April 11th, 2026 The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
This week, we discuss Matthew 13:44, The Parable of the Hidden Treasure.
This week, we discuss Matthew 13:44, The Parable of the Hidden Treasure.
Most people misunderstand this parable. In Matthew 13, Jesus the Nazarene tells of wheat and weeds growing together—and forbids pulling the weeds too soon. Why? Because human judgment, even when it feels right, can destroy what God is growing. This teaching confronts our urge to purify, control, and separate—and redirects us to patience, faithfulness, and trust in the coming judgment of the Son of Man (Daniel 7). So the question is not, “Who are the weeds?” The question is: Are you truly growing as wheat?
In this teaching, we walk through Matthew 20:1–16 and uncover why Jesus the Nazarene told a story that deliberately disrupts our sense of fairness—and exposes something much deeper: entitlement disguised as righteousness.
In this sermon, we explore a fascinating clue preserved by the 6th–7th century historian and archbishop Isidore of Seville. In his writings, he claims that the Apostle Paul attacked the Ebionites in his letter to the Galatians. But when we actually read Galatians, we find something striking: Paul says he opposed Peter to his face (Galatians 2:11). This raises an intriguing historical question. If Paul was attacking the Ebionites, and in Galatians he confronts Peter—then what does that imply about the earliest followers of Jesus? We examine the historical context surrounding the Nazarenes, the early Jewish followers of Jesus the Nazarene, and the later descriptions of the Ebionites preserved by writers like Epiphanius. Many modern scholars recognize that the ancient heresiologists often confused or divided these early groups through hearsay and polemical writing, even inventing figures such as the supposed founder “Ebion.” When these layers of later interpretation are stripped away, the evidence begins to point toward something remarkable: the possibility that the earliest community of Jesus’ followers—centered in Jerusalem under James the Just and Peter—looked very different from what later became dominant in Pauline Christianity. This sermon explores what happens when we reopen these early historical sources and reconsider the original movement of the Way—the path first walked by the followers of Jesus the Nazarene.