Treasure in Jars of Clay
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| A coin hoard stored in a clay jar at the Aydın Museum. Photo: Mark Wilson. |
“But we have this
treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs
to God and not to us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).
Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
The Cyprus National
Museum in Nicosia has an interesting display—a clay pot lays on its side with a
bunch of coins spilling out of its mouth. It was part of a coin hoard found
nearby dating to the first century A.D. This is just one of thousands of such
hoards discovered in the Greco-Roman world. The size of these hoards ranges
from fifty to fifty thousand coins. The coins were buried in clay jars for safe
keeping, often during times of war or instability. And it worked quite well.
2,000 years later, many of the jars and coins remain intact. Though clay jars,
like other pottery, are fragile and must be handled carefully, they have proven
to be quite durable and reliable.
Clay jars were the
common storage containers of the ancient world. The Tupperware of the day. No,
make that the Cool Whip or Country Crock container of the day. Most often used
for storing the staples of the family kitchen, such as oil, flour, dried fruits
and vegetables. They were cheap, plentiful, durable, and easily replaced. Only,
unlike plastic containers, clay jars were breakable. That’s why even though
archaeologists discover a remarkable number of whole jars from antiquity, there
are many more shards found. It seems the clay used in jars could probably give the
plastic used for Cool Whip containers a run for their money for length of time
to break down in a landfill.
Given all that, it
seems strange that St. Paul considered his earthly existence to be
well-represented by such pottery. Jars of clay. Not the beautiful, ornate works
of art that collectors seek. Plain, ordinary, everyday clay jars. Think terra
cotta pots. Useful, yet easily replaced. Quite durable, yet very breakable.
And do you want to know
what is even stranger? God, in His love and mercy, entrusts the greatest
treasure in the world, the Gospel of His love for us in His Son, Jesus Christ,
to people like Paul and you and me. Sinful mortals. Earthen vessels. Jars of
clay.
In our text, St. Paul focuses
immediately on the message: “What we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus
Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians
4:5).
This is an apparent
reference to the way that Paul’s opponents operate. Using secret and shameful
ways, deception and distortion, they are in it for themselves. In contrast,
Paul and his coworkers are not serving themselves; rather, they are servants of
the Corinthians “for Jesus’ sake.” In view of all that Christ has done for
them, they are inwardly compelled to preach Jesus to others.
At the time of
creation, God had said, “Let light shine out of the darkness,” and it did. That
same God had removed the veil from Paul’s heart and brought light to it. He
defines that light as knowing, that is, personally experiencing, “the glory of
God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
This appears to be a
reference to the day of Paul’s conversion when, quite literally, a light from
heaven penetrated the darkness of his heart. On that day, he came face-to-face
with God’s greatest glory. He saw Jesus and, seeing Jesus, saw the glory of
God’s love. That is why Paul does not lose heart, even though the Gospel remains
veiled to some. If Jesus Christ could bring light into his dark heart, he could
do it for anyone. And so Paul proclaims “Jesus Christ as Lord.”
Paul contrasts this
splendid, glorious message, with those who serve as its messengers: “But we
have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power
belongs to God and not to us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). Christ is the treasure.
Those who proclaim “Jesus Christ as Lord” are “jars of clay,” simple earthen
vessels who carry within us the precious treasure of the Gospel.
The reason the Lord deposits
such great treasure in fragile vessels is “to show that the surpassing power
belongs to God and not to us.” Paul said much the same thing in chapter 3: “Not
that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but
our sufficiency is from God” (v. 5). Time and again the Lord permits Paul to
undergo great difficulties to impress this truth both upon him and those who hear
him. In Asia, Paul faced persecution of such a severe nature that he felt the
end of his life had come. “That was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God
who raised the dead,” he wrote (2 Corinthians 1:9). When Paul asks the Lord to
remove his “thorn in the flesh,” the Lord responds, “My grace is sufficient for
you, for My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Paul continues: “We are
afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians
4:8-9). Note the four antitheses in these verses, each emphasizing the same
truth: that Paul is a weak, fragile jar of clay, but that the Lord’s power is
stronger than Paul’s weakness.
Paul is “afflicted in
every way.” The Greek verb translated as “afflicted” was used for pressing
grapes. There were times of great pressure in Paul’s ministry. Think of the constant
opposition he faced—threats to life, limb, and liberty. He was never completely
“crushed,” however.
There were times that
Paul was “perplexed,” at a loss; but he was never totally at a loss. He was
never at wit’s end, driven to the point of “despair.”
We are “persecuted,”
says Paul. He could already come up with quite a list of persecutions he had
endured (11:23-33), and there would be more facing him in the future—ultimately
martyrdom—but he had not been, nor would he be “abandoned.” This is the same
word Matthew used to translate Jesus’ cry on the cross (27:46). Because Jesus
was abandoned by God on Calvary, those who belong to Him will never be
abandoned.
Paul had been “struck
down,” but he had not been “destroyed.” Think of what happened in Lystra on his
first missionary journey. He was stoned by a mob, dragged outside the city, and
left for dead. But “he got up and went back into the city” (Acts 14:20). His
enemies struck him down, but they could not destroy him.
In each of these contrasts,
the point is the same: Paul is weak; he is nothing but a jar of clay. And yet
he displays a “surpassing power.” That power comes not from himself but from
God, who is with him.
The closing verses of
our text amplify this idea. We are “always carrying in the body the death of
Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.” Sent by
the Father’s love, the eternal Son of God took on one of these mortal jars of
clay Himself, from womb to tomb. He suffered all that it means to be human in
this fallen world, including pain, temptation, and even death. He obediently
gave up His sinless body into death on the cross as the payment for the sins of
the world. Paul understands that his constant suffering for Jesus is an echo, a
small sampling, of the suffering and death Jesus had undergone for him.
Paul does not despair,
however, for Jesus not only died, He also rose on the third day. Paul knows
that if he shares in Christ’s dying, if he is persecuted as Christ was, he will
also share in Christ’s resurrection. Paul says that he always carries around in
his body the death of Jesus “so that the life of Jesus may always be manifested
in our bodies.” The weaker Paul is, the more fully will the resurrection life
of Jesus be revealed day by day in his body.
Paul repeats this
thought in the next verse: “We who live are always being given over to death
for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal
flesh.” Again, we see the contrast: Paul is weak, a fragile jar of clay,
“always being given over to death,” but in the fragile jar of clay is a
precious treasure, the power of the resurrection life of Jesus, the source of
Paul’s strength. All this so people will focus their gaze on Christ’s life in
Paul, rather than Paul.
Paul concludes: “So
death is at work in us, but life in you.” When Paul is weak, when he is being
given over to death for Jesus’ sake,” then he is strong with the life that
Jesus gives. And that life, in turn, is what he gives to his readers.
Ultimately, then, this is
for the benefit of those whom Paul serves as a minister of the new covenant.
Paul is willing to endure constant suffering for the sake of seeing repentant
sinners come to newness of life in Christ. In that, Paul is like his Lord who
“endured the cross, scorning its shame” (Hebrews 12:2) because he knows the
victory it will win for others.
“But we have this
treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs
to God and not to us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).
My dear brothers and
sisters in Christ, you and I are plain, ordinary, average everyday people.
Nothing special about us. Useful, yet easily replaced; durable, yet quite
breakable. In fact, quite broken—broken by our own sin, broken by the sins of
others, broken by our anguish over not living the lives to which the Lord has
called us to. Yet, God, in His mercy and grace has shown His light into the
darkness of your hearts and lives. Even though you are common, plain old jars
of clay, you possess the greatest treasure in the world. You have Jesus. It is
His person and His work of salvation that you proclaim.
Sharing the Gospel with
others will always be challenging in this sinful, rebellious world. Believers
are not exempt from pain and suffering. In fact, your faith can make you the
target of such. But take heart! It is all for the glory of God in the face of
Christ Jesus. When jars of clay are broken, they even more clearly reveal the
treasure of God’s power and grace within.
You are jars of clay.
Christ is the treasure. In Him, you have forgiveness, salvation, and eternal
life. Indeed, for His sake, you are forgiven for all your sins.
In the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Unless
otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English
Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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