Jesus was the pearl of great price

JESUS WAS THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Matthew 13:45-46 45
"Again, the kingdom of heavenis
like a merchant lookingfor fine pearls. 46
Whenhe
found one of great value, he went away and sold
everything he had and bought it.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The PearlOf Great Price
Matthew 13:45, 46
W.F. Adeney Many people regardreligion as a matter of grave duty which it
behoves them to attend to, but to which they turn reluctantly and with
weariness,becausethey never hope to see in it any attractions or to make it an
objectof eagerdesire. To suchpeople our Lord's words may be a new
revelation. In his teaching the kingdom of heaven is supremely desirable.
I. THE PRECIOUSNESSOF THE PEARL. Our Lord is not speaking ofthe
future heavenly reward, which most men vaguely imagine to be very valuable.
What he means by the kingdom of heavenis a present possession- the rule of
God in the hearts of his people. We have to see that this is an exceedinglygood
thing, here and now. It is goodon its own account, not for the sake of its
promises of the future, not because ofany further advantages which may be
got out of it. Religionis meant to he an end in itself; it is abused and degraded
when it is treated as a means to some other end. To gain favour with the
Church, to win a reputation for piety, evento court customers in business,
may be the ends of some people in their religion. But it has to be seenthat
such low aims utterly obscure the true glory of the gospel. The soul's darkness
and misery arise from enmity againstGod. To be reconciledto him is its

sunrise and the advent of its peace. There is no gladness on earth so pure and
deep and strong as that which springs from fellowshipwith God enjoyed
through Jesus Christ. He who has this has the pearl of greatprice.
II. THE MERCHANT'S QUEST. We see a merchant seeking pearls. This
point distinguishes our parable from the previous one, in which a man comes
unexpectedly on a hidden treasure. Thatparable shows how Godmay be
found even by those who do not seek him. Now we have the reward of one
who does seek brought before us. Perhaps the merchant has travelled far, and
sought carefully before he has lighted on his greatprize. There are men and
women who earnestlysetthemselves to seek for what is truly worth having in
life - they crave for knowledge, hungerfor righteousness,thirst for God. They
may be long before they are satisfied, but if they will persevere they will not
be disappointed in the end. The pearl is for them.
III. THE COST OF ACQUISITION.
1. The pearl is found. This is the first step. But the pearl is not yet owned. We
may see the kingdom afar off, we may be close to its borders, yet we may not
have possessionofit. We need to know the gospel, to see the kingdom. Then
we must go further if we would make the prize our own.
2. The pearl is costly. The merchant must sell all he has acquired on his
journey to buy this one pearl. Now, we know that the gospelis God's free gift;
it was costly, for it costthe life of Christ on the cross;therefore it is not a
cheapgospel;yet it is not bought by us, but by Christ. These facts, howeverdo
not exclude the necessityofsacrifice on our part. We canpay nothing to God.
But we must renounce sin and self, and the idolizing and trusting in all things
but God.
3. The price is gladly paid. The merchant is a connoisseur, and he at once
recognizes the value of his greatdiscovery. He feels that he has made a good
bargain, though he has sold all to buy the pearl of greatprice. He who gives
up all for Christ requires no commiseration, but rather congratulation,
because his gain is great. - W.F.A.

Biblical Illustrator
Seeking goodlypearls.
Matthew 13:45, 46
Parable of the pearl
Anon.I. The soul seeking good.
II. The soul seeking goodwill always want a better.
III. The soul, seeking good, wants a better until it finds Christ the best.
(Anon.)
The priceless pearl
T. T. Eaton, D. D.Salvationis the pearl.
I. This pearl costa vastamount to procure it for the children of men.
II. It is of great price in that it is of inestimable value.
III. It is of greatprice because it loses none of its brightness and beauty by
length of time or constancyof use.
IV. Its greatprice is proved by the efforts the mere chant made to secure it.
V. This pearl costs heavily the one who procures it.
VI. This pearl costs the surrender of all sin.
(T. T. Eaton, D. D.)
Goodly pearls
Dr. Talmage.I. Christmay be comparedto a pearl because He is hidden, and
to be soughtafter.
II. Christ may be comparedto a pearl because ofits durability and its
unchangeableness. Time does not rust a pearl.
III. Christ may be comparedto a pearl because lie is such an adornment to
the soulthat seeks him.
IV. Christ may be comparedto a pearl because ofits value.
(Dr. Talmage.)
Sham pearls
Dr. Talmage.Thefactis they would rather have a sham pearl than a genuine
pearl. The factories ofBohemia and Nuremburg are full of activity making
artificial pearls. With alabaster, and scales,and glue, and wax, they

manufacture something which is a sham pearl, and substitute it for the real
pearl. And so the whole world now is full of attempts to manufacture a new
salvation, a new pearl of greatprice. They take a few grains of goodworks
and a few grains of fine poetic sentiment, and they put them together, and
they call it a pearl. But it will not wear;it will crumble to pieces at the last in
the fires which shall be kindled around about our world. In Brazil, when a
slave finds a diamond beyond a certain value, he gets his deliverance. He may
have searchedfor days and months and years for a diamond, but finding it of
a certain size, he hastens home to his master, shouting, "Free!free!" And if
to-night you would only find this pearl of greatprice, it would insure you
eternal emancipation. Oh l plunge this hour into the deep oceanof God's
mercy, and though you may be submergedfor a while in darkness and doubt
and convictions, your soul will come up after a while enriched and sparkling
with an immortal brilliant.
(Dr. Talmage.)
Pearls durable
Dr. Talmage.Time does notrust a pearl. It passes downfrom one royal family
to another, from one generationto another, the same beautiful, exquisite thing
— worth as much now as it was everworth — always to be valuable, and a
type of Him who is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. Other gems may
be split or ground, but this pearl of greatprice is unbroken of the wheel, and
it is uninjured of fire. Paul wore it through imprisonment, and darkness, and
shipwreck, and martyrdom. Howard wore it through the plague in festering
lazarettos. It heaved on the dying heart of RobertSouth and of Jeremy
Taylor. Shadrach carriedthat gem through the furnace seventimes heated. It
is always bright. It is always beautiful. Rutherford, in his dying moments,
caught a glimpse of it, and was filled with infinite exultation, and there are
multitudes of the suffering who, after all other staffs were broken, and all
other lights were extinguished, and all other strength was exhausted, cried
out, "Pearlof greatprice, comfort me!" The sapphire, and the topaz, and the
emerald, and the diamond shall perish; but this pearl of greatprice shall go
uninjured long after the globe has been tossed, a miserable hulk, charred,
dismasted, and shipwrecked, amid the howling blasts of the judgment gale.
(Dr. Talmage.)
Pearls an adornment
Dr. Talmage.Again, I remark that Christ may be comparedto a pearl,
because He is such an adornment and decorationto the soul that seeksHim. I
have no sympathy with the Puritanic notion that God despises jewellery. I

think if God despisedjewellery He would not make so much of it. Instead of
the variegatedseasons, the earth would have had the same colour all the year
round; the tree would have yielded its fruit without leaf or blossom; Niagara
would let down its water without thunder or winged spray; the clouds would
have drawn their black bodies through the skies where now they resemble
silvery skiffs with angelic crew, sailing through the archipelago of stars. If
God had despisedbeauty and adornment, He would not have made the
caverns of the oceangreatgardens ofcoral, and sponge, and seaweed, and
pearls. No. God loves adornment from the fact that He has made it, and
allows Jesus Christto be comparedto a pearl. I know there are some people
who suppose that religion distorts one; that religion damages a man's nature;
that religion cows him down; that religion takes allthe spirit out of him; that
it turns a man into a snuffling bigot; that it puts handcuffs on the wrists and
hopples on the ankles, and that, like a retreating army, it poisons all the wells
along where it goes. No, no. It is a decoration;it is an embellishment; it is a
pearl. Why, my friends, as an adornment religion was mere than philosophy
to Bacon, more than prowess to Havelock, more than geologyto Silliman,
more than science to Agassiz, more than music to Mozart. Religion!It has
sung the sweetestsongs, andit has built the highestmonuments, and it has
lifted the noblestarches, and it has painted the finest pictures, and it has
workedthe richest embroideries, and it has composedthe sublimest tragedy.
(Dr. Talmage.)
Pearls valuableAgain, I remark; Christ may be comparedto a pearl because
of its value. It does not take a very large pearl to be worth thousands of
dollars. The King of Persia paid six hundred thousand livres for one pearl;
Cleopatra had a pearl worth three hundred and seventy-five thousand
dollars, and she dissolvedit at a feast, and then drank it to the health of Marc
Antony; the King of Portugalhad a pearl of almost indescribable value — so
that the pearl most appropriately becomes a symbol of the Lord Jesus Christ,
who is of infinite value. I come to u soul that has just awakenedoutof sin and
been pardoned, and I say: "O!soul, what is Christ worth to you?" and the
soul responds, "All in all to me is Christ."
The parable of the pearl of greatprice
B. Keach.I. I shall show you why Christ is compared to a pearl — to the
richest pearl. Pearls, naturalists tell us, have a strange birth and original.
II. Some pearls are of greatworth. Our Lord Jesus Christno doubt is
compared to a pearl of greatprice upon this accountchiefly — He is of
inestimable value (Isaiah 43:4).

III. Pearls have a hidden virtue in them, though but small in bigness, yet great
in efficacy. Jesus Christhad a hidden virtue in Him — though little in the eyes
of carnal persons, yet such as receive Him in faith, find wonderful virtue in
Him (Luke 8:46). Such is the hidden virtue of Jesus Christ, of this Pearl, that
when a man finds it, and partakes thereofinwardly — it fills him with joy and
earthly comfort.
IV. Pearls are of a splendid and oriental brightness — both without and
within. Jesus Christ may be compared to a pearl on this account(Hebrews
1:3).
V. Pearls — nay, one pearl of greatprice, enriches him that finds it. So they
that find the pearl of greatprice, Jesus Christ, and lay hold on Him, are
greatly enriched, they are spiritually rich, eternally rich (Ephesians 3:5).
VI. Some men, when they have found a pearl of greatprice, they know not the
worth of it. They perhaps think some other pearls are of equal value, or as
rich us that which they have found. So some, when they have found Christ,
know not the worth, the riches of Him, but are ready to esteemother pearls
equally with Christ.
VII. This being so, it followethhence, that it behoveth him that finds a pearl
of greatprice to know it well what it is, and also its just value, Jesthe be
cheatedand part with it for pearls of little value in comparisonof that.
VIII. Pearls, rich pearls of greatprice, are commonly kept in the possessionof
noble persons, who are adorned with them, and are known to be noble
persons. So the saints, born of God, are the most excellentin all the earth, and
these only are adorned with goodlypearls (Ezekiel16:11).
(B. Keach.)
The parableofthe pearl: — As to the place where you should seek Jesus
Christ, the Pearlof greatprice. Pearls must be sought where they are to be
found.
I. You must seek Him in the depths of God's eternal councils, there you may
find Him — for He lay there from everlasting.
II. You must seek Him in the depths of eternal wisdom.
III. You must seek Him in the covenantof grace, and of redemption, as the
head and greatrepresentative of God's elect.
IV. You must seek Him in the depths of God's eternal love.
V. You must seek this pearl in the revelation of God's council, in the types and
sacrifices under the Law. You must seek Him in the revelationGod made of

Him in the prophecies of the prophets. And more especiallyyou must seek
Him in the glorious gospel.
VI. You must seek this pearl by faith.
VII. You must seek this pearl in the promises of God, in the promises of the
New Covenant, or of the Gospels.
VIII. You must seek Christin the way of .your duty, in reading, meditation,
and prayer, as well as hearing theWord. Now I shall show when you should
seek Him.
I. Early (Proverbs 8:17).
II. To seek Him early is to seek the Lord while He may be found (Isaiah4:6).
III. When we have a full gale of the Spirit, when we have a strong operation of
the Word and Spirit upon our hearts.
IV. Seek Him to-day (Hebrews 3:7).
V. Seek Him before it is too late.
How must the pearl of greatprice be sought
B. Keach.I. Diligently.
II. With skill and divine wisdom.
III. With full purpose and resolutionof heart and soul.
IV. As one that knows the greatwant, need, and necessityof Christ.
V. As one who is convincedof the greatworth and excellenceofChrist.
VI. Believingly, not doubting.
VII. With longings after Him.
VIII. With a heart touched with the loadstone of His love (Proverbs 2:1-4).
IX. Constantly, unweariedly; never cease till thou hast found Him.
X. Sincerely, not for the loaves, nor for applause, not simply to be saved, but
for His own sake (John6:26).
(B. Keach.)
The parable of the pearl of greatpriceWhy He must be sought, Why sinners
should seek Him.
I. Sinners should seek Christ, the Pearlof greatprice, because He came to
seek them.
II. Sinners should seek Christ because seeking andfinding Him are coupled

together(Jeremiah 29:13).
III. Becausethe promise runs to them that seek (Matthew 7:7).
IV. Sinners should seek Him, because they are commanded to do so (Isaiah
5::6).
V. Becausesalvationis only in Jesus Christ. All that seek justificationand
eternal life, and do not seek Him, shall certainly perish (Acts 4:12).
VI. Sinners should seek Christbecause by nature they are without Him
(Ephesians 2:12). How will sinners lament their folly in seeking otherthings
more than Christ; nay, have utterly neglectedHim. Those who have got
Christ, who have found this pearl, are the most happy people in the world.
I shall now show you what may be meant by selling all he hadSelling all,
signifies no more than parting with whatsoeverhis heart was inordinately set
upon before he found this pearl.
I. With all his sins and horrid lusts; all that find Christ, part willingly with
every evil habit, and with every evil act of sin; and by the spirit and grace of
Christ, he is enabled to do this.
II. All his old company with whom he took delight, and among whom he
dishonoured God.
III. All his former hopes of heaven, and the foundations he built those hopes
upon.
IV. All his own external privileges.
V. All His own goodworks — and inherent righteousness — in point of
justification he sold all.
He bought it
B. Keach.I. He that buys a pearl, must know where it is to be had, and seek it.
A sinner must know where to find Christ.
II. They that buy must know the market-day, and repair thither to buy. So
must a sinner attend on the word and ministry that would have Jesus Christ.
III. Buyers commonly ask the price of what they buy. So sinners must learn
the terms on which they canhave Christ, that is without money, and without
price.
IV. Some come only to cheapen — to ask the price, that is all. So do some here
— they think there is time to buy hereafter.
V. Some who come, like not the terms — they are full of money and scornto

receive freely. They are proud.
VI. Some come too late, the market day is over.
VII. In buying, some things are parted with. Such as would have Christ —
must part with all that is gain to them.
VIII. Some refuse to buy at the proper seasonand afterwards cry out against
their own folly.
(B. Keach.)
The parable of the pearl of greatprice
B. Keach.Ishall show, in what respects a man, in seeking afterheavenly
things, may be compared to an earthly merchant.
I. A merchant is one that trades or deals for the goodthings of this world, and
he makes it his chief business. So a man that seeks afterheavenly firings,
trades or deals in spiritual commodities, and he makes religion his chief
business. Hence saith Paul to Timothy, "Meditate upon these things, give
thyself wholly to them, that thy profiting may appearto all men." (1 Timothy
4:15).
II. A merchant sometimes trades and deals in things of great worth, as here in
this parable is expressed, viz., goodlypearl. What is more valued than gold,
silver, precious stones, and goodlypearl?
III. A merchant sets his heart, his mind, and chiefestthoughts upon his
merchandize; I mean he prefers these things, and in goodearnestpursues
after them above all things upon the earth. So a spiritual merchant or
Christian sets his heart and chiefestthoughts upon heavenly things; he sets his
affectionon things above, and not on things that are upon the earth.
IV. A merchant sometimes ventures to sea, and runs many dangers (in
seeking goodlypearls, and after rich merchandize both by storms, rocks,
sands, and pirates also. So a true Christian is exposedto greatdifficulties, and
runs many dangers, who ventures out into a visible professionof religion; on
the sea ofthis world, what storm's of reproaches, temptations and
persecutions, is he oft exposedunto?
V. A merchant at first hath not that skill in trading as he attains or gets
afterwards. Old dealers have more judgment and greaterexperience than
such who have newly begun to trade. So a man when he first begins to seek
after God, or to mind heavenly things, he hath not that understanding, that
knowledge and judgment in religion, as an old Christian.
VI. A merchant ought to know the nature and value of those commodities he

deals in, and the whole mystery of merchandizing. So a true Christian or
spiritual merchant labours to know the transcendent worth, nature and value
of all spiritual things, and the whole mystery of godliness;indeed, this
knowledge is not easyto attain unto.
VII. A merchant is very careful of his business, when he hath met with loss,
lest he run out and waste his substance, and so at last be undone. So a
spiritual merchant is very thoughtful, and full of trouble, and takes the more
care, when he sees he goes backwardrather than forward, or decays in zeal,
love, faith, etc.
VIII. A merchant, if he know not what pearls be, may soonbe easilycheated
by false and counterfeit pearls. So many a spiritual merchant, if he know not
what the personof Christ is, may easilybe cheatedof the true Christ, and
believe in a false Christ.
IX. A merchant trades to foreign parts, they fetch their treasure from afar. So
a spiritual merchant trades to heaven, a far country.
X. A merchant has his correspondentin those far countries to which he
trades, who receives his merchandize, and makes returns. So all true
Christians have their BlessedCorrespondentin heaven, who manageth all
their concerns;viz., the Lord Jesus.
XI. A merchant is very carefulto attend the exchange, orplace where
merchants meet together, and where they hear, and learn how their affairs go
abroad, and these have opportunities to sell or buy more goods. Moreover, if
they neglector are remiss in their attendance, it gives cause ofsuspicion that
they may soonbreak, and ceaseto be merchants. So spiritual merchants are
very careful to attend solemn meetings of the saints, where they hear of and
from Jesus Christ, and as they there receive from Him, so they make returns
of praise to Him.
XII. Merchants take greatcare to keeptheir books or accounts well, they are
oft in their counting-house — that they may know whether they gain or lose;
that they may see a goodend of their affairs, and that they are not
wronged.And thus also do the saints, they labour to castup their accounts,
viz., examine and try their hearts. Secondly: I shall show you these are the
best and chiefestmerchandize in the world, or no merchandize like spiritual
merchandize.
I. Becausethe nature of these things these merchants trade in, far excelall the
things in the world. All other things are of little worth to the grace of God, the
love of God, union and communion with God, to trade in gold tried in the fire

(Revelation2:3-18).
II. "All things of the world are vanity" (Ecclesiastes1:2). But there is real
substance in these merchandize.
III. These merchandize are best because incorruptible, neither moth nor rust
can corrupt, fire consume, or thieves stealthese goodlypearls.
IV. The rareness orscarcityof these merchandize, show their most excellent
nature. Things are not only esteemedfor their worth, but for their rarity.
Now these things that spiritual merchants seek, are exceeding rare;hardly
one man in a thousand finds these goodlypearls, the pearl of greatprice.
V. These merchandize were bought with a greatprice, by the Son of God. He
first laid down the full sum that Divine justice demanded, and got them into
His own hand for His elect.
VI. They are soul treasures suchthat suit with and answerall the wants of the
precious and immortal soul of man.
VII. These merchandize are the best, because oftheir duration; all the things
of this world are but momentary, sometimes gone in a moment — the world
passethaway;but spiritual things, which are not seen, are eternal.
VIII. Their correspondent, with whom these merchants trade, that manages
all their concernments, and is engagedto make them sun- and safe, returns
from afar. Now, as Jesus Christis their correspondent, so he if such an
undertaker that they need not fear anything can miscarry, which is in His
hand.
IX. These merchandizes are the best merchandizes, and these merchants the
wisestmerchants doth appear in respectof the terms on which they trade.
They are the best merchandize because their commodities are freely given,
"without' money, without price." It cannot indeed stand consistentwith the
design of redemptive grace, whichis to advance the glory of God in His
goodness,and to cut off all boasting, and cause ofboasting, to admit of
anything of the creature that looks like money, to procure a right to these
things.
X. These are the best merchandize — this the best trade — because ofthe
returns these merchants have from Jesus Christ. They have quick returns
(Isaiah 65:24). It is the besttrade — they only trade for things of inestimable
worth. The returns are certain — sure of growing eternally rich. Not only
rich, but greatand noble. These merchants are advancedto mighty honour
(Proverbs 12:26).

(B. Keach.)
What shall we buy
Robert Macdonald.Whenthe pilgrims were in Vanity Fair, one chanced
mockingly to say to them. "Whatwill ye buy? " But they, looking gravelyon
him, said, "We buy the truth." At that there was occasiontakento despite
them the more; some mocking, some taunting, and some calling upon others
to smite them. Nevertheless,in spite of all the abuse, these goodpilgrims
would only buy the truth; and when they bought it, not for any price would
they sell it again. Usually, in ordinary merchandize, what we buy we are at
liberty to sell; but it is not so here, for the command is express, "Buythe
truth, and sellit not." And a most merciful provision it is; for, as one says,
"Those who sellthe truth sell their own souls with it."
(Robert Macdonald.)
The Pearl
W. Arnot.The true lessons ofthe parable, as I understand them, are briefly
these:—
I. It represents the experience, not of a carelessora profane man, who
stumbles suddenly upon the gospelwhen he was in searchof other things, but
of one who is awakened, and has begun to seek the true religion,
endeavouring to add attainment to attainment sincerely, according to his
light. His conscienceis uneasy. There is truth in the man, though not wisdom.
He is honestly seeking the way, and the Lord leads him. He is seeking;he shall
find.
II. It represents the unparalleled, inconceivable richness of God's mercy in
Christ, taking awayall a sinner's sin, and bestowing on him freely the peace
and privileges of a dear child.
III. It represents that these riches lie, not in an accumulationof goodly
attainments, such as men are wont to traffic in, but in one undivided,
indivisible, hitherto unknown and unimagined treasure.
IV. It represents that the inquirer, the instant he discovers that this one
incomparable, all-comprehending treasure exists and is offeredto him,
cheerfully, eagerly, unhesitatingly gives away all that he possesses, inorder to
acquire it. That is, he gives all for Christ, and then enjoys all in Christ.
(W. Arnot.)
Christ the pearl of great price
Pulpit Helps., E. Scobell, M. A.I. Those who would find pearls must search

diligently for them. and encounter many dangers by diving, etc.
II. Pearls are very valuable.
III. Pearls possess a splendid brightness. Their beauty is as much within as
without.
IV. Pearls are so firm, strong, and compact, that fire cannot consume them,
nor ordinary strength break them.
V. Pearls are a rich ornament, and those who wearthem are accountedthe
honourable of mankind.
VI. Yet many are ignorant of them, and many esteemthem no more than
pebbles.
(Pulpit Helps.)How visibly the providence of God appears to favour honest
perseverance in our worldly callings. Man seeksforthe chief good — He seeks
for this pearl in the mines of learning, business, ambition, pleasure. The true
pearl lies not in these.
(E. Scobell, M. A.)
The pearl of greatprice
MorganDix, D. D.No gem, in the estimation of the ancients, surpassedthe
pearl in value. The old writers speak of it as altogetherwonderful, and to be
honoured above all jewels that the eyes of man have beheld. Nothing else was
so pure, so rare, so exquisite. As for its origin, they thought it was at first a
drop of dew from heaven, condensedwithin the sea-shell, and doubling there
its native perfections. Theythought, moreover, that though born beneath the
waves, it retained some unknown connectionwith its home in the sky, taking
its beauty from the aspectofthe heavens, and drawing virtue from them,
limpid and clearwhen they were serene, turbid and cloudy when they were
overcast. Its irridescence seemedthe result of sympathy with the seven
colours of the sunbeam: even the -hell which enclosedit partook of its silver
beauty and many-hued reflections;while it was accountedthe very queen of
gems, as that to which no graver's tools nor implement of man canadd a
charm.
(MorganDix, D. D.)
The pearl seeker
MorganDix, D. DThis merchantman is no lover of the degradedand the base:
no profligate, no sensualist;the pearl is not the type of the delights by which
such men are attracted. Rather is he one of those who follow after things
worthy of immortals; who, though in error as to what our real goodis, and

where it is to be found, are true, notwithstanding, to pure and honest ideals;
who wish to do right, whose hearts are the home of high and worthy thoughts,
who love and honour virtue and righteousness, and, like the scribe of old, are
not far from the kingdom of God The quest for pearls had been the aim of this
man's life: he was not prompted by sordid views of gain, but simply by the
desire for the loveliest, purest, and best that canbe found in this troubled
world. And when at length he discoveredwhat outshone all he had ever seen
or imagined, his resolve was instant — to give up all he had for that one thing,
knowing that having it he was rich indeed, though everything else was gone
from his hands for everThis is no fancy sketch:it is a picture of what happens
day after day; is occurs as often as any noble soul, long astray, finds at last his
rest in God. He only who guides them into that rest can tell how many such
there be; yet even we suspectthe number to be considerable, andhave seen
such instances ourselves. We have seenmen who have long soughtfor true
joys, without finding them; who have had in possessionmany excellent gifts,
yet not the highest; who, after much experience, feltsure that there must be
somewhere a better thing, which fadeth not away. At length, perhaps late in
life, they find it; whereupon their former thoughts are replacedby another
mind — the wisdom of this world is given up, pride of soul suppressed;trust
in self also goes, withthe confidence which once was felt in earthly things. A
man, in a spiritual and metaphoricalsense, may be said to sell all he has, to
become poor in spirit, and lowly of heart, because he has found the pearl of
greatprice, after travelling many years through waste places, andbecause
self-renunciation is the price for which that treasure is to be bought.
(MorganDix, D. D)
Persevere in quest of pearl
MorganDix, D. D.He who seekswhatis honest and goodis journeying in the
right direction; it does not follow that all such men will find at lastwhat the
Lord promises. He who can be content without that pearl of great price, will
never find it. The dangeris that we may restcontent with some lower forms of
good, without discerning how much is beyond them, and how poor they are in
comparison. When we go about this world, buying whatsoeverofrare and
precious we canlay our hands on, for our own satisfaction, orfor a name
among men as possessors ofthings which many covet, or to adorn our
persons, our life, or those whom we love; when self is thus at the bottom of the
pursuits to which we give our years away;when the pearls which we thus
collectare gatheredonly for our own delectation, as if to deck our garments
now, and light up our houses, or perchance to be inwoven with our winding-
sheets or strewedabout our coffins;when this searchfor what is goodhas

reference to time only, to the pride of the eyes, and to the greaterglory of this
fading life — then all that we gather shall be vain and without profit, nor shall
we see those Divine things in which there is no spot now and no fading
hereafter. But, when a man hears the voice of God speaking to him of riches
that cannotbe takenfrom him, and of something worth more than the world,
which he ought to possessand may have if he will. at the price fixed for the
same;and when, at such tidings, he feels that he must arise and go to his
Father, taking his possessions to give in exchange forthat best thing: then is
the parable fulfilled.
(MorganDix, D. D.)
One pearl
R. Winterbotham, M. A.In these days of safety, easytransport, and credit, the
bulk of any objectof desire makes comparativelylittle difference to its worth.
But in the former ages ofinsecurity, difficult conveyance, limited commercial
transactions, whenthere were no railways, banks, or paper money — one of
the greatrecommendations of precious stones was the ease andsafety with
which they could be transported from one place to another .... The merchant
might have to pass through districts torn with wars, or infested by robbers; if
he attempted to take his goldand silver and precious wares with him, he was
more than likely to be relieved of them all before he got far, and to lose his
own life as well; what was he to do then? This — he might sellall he had, and
invest it all in one gem of surpassing value! this he might safely hide about his
person; then, clothing himself in mean attire, and taking his staff in his hand,
he might setforth on foot, and travel as a pilgrim or a beggartowards his
destination. Then, when the perils of the way were past, and he had reached
the city to which he was bound, he had but to show his pearl, and its immense
value would at once be recognized. This is a parable of ourselves. We have a
journey to go, to a far city. It is useless forus to attempt to take our wealth
with us: those old thieves, sin and death and hell, besetthe road; they have
robbed all who have passedtheir way. and how can we escape?Besides, a
thousand enemies lay wait to make us afraid — flood, drought, fire, the
dishonesty of some, the incompetence of others — all these are ready to
deprive us of our wealth. Even our loved ones we cannottake with us. Lonely
we came into this world, lonely we must go out of it; no human companion
can go down with us to the grave. Is there then nothing, no treasure, which we
may take in safetywith us, and keepsecurelyby us? Yes, there is one; even
the pearl of greatprice, Jesus Christ. No one can deprive us of that treasure;
it is beyond the reachof any enemy or thief. And when we reachthe end of
our journey, with Him for our Saviour and Friend, then shall we find

ourselves passing rich, although we have nothing at all beside, where Jesus is
Lord of all, and where everything takes its value only from Him, there is He
Himself the one possessionwhichincludes in itself the possessionof
everything worth having.
(R. Winterbotham, M. A.)
The pearl of greatprice
Expository Outlines.I. THIS PEARL MAY BE APPROPRIATELY
REGARDED AS A REPRESENTATION OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
1. The rarity of a gem greatly enhances its value.
2. i gemthat is entirely free from flaws is regarded as highly precious. He was
holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.
3. The value of a gem materially depends upon the size of it. To measure Him,
not physically, but morally and spiritually, is far beyond our power.
II. BEFORE WE CAN FEEL A REAL DESIRE TO POSSESSCHRIST, HIS
INESTIMABLE VALUE MUST BE IN SOME MEASURE
APPREHENDED.
1. Of this truth the case ofthe Jews affords a convincing demonstration.
2. To reveal Jesus in His matchless worth is the specialoffice of the Holy
Spirit.
III. THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TO SEE AND FEELTHE
SAVIOUR'S WORTH WILL REGARD NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT IN
ORDER TO BE MADE PARTAKERS OF HIM.
1. We must be willing to part with our own righteousness.
2. With the favour of our dearestfriends, should their claims clashwith His.
3. With every known sin, howeveragreeable orprofitable.
(Expository Outlines.)
A greatbargain
C. H. Spurgeon.The merchantman: —
I. WATCH HIM WHILE HE IS SEEKING.
1. He has his mind arousedand engaged. His heart is in his business.
2. He has a fixed definite object. He has given himself to pearl hunting.
3. He had an object which was not at all commonplace. Other people might go
for stones, he for pearls.

4. He sought them with diligence.
5. He used discrimination at the same time.
6. He went into the business with moderate expectations.
II. His FINDING.
1. This find was a remarkable one.
2. He found all in one.
3. He was resolvedthat he would have it.
III. His SELLING OUT.
1. Sellout old prejudices.
2. Self-righteousness.
3. Sinful pleasures.
IV. THE BUYING.
1. An immediate purchase.
2. A joyful one.
3. An enriching one.
4. A final purchase.
5. A- purchase he never regretted.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(45)Like unto a merchant man,
seeking goodlypearls.—Here againthe illustration would commend itself to
the thoughts of the fishermen of Galilee. The caprices of luxury in the Roman
empire had given a prominence to pearls, as an article of commerce, which
they had never had before, and have probably never had since. They, rather
than emeralds and sapphires, were the typical instance of all costliest
adornments (Matthew 7:6; 1Timothy 2:9). The story of Cleopatra, the fact
that the opening of a new pearl marketwas one of the allegedmotives which
led the Emperor Claudius to invade Britain, are indications of the value that
was then seton the “goodlypearls” of the parable. Such a merchant seeking
them, either on the shores of the Mediterranean, or as brought by caravans to
other traders from the PersianGulf or the Indian Ocean, must have been a

familiar presence to the fishermen of Capernaum. The parable in its spiritual
bearing, has, of course, much that is common with the preceding. But there is
this marked and suggestive difference. The “search” is presupposed, The man
has been seeking the “goodlypearls” of wisdom, holiness, and truth, and has
found them in at leastsome of their lower forms. Then he is led to the higher
knowledge ofcommunion with the life of Christ, and for that is content to
resignall that he had before prized most highly. Such, in the records of the
New Testament, was the history of St. Paul when he counted “all things but
loss for the excellencyof the knowledge ofChrist Jesus our Lord” (Philippians
3:8). Such, in after days, was the history of Justin Martyr and Augustine.
Such, in our own time, has been that of many noble and true-hearted seekers
after truth and holiness. Such will evermore be the history of those who are
faithful in a very little, and who, “willing to do the will of God, shall know of
the doctrine whether it be of God” (John 7:17).
BensonCommentaryHYPERLINK "/context/matthew/13-45.htm"Matthew
13:45-46. Again, the kingdom of heaven — That is, one that earnestly seeks
for it; is like unto a merchant-man, who goes aboutfrom one city or country
to another, seeking goodly, orbeautiful pearls, or jewels. Thus the sacred
writers often compare and prefer wisdom, or true religion, to costly jewels.
See Job28:15-19;Proverbs 3:15; Proverbs 8:11. Who, when he had found one
pearl of great price — Of an exceeding greatvalue, sold all that he had and
bought it — As wellknowing he would be a greatgainerthough he should
part with all he possessedfor it. Titus the truly enlightened believer freely and
readily gives up, not only all sin, but all that is in the world, which he is called
to part with, that he may receive the kingdom of Godinto his heart, and may
be made a partakerof the blessings ofthe gospel. “He,” says Baxter, “that
findeth not by faith enough in the love of God and heavenly glory, and in
Christ the way thereto, to make him consentsincerelyand practically to sell
or part with all the world, rather than lose it, is not capable of a just title to it,
nor shall obtain it.”
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary13:44-52Here are four parables. 1.
That of the treasure hid in the field. Many slight the gospel, because theylook
only upon the surface of the field. But all who searchthe Scriptures, so as in
them to find Christ and eternal life, Joh 5:39, will discoversuch treasure in
this field as makes it unspeakablyvaluable; they make it their own upon any
terms. Though nothing can be given as a price for this salvation, yet much
must be given up for the sake ofit. 2. All the children of men are busy; one
would be rich, another would be honourable, another would be learned; but
most are deceived, and take up with counterfeits for pearls. Jesus Christ is a

Pearlof great price; in having him, we have enoughto make us happy here
and for ever. A man may buy gold too dear, but not this Pearlof greatprice.
When the convinced sinner sees Christas the gracious Saviour, all things else
become worthless to his thoughts. 3. The world is a vast sea, and men, in their
natural state, are like the fishes. Preaching the gospelis casting a net into this
sea, to catch something out of it, for His glory who has the sovereigntyof this
sea. Hypocrites and true Christians shall be parted: miserable is the condition
of those that shall then be castaway. 4. A skilful, faithful minister of the
gospel, is a scribe, well versed in the things of the gospel, and able to teach
them. Christ compares him to a goodhouseholder, who brings forth fruits of
last year's growth and this year's gathering, abundance and variety, to
entertain his friends. Old experiences and new observations, allhave their use.
Our place is at Christ's feet, and we must daily learn old lessons overagain,
and new ones also.
Barnes'Notes on the BibleThe kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchantman
- The meaning is, that the proper seeking forsalvation, or the proper conduct
in reference to religion, is like the conduct of a "merchantman." In his
searcheshe found one pearl of greatvalue, and sold all his possessions to
obtain it. So, says the Saviour, people seeking forhappiness and finding the
gospel - the pearl of greatprice - should be willing to sacrifice all other things
for this. Pearls are precious stones found in the shells of oysters, chiefly in the
EastIndies. See the notes at Matthew 7:6. They are valuable on accountof
their beauty and because they are rare. The value of them is greatly increased
by their size. The meaning of this parable is nearly the same as the other. It is
designedto represent the gospelas of more value than all other things, and to
impress on us the duty of sacrificing all that we possessin order to obtain it.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary45. Again, the kingdom of heaven
is like unto a merchantman, seeking goodlypearls.
Matthew Poole's CommentarySee Poole on"Matthew 13:46".
Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAgain, the kingdom of heaven is like unto
a merchant man,.... This parable may be understood of Christ's seeking,
finding, and purchasing his elect:for, certain it is, that he has sought after
them; which implies, that they were lost and going astray;expresses his great
love to them, value for them, and desire after them; in doing which, he took
much pains, and used much diligence: and certain it also is, that he finds them
in redemption, and in effectualcalling; and that they are to him a pearl of
greatprice; as very precious to God, so highly esteemedof by Christ, as his
portion, his inheritance, and his jewels. He has also parted with all he had for
the sake ofthese persons;he became poor, emptied himself of everything,

even gave himself a ransom for them, and so made a purchase of them, with
the price of his own blood: though to this sense it may be objected, that it does
not seemso agreeable,that Christ should be compared to a merchant man,
which better suits with those that deal with him, than as he is concernedwith
them; nor does he seek afterany other than his elect:whereas this merchant
man is said to beeking goodly pearls;any pearls that were so: nor is Christ's
finding his electa chance business;nor have they any intrinsic excellencyin
them, to denominate them pearls, but by his grace. The more common
interpretation of it is, that it designs a sensible sinner, seeking afterthe true
way of salvation, and finding Christ, and parting with all for him: such a man
is a spiritual merchant, who trades in foreign parts, and in things of worth
and value; and such an one seeks aftera variety of things, which at first sight
seem"goodly", in order to obtain salvation by; as civility, morality, a legal
righteousness, fasting, watchings, prayer, a professionof religion, and a
submission to external ordinances;but at length finds Christ,
the pearl of greatprice: who is of an unspeakable brightness and glory, of
intrinsic worth and value; who is enriching to those that possesshim, and
precious to them that believe; and of such a price, that no valuable
considerationcanbe given for him: wherefore such a soul is willing to part
with all for him; with sinful self, and righteous self;and with the honours,
riches, and profits of this world; and buy him, his grace and righteousness,
without money, and without price. Though I rather think, that in connection
and agreementwith the other parables, this is to be understood of such, who
are seeking afterknowledge inevery branch of it, natural, moral, and
spiritual; and so may be comparedto a "merchant man, seeking goodly
pearls";and who find the Gospel, and prefer it to everything else,
Who when he had found one pearl of greatprice: for such who seek after
wisdom and knowledge in the use of proper means, are like merchant men,
that trade abroad, and for things of value; and these, under divine direction,
find in the Scriptures, and through the ministry of the word, and by prayer
and study, the truths of the everlasting Gospel, respecting Christ, his person,
office, grace and righteousness;which are equal to, yea transcend a pearl of
the highestprice; for their original, coming from a far country, from heaven;
for their brightness, clearness,and perspicuity; for their ornament and glory;
for their firmness and solidity; for their virtue and value, to them that know
the worth of them; and such will buy, but not sellthem; reckonall things but
loss and dung, in comparisonof them; and will contend for them, and stand
fast in them.

Geneva Study BibleAgain, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant
man, seeking goodlypearls:
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Expositor's Greek TestamentHYPERLINK"/matthew/13-45.htm"Matthew
13:45. ἐμπόρῳ ζ. κ. μ. A pearl merchant who went to the pearl fisheries to
purchase from the divers, of course selecting the best; a connoisseurin
valuables.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges45, 46. The Parable of the Pearlof
GreatPrice, in St Matthew only
Here the story is of one who succeeds in getting what he strives to obtain. The
Jewishor the Greek “seekersafterGod,” possessing many pearls, but still
dissatisfied, soughtothers yet more choice, and finding one, true to the
simplicity in Christ, renounce all for that; the one his legalism, the other his
philosophy.
Bengel's GnomenHYPERLINK"/matthew/13-45.htm"Matthew 13:45.
Οὐρανῶν—ἀνθρώπῳ, ofthe heavens—to a man) Comparisons of heavenly
from human things. See Matthew 13:52;ch. Matthew 18:23, Matthew 20:1,
Matthew 22:2.—ἐμπόρῳ, a merchant) The word ἔμπορος denotes one who
travels and voyages for the sake of merchandise.—μαργαρίτας, pearls)The
plural passes to the singular in the following verse.
Pulpit CommentaryVerses 45, 46. - The parable of the pearl merchant,
Matthew only. Observe in this parable that the merchant is accustomedto
deal in pearls, and is searching for goodones, when he meets with one worth
more than the others he possessesallput together. If the former parable
describedone who finds the gospelas it were by chance (e.g. the woman of
Samaria), this speaks ofone who has long been searching for truth (e.g.
Andrew and John, the Ethiopian eunuch). Verse 45. - Again, the kingdom of
heaven is like unto a merchant man. Evidently no poor man, but a rich
wholesale dealer(ἔμπορος:cf. Revelation18:23;not κάπηλος, "a retailer;" cf.
2 Corinthians 2:17). Seeking. According to the usual manner of his life.
Goodly pearls. He eared nothing about the inferior kinds or specimens. The
man aimed high; he gotmore than he can have thought possible (Matthew
7:7, 8). Origen (Commentary, in loc.; Huet, 1. p. 210)has much curious
matter about the different kinds of pearls.

PRECEPT AUSTIN RESOURCES
The Case of the Valuable Pearl
/new-testament/matthew/the-case-of-the-great-dragnet
Author: Ray C. Stedman
Your browser does not support the audio element. Read the Scripture: Matthew 13:45-46
We turn again this morning to the marvelous secrets our Lord is telling us in the thirteenth
chapter of Matthew. They unveil to us things we would never know about history if he had not
told us about these secrets of the kingdom of heaven, the mysteries of God at work in this present
age. As we have been studying these parables in past weeks we have seen how accurately our
Lord foresaw and foretold all that has happened in these twenty centuries of Christian life. Now
we come to the sixth parable, usually termed "the parable of the pearl of great price," found in
Verse 45:
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on
finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it." (Matthew
13:45-46 RSV)
Note that this links very closely with the one preceding it, the parable of the treasure hidden in
the field which the man found and covers up again and then went and sold all that he had and
bought the field. We looked at that together last week. And, as we saw, there is a common
misinterpretation of these two parables. It is that the treasure and the pearl are Jesus Christ; we
are the men who are seeking for them, When we find him we must sell all that we have in order
that we might have him. But this is a mistaken interpretation not only because it makes both
these parables mean exactly the same thing, and our Lord never wastes words like that, but also
because there is no sense in which the gospel, salvation, the gift of Jesus Christ, is ever presented
in Scripture as capable of being bought by anyone. The Lord has come to offer himself to us as
God's free, healing gift. He can never be purchased. There is no way that we can earn our way
into his presence, into his family. We can have that cannot buy it. Therefore we must set aside
that common misinterpretation.
If we will but follow the suggestions which the Lord himself has given to us in this series of
parables, as he has interpreted some of their elements, we will again have our clues to the
meaning of this story. The man who is searching for the pearls is, of course, Jesus himself. He is
the sower who went out to sow. He is the one who scattered the sons of the kingdom throughout
the world, as he tells us. He is the one who planted the mustard seed in the field. Throughout
these parables he is the one who is active in the midst of this age. So it is Jesus, then, who comes
as a merchant seeking fine pearls.
This is an oriental picture. It is true that the Hebrew people never valued pearls. One of the
strange things about the Old Testament is that, though you find many jewels and gems
mentioned there, diamonds and rubies and sapphires and topazes and agates, you will find no
mention of a pearl. For some reason the Hebrew people did not think much of them. But these

disciples were Galatians, and Galilee was a region to which many Gentiles came. So they were
familiar with Gentile traders who came looking for valuable pearls and who would pay fabulous
prices for them in order to purchase them -- not for themselves but for their kings.
So the disciples understood the symbol our Lord is using here: A merchant comes seeking pearls
and finds one of great value. In order to obtain it, he must sell all that he has and buy it. This is
obviously the same kind of activity as in the parable of the treasure hidden in the field of
humanity. We saw that the treasure is the nation Israel, and that it embodies the ultimate solution
to the problem of establishing world peace and harmony. Until Israel comes into a right
relationship with its Messiah and Lord, there is no way men can work out peaceful international
relationships. This does not mean that it is wrong to try. It is perfectly right to do so. The creation
of an organization like the United Nations as an attempt to try to solve this problem is not wrong.
Men must try to hold war in check. But the Word tells us again and again that they do not know
the secret and that they will not know it until Israel comes into its own.
To bring that nation into its own, as we saw last week, the Lord Jesus came and gave all that he
had and bought the field so that he might one day bring to pass world prosperity and peace. We
saw that the giving of all that he had is a picture of the cross of our Lord. He gave himself. As
Isaiah so beautifully expresses it, "He poured out his soul unto death," (Isaiah 53:12 KJV). As
Paul says, "He emptied himself," (Philippians 2:7 RSV). He exhausted his treasury, he
pauperized himself, he gave all that he had, literally and truly, in order that he might purchase the
field containing that treasure.
Now we come to another aspect of the work of the cross. We need only ask ourselves, "What
other great treasure does God value in this world?" -- in order to discover what this pearl means.
For what else has Jesus given all that he has in order to obtain it? The obvious answer is: The
church. Our Lord came to this world and, seeing the church as God sees it, with his view of
history -- already complete and worth so very much, he gave all that he had so that he might
obtain it. I am sure that Paul had this very parable in mind when he wrote to the Ephesians:
Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her...that he might present the church to
himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and
without blemish. (Ephesians 5:25b, 5:27 RSV)
Why did our Lord choose the symbol of the pearl for the church? Why didn't he use the ruby or
the diamond, or any other jewel? The answer is that the pearl is the only jewel which is the
product of living matter. A pearl is the response of an oyster to something which causes it injury.
A pearl grows out of hurt. You probably know how a pearl is formed. A little particle of sand or
some other irritating substance gets inside the shell of the oyster and it is like cracker crumbs in
bed -- constantly irritating. The oyster has no hands with which it can brush the irritant out, no
means of defense except to transform that thing that is injuring it. What an apt and beautiful
symbol our Lord has chosen here for the church! I was tempted in thinking through the subject of
this parable to label this "The Case of the Irritated Oyster" because the response of an oyster to
that which irritates it is to transmute it and transform it into something which is no longer a
source of irritation. This is what our Lord came to do, and, in order to accomplish it, he gave all
that he had.
Nothing we have considered up to this point has begun to exhaust the implications of that vast
phrase: "he gave all that he had and bought it." I wonder if any of us at any time fully grasp the
significance of that. Most of us have tried to think through the sacrifice of Jesus. Oftentimes we

think of it as a kind of commercial enterprise -- "The Lord paid the price" -- as though he were
merely making a purchase in a marketplace. Our terms for redemption are sometimes rather
crass. Or we dwell upon the agony of the cross, its physical hurt, its anguish, the injury, the pain,
the thirst, the tears, the darkness, the death. Our Lord went through all that. But we have not even
remotely touched the deepest significance of the cross when we deal with it on the physical level.
We won't begin to understand it until we see something of the personal emotional experience of
the Lord Jesus when he entered into the human family, became one with us, and in the cross
identified himself with our hurt and shame and sorrow and heartache. It is easy even to sing
about the wounds and the blood, the thirsting and the pain, but that doesn't begin to touch the
depth of what this phrase means. It goes far, far deeper than that. It involves the hurt in the heart
of God as he fully identifies with us in all our agony and extends his forgiveness to us.
Healing human hurt is God's business. The cross is God's answer to the hurt humanity has
caused. This is a hurting race we belong to. Who is not aware of that? I suggest that no
generation has ever been more aware than this one of the hurt of human hearts. All of us hurt
ourselves and we hurt each other. We do not mean to, but we do. The very efforts we make to try
to satisfy ourselves, and to meet our needs, we find to be damaging us in many ways. Yet in
ignorance we go right on doing the things that are hurting and destroying ourselves and each
other as well.
Every family, every individual bears deep and abiding heartache. Sometimes it is very evident on
the surface. Most of it is due to the fact that we suffer from guilt, a sense of condemnation and
self-hate. This is so because we have such a deep and abiding sense of being a failure. But this is
what the cross is all about. God saw that hurt in the human race, all the agony and misery of our
struggle to try to live properly without understanding the secrets of doing so. He wanted to do
something about that, but he had a problem -- a problem with which everyone of us is familiar.
I am sure that you all have had someone try to "help" you to stop doing something which they
saw was wrong and was injuring you. But if they came with a self-righteous attitude, placing
themselves on a level higher than you, and began to correct you while implying that they couldn't
understand how you could get into this kind of difficulty because they would never do a thing
like that -- you know what your reaction would be. You would immediately be filled with
resentment and would not hear a word they said. Instead of listening to what they were saying in
order to try to open your eyes, you would have your hackles raised and would be very defensive.
Everything they might say would only increase your resentment, and hostility, and sense of guilt.
This is a mistake we parents frequently make with our children. We approach them in a spirit of
condemnation, of blame.
And if self-righteousness on the part of a human being can cause that kind of a reaction in
someone else, can render them utterly unable to be helped, how much more does the true
righteousness of God frighten us when we think of having to deal with him? As Isaiah put it,
"Who among us can dwell with the everlasting burnings?" (Isaiah 33:14 RSV). Who can stand in
the presence of the holiness of God and feel the greatness of his righteous being, his spotless life,
and not feel condemned, wiped out? If God comes to us in his justice and righteousness we
immediately feel that we cannot stand it. That is why man has fled God and has refused to deal
with him, has tried to shove him out of his thinking. We are afraid of a God like that.
So how could he reach us? In order to gain us, in order to form the pearl which he so desperately
wants and loves and cherishes, he came and gave all that he had. That means that he took our

place. He came where we are. He came into the place of hurt and agony and heartache and
loneliness and sorrow and shame and darkness, and became what we are.
There is no greater commentary on this phrase than that in Paul's second letter to the Corinthians,
Chapter 5, Verse 21: "He who knew no sin was made sin for us." Sin is merely a label by which
we gather up all the terrible wrongdoing and the aching, hurting, lonely misery of mankind.
When Jesus came, without making any contribution to this on his own part ("he who knew no
sin"), nevertheless in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross he entered fully into what we
feel. He felt the hurt. He knew the aching loneliness, the heartache, the misery, the rejection, the
sense of despair, of self-loathing, of emptiness and worthlessness and meaninglessness, and the
awful hostility that sin engenders. He felt the condemnation of a righteous God. He entered into
all of that. He gave all that he had in order that, when he comes to us in the midst of our hurt, he
might be able to say, "I know just how you feel. I've been right there. I know exactly what you
are going through. I understand. I know what it has done to you and I want to show you what I've
learned through this." And he can put his loving hand upon us and begin to lead us out. "Though
he were a Son, yet learned he obedience through the things which he suffered," (Hebrews 5:8).
Thus he gave all that he had so that he might heal the hurt of humanity.
What symbol of that more perfect than a pearl could ever be given? Something hurts an oyster,
but the oyster's response is to transform and transmute the injurious object, covering it with a soft
and delicate nacre which is built up layer by layer until it forms a lustrous and shining and
beautiful jewel. That is what our Lord has chosen as a symbol of the church. You can see how
true it is. We are the ones who have wounded our Lord, as in that hymn we often sing:
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be that
Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
That is what Jesus is telling us in this parable. He came and give all that he had so that he might
take all the hurt of humanity into his own heart, might know the aching agony of all that we go
through, and thus be able to touch us, to heal us, and to minister to us by beginning to clothe us
with his own beauty, taking of his own life, out of his wounded side, to wash away with his own
blood our wounds, our sins, our guilt, and to cleanse us and impart his life to us so that we might
become more and more like him. That is what happens in an oyster. The grain of sand, the
irritating substance, the cause of injury, is transmuted. The unsightly is transformed into
something of beauty. And that is the action of love.
John Oxenham once wrote a little poem which catches up our Lord's attitude. It becomes our
attitude as we learn how to live as a Christian. He said of a friend who had injured him,
He drew a circle that shut me out,
Rebel, heretic, a thing to flout.
But God and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in!
That is Christianity. That is what our Lord has done. He has reached out to us and is healing the
hurt of our human hearts by giving all that he had.
Now tie these two parables together: Our Lord is showing us what he is doing in this present age
lying between his two advents. Israel, he said, is going to be hidden again in the world of
humanity. Human governments will stumble on in blindness and folly, ever dreaming of world

peace, never able to find it, and never knowing that the secret of it lies in a little nation in one
obscure corner of the world, which for centuries was lost and forgotten, which is only now
beginning gradually to come to life, and which still does not know the secrets of its own nature.
But, because of that treasure, our Lord bought the world, so that some day the earth should be
filled with righteousness as the waters cover the sea, and all the glowing, beautiful dreams of the
prophets should be fulfilled.
I love to turn to the thirty-second chapter of Isaiah and some of the other great passages which
follow it in which he describes in such magnificent language the glory of a restored earth when
the desert shall blossom like the rose and the curse shall be removed from nature and from the
animal world. The lion shall lie down with the lamb, the cow with the bear shall feed, and a little
child shall lead them. All this is coming. Swords shall be beaten into plowshares and spears into
pruning hooks. Men shall live in peace and harmony, each one under his own fig tree. The
burdens shall be lifted from the weary shoulders of mankind and the springtime of the earth shall
come. There is a beautiful passage in the Song of Solomon which says,
"for lo, the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land." (Song 2:11-12 RSV)
That is what the treasure shall do and to that end our Lord gave all that he had. But what about
the pearl? Jesus came seeking for that, he says. What is it for? Well, there is no mention of the
field in connection with the pearl. It is true that the church is taken out of sorrowing humanity
but it is not intended for that alone. It has its purpose in this present age, as Paul tells us very
plainly. It manifests right now the greatness and the grace of God. But the pearl is not ultimately
intended for earth. It is intended for the heavens. That is what we learn from Paul's letters. The
pearl is lifted out of the troubled sea of human sorrow to be a people that shall flash in glory
upon the bosom of God for unending ages, the chief medium through which he shall manifest his
grace and glory in all the many running ages to come.
That is what the pearl is being formed for. Our Lord is making for himself a glorious church
without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. You and I sometimes wonder why we have to go
through trouble, why we get into difficulties with each other. Even as Christians we have a
struggle getting along with one another. We have to work at it. We cannot just ignore the
problem; it doesn't go away. We have to take the bit in our teeth and go to one another, sit down
and patiently and lovingly try to talk it out and work it all out.
We had an experience like that last week on the Board of Elders of this church. We met together
and had a scheduled agenda. But we found that we could not get to the agenda. We had to set it
aside and sit down and work out our difficulties among ourselves. We haven't gotten to the
agenda yet. Pray for us that we will!
Why do we have to go through this? Because, in the process, the Lord is working out all the
defects in his church, healing all the hurt and the sorrow, and bringing about a glorious church, a
church without spot or blemish, a glowing, translucent, beautiful pearl which will be the
manifestation of the glory of God throughout unending ages.
Notice how Paul expresses this in his letter to the Ephesians. In Chapter 2, Verse 4, he says,

But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when
we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you
have been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly
places in Christ Jesus, that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of
his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved
through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God -- not because of works,
lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:4-9 RSV)
Our Lord has beautifully captured all this in his marvelous story of the pearl. When I was a
young Christian I enjoyed so much a hymn which you hardly hear anymore:
"Holy, holy, holy," is what the angels sing,
And I expect to help them make the courts of heaven ring!
But when we sing redemption's story, they must fold their wings;
For angels never felt the joy that our salvation brings.
God is working out a vast purpose. This is a great thing to remember when you are going
through times of hardship and difficulty, especially when you are going through difficult
personal relationships. In the process of that, through the heartache and the hurt, by his
marvelous ministry to us, our Lord is turning what is injurious into a translucent, glowing,
beautiful pearl. God is doing that with you and with me. I have experienced this personally this
week and I am sure many of you have also. As we go along, we can see layer after layer of
shining nacre being added to the pearl, to make it a lustrous thing of beauty, a pearl of great price
which the Lord, in divine anticipation, saw when he came, and for which he sold all that he had
in order that he might purchase it for himself.
God is not through with us. He is working out his purposes through the daily grind and all the
turmoil and pressures and problems and perplexities of our lives. That is what Jesus is telling us.
And these difficulties are part of the process. So don't push them away. They are God's
instruments sent to do his work in your life. So don't resist them, don't gripe and moan your way
through them all. Welcome them, learn to rejoice in them, as God tells us to do. As Paul cries, "I
glory in my infirmities." Why? "Because when I am weak, then he is strong. His strength is made
perfect in my weakness," (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
As these trials come to us, God is preparing us to be an instrument for untold blessing in the
coming ages throughout the far-flung reaches of His great, unfettered universe -- so as to
manifest and demonstrate the immeasurable riches of his grace. You and I have a part in that.
Keep that clearly in mind, as God commands us to do when he says, "put on the helmet of
salvation" (Ephesians 6:17), the hope of the eternal purposes of God, which will keep your mind
straight and hold you steady in the midst of the pressures and varying uncertainties of this
present hour. As Paul says, "This slight, momentary affliction is preparing for us a far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory," (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Now, the world knows nothing of this. You will never see this heralded in the pages of your
newspaper nor in some magazine like Time or Newsweek. They do not understand God's
purposes. But God sees history differently than we. We see a long record of civilizations and
kingdoms and battles, of explorations and discoveries, etc. But those are only the merest
incidentals. God looks at history and sees the human hurt and heartache and pain and anguish.
He sees the healing of love and the understanding of grace. And he sees a new thing being
formed -- a marvelous, magnificent pearl which shall be shining and flashing in the heavenly

places throughout all the ages to come as a testimony through all eternity of the glory and the
greatness of our God.
So that is the pearl of great price. No wonder someone has called this earth of ours "God's
treasure island." Hidden in it is the treasure of the field, which shall bring to pass at last the
hopes and the dreams of men for world peace. And hidden also is this marvelous mystery of the
pearl, which shall at last accomplish God's purposes in planets and stars and solar systems far
beyond our own, in that great day when God brings about all that he has in mind.

THE PARABLE OF THE PEARL
______________________________________________________________________________
_
Matthew 13:45-46
Yves I-Bing Cheng, M.D., M.A.
www.meetingwithchrist.com
The kingdom of God as proclaimed by the Lord Jesus is described as something exciting and
extremely valuable in the parable of the pearl. Let’s read that story.
Matthew 13:45. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,
46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
In search of pearls
Like the parable of the hidden treasure, the parable of the pearl of great price has two
interpretations.
1. Some commentators say that the merchant is Jesus. The many pearls for which He seeks
are potential believers and the one precious pearl is the church, the full body of believers.
2. Others say that the merchant represents people who seek after spiritual things (pearls). In
their search, some discover Jesus, the pearl of great price.
Our study today is based on the second interpretation.
The Lord Jesus, in this parable, says that the kingdom of God can be compared to a merchant.
This businessman was in search of pearls, of fine pearls. One day, in the course of normal
business, he spots one particular pearl. It is the finest pearl he has ever seen! He knows that this
is a chance of a lifetime. He has to get that pearl. After evaluating his assets and making all kinds
of calculations, he decides to sell all his belongings in order to buy that one perfect pearl.
In the times of Jesus, pearls were highly valued, perhaps even more so than gold. It was a status
symbol of rich people. When Paul wanted the women of his day to dress modestly, he wrote, not
with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing (1Timothy 2:9).
Something holy
What does Jesus want us to understand in this parable? What does this pearl represent in the
Lord’s teaching? Jesus uses this word ‘pearl’ twice. This is the second time here in Matthew 13.
The first time, we find it in Matthew 7:6.
Matthew 7:6. Do not give dogs what is holy;
and do not throw your pearls before swine,
lest they trample them under foot and turn to attack you.
There are three things that need to be highlighted in this passage. Firstly, notice the parallelism.
The word ‘pearl’ stands in relation, in parallel, to the words ‘what is holy.’ Do not give what is
holy to dogs. Do not cast your pearls before swine. So, ‘what is holy’ and ‘pearls’ stand in

parallel; ‘dogs’ and ‘swine’ stand in parallel.
Parallelism is a well-known biblical style in which the same thing is stated in parallel form. It is
often used in Proverbs as well as in the Psalms. In Matthew 7:6, it immediately gives us the clue
that when Jesus is speaking about pearls, he is thinking about something that is holy.
The second thing we must mention is that what is holy has to be discerned. The same thing
applies to a pearl. The value of a pearl has to be discerned. You see, dogs don’t discern the
difference between something that is holy and something that is not holy. That is why Jesus says,
‘Don’t give what is holy to dogs.’ Dogs don’t understand what is holy. Similarly, we should not
give pearls to swine because pigs don’t understand the value of pearls. They are only interested
in food. If you give them something they can’t eat, they might trample it under their feet and they
might even attack you. Therefore the pearl, like what is holy, has to be discerned. Its value has to
be recognized.
This gives us the clues that we need. We realize that the pearl in Jesus’ own language represents
something that is holy. And because it is holy, it refers to something spiritual. Of course, what is
spiritual has to be discerned. The apostle Paul says in 1Corinthians 2:14 that spiritual things must
be discerned spiritually. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for
they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. A
non-Christian doesn’t have that faculty. He doesn’t have spiritual discernment and therefore he
cannot know spiritual things.
From this, we begin to understand that in the Lord’s teaching, the pearl is a picture of something
that is holy and spiritual. And only somebody who has a certain amount of spiritual discernment
will be able to value it.
Thirdly, notice that Jesus speaks of ‘your pearls’. Do not throw your pearls before swine. These
pearls are actually something that we can possess. This holy thing is something that we can make
our own.
Looking for wisdom
Now, what might that thing be? Can we describe it more specifically? Well, let’s turn to the OT
to see if there is something on this line. In Proverbs 3:13-15, we read about the most valuable
possession.
Proverbs 3:13. How blessed is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding
(notice the words ‘find’ and ‘gain’. What he finds is wisdom. He gets spiritual understanding).
14 For its profit is better than the profit of silver, and its gain than fine gold (this man is
compared to a spiritual merchant who is seeking something of great value).
15 She (wisdom) is more precious than jewels (or ‘pearls’ as some translations have it); and
nothing you desire compares with her.
This passage is saying that many things are very desirable in this world but none is more
valuable than spiritual wisdom or spiritual understanding. It is more precious than silver. It is
more precious than gold. It is more precious than jewels. It is more precious than anything you
could desire because, as we read in the book of Proverbs, it is through wisdom that you come to
know God. It is through wisdom that you come to have eternal life in God.
Notice that wisdom and understanding are precisely what the pearls represent. It is something
that has to be understood at the spiritual level. It is something that is holy because it brings us to

God. And we find that this is what the book of Proverbs says about wisdom, the wisdom from
above.
We find something quite similar in Job 28:12-20.
Job 28:12. "But where can wisdom be found (we have here a person who is looking for
something very precious. He is looking for wisdom. This reminds us of the parable of the pearls
in which a merchant was looking for precious pearls. He probably asked himself, ‘Where can I
find fine pearls?’ The question in Job is quite similar. ‘Where can I find wisdom?’)? And where
is the place of understanding?
13 Man does not know its value (there is nothing in this world that is equal to the value of
wisdom. In his search, the merchant found one fine pearl – it was more valuable than all the
other pearls), nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 "The deep says, 'It is not in me'; and the sea says, 'It is not with me.'
15 "Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, nor can silver be weighed as its price.
16 "It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx, or sapphire.
17 "Gold or glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold (the value of
wisdom is compared to gold, silver and jewels).
18 "Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned; and the acquisition of wisdom is above that of
pearls.
19 "The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.
20 "Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the place of understanding?
You see, we can compare the situation in this passage to a merchant looking for spiritual jewels.
And we are told that the most precious of all is wisdom. Where can we find it? ‘The kingdom of
God is like that,’ the Lord Jesus says. ‘It is like a person who is searching for spiritual wisdom
and spiritual understanding, which lead to eternal life in God.’
The word of God makes wise
So then, where can wisdom be found? The OT is not without an answer. In this respect, Psalm
19:7 is very enlightening. This is what we read.
Psalm 19:7. The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple.
The word of God is something precious to those who seek after it. It is the source of wisdom to
all who are ready to receive it. It is also the source of power because it has transforming effects.
‘The law of the Lord makes wise the simple.’
Now we begin to see that the pearls that Jesus speaks about in Matthew 7:6 – ‘don’t give your
pearls to pigs’ – refers to the teaching of God, to the word of God. The word of God is something
that is holy. It has to be spiritually discerned. And it is something that we can have as our own
possession. Paul says to the Colossians, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom
(Colossians 3:16)… We have the word of Christ in us. And when we let it remain as a rich
treasure in our heart, it will make us wise.
You will remember that when we studied the earlier parables, the parable of the sower for
example, we mentioned that the word of God is in fact embodied in one person, namely Jesus

Himself, who is called the ‘word of God’ in John 1:1. Jesus is the very embodiment of God’s
word. The word of God is fully expressed in Jesus. Paul writes in Colossians 2:3 that Christ is
the one in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. We have been talking
about spiritual wisdom and spiritual understanding, and where we could find it. Well, here it is.
Wisdom and understanding are to be found in Jesus. ‘In Him are hidden wisdom and
knowledge.’ If we go back to our parable, this means that Jesus is that pearl of great price. He is
the pearl that the merchant so badly wanted.
Now, consider the picture of the pearl in this way. The roundness of the pearl represents the
perfection of Jesus. The radiance of the pearl, the way it shines when you look at it in the light,
represents the beauty of Jesus. The whiteness of the pearl represents the holiness of Jesus.
Remember also that the pearl is produced by suffering. A speck of sand makes its way into an
oyster. The oyster, to protect itself, secretes a substance which surrounds the intruder. That
secretion gradually forms the pearl. And so, the holiness of Jesus is the product of suffering. We
read in Hebrews 5:8 that ‘though He was a Son, He was perfected through suffering.’
One single pearl
Notice the uniqueness of this pearl. It says here, one pearl of great value. This is not one pearl
among many pearls. It is one pearl. Jesus is a person with no comparison. There is nothing to
compare Him with. As the merchant was looking for pearls, suddenly he sees that one pearl.
Being an expert, he knew that it was unique in its beauty. It surpassed any other pearl he has seen
that he considered it a fair exchange for everything else he owns.
But is it wise to lose everything for this pearl? Perhaps it is better for him to have a collection of
cheaper pearls and still be able to keep some of his assets. In fact, from a business point of view,
it is rather unlikely that a merchant would sell everything he has to acquire one single pearl. It is
not advisable, we are told, to put all that we own in the same basket. But this is not the point of
the story. We have to understand it as a matter of priorities. The action of the dealer should lead
us to reflect on the value of the kingdom of heaven in relation to all the other competing things in
this world. Focus on that one pearl. ‘One thing is needful,’ Jesus said to Martha. ‘Don’t be
distracted by all the other things (Luke 10:41).’ Once you have it, once you have Jesus, you don’t
need to search for something else. Hence the emphasis is on the fact that this is one very special
pearl, whose value eclipses all others put together.
Total self-surrender
The parable emphasizes also the fact that there is a cost to be reckoned with. We can’t have that
pearl for nothing. Having that precious pearl is going to cost us everything. If it does not cost us
everything, we have to wonder whether we really have that pearl. We may have discovered the
pearl. But discovering the pearl is not equivalent to having the pearl. That merchant, having seen
the pearl, had to sell what he had before he could own the pearl.
The idea of giving up everything for the sake of the kingdom is found in many places of the
Lord’s teaching. Remember the rich young man who wanted to enter the kingdom. ‘Teacher,
what must I do to have eternal life?’ Jesus told him the same thing. ‘If you want to enter into life,
if you want that pearl, go and sell your possessions. Give them to the poor and follow Me.’ The
parable of the pearl makes it clear that Jesus’ call to the rich young man was not an individual
one which, conveniently, doesn’t apply to anyone else. It is in fact the only way to enter the
kingdom.

Of course, salvation is not something that can be bought. It is a gift. What is meant by ‘selling all
that he had’ is that Jesus demands our heart. He demands a total commitment on our part. You
remember that a lawyer asked the same question to Jesus. ‘Teacher, what must I do to inherit
eternal life?’ ‘Keep the commandments,’ the Lord Jesus said. And what are the commandments?
The commandments are summed up in this phrase: you shall love the Lord your God with all
your being and your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:25-28). At the heart of entering the kingdom
is a relationship of complete devotion to God, a devotion that places God at the center of one’s
life. It is a response that involves the whole person – the heart, the soul, and the mind.
It is Jesus who offers the pearl to people traveling along life’s highway. He offers Himself. Some
of these travelers are searching for what is spiritually valuable. For these people, the OT has a
wonderful promise. Moses says to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 4:29, But from there you will
seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all
your soul. The promise here is that you will find the pearl of great value if you search for it with
all your heart and all your soul. God will be found by those who search for the truth with great
determination. These are the kind of people who say, ‘If I find God, I will commit myself to
Him.’
The significance of this parable lies in two obvious features: (1) first, the idea of finding
something tremendously valuable, (2) and second, the necessity of selling everything in order to
get it.
What does Jesus mean to you? Is He just an ordinary pearl? Or is He worth more than all that
you possess? In fact, if you can truly appreciate His value, selling everything to acquire that pearl
will not be seen as a sacrifice. For what we have is nothing compared to the value of Jesus. We
are not talking about some religious teacher. We are talking about God manifest in the flesh. We
are talking about One whose value is without price. The apostle Paul makes a similar point in
Philippians 3:7-8 where he speaks of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for
whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain
Christ. For Paul, this pearl of great price is worth everything. All the valuables that he could ever
have, he counts them as valueless when he compares them to Jesus.
Can you think of Jesus as that beautiful pearl that is worth more than everything you have?
"A Kingdom Worth Everything"
Matthew 13:44-46
Theme: In these two parables, Jesus teaches us the overwhelming value of His kingdom.
(Delivered Sunday, November 5, 2006 at Bethany Bible Church. Unless otherwise noted, all
Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982,
Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

We have been studying a very important portion of Matthew's Gospel. I'm not exaggerating one
bit when I say that it is a passage that contains the most privileged information that human
beings could ever know.
Jesus had been teaching the multitudes many things about “the kingdom of heaven”—that long-
awaited kingdom over which He was King, and which was even then at hand. He taught the
people in parables—seven in all in this chapter. And when He met privately with His disciples,
He explained the meaning of these things. As He had gathered His disciples together around
Him, He told them that they were greatly blessed in knowing and hearing the things He was
telling them. In fact, He let them know that they were more privileged than anyone who had
come before them; “for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to
see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it” (v. 17).
You and I, by the way, are also greatly privileged in hearing these things. To hear them—and to
be enabled by God's grace to understand them—is to have our eyes enlightened and to have the
Scriptures opened up to us in a new and marvelous way! Jesus Himself said, “Therefore every
scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his
treasure things new and old” (v. 52).
These parables teach the followers of Jesus what they need to know about the great themes of
His kingdom. He gives this information to them so that they will know how to live faithfully in
this world in the light of kingdom priorities. It is a great privilege to hear these things; and it is
well worth our time and effort to understand them.
* * * * * * * * * *
So far in this chapter, we've studied the parables that Jesus spoke to the multitudes. But now,
we've come to a point in this chapter in which the context has changed. We find that Jesus has
sent the crowds away and was now meeting alone with His disciples. He had more about the
kingdom that He had to say to them. What would Jesus then tell His disciples personally about
that kingdom? Having given them these primary insights into the kingdom, what more would He
want them to know?
That's where these next two parables come in. They share the common purpose of teaching
the followers of Jesus the precious, and inestimable, and overwhelmingly great value of this
'kingdom of heaven'; and of how it is worth every effort they could extend, and every cost
they could pay, to lay hold of it. Jesus told them;
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and
hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he
had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it”
(Matthew 13:44-46).
* * * * * * * * * *
Think about these two parables with me. Their broad theme is easy to know, because the Lord
Himself tells us what it is. Twice, He says, “the kingdom of heaven is like . . .” So, we can be
sure that whatever Jesus is telling us in these two parables, it's about the kingdom of heaven.

And the specific thing that He wants us to know about that kingdom is also obvious. He is telling
us about its great value. On the one hand, He said that it is like a hidden treasure that a man
finds; and on the other, He said that it is like a traveling merchant who finds a pearl of great
price. In both cases, the point is clear: the kingdom is of such great value that one ought to be
prepared to give up everything that he or she owns in order to obtain it.
But why two parables? I believe that they show us the precious and inestimable value of the
kingdom of heaven from two different perspectives. Together, these two perspectives are meant
to inspire us to give ourselves fully over to the pursuit of this great and glorious kingdom.
In the first parable, we see the value of the kingdom from the perspective of the citizens of that
kingdom. In it, Jesus teaches us that seizing hold of the kingdom of heaven, and fully grabbing
hold of our place in it, is worth every earthly thing it could possibly cost us. And then, to spur us
on to faithfully and joyfully pay that price, the second parable shows us the value of the kingdom
from the perspective of the King Himself. In that second parable, Jesus shows us that this
kingdom—and us in it—was something so precious and valuable to Him that He Himself
willingly gave everything for it.
That two-fold perspective is what I really hope to impress upon you today. You and I are being
called upon to view the kingdom of heaven as the most precious and valuable thing that we can
pursue on earth. And there couldn't be anything that would encourage us more to give ourselves
over to seizing hold of our place in Christ's kingdom than seeing how much He Himself gave to
seize hold of our place in it!
* * * * * * * * * *
First, let's look at . . .
1. THE KINGDOM'S VALUE FROM THE
STANDPOINT OF THE CITIZENS OF
THE KINGDOM (v. 44).
Jesus tells us that the kingdom of heaven is like “treasure hidden in a field”. And in telling this
story, Jesus was not speaking of anything surprising. It was common for a treasure to be hidden
in a field in Israel.
Throughout its history, that land has been subject to countless military raids. It has changed
hands many times. Armies often marched through it, and conquered and plundered its people.
And as a result, the people of the land were often forced to leave their homes and wander as
refugees or hide for safety.
As you can imagine, it would have been very dangerous to wander through the land with gold
and jewels and large sums of money on one's person. One's whole treasure could easily have
been confiscated or stolen and lost. And so, since there were no banks or safety-deposit boxes in
those days, people on the run would hide the things that were precious to them and their
households by burying them for safekeeping.
Sometimes, as it was hoped, the homeowner would return to his or her home, find the spot where
they buried their precious treasures, dig it up, and take possession of it once again. And if that

happened, then all was well. But very often, the owner of the treasures didn't return to dig them
up. Perhaps they remained captives, and were never able to return. Or perhaps they were killed,
having told no one where their treasure was. And just as often, it was up to someone else—long
afterwards—to accidentally discover the long-forgotten buried treasure somewhere in a field and
take possession of it.
So Jesus was speaking about something that would have been a familiar thing. We're told that the
kingdom of heaven is “like” that buried treasure hidden in a field. We're told that a man—most
likely a poor man who worked in a field of someone else; a field that he didn't own—made a
discovery. As he was tilling the ground or digging a trench, he discovered a box; and in that box
were jewels and gold and precious things.
Jesus tells us that this is a treasure “which a man found and hid”. It was already hidden of course;
but once he found it and saw what was inside, he looked this way and that, saw that no one else
saw it, and buried it were he found it! He kept his discovery a secret.
Now, you need to know that, according to Jewish law, it was permissible in that day for a man to
take possession of what he found buried in the field of another. If he were able to take it as his
own, he would have done no wrong and would have broken no law. But if, indeed, he were a
poor man under the employment of another, it may be that he would not have been permitted to
walk away with that treasure. There would have been only one way for him to secure that buried
treasure for himself and to ensure that it would be his. And so Jesus tells us that, after finding
this treasure and hiding it again, “for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that
field.”
Imagine this man figuring up the value of the land, and making an offer to the owner. Imagine
the man selling everything he owned—literally everything—and scrounging up all the money he
could! Perhaps it made it necessary for this poor man to be homeless for a brief while. Perhaps
he even had to go hungry for a day or two. Perhaps it made it necessary for him to suffer
hardship for a time. Perhaps he even sold some things at a loss, just so he could sell it all as
quickly as he could.
But the man would have been happy to suffer whatever it would have cost him. He had one
consuming passion, and that was to possess that field. He would have been wise to do so;
because he knew that if he had that field, he had riches beyond anything it would have cost him
to obtain it. He would have gladly given up everything for that field; because, in gaining that
field, he secured to himself a treasure that was of far greater value than the field itself.
* * * * * * * * * *
You might say that the man in Jesus' parable would have been a fool not to buy that land—even
though it cost him everything to do so. And Jesus is telling us that the kingdom of heaven is like
that hidden treasure.
Note first of all that it is a treasure that is, as it were, “hidden” in this world. The people of this
world don't look upon it as of any value. All that they are concerned with is what will advance
them in their enjoyment of the things in this world—things that are guaranteed to fade away and
disappear. The apostle John warned us;
Do not love the world or the things in this world. If anyone loves the world, the love of
the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is

passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever (1 John
2:15-17).
The world is consumed with “what shall we eat?” or “what shall we drink?” or “what shall we
wear?”; and they only see value in that which will secure these earthly things for themselves.
And as far as the people of this world are concerned, the pursuit of the kingdom of heaven does
nothing to secure these things. But Jesus tells us not to worry about these things,
“For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you
need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all
these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:32-33).
And notice, secondly, that the kingdom of heaven is a treasure—indeed hidden in this world—
but of greater value than anything in this world. It is worth giving up everything in this world
that we have in order to obtain.
Do you remember the story of the rich young ruler? He asked Jesus what he needed to do to be
saved. He told Jesus that he had kept the law from the time he was a youth; but he knew
something was missing. “What do I still lack?” he asked. Jesus told him,
“If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying,
he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions (Matthew 19:21-22).
What a contrast he was to the man in Jesus' parable! He didn't sell all that he had “for joy” over
Jesus' offer. In fact, he went away sorrowful. It cost more than he was willing to pay.
But when Peter saw all this happening, he looked at himself and his fellow disciples, and saw
how they had forsaken all to follow Jesus. He said to the Lord, “See, we have left all and
followed You. Therefore what shall we have?” I don't fault Peter for asking this, do you? I think
it was a very good question to ask.
Jesus told them,
“Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne
of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve
tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or
mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and
inherit eternal life” (vv. 28-29).
And so, the kingdom of Jesus Christ is a hidden treasure; but it is a treasure that's value is far
greater than anything it may cost us to seize hold of it.
But that leads us to a third thing to notice about it: it does indeed involve a cost. Jesus told us
that, out of joy, the man sold everything he had to obtain this hidden treasure. This, of course,
isn't saying that we can “buy” our place in the kingdom of Jesus Christ with our works. A place
in Christ's kingdom is absolutely free to whoever wishes it. The Bible tells us, “Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved . . .” (Acts 16:31).
All that is required to be a citizen of Jesus' kingdom is that we place our faith on Him, and trust
in the sacrifice He made for us on His cross, and then rise up and follow Him. But as free as the
kingdom is, it also costs. It costs us everything that we are and have. Jesus has already made this
clear to us when He said,

Jesus was the pearl of great price

Jesus was the pearl of great price

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