“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant men, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it”— Matthew 13:45,46.
CONTRARY to the ideas of many, the sinner is not the merchantman. He has nothing wherewith to purchase, nor is God offering salvation to those who can afford to buy. The Lord Jesus is the Buyer, as in the previous parable. The “pearl of great price” is the Church—that mystery which was yet to be revealed through Paul (Eph. 3:3-7). Calvary was the market-place where the Lord sold all that He had—gave Himself, in fact—in order that He might purchase this pearl and make it His own forever. To interpret this parable so as to make Christ the pearl and the sinner the merchantman is to pervert the message of the gospel, which tells of salvation offered without money and without price (Isa. 55:1) to those who have no merit to plead, nor any assets wherewith to purchase (Rom. 4:4,5).
“Tale of tenderness unfathomed
Told by God to me—
Tale of love, mysterious, awful—
Thus God’s love must be.
There below in midnight darkness,
Under those wild waves,
Lies the treasure God is seeking,
Jewel that He craves.
Down beneath those sunless waters
He from Heaven has passed,
He has found His heart’s desire,
Found His pearl at last.
All He had His heart has given
For that gem unpriced
Such art thou, O ransomed sinner,
Yea, for such is Christ.”
―C. P. C.