Treasure in Jars of Clay
Prayer for Understanding
God of Word and Wisdom, You teach us ways that lead to healing and hope. Send Your Spirit to open our minds and hearts to Your Word and Wisdom, so that we may know Your healing and live in hope. Amen
In late 1946, three teenage Bedouin shepherds were tending a flock of goats and sheep in the Judean Desert, now known as the West Bank. While searching for a stray goat they found a cave.
One of the teenagers tossed a rock into an opening on the side of a cliff and was surprised to hear a shattering sound. In curiosity, they entered a long-untouched cave and opened the door to a priceless treasure.
In the cave, they found a collection of large clay jars, seven of which contained leather and papyrus scrolls. These scrolls were later called the Dead Sea Scrolls, or the Qumran Caves Scrolls.
Dating from the 3rd century BC to the 1st century AD, the Dead Sea Scrolls include the oldest surviving manuscripts containing all of the books of the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament), except one, along with extra-biblical manuscripts such as a commentary on the book of Habakkuk.
Historians assume the scrolls were hidden in caves around 66 to 70 AD during the Jewish revolt. These scrolls are an invaluable discovery historically, archaeologically, biblically, and religiously.
Some of the worn-out sacred manuscripts were stored in earthenware vessels, the unique cylindrical pottery jars, which are unknown elsewhere. These vessels were very helpful in figuring out the culture and community life.
However, no matter how archaeologically crucial the discovery of the rare clay jars is, it cannot be more worthy or treasured than the sacred scrolls that were in the jars. It’s not about the container but the content.
In today’s text, Paul compares himself to a clay jar with the treasure in it – The treasure of the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
Of the many churches Paul planted and ministered to, the Corinthian church was probably the one that gave Paul the most headaches and heartaches. The Corinthian believers were very gifted spiritually and also financially, yet the church was divided into various groups with several issues.
On top of that, a group of men came to Corinth who presented themselves as apostles. They were false teachers who were challenging, among other things, Paul’s integrity and his authority as an apostle.
In this chapter, and the letter at large, Paul is both teaching the gospel and defending himself from false accusations. It seems some criticized his relationship and ministry with the Corinthians and accused Paul of misrepresenting the Word of God.
After describing the spiritual blindness to the gospel of those who do not trust in Christ, Paul returns to making the case that he and his friends have not been false or deceptive in any way.
Paul emphasizes the sole purpose of his ministry has been to deliver the true Gospel of Jesus and to proclaim that Christ is Lord – to make Jesus known as the Messiah. Paul insists that he and his co-workers see themselves as mere servants to the Corinthians for Christ’s sake, and have never tried to promote themselves or seek to advance his interest. Paul argues that he is not interested in personal gain or fame.
This begins by quoting God as saying, “Let light shine out of darkness.” Only the light of the gospel can penetrate the darkness of unbelief in Jesus. That was Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus when a literal “light from heaven” shone around him and the voice of the Lord spoke to him.
When God shone the light into Paul’s heart, penetrating the darkness of his unbelief and revealing God’s glory through Jesus, Paul finally saw with spiritual eyes what he had never seen in all of his years of religious practice and zeal.
Since then, there was no more Saul who was full of self-righteousness, ego, and pride. And now Paul had nothing to preach or boast about but Jesus Christ.
To know God in this way, to see God’s glory, and to be given the opportunity to share in that glory, is the greatest of all treasures. Paul claims that this great treasure is not kept under lock and key in a museum or a bank vault. Instead, God keeps this treasure of the light of His glory in Christ in fragile jars of clay.
Clay jars were included in nearly every aspect of life in Paul’s day. They were efficient containers, but also prone to breaking easily – cheap and fragile. Why would God keep this great treasure in such vulnerable containers?
Paul says God wants to show that the power of His glory through Jesus Christ, the power of the Gospel of salvation is from Him and Him alone. He leaves no room to suggest that power comes from Paul or any other human being.
How is this “treasure” actually experienced in the “clay jars” of our vulnerable human lives? Paul portrays how “we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”
Since meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus and answering God’s call to preach the Gospel, he faced countless sufferings and difficulties. He was beaten, threatened, arrested many times, accused in lawsuits, interrogated, ridiculed, ignored, shipwrecked, and bitten by a viper… all because of Jesus.
However, some of Paul’s accusers criticized him saying that if he was truly an apostle sent by God, then he should not experience so much suffering. They doubted his credibility as an apostle and pointed to Paul’s hardships and trials as his shortcomings and weaknesses as if his ineffectiveness and inadequacy as the minister of the Gospel.
That same false assumption persists today. Those who believe in the prosperity gospel, argue that faith expressed through positive thoughts and speech can bring wealth, health, success, and prosperity.
This kind of inaccurate belief shapes the expectations we often hold for Christians and our church leaders.
A faithful couple who used to be involved in various church activities and ministries stopped coming to church. So the pastor went to visit them. They said, “Well, our teenage son was having a lot of trouble. We were worried and sad, but whenever we went to church, people would ask, ‘How are you?’
We would always answer, ‘We are doing great, thank you.’ Maybe it was our fault, but it was as if ‘great’ was the expected answer. We were afraid of what other people would think of us if we shared our struggles. But, what we needed was a place where we could be more real about what was wrong and imperfect in our family and in our life.”
Paul didn’t try to defend himself by denying his weaknesses or downplaying all the challenging experiences. It’s as though Paul is saying, “Because I carry Jesus’ death around with me, you cannot kill me. Not ultimately anyway. Because I carry Jesus’ death around with me, you can knock me down but not out; you can throw me into the deepest pit but I will even so not be abandoned; you can do your worst to me but I have a security that makes me rise above it all.
I carry around with me the worst thing that ever happened to anyone anywhere: the death of God’s own Son. And because of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, now I have been saved. Because of the knowledge of God’s glory through Jesus, now I live.
And for Christ’s sake, I now carry around this treasure and proclaim the message so that you can live. Those sent out by God may experience great suffering but are not completely defeated because of the treasure we carry.”
Paul’s ministry was validated not by his abilities or impressiveness. Rather, his ministry was validated by his message. Faithful Gospel ministry is about the content, not about the container.
We often feel like we are hard-pressed on every side, in doubt, and deeply wounded. We live in an uncertain time in a rapidly changing and stressful world. We do not have full control over our own time or our lives.
We often feel lost and stressed from work, study, family, relationships, health issues, money, and traffic, and we get irritable and easily offended. We are imperfect, overly sensitive, emotionally fragile, easily broken, and empty inside.
And honestly, our lives are filled with blemishes and scars, each telling a story of battles fought, lessons learned, and sometimes, lessons still in progress. But here’s the thing – God isn’t looking for perfection.
Instead, He takes our imperfections and fills them with His light, creating something uniquely beautiful. Just as a cracked pot allows light to seep through, our cracks and imperfections allow God’s light to shine through us, often in ways we can’t even fathom.
It can create a beautiful pattern of light when illuminated from within. In much the same way, God often uses our imperfections and cracks as channels for His perfect light.
Friends, Treasure in us teaches us to focus on God and not ourselves or others. It is not our strength, our knowledge, or our ability, but it’s the life and death of Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit that enable us to endure.
You don’t have to put on your ‘happy face’. You don’t have to pretend to be great all the time. You don’t have to say, “I’m doing great,” when you feel overly burdened.
So, let’s embrace our imperfections, knowing that in our weakness and brokenness, His light shines brightest. In our cracks and flaws, His perfect light finds a way to shine out into the world.
Remember, the treasure we carry has power. We are who we are only because of the treasure we carry within us. The harder life gets, the more visible and the more powerful the treasure becomes.
Let us pray.
Almighty God, help us look not to ourselves, but to our Savior Jesus Christ, our only hope in life and death, in His grace we live. Transform us into the image of Your Son so that when people see us, they will begin to see none of us, but all of Jesus. So that in all things and at all times Jesus alone is glorified through us. Amen.