{"id":456,"date":"2014-10-29T12:00:11","date_gmt":"2014-10-29T12:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/?p=456"},"modified":"2014-10-27T19:13:18","modified_gmt":"2014-10-27T19:13:18","slug":"matthew-619-24-treasures-in-heaven-word-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2014\/10\/matthew-619-24-treasures-in-heaven-word-study.html","title":{"rendered":"Matthew 6:19-24; Treasures in Heaven (Word Study)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhere your treasure is, there your heart will be also\u201d (Matthew 6:21). This proverb from Jesus\u2019 Sermon on the Mount is nice poetry and is often quoted as though everyone instantly understands it. But do we really get Christ\u2019s meaning here? Perhaps it\u2019d be helpful for us to take a closer look at two keywords in his message.<\/p>\n

Th\u0113saurus<\/em> is the Greek word translated \u201ctreasure\u201d here, and Jesus made it both literal and symbolic in this one use. In the earthly, literal sense, it references any accumulation of wealth or any storehouse of wealth such as gold, silver, spices, military arms, expensive cloths, rugs, and furnishings, artwork, jewelry, and so on. In the heavenly, symbolic sense, it references spiritual valuables such as wisdom, insight, heavenly blessings and rewards, eternal life, forgiveness of sins, and the like.<\/p>\n

Kard\u00eda<\/em> is the Greek word translated as \u201cheart\u201d in Matthew 6:21. In Jesus\u2019 use it\u2019s much more than simply the center of someone\u2019s personality\u2014it the very essence of being, that which makes a person uniquely alive. It includes the totality of what makes you, you\u2014your desires, your feelings, your passions and impulses, your affections, your dreams, your intellect, your rational (and irrational) thoughts, your spiritual awareness, your psychological makeup, \u201cthe inner person with every function that make a person human\u2026the conscious awareness each of us has that makes us persons.\u201d<\/p>\n

In this context, then, Jesus isn\u2019t just saying that choosing earthly things as your life\u2019s \u201ctreasure\u201d will distract you from God and make it harder for you to follow him. He\u2019s saying it will consume your very essence of being; that earthly treasure will own all of you in a way that\u2019ll corrupt every part of you\u2014your desires, your feelings, your passions and impulses, your affections, your dreams, your intellect and\u2026well, you get the idea.<\/p>\n

One last, random thought. The gender assignments of these two Greek words may also be significant for interpretation. Th\u0113saurus<\/em> in the Greek is a masculine noun, while kard\u00eda<\/em> is feminine. In a symbolic sense, then, Jesus could be using these terms to refer to a figurative \u201cmarriage\u201d between your heart and your treasure, calling you as a symbolic bride of Christ to fix your heart on him as the eternal Bridegroom and \u201ctreasure\u201d of your every affection.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/a>:<\/p>\n

[CWD, 735, 819; EDB 335, 601]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2126\u2126\u2126<\/p>\n

About: For Bible Study Nerds\u2122<\/a><\/p>\n

About: Mike Nappa<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2014 to present by\u00a0Nappaland Communications Inc<\/a>. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhere your treasure is, there your heart will be also\u201d (Matthew 6:21). This proverb from Jesus\u2019 Sermon on the Mount is nice poetry and is often quoted as though everyone instantly understands it. But do we really get Christ\u2019s meaning here? Perhaps it\u2019d be helpful for us to take a closer look at two keywords…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":571,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,15],"tags":[302,111,187],"class_list":["post-456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-matthew","category-wordstudies","tag-matthew","tag-sermon-on-the-mount","tag-treasure"],"yoast_head":"\nMatthew 6:19-24; Treasures in Heaven (Word Study) - For Bible Study Nerds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2014\/10\/matthew-619-24-treasures-in-heaven-word-study.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Matthew 6:19-24; Treasures in Heaven (Word Study) - For Bible Study Nerds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cWhere your treasure is, there your heart will be also\u201d (Matthew 6:21). 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