“The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls; who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.”
This parable is very similar to the last under consideration. Here the merchant-man sold all that he had to possess the prize. There is nothing said of buying the field: it is simply the pearl that is bought, the pearl of great price.
It is Christ who sought goodly pearls. Israel was, and will yet be, one of God’s pearls, and He may have many others. But the church was the pearl of great price — the bride, the Lamb’s wife -and our Lord sold all that He had, and bought it. Here also, who can tell what is included in that saying,” sold all that he had”? We must look at the height from which Christ came, and the depth to which He stooped, and then we can never fathom how much it cost our Lord in becoming poor. We can, indeed, only wonder, admire, and adore!
Now, if Christ calls His church a pearl of great price — of such value, indeed, that to obtain it He gave up all — what value should not we set upon it, and think of every saint as a part of that pearl of great price? And how anxious we should be to answer to that value He set upon us! It should, indeed, cause us to give up all, and count all but dung and dross, that we might win Christ. (Phil. 3:88Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, (Philippians 3:8)) But this can surely be done only by those who already have Him as their Savior, and who desire to have Him solely as the object of their hearts, though never fully realized till we see Him as He is and are with Him in the glory.