was still of great worth.
In this story, the value of the treasure was worth all the man had – everything. Even though the price was high, the man sold all he had for it. No one was aware that it was there until the seeker found it. Interesting to note, He found the treasure, the treasure did not find him.
You are that treasure! You are the one who is so valuable. Your worth is equal to the value of God Himself! Jesus came giving up everything – twice over! – for you (as we saw last week).
Let that sink in…You are of great value, worth. You are the treasure. Though you were in the field hidden and bound by the dirt, a man found you. A man who himself has great worth. A man who owns everything and has everything. This man gave up all he had to get you, to rescue you, to make you his own. God from God. Jesus, The Son of Man, rescued you because you are the treasure!
“Surrender – accept His acceptance of you.”
He Sold All He Had