Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant who finds one pearl of supreme worth and gladly sells all he has to make it his own. The pearl is Christ Himself, the gift of redeeming love in whom the Father's glory and the fullness of the Godhead are gathered, whose flawless righteousness meets every need of the soul now and hereafter. It is also salvation and eternal life, pure unadulterated truth and the knowledge of God found by searching Scripture as for hidden treasure. It is bought not with worldly wealth but at the cost of all the merchant had, giving self, soul, body, and spirit to Christ in full willing obedience, yet it remains a free gift that even the poorest may receive. The merchant is the earnest seeker who knows the pearl's worth and surrenders all that competes with eternal welfare, while those who held the other view teach that the merchant is Christ Himself seeking lost humanity as His pearl of great price.
Parable's Picture and Setting
Christ drew the illustration from the familiar experience of finding a pearl to teach immortal, spiritual truth about the unseen. The picture was adapted to every hearer so as to interest every mind and appeal to every heart. By it daily life and ordinary work are brightened and uplifted through constant reminders of the spiritual and unseen.
The pearl was regarded by the Jews as the most valuable of precious stones. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant who finds one pearl of great value and gladly sells all he has to buy it. Finding it calls for giving up everything else to gain it, as a present and eternal good worth surrendering all to possess. It is the blessing of redeeming love, the riches of Christ's love and divine grace, whose recognized worth leads seekers to desire deeper peace, righteousness, and blessing. Those who seek it must set aside anything that hinders eternal good and devote talents, means, and energies to the search, for God's blessing is open to all and obedience to His will is the condition of success, so earnest seekers need not labor in vain. As an investment the heavenly pearl brings no risk of disappointment, unlike worldly mining ventures.
The chapter is to be read as for life, with heed to self, letting no human sophistry or mocking of sacred things blind the reader. It contemplates the future destiny of those for whom Christ gave His life. Those saved must form characters without fault in the sight of a pure and holy God, in order to stand acquitted without spot or stain of character before the judgment seat of Christ, where at the great day every man will be judged according to deeds done in this life. God has given every man his work, and Christ will co-operate with everyone who co-operates with Him by wearing His yoke and learning His meekness and lowliness, such being loved and ministered to by angels and taught daily the meaning of the divine beatitudes.
The gift set forth as the pearl is Christ given as the ransom of a fallen world. God declared this gift in Eden before the heavenly universe, before the unfallen worlds, and before satanic agencies. There, at the fall, with the promise that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head, He commenced the unfolding and announcement of His plan of infinite magnitude. The death of His Son is the vital all-absorbing truth on which mankind in all ages is to fix attention, the great center of attraction.
What the Pearl Is
The pearl is Christ Himself, the precious gift of redeeming love in whom the Father's glory and the fullness of the Godhead are gathered. His character expresses God, His righteousness is pure and without flaw and no human work can improve the gift, and in Him are gathered all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. He is made wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, meeting every need and longing of the soul both for this life and for the life to come, so that all else may be counted loss beside Him.
Possessing the pearl means possessing Christ as a personal Saviour, the Way, the Truth, and the Life given as ransom for a fallen world. He is unchangeable yesterday, today, and forever, the truth and salvation whom all may seek and successfully find, and those who find Him know His worth without being told. He is the highest riches, a treasure beyond every earthly treasure, the gift of God for whom the world is to be surrendered. Finding Him satisfies every want and brings peace and rest with the promise of a new heart and new spirit as the reward of obedience.
The pearl is also salvation and eternal life, the blessing of redeeming love freely given to all who accept Christ as personal Saviour. It is heaven itself and the kingdom of heaven as a present and eternal good, of such worth that nothing is too precious to sacrifice for entrance into it. Only those who prize it above all else and will give up everything to obtain it will possess it, through lifelong, persevering, untiring effort and personal sacrifice to perfect Christian character. Accepting it brings sanctification, honor, and eternal riches, while rejecting it despises the Saviour and forfeits the crown of immortal life given for loyalty. Searching for it requires purity of heart, thorough consecration, and close relation with divinity, with heed lest a counterfeit be accepted, for many almost gain it yet fail in the end.
The pearl is pure, unadulterated truth, the flawless truths of God's Word and the gospel without mixture of truth and error. That truth is sure, definite, and authoritative, not a cunningly devised fable, and possessing it means coming into possession of it and obeying it. It is the Word of God and the truth in Jesus that sets people right and keeps them steadfast, the righteousness of Christ pure and without guilt or stain which no human work can improve. It includes the heavenly treasure of truth and righteousness and the saving truths for this time, which are possession of eternal riches and eternal life. It embraces the riches of Christ's love and divine grace, hope, faith, peace with God, and the meekness and lowliness of Christ, truly found when it enables a person to reveal Christ in both teaching and example. Its great value calls for discernment in sharing, not spending time and strength offering what is holy to those who cannot appreciate it.
The pearl is the knowledge of God found by searching Scripture as for hidden treasure, a treasure worth giving up everything to obtain and which every soul may find by giving all to seek it. The Word holds the priceless jewels of truth, and those deeply impressed to seek them will sell all to come into possession of them, with even the most lowly often possessing and imparting this hidden treasure. Truth and righteousness are hidden pearls to be gathered and cherished, spiritually understood by cultivating deep attention, with grace giving every asking soul a deep and increasing interest in the Word. Digging as for hidden treasures opens to the diligent seeker what once held no special interest, rewarding faith with hidden pearls dug out from superstition and error. These are the precious truths of the gospel taught by Jesus and seen in His life, rich and glorious pearls worth close and sustained labor without rest until set forth, to be presented personally as ministers visit people and introduce them to Christ.
The pearl is found by those who may have no earthly treasure, the poor, needy, destitute, neglected, and abandoned who receive the gospel. Finding it means receiving faith and pardon from the sin-pardoning Saviour, eating the bread that comes down from heaven and drinking the water of life. Those who find it are raised to the dignity of sons and daughters of God, lifted above the world to sit in heavenly places in Christ above any position earth can give. To them God's truth shines in its most radiant clearness, with light and gladness in poverty and destitution, so that even a crust of bread and cup of water becomes a banquet.
Who the Merchant Is
The merchant is the earnest seeker who, when the Holy Spirit reveals the preciousness of Christ, recognizes the immeasurable worth of the pearl without needing to be told and receives Him by faith as Redeemer and Saviour. He gladly gives up everything that competes with eternal welfare to possess Him, counting all things loss to win Christ and making Him the supreme object of life. As peace with God is gained the thirst for righteousness and desire for greater blessings grow, so talents, means, and energies are devoted to gaining the riches of divine love and grace, with obedience to God's will as the condition of success. The heavenly riches are open to all, and the earnest seeker need not toil in vain or be disappointed. Finding Him inspires the finder to reveal His character and work for His kingdom.
The merchant is also Christ Himself seeking lost humanity as the pearl of great price, ruined by sin yet precious for what redeeming love can make of it. He came to seek and recover the fallen race, giving Himself to death to save those who believe and offer them eternal life, then setting the redeemed as jewels in His crown. The sinner must likewise lay down all to share in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world through lust, with life hid with Christ in God in a union of love that continues by keeping His commandments as Christ kept His Father's commandments.
To buy the pearl Christ spared nothing, giving up all the riches of the universe and leaving heaven's joys to seek the human soul. The cost was connecting Himself with sinful humanity, going through the gates of death, giving His own blood and making His soul an offering for sin to recover His lost jewel, so that those who look to Him in faith are healed and receive hope. He undertook the work Himself and risked His life in the conflict to gain lost, perishing souls. When a soul is found all heaven rejoices, yet it may still be in danger of being lost and must be conscientiously cared for and secured for Christ by those responsible. Even when a man betrays his Lord, confides in unbelievers, feeds on human praise, and crucifies the Son of God afresh to open shame, Jesus does not cut him off but stands before the Father pleading to spare him, offering to take his sin, to impute His own righteousness to him, and to win him from Satan who would sift him, pointing to His wounded hands for his transgressions.
The lost pearl is lost humanity, His purchased heritage, buried beneath the darkness of ignorance and perverse iniquity, moved by pity at its condition. Its value is never known until it is sought earnestly. That condition is seen in wicked cities where children and youth become wise to do evil and mature rapidly in knowledge of evil practices through contact with selfish, ambitious, dishonest, thieving, depraved and disobedient people, becoming full of self-sufficiency, cunning in avoiding detection, and expert in deception, fraud and crime. They are educated toward perdition by popular publications and papers filled with stories of theft, murder and every species of crime, breathing a tainted, polluted atmosphere of crime that spreads from the cities to the country and contaminates the whole community.
Christ gave up everything to seek and save that which was lost in order to recover the lost pearl buried in the rubbish and iniquity of the wicked cities. His followers must therefore ask what sacrifices they are ready to make to find the lost pearl and place it in the Saviour's hands, seeking diligently, prayerfully, and with intense interest, with one hundred workers where there is now but one, awake and occupying in the Master's vineyard until life ends and probation closes. The lost pearls are people in the cities and across mountains and cities, even where the work appears beyond help, who need to be sought earnestly and diligently and brought to the Saviour, for their value may not be recognized until they are found. Precious souls for whom Christ died are to be hunted up with taxation, weariness, zeal, and the entire strength of the being put forth with greatest earnestness, requiring a mind free to study the Word of God, feel the burden of the work, and be qualified for action at any moment rather than engrossed in hunting curiosities and divided by lifeless efforts. Those who are gathered will shine in the courts of the Lord, for the heavenly cabinet of glory is not yet furnished and adorned with them. This earnest work is done in self-denial and humility, using received truth to help others and revealing human worth through pure lives and faithful effort.
Buying at Full Cost
The pearl is not pictured as a gift costing nothing but as bought at the price of all the merchant had, which is giving self, soul, body, and spirit to Christ without reserve. Buying is giving self to Jesus to live a life of full, willing obedience to all His requirements, consecrating all that one is and all talents and capabilities possessed to His service. When the whole being is surrendered in this way, Christ with all heaven's treasures gives Himself in return, and only in this total surrender is the priceless gem obtained. The price required is not gold or silver, for these belong to God, and it is met by willing obedience, by zeal to repent when rebuked and chastened, by opening the door of the heart when Christ knocks that He may enter and fellowship, by giving up sins, and by overcoming to sit with Him in His throne.
Salvation is a free gift and yet is to be bought and sold, bought without money and without price in the market managed by Divine mercy. There the goods of heaven are lent on trust and the treasury of the jewels of truth is opened to all, through an open door that no man can shut and guarded by no sword, with voices from within and at the door saying Come, and with the Saviour earnestly and lovingly inviting sinners to buy gold tried in the fire that they may be rich, and white raiment that they may be clothed, and eyesalve that they may see. The poorest can purchase it as well as the richest, for no worldly wealth, education, or temporal or spiritual advantage can secure it. The gospel takes men as they are, poor, wretched, miserable, blind, and naked, and the only condition imposed for riches and clothing with His righteousness is obedience to His commandments.
Selling all means accepting Christ and making Him all and in all, giving self to Him as His purchased possession. It is opening the door and letting Christ in, giving up sins, washing the robe of character white in the blood of the Lamb and being clothed with His righteousness, being saved from sin and not in sin. Those who do this obtain an invaluable experience, and good works will surely follow all who receive Him. The true, strong, joyous life of the soul begins when Christ is formed within as the hope of glory, and all who receive Him and believe on His name are given power to become sons of God, finding the law a law of perfect liberty to lay hold by faith upon the sure, steadfast hope. Worldly wealth and even the highest education cannot secure this salvation, for buying it is willing obedience and giving oneself to Christ as His possession, not earning salvation.
Seeking it demands interested, persevering effort as if abandoning everything in the world to obtain a treasure above price, not in worldly marts or by worldly ways. Recognizing its incomparable worth calls for wholehearted commitment, while understanding the truth taught requires diligent effort, hearing Scripture aright, purifying the heart from selfishness, and receiving the word with meekness. Securing it calls for earnest effort and willingness to endure conflict, toil, and sacrifice, for no sacrifice is too great for a treasure that does not perish and a life that lasts as long as the Infinite. It means following God's will and doing the work He appoints rather than choosing place or course for oneself, with lifelong, persevering, untiring toil to perfect Christian character instead of neglect, waywardness, crippled energy, and worldly selfish desire, persisting without failing or discouragement. Securing it requires sharp watch unto prayer and earnest, zealous, personal, intense interest lest the opportunity be lost.
Finding requires setting aside anything that hinders eternal good and devoting talents, means, and energies to seeking the treasure, with obedience to His will as the condition of success so earnest seekers need not labor in vain. Those who cling to wrong habits, self, unholy ambition, or worldly attractions do not find it, for following Christ means taking up the cross and accepting self-denial and sacrifice, dying to self so Christ can live within. Unless a person prizes the heavenly good above worldly possessions and is willing to sacrifice them, the pearl is not theirs. Without this full surrender there is no inward rest or joy. This giving up includes covetous love of present wealth, vanity such as jewels and diamonds for display that gratify human pride and bring no return to God, condemnation, self-exaltation, disparaging speech, foolish social pleasures that divide the heart, and worldly ambitions and bribes that would ruin hope of heaven. Choosing present wealth over immortal riches reverses the lesson, bartering away the pearl for temporary gain, while benevolent deeds overcome the covetousness that values worldly treasure more highly than heaven.
Being almost Christian is not enough to enter the kingdom of heaven, for to be almost but not wholly saved is to be wholly lost. Many almost gain possession of the pearl but fail in the end because they lack purity of heart, thorough consecration, and close relation with divinity necessary for this noble pursuit, taking heed lest a counterfeit be accepted. Sin is wonderfully deceitful, and to the heart unchanged by righteousness a counterfeit righteousness is presented; those who trust in it build on shifting sand and will be overcome by the storm of test and trial. Many who think they are walking in the way to heaven are walking in strange paths because they have not given up all to obtain eternal life, choosing the spurious above the genuine. So the Pharisees, though rich in temporal and spiritual advantages, rejected the pearl, while publicans and harlots entered the kingdom before them.
Giving all for the heavenly pearl is an investment that brings no risk of disappointment, unlike worldly mining ventures. Following Christ and forsaking earthly possessions and ties for His sake is secure, for Christ promises a hundredfold and everlasting life and speaks of His followers sharing in His glory in the regeneration. Receiving it requires surrendering the heart to Jesus and accepting God's conditions, not relying on one's own strength or outward religious forms; His sacrifice makes cleansing from sin possible, and surrender brings repentance, a renewed life, and lasting happiness. Refusing it brings immeasurable loss, bartering away immortal riches for temporary gain.
The presentation of the precious jewels of truth tests each person's estimate of the value of salvation, and by life practice in receiving or refusing it eternal destiny is decided. Salvation found in God through Christ was secured by deepest humiliation and agony and a shameful death on the cross to give eternal life, yet many refuse it and forget God, perversely ignorant of what is worth seeking, thinking themselves wise while valuing gold and silver and rings and bracelets and bodily ornaments above the one jewel of inestimable value and above the crown of glory that fadeth not away. God's power is constructive and His kingdom is one of continual progress like the morning sun increasing in strength until the perfect day, while the opposing power is wholly destructive. Those to whom the pearl is held up should be wide-awake, earnestly seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness with countenances glowing with animation and with sharp watchfulness unto prayer, instead of listening with weariness, listlessness, and lack of interest as if no priceless gem were being presented.
Securing the pearl turns from earthly treasure to the heavenly, refusing to use the Lord's money for diamonds, jewels, or anything that merely gratifies human vanity and brings no returns, and seeing what is now deemed wisdom as vanity. It is secured by using entrusted means with an eye single to the glory of God, to bring honor and glory to Christ, to carry out the great plan of salvation, and to win souls, so that means constantly yields returns in good works for time and for eternity. Finding the truth in God's Word like a priceless treasure binds people to God through Christ, and God's gifts and abilities are to be used in His service, not spent only on earthly advantages. Seeking precious pearls is proved by the life, not by praise and thanksgiving with the lips only, as the one who loves God brings gifts and offerings to the treasury so laborers can be sent forth to sow the precious seed, with God and man combining their efforts. Giving earthly means to help people learn and practice the truth is an investment in work of eternal value, for each soul saved is worth more than a world.
Finding and Sharing the Pearl
Finding the pearl brings the mind into peaceful rest and gives a safe refuge from restless longing for diversion and from vicious practices. In Christ the heart finds strength and hope, with every want satisfied and the promise of a new heart and new spirit fulfilled as the reward of obedience. Pleasures become pure, peaceful, elevated and heavenly, bringing health and vigor rather than remorse or harm. Receiving Him requires surrender of the heart and acceptance of God's conditions rather than reliance on one's own strength or outward religious forms, and His sacrifice makes cleansing from sin possible. That surrender brings repentance, cleansing and renewal of heart and mind, a renewed life, consecration of self with all talents lent by God to His glory, and lasting happiness. Many fail to estimate the heavenly treasure rightly, turning from it with disdain and giving eternal interests only a passing thought, while those who trust a counterfeit righteousness with unchanged heart build on shifting sand and will be overcome in trial, walking strange paths while supposing they walk toward heaven because they have not surrendered all.
Finding Him makes Him the supreme object, recognized as of immeasurable worth without being told, and gladly secured at the cost of all else as the Holy Spirit reveals His preciousness and He is received by faith as Redeemer and Saviour. All interests and ambitions are then gathered into one purpose, to reflect His character and work for His kingdom. The finder receives His mind so as to work and speak as He did, in a change so plain that others have no doubt the pearl has been found. Those who find it are animated by His Spirit and live in harmony, becoming of one heart and one soul, seeing in one another the divine similitude of benevolence and love. One interest prevails and one object swallows up all others, every pulse beating in healthy concert, with the only ambition to reveal most perfectly the likeness of His character and to do the most for the enlargement of His kingdom, welcoming others who seek it and made strong so that the weak shall be as David and David as the angel of the Lord.
Finding puts a new song in the mouth, with zeal and repentance of lukewarmness when His excellencies, delights, matchless love, power and righteousness are kept before the mind and the Sun of righteousness rises in the heart. It complies with the invitation to buy gold tried in fire with white raiment and eyesalve, by grasping His love and righteousness by faith. Hearts thus impressed confess wrongs to believers and unbelievers and make restitution.
Those who have found this higher way show it by the gladness, blessing and joy of learning from His Word and serving Him. Their testimony in glad, cheerful, fervent and encouraging words tells how they found Jesus and the blessings since received. Such witness shows others the value of the discovery and that the precious pearl has truly been found. It can awaken them from spiritual insensibility and draw them to seek salvation, which is genuine missionary work.
Sinners unite with Christians in seeking the pearl when the Holy Spirit is poured out and hearts yield to the gospel message. The seeking comes as the message of redeeming grace through a risen Saviour is proclaimed with power and carried to the world as a witness and treasure worth seeking at the cost of all. Converts then flock from all directions and are brought into the church, backsliders are reconverted, and even the bitterest opponents become champions of the gospel. Those converted consecrate their lives to share the hope and joy they have received.
The great value of truth as a pearl calls for discernment in sharing, not spending time and strength offering what is holy to those who cannot appreciate it. Yet the gospel about Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life must still be preached as a witness to all nations. Not all will receive and accept Him, since many do not appreciate Him and let things of minor importance take their attention. Even so the witness goes forward, so that light shines in moral darkness and truth stands in contrast with error.
The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant who finds one pearl of supreme worth and gladly sells all he has to make it his own. The pearl is Christ Himself, the gift of redeeming love in whom the Father's glory and the fullness of the Godhead are gathered, whose flawless righteousness meets every need of the soul now and hereafter. It is also salvation and eternal life, pure unadulterated truth and the knowledge of God found by searching Scripture as for hidden treasure. It is bought not with worldly wealth but at the cost of all the merchant had, giving self, soul, body, and spirit to Christ in full willing obedience, yet it remains a free gift that even the poorest may receive. The merchant is the earnest seeker who knows the pearl's worth and surrenders all that competes with eternal welfare, while those who held the other view teach that the merchant is Christ Himself seeking lost humanity as His pearl of great price.
Parable's Picture and Setting
Christ drew the illustration from the familiar experience of finding a pearl to teach immortal, spiritual truth about the unseen. The picture was adapted to every hearer so as to interest every mind and appeal to every heart. By it daily life and ordinary work are brightened and uplifted through constant reminders of the spiritual and unseen.
The pearl was regarded by the Jews as the most valuable of precious stones. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant who finds one pearl of great value and gladly sells all he has to buy it. Finding it calls for giving up everything else to gain it, as a present and eternal good worth surrendering all to possess. It is the blessing of redeeming love, the riches of Christ's love and divine grace, whose recognized worth leads seekers to desire deeper peace, righteousness, and blessing. Those who seek it must set aside anything that hinders eternal good and devote talents, means, and energies to the search, for God's blessing is open to all and obedience to His will is the condition of success, so earnest seekers need not labor in vain. As an investment the heavenly pearl brings no risk of disappointment, unlike worldly mining ventures.
The chapter is to be read as for life, with heed to self, letting no human sophistry or mocking of sacred things blind the reader. It contemplates the future destiny of those for whom Christ gave His life. Those saved must form characters without fault in the sight of a pure and holy God, in order to stand acquitted without spot or stain of character before the judgment seat of Christ, where at the great day every man will be judged according to deeds done in this life. God has given every man his work, and Christ will co-operate with everyone who co-operates with Him by wearing His yoke and learning His meekness and lowliness, such being loved and ministered to by angels and taught daily the meaning of the divine beatitudes.
The gift set forth as the pearl is Christ given as the ransom of a fallen world. God declared this gift in Eden before the heavenly universe, before the unfallen worlds, and before satanic agencies. There, at the fall, with the promise that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head, He commenced the unfolding and announcement of His plan of infinite magnitude. The death of His Son is the vital all-absorbing truth on which mankind in all ages is to fix attention, the great center of attraction.
What the Pearl Is
The pearl is Christ Himself, the precious gift of redeeming love in whom the Father's glory and the fullness of the Godhead are gathered. His character expresses God, His righteousness is pure and without flaw and no human work can improve the gift, and in Him are gathered all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. He is made wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, meeting every need and longing of the soul both for this life and for the life to come, so that all else may be counted loss beside Him.
Possessing the pearl means possessing Christ as a personal Saviour, the Way, the Truth, and the Life given as ransom for a fallen world. He is unchangeable yesterday, today, and forever, the truth and salvation whom all may seek and successfully find, and those who find Him know His worth without being told. He is the highest riches, a treasure beyond every earthly treasure, the gift of God for whom the world is to be surrendered. Finding Him satisfies every want and brings peace and rest with the promise of a new heart and new spirit as the reward of obedience.
The pearl is also salvation and eternal life, the blessing of redeeming love freely given to all who accept Christ as personal Saviour. It is heaven itself and the kingdom of heaven as a present and eternal good, of such worth that nothing is too precious to sacrifice for entrance into it. Only those who prize it above all else and will give up everything to obtain it will possess it, through lifelong, persevering, untiring effort and personal sacrifice to perfect Christian character. Accepting it brings sanctification, honor, and eternal riches, while rejecting it despises the Saviour and forfeits the crown of immortal life given for loyalty. Searching for it requires purity of heart, thorough consecration, and close relation with divinity, with heed lest a counterfeit be accepted, for many almost gain it yet fail in the end.
The pearl is pure, unadulterated truth, the flawless truths of God's Word and the gospel without mixture of truth and error. That truth is sure, definite, and authoritative, not a cunningly devised fable, and possessing it means coming into possession of it and obeying it. It is the Word of God and the truth in Jesus that sets people right and keeps them steadfast, the righteousness of Christ pure and without guilt or stain which no human work can improve. It includes the heavenly treasure of truth and righteousness and the saving truths for this time, which are possession of eternal riches and eternal life. It embraces the riches of Christ's love and divine grace, hope, faith, peace with God, and the meekness and lowliness of Christ, truly found when it enables a person to reveal Christ in both teaching and example. Its great value calls for discernment in sharing, not spending time and strength offering what is holy to those who cannot appreciate it.
The pearl is the knowledge of God found by searching Scripture as for hidden treasure, a treasure worth giving up everything to obtain and which every soul may find by giving all to seek it. The Word holds the priceless jewels of truth, and those deeply impressed to seek them will sell all to come into possession of them, with even the most lowly often possessing and imparting this hidden treasure. Truth and righteousness are hidden pearls to be gathered and cherished, spiritually understood by cultivating deep attention, with grace giving every asking soul a deep and increasing interest in the Word. Digging as for hidden treasures opens to the diligent seeker what once held no special interest, rewarding faith with hidden pearls dug out from superstition and error. These are the precious truths of the gospel taught by Jesus and seen in His life, rich and glorious pearls worth close and sustained labor without rest until set forth, to be presented personally as ministers visit people and introduce them to Christ.
The pearl is found by those who may have no earthly treasure, the poor, needy, destitute, neglected, and abandoned who receive the gospel. Finding it means receiving faith and pardon from the sin-pardoning Saviour, eating the bread that comes down from heaven and drinking the water of life. Those who find it are raised to the dignity of sons and daughters of God, lifted above the world to sit in heavenly places in Christ above any position earth can give. To them God's truth shines in its most radiant clearness, with light and gladness in poverty and destitution, so that even a crust of bread and cup of water becomes a banquet.
Who the Merchant Is
The merchant is the earnest seeker who, when the Holy Spirit reveals the preciousness of Christ, recognizes the immeasurable worth of the pearl without needing to be told and receives Him by faith as Redeemer and Saviour. He gladly gives up everything that competes with eternal welfare to possess Him, counting all things loss to win Christ and making Him the supreme object of life. As peace with God is gained the thirst for righteousness and desire for greater blessings grow, so talents, means, and energies are devoted to gaining the riches of divine love and grace, with obedience to God's will as the condition of success. The heavenly riches are open to all, and the earnest seeker need not toil in vain or be disappointed. Finding Him inspires the finder to reveal His character and work for His kingdom.
The merchant is also Christ Himself seeking lost humanity as the pearl of great price, ruined by sin yet precious for what redeeming love can make of it. He came to seek and recover the fallen race, giving Himself to death to save those who believe and offer them eternal life, then setting the redeemed as jewels in His crown. The sinner must likewise lay down all to share in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world through lust, with life hid with Christ in God in a union of love that continues by keeping His commandments as Christ kept His Father's commandments.
To buy the pearl Christ spared nothing, giving up all the riches of the universe and leaving heaven's joys to seek the human soul. The cost was connecting Himself with sinful humanity, going through the gates of death, giving His own blood and making His soul an offering for sin to recover His lost jewel, so that those who look to Him in faith are healed and receive hope. He undertook the work Himself and risked His life in the conflict to gain lost, perishing souls. When a soul is found all heaven rejoices, yet it may still be in danger of being lost and must be conscientiously cared for and secured for Christ by those responsible. Even when a man betrays his Lord, confides in unbelievers, feeds on human praise, and crucifies the Son of God afresh to open shame, Jesus does not cut him off but stands before the Father pleading to spare him, offering to take his sin, to impute His own righteousness to him, and to win him from Satan who would sift him, pointing to His wounded hands for his transgressions.
The lost pearl is lost humanity, His purchased heritage, buried beneath the darkness of ignorance and perverse iniquity, moved by pity at its condition. Its value is never known until it is sought earnestly. That condition is seen in wicked cities where children and youth become wise to do evil and mature rapidly in knowledge of evil practices through contact with selfish, ambitious, dishonest, thieving, depraved and disobedient people, becoming full of self-sufficiency, cunning in avoiding detection, and expert in deception, fraud and crime. They are educated toward perdition by popular publications and papers filled with stories of theft, murder and every species of crime, breathing a tainted, polluted atmosphere of crime that spreads from the cities to the country and contaminates the whole community.
Christ gave up everything to seek and save that which was lost in order to recover the lost pearl buried in the rubbish and iniquity of the wicked cities. His followers must therefore ask what sacrifices they are ready to make to find the lost pearl and place it in the Saviour's hands, seeking diligently, prayerfully, and with intense interest, with one hundred workers where there is now but one, awake and occupying in the Master's vineyard until life ends and probation closes. The lost pearls are people in the cities and across mountains and cities, even where the work appears beyond help, who need to be sought earnestly and diligently and brought to the Saviour, for their value may not be recognized until they are found. Precious souls for whom Christ died are to be hunted up with taxation, weariness, zeal, and the entire strength of the being put forth with greatest earnestness, requiring a mind free to study the Word of God, feel the burden of the work, and be qualified for action at any moment rather than engrossed in hunting curiosities and divided by lifeless efforts. Those who are gathered will shine in the courts of the Lord, for the heavenly cabinet of glory is not yet furnished and adorned with them. This earnest work is done in self-denial and humility, using received truth to help others and revealing human worth through pure lives and faithful effort.
Buying at Full Cost
The pearl is not pictured as a gift costing nothing but as bought at the price of all the merchant had, which is giving self, soul, body, and spirit to Christ without reserve. Buying is giving self to Jesus to live a life of full, willing obedience to all His requirements, consecrating all that one is and all talents and capabilities possessed to His service. When the whole being is surrendered in this way, Christ with all heaven's treasures gives Himself in return, and only in this total surrender is the priceless gem obtained. The price required is not gold or silver, for these belong to God, and it is met by willing obedience, by zeal to repent when rebuked and chastened, by opening the door of the heart when Christ knocks that He may enter and fellowship, by giving up sins, and by overcoming to sit with Him in His throne.
Salvation is a free gift and yet is to be bought and sold, bought without money and without price in the market managed by Divine mercy. There the goods of heaven are lent on trust and the treasury of the jewels of truth is opened to all, through an open door that no man can shut and guarded by no sword, with voices from within and at the door saying Come, and with the Saviour earnestly and lovingly inviting sinners to buy gold tried in the fire that they may be rich, and white raiment that they may be clothed, and eyesalve that they may see. The poorest can purchase it as well as the richest, for no worldly wealth, education, or temporal or spiritual advantage can secure it. The gospel takes men as they are, poor, wretched, miserable, blind, and naked, and the only condition imposed for riches and clothing with His righteousness is obedience to His commandments.
Selling all means accepting Christ and making Him all and in all, giving self to Him as His purchased possession. It is opening the door and letting Christ in, giving up sins, washing the robe of character white in the blood of the Lamb and being clothed with His righteousness, being saved from sin and not in sin. Those who do this obtain an invaluable experience, and good works will surely follow all who receive Him. The true, strong, joyous life of the soul begins when Christ is formed within as the hope of glory, and all who receive Him and believe on His name are given power to become sons of God, finding the law a law of perfect liberty to lay hold by faith upon the sure, steadfast hope. Worldly wealth and even the highest education cannot secure this salvation, for buying it is willing obedience and giving oneself to Christ as His possession, not earning salvation.
Seeking it demands interested, persevering effort as if abandoning everything in the world to obtain a treasure above price, not in worldly marts or by worldly ways. Recognizing its incomparable worth calls for wholehearted commitment, while understanding the truth taught requires diligent effort, hearing Scripture aright, purifying the heart from selfishness, and receiving the word with meekness. Securing it calls for earnest effort and willingness to endure conflict, toil, and sacrifice, for no sacrifice is too great for a treasure that does not perish and a life that lasts as long as the Infinite. It means following God's will and doing the work He appoints rather than choosing place or course for oneself, with lifelong, persevering, untiring toil to perfect Christian character instead of neglect, waywardness, crippled energy, and worldly selfish desire, persisting without failing or discouragement. Securing it requires sharp watch unto prayer and earnest, zealous, personal, intense interest lest the opportunity be lost.
Finding requires setting aside anything that hinders eternal good and devoting talents, means, and energies to seeking the treasure, with obedience to His will as the condition of success so earnest seekers need not labor in vain. Those who cling to wrong habits, self, unholy ambition, or worldly attractions do not find it, for following Christ means taking up the cross and accepting self-denial and sacrifice, dying to self so Christ can live within. Unless a person prizes the heavenly good above worldly possessions and is willing to sacrifice them, the pearl is not theirs. Without this full surrender there is no inward rest or joy. This giving up includes covetous love of present wealth, vanity such as jewels and diamonds for display that gratify human pride and bring no return to God, condemnation, self-exaltation, disparaging speech, foolish social pleasures that divide the heart, and worldly ambitions and bribes that would ruin hope of heaven. Choosing present wealth over immortal riches reverses the lesson, bartering away the pearl for temporary gain, while benevolent deeds overcome the covetousness that values worldly treasure more highly than heaven.
Being almost Christian is not enough to enter the kingdom of heaven, for to be almost but not wholly saved is to be wholly lost. Many almost gain possession of the pearl but fail in the end because they lack purity of heart, thorough consecration, and close relation with divinity necessary for this noble pursuit, taking heed lest a counterfeit be accepted. Sin is wonderfully deceitful, and to the heart unchanged by righteousness a counterfeit righteousness is presented; those who trust in it build on shifting sand and will be overcome by the storm of test and trial. Many who think they are walking in the way to heaven are walking in strange paths because they have not given up all to obtain eternal life, choosing the spurious above the genuine. So the Pharisees, though rich in temporal and spiritual advantages, rejected the pearl, while publicans and harlots entered the kingdom before them.
Giving all for the heavenly pearl is an investment that brings no risk of disappointment, unlike worldly mining ventures. Following Christ and forsaking earthly possessions and ties for His sake is secure, for Christ promises a hundredfold and everlasting life and speaks of His followers sharing in His glory in the regeneration. Receiving it requires surrendering the heart to Jesus and accepting God's conditions, not relying on one's own strength or outward religious forms; His sacrifice makes cleansing from sin possible, and surrender brings repentance, a renewed life, and lasting happiness. Refusing it brings immeasurable loss, bartering away immortal riches for temporary gain.
The presentation of the precious jewels of truth tests each person's estimate of the value of salvation, and by life practice in receiving or refusing it eternal destiny is decided. Salvation found in God through Christ was secured by deepest humiliation and agony and a shameful death on the cross to give eternal life, yet many refuse it and forget God, perversely ignorant of what is worth seeking, thinking themselves wise while valuing gold and silver and rings and bracelets and bodily ornaments above the one jewel of inestimable value and above the crown of glory that fadeth not away. God's power is constructive and His kingdom is one of continual progress like the morning sun increasing in strength until the perfect day, while the opposing power is wholly destructive. Those to whom the pearl is held up should be wide-awake, earnestly seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness with countenances glowing with animation and with sharp watchfulness unto prayer, instead of listening with weariness, listlessness, and lack of interest as if no priceless gem were being presented.
Securing the pearl turns from earthly treasure to the heavenly, refusing to use the Lord's money for diamonds, jewels, or anything that merely gratifies human vanity and brings no returns, and seeing what is now deemed wisdom as vanity. It is secured by using entrusted means with an eye single to the glory of God, to bring honor and glory to Christ, to carry out the great plan of salvation, and to win souls, so that means constantly yields returns in good works for time and for eternity. Finding the truth in God's Word like a priceless treasure binds people to God through Christ, and God's gifts and abilities are to be used in His service, not spent only on earthly advantages. Seeking precious pearls is proved by the life, not by praise and thanksgiving with the lips only, as the one who loves God brings gifts and offerings to the treasury so laborers can be sent forth to sow the precious seed, with God and man combining their efforts. Giving earthly means to help people learn and practice the truth is an investment in work of eternal value, for each soul saved is worth more than a world.
Finding and Sharing the Pearl
Finding the pearl brings the mind into peaceful rest and gives a safe refuge from restless longing for diversion and from vicious practices. In Christ the heart finds strength and hope, with every want satisfied and the promise of a new heart and new spirit fulfilled as the reward of obedience. Pleasures become pure, peaceful, elevated and heavenly, bringing health and vigor rather than remorse or harm. Receiving Him requires surrender of the heart and acceptance of God's conditions rather than reliance on one's own strength or outward religious forms, and His sacrifice makes cleansing from sin possible. That surrender brings repentance, cleansing and renewal of heart and mind, a renewed life, consecration of self with all talents lent by God to His glory, and lasting happiness. Many fail to estimate the heavenly treasure rightly, turning from it with disdain and giving eternal interests only a passing thought, while those who trust a counterfeit righteousness with unchanged heart build on shifting sand and will be overcome in trial, walking strange paths while supposing they walk toward heaven because they have not surrendered all.
Finding Him makes Him the supreme object, recognized as of immeasurable worth without being told, and gladly secured at the cost of all else as the Holy Spirit reveals His preciousness and He is received by faith as Redeemer and Saviour. All interests and ambitions are then gathered into one purpose, to reflect His character and work for His kingdom. The finder receives His mind so as to work and speak as He did, in a change so plain that others have no doubt the pearl has been found. Those who find it are animated by His Spirit and live in harmony, becoming of one heart and one soul, seeing in one another the divine similitude of benevolence and love. One interest prevails and one object swallows up all others, every pulse beating in healthy concert, with the only ambition to reveal most perfectly the likeness of His character and to do the most for the enlargement of His kingdom, welcoming others who seek it and made strong so that the weak shall be as David and David as the angel of the Lord.
Finding puts a new song in the mouth, with zeal and repentance of lukewarmness when His excellencies, delights, matchless love, power and righteousness are kept before the mind and the Sun of righteousness rises in the heart. It complies with the invitation to buy gold tried in fire with white raiment and eyesalve, by grasping His love and righteousness by faith. Hearts thus impressed confess wrongs to believers and unbelievers and make restitution.
Those who have found this higher way show it by the gladness, blessing and joy of learning from His Word and serving Him. Their testimony in glad, cheerful, fervent and encouraging words tells how they found Jesus and the blessings since received. Such witness shows others the value of the discovery and that the precious pearl has truly been found. It can awaken them from spiritual insensibility and draw them to seek salvation, which is genuine missionary work.
Sinners unite with Christians in seeking the pearl when the Holy Spirit is poured out and hearts yield to the gospel message. The seeking comes as the message of redeeming grace through a risen Saviour is proclaimed with power and carried to the world as a witness and treasure worth seeking at the cost of all. Converts then flock from all directions and are brought into the church, backsliders are reconverted, and even the bitterest opponents become champions of the gospel. Those converted consecrate their lives to share the hope and joy they have received.
The great value of truth as a pearl calls for discernment in sharing, not spending time and strength offering what is holy to those who cannot appreciate it. Yet the gospel about Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life must still be preached as a witness to all nations. Not all will receive and accept Him, since many do not appreciate Him and let things of minor importance take their attention. Even so the witness goes forward, so that light shines in moral darkness and truth stands in contrast with error.