Sell what ye possess and give alms; make to yourselves purses which do not grow old, a treasure which does not fail in the heavens, where thief does not draw near nor moth destroy.
Jesus has just called His followers a little flock and promised them the kingdom. Now He tells them what to do with what they own. Is this meant word for word? And how does anyone hold property that lightly?
The command follows a promise. One writer says that order is what makes it possible.
In Luke 12 we find a similar passage. He first brings in God's care for His people: "Your Father knows that you need them." Only when He has won the heart's loyalty for God does He say, "Sell your possessions." For only now can they afford to do so.
Why give at all? Because a believer is meant to display the God he knows.
If I am established in grace, then I have to become a representative of grace to those around me… Unless I am in the truth of grace I cannot express grace. It is a principle in Scripture that the believer in any age is to reveal God as He is known in that age… He is a giving God; "giving" characterises the day of grace, and we are to be givers too, and so express the heart of God in our contact with people as we pass through this world.
Jesus does not forbid saving. He tells them what kind of bag to use — one no thief and no moth can empty.
He told them to sell what they had… Everything that showed love flowing out to the needy suited them. It was their Father's way with them who were once poor indeed, and they were to keep up the family character. They could provide bags, it is true. But the bags had to be ones that do not wear out, the kind heavenly treasure demands… Nothing is forgotten: "God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for His name." And, what matters too, there is no disappointment with the treasure. No thief approaches it on the one hand, no moth corrupts it on the other.
Nobody makes this exchange unless he already has something better.
He becomes in practice a pilgrim and a stranger. He can part with things here, for he has a treasure in heaven… The world's motto is "Slave, and gather." The Lord's instruction to His own is "Sell, and give." What a difference! But the saint will never do this until he has a treasure in heaven — even Jesus Himself… Moth, rust, and thieves sooner or later sweep away everything we set our hearts on here.
But how does a heart already tied to its things let go? Not by effort, one writer says, but by replacement.
If I have treasure on earth, no matter in what form, my heart will be there also, and I shall be a thoroughly worldly man. How shall I most effectively empty my heart of the world? By getting it filled with Christ… The world has its "barns" and its "bags," where it hoards its "goods." But its barns will fall and its bags will wear out. What will become of the treasure then?
Commentators differ on whether to obey this to the letter. One looks back to the earliest days of the church:
The Lord states the principle of it in Luke 12:33… On the day of Pentecost the believers gave up everything and laid it at the apostles' feet, to be shared equally among all. This did not continue in the later times of the church. But the principle surely remains, and so 1 Timothy 6 urges the rich to do good, to be rich in good works, ready to share, willing to give.
Another warns about those who give away everything at once and then live on other people's support:
Instead of distributing their income as the Lord's stewards, and as He might call for it, they have handed it over to others and taken the place of dependence themselves. The first way is certainly much easier than the second. But which is right? To hold property for Christ and His service in this world, and to give it out as a steward according to His mind — that is a Christian service. And it needs much waiting on the Master.
Why sell at all? One writer points to the Lord's return.
The faithful are called a little flock, and at His return the Lord will give them the kingdom… So they were to get rid of all unnecessary treasure and lay it up in heaven. Their path in this present period was that of a stranger and a pilgrim. The disciple was to stay ready and expectant.
- Given first. The Father promises the kingdom and His care before He asks for anything.
- Given through. God gives, so the believer gives too — and shows others what God is like.
- Given upward. Giving is not loss but transfer. It moves treasure into bags that never wear out, where no thief and no moth can reach it, and where God forgets no work of love.
- Given inward. The heart follows its treasure. Fill it with Christ and the world loses its grip.
- Given back. The little flock travels light. Their Lord is coming back to hand them the kingdom.
For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.
Jesus has just told His followers to sell what they have, give to the needy, and store up treasure in heaven that no thief or moth can touch. Then He gives the reason, and the reason is the heart.
The words describe how people work. Whatever we set our sights on shapes us.
The aim was that their heart should be settled on things above, and it would be so if their treasure were there. A man is always determined by what he seeks, by his objects. If he sets his heart on a degrading object, he is degraded; if on what is noble and generous, his character is raised. So if Christ at the right hand of God attracts him, if heavenly treasure is before his eyes, his heart follows his treasure. He is taken entirely above the power of present things, and they can no longer drag him down.
Notice the exact wording. It closes a door on an excuse many of us keep half-open.
Let us note well that the Lord says, "where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." He does not say, "ought to be," but "will." We cannot escape with the easy claim that our hearts are not tied to what we work hard to pile up. Why, then, accumulate it? We would say of a man heaping up sticks and straws and rubbish that he was a maniac. But to him the worthless pile is valuable, and the surest proof of that is that he keeps piling it up.
The same writer turns this into an opportunity. Swapping worthless paper for good security is what we are free to do. Treasure in heaven keeps the heart there, and draws the feet after it.
The verse never says what the treasure is. Commentators name a Person.
The heart must follow the object of its affection. And Christ, the treasure of the Christian, was not of the earth. He comes from above, from heaven, and above all.
Another writer names the same treasure, then does the arithmetic:
The treasure in the heavens is certainly Christ, and for Him we may wisely "suffer the loss of all things," as Paul put it (Philippians 3:8). For what sensible person would not be willing to lose what he cannot hold anyway, to gain what cannot be lost for eternity?
Some people turn the saying around: my treasure is wherever my heart is. One writer allows a grain of truth in that, then asks what such a treasure is worth.
I know men often say, "Where my heart is, that is where my treasure is." In a certain sense that is true. But even then the treasure is worthless, because it lasts only for a time. Sometimes you find people who have let their hearts go after earthly treasures. What do you find soon after? The treasure is gone, and the heart is left desolate. They have not had a treasure in the heavens.
Since the heart follows the treasure, trying to force affection is working from the wrong end. The way forward is to occupy yourself with the One who is worth loving.
The prayer is often heard, and perhaps offered by ourselves, that our hearts may be set on Christ. But He Himself said, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:21). So if our hearts are not occupied with Him, it is because we do not treasure Him enough. If, then, we would have our hearts detached from this scene and its objects, we must begin with Christ. We must trace out His many perfections, His varied beauties, His indescribable grace and unchanging love. Then our hearts will be drawn towards Him.
The very next thing Jesus says is about belts fastened and lamps burning (verse 35). The order is not accidental.
There is a clear connection between that statement and what follows… Let me say at once that if your treasure is on earth, your belt will not be fastened and your lamp will not be burning. It is impossible. You absolutely must have your treasure in heaven if you want to be found waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Treasure first. The heart does not lead; it follows. Whatever you value most has already decided where your heart lives.
- "Will," not "ought." Jesus states a fact, not an ideal. What you keep piling up proves what you prize, whatever you tell yourself.
- Christ is the treasure. The heavenly treasure is a Person at God's right hand. Losing what you cannot keep, to gain what cannot be lost, is plain good sense.
- Move the treasure, not the heart. You cannot command affection into existence. Occupy yourself with Christ's grace and love, and the heart follows on its own.
- Then you can watch. Belts fastened and lamps burning are impossible while the treasure is here. Heavenly treasure is what makes a person ready for the Lord's return.