Matthew 13:45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. 47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: 48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. 49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, 50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 51 Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. 52 Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.
We saw a perfect picture of our Savior this morning and how he feels toward the lost. We all were an overgrown trunk in the field, forgotten and left there. Jesus paid the entire price for it so we could be taken out of the field and given new life. The Lord did the work of cleaning it up. That’s what salvation means. He said he’d give us living water; the blood has not lost its power!
Verses 45-46 are a short, one sentence each parable. Jesus said more in those two sentences than we can in a lifetime. Every word from his mouth is pure and right, necessary food for our soul. Verse 45 is how the Lord feels toward us and 46 is how we ought to feel toward him. A merchant seeks fine jewelry to buy and sell. I don’t know where he went but it would have been wherever he thought he could find it. He came up empty. It’s not the accumulation of things that makes one rich. How can you be rich but poor? Well, you can. Some have everything they want but have no value in themselves. They seek and seek and get and get but it’s never enough. They are miserable and come short. They feel no value in life because they are poor within. Their goods do nothing for the soul. Some people think if they can just get away to some island they’ll find happiness. It takes more than this world to make a person happy. We worry about our money. Naturally we’re to be good stewards of what God has given us. Don’t get so far in debt you can’t get out. That’s not God bad guidance; it’s ours. This man was going to all the wrong places. If we get in a state of dissatisfaction we’ll be more like our old self than our new self. We have Jesus all to ourselves. All for me. All for you. There’s enough of him to go around. The devil works on us with dissatisfaction. We can count our blessings. God always provides and meets needs. It may not be a buffet but there is bread enough. Let’s be satisfied with what we’ve found–Jesus!
This man came upon a unique pearl. One pearl. Not a string of them. You can buy fake ones at the store. I have more than religion in Jesus. I’ve got the real thing. Stop and consider the Savior. We don’t do it as often as we should. Take a little time for Jesus. He gives value to the soul. Jesus is the one pearl of great price. The man sees the pearl is genuine. There’s no faking it with Jesus; some try to fake their Christianity. You’ll not find Jesus in religion. To know Jesus is to consider the genuine pearl. We all have the measure of faith God gives. Do we use it? Consider how valuable he is. Without sin and flaws. He’s pure.
We know what it costs for a pearl to be in existence. Lots of pressure and heat makes a diamond out of coal. A pearl is precious because of the price paid to make it. An oyster lives. A grain of sand gets in its mouth. It’s very irritating so he secretes something to help but that causes the sand to harden which causes more pain. So he secretes more fluid until it gets bigger and bigger. The object gets so big that nothing helps and the oyster dies. When it is opened up there is not something awful inside; it’s a beautiful pearl. Jesus knew about the working of the oyster and the pearl. The people knew what he meant. The merchant saw the beauty of the pearl and knew the oyster had given its all. Jesus said he had the power to lay down his life and power to take it up again. He could only be Savior if he gave his blood. He took our grain of sand and covered it with his blood.
Jesus is the most precious pearl. One pearl, not a string. One Savior. The merchant gave all he had, all his land, all his goods, so he could have the pearl. He knew something gave its all to make it. This parable teaches us how we should feel about Jesus. See him as no less than that pearl of great price. In heaven he’ll shine so bright that he’ll light the city. He wakes us up each day with his presence. He stands before us as this one pearl of great price. How can we not value him. He makes life worth the living giving us peace and satisfaction.
Jesus asked the people if they understood. Do you? Get a fresh understanding. It will make you a better Christian. You’ll enjoy Jesus more. Give him your all. What else do you need? He’s the victory and it will be all right.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 