Matthew 13:45

Mat_13:45-46

Seeking goodly pearls.

Parable of the pearl

I. The soul seeking good.

II. The soul seeking good will always want a better.

III. The soul, seeking good, wants a better until it finds Christ the best. (Anon.)

The priceless pearl

Salvation is the pearl.

I. This pearl cost a vast amount 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 great price because it loses none of its brightness and beauty by length of time or constancy of use.

IV. Its great price 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

I. Christ may be compared to a pearl because He is hidden, and to be sought after.

II. Christ may be compared to a pearl because of its durability and its unchangeableness. Time does not rust a pearl.

III. Christ may be compared to a pearl because lie is such an adornment to the soul that seeks him.

IV. Christ may be compared to a pearl because of its value. (Dr. Talmage.)

Sham pearls

The fact is they would rather have a sham pearl than a genuine pearl. The factories of Bohemia 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 great price. They take a few grains of good works 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 searched for 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 great price, it would insure you eternal emancipation. Oh l plunge this hour into the deep ocean of Gods mercy, and though you may be submerged for 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

Time does not rust a pearl. It passes down from one royal family to another, from one generation to another, the same beautiful, exquisite thing-worth as much now as it was ever worth-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 great price 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 Robert South and of Jeremy Taylor. Shadrach carried that gem through the furnace seven times 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, Pearl of great price, comfort me! The sapphire, and the topaz, and the emerald, and the diamond shall perish; but this pearl of great price 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

Again, I remark that Christ may be compared to a pearl, because He is such an adornment and decoration to the soul that seeks Him. I have no sympathy with the Puritanic notion that God despises jewellery. I think if God despised jewellery He would not make so much of it. Instead of the variegated seasons, 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 despised beauty and adornment, He would not have made the caverns of the ocean great gardens of coral, and sponge, and seaweed, and pearls. No. God loves adornment from the fact that He has made it, and allows Jesus Christ to be compared to a pearl. I know there are some people who suppose that religion distorts one; that religion damages a mans nature; that religion cows him down; that religion takes all the 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 geology to Silliman, more than science to Agassiz, more than music to Mozart. Religion! It has sung the sweetest songs, and it has built the highest monuments, and it has lifted the noblest arches, and it has painted the finest pictures, and it has worked the richest embroideries, and it has composed the sublimest tragedy. (Dr. Talmage.)

Pearls valuable

Again, I remark; Christ may be compared to 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 dissolved it at a feast, and then drank it to the health of Marc Antony; the King of Portugal had 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 awakened out of 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 great price

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 great worth. Our Lord Jesus Christ no doubt is compared to a pearl of great price upon this account chiefly-He is of inestimable value (Isa_43:4).

III. Pearls have a hidden virtue in them, though but small in bigness, yet great in efficacy. Jesus Christ had 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 (Luk_8:46). Such is the hidden virtue of Jesus Christ, of this Pearl, that when a man finds it, and partakes thereof inwardly-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 (Heb_1:3).

V. Pearls-nay, one pearl of great price, enriches him that finds it. So they that find the pearl of great price, Jesus Christ, and lay hold on Him, are greatly enriched, they are spiritually rich, eternally rich (Eph_3:5).

VI. Some men, when they have found a pearl of great price, 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 esteem other pearls equally with Christ.

VII. This being so, it followeth hence, that it behoveth him that finds a pearl of great price to know it well what it is, and also its just value, Jest he be cheated and part with it for pearls of little value in comparison of that.

VIII. Pearls, rich pearls of great price, are commonly kept in the possession of noble persons, who are adorned with them, and are known to be noble persons. So the saints, born of God, are the most excellent in all the earth, and these only are adorned with goodly pearls (Eze_16:11). (B. Keach.)

The parable of the pearl

As to the place where you should seek Jesus Christ, the Pearl of great price. Pearls must be sought where they are to be found.

I. You must seek Him in the depths of Gods 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 covenant of grace, and of redemption, as the head and great representative of Gods elect.

IV. You must seek Him in the depths of Gods eternal love.

V. You must seek this pearl in the revelation of Gods council, in the types and sacrifices under the Law. You must seek Him in the revelation God made of Him in the prophecies of the prophets. And more especially you 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 Christ in the way of your duty, in reading, meditation, and prayer, as well as hearing the

Word. Now I shall show when you should seek Him.

I. Early (Pro_8:17).

II. To seek Him early is to seek the Lord while He may be found (Isa_4:6).

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 (Heb_3:7).

V. Seek Him before it is too late.

How must the pearl of great price be sought?

I. Diligently.

II. With skill and divine wisdom.

III. With full purpose and resolution of heart and soul.

IV. As one that knows the great want, need, and necessity of Christ.

V. As one who is convinced of the great worth and excellence of Christ.

VI. Believingly, not doubting.

VII. With longings after Him.

VIII. With a heart touched with the loadstone of His love (Pro_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 (Joh_6:26). (B. Keach.)

The parable of the pearl of great price

Why He must be sought, Why sinners should seek Him.

I. Sinners should seek Christ, the Pearl of great price, because He came to seek them.

II. Sinners should seek Christ because seeking and finding Him are coupled together (Jer_29:13).

III. Because the promise runs to them that seek (Mat_7:7).

IV. Sinners should seek Him, because they are commanded to do so (Isa_5:6).

V. Because salvation is only in Jesus Christ. All that seek justification and eternal life, and do not seek Him, shall certainly perish (Act_4:12).

VI. Sinners should seek Christ because by nature they are without Him (Eph_2:12). How will sinners lament their folly in seeking other things more than Christ; nay, have utterly neglected Him. 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 had

Selling all, signifies no more than parting with whatsoever his 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 good works-and inherent righteousness-in point of justification he sold all.

He bought it

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 can have 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 scorn to 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 season and afterwards cry out against their own folly. (B. Keach.)

The parable of the pearl of great price

I shall show, in what respects a man, in seeking after heavenly things, may be compared to an earthly merchant.

I. A merchant is one that trades or deals for the good things of this world, and he makes it his chief business. So a man that seeks after heavenly 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 appear to all men. (1Ti_4:15).

II. A merchant sometimes trades and deals in things of great worth, as here in this parable is expressed, viz., goodly pearl. What is more valued than gold, silver, precious stones, and goodly pearl?

III. A merchant sets his heart, his mind, and chiefest thoughts upon his merchandize; I mean he prefers these things, and in good earnest pursues after them above all things upon the earth. So a spiritual merchant or Christian sets his heart and chiefest thoughts upon heavenly things; he sets his affection on things above, and not on things that are upon the earth.

IV. A merchant sometimes ventures to sea, and runs many dangers (in seeking goodly pearls, and after rich merchandize both by storms, rocks, sands, and pirates also. So a true Christian is exposed to great difficulties, and runs many dangers, who ventures out into a visible profession of religion; on the sea of this world, what storms of reproaches, temptations and persecutions, is he oft exposed unto?

V. A merchant at first hath not that skill in trading as he attains or gets afterwards. Old dealers have more judgment and greater experience 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 easy to 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 backward rather than forward, or decays in zeal, love, faith, etc.

VIII. A merchant, if he know not what pearls be, may soon be easily cheated by false and counterfeit pearls. So many a spiritual merchant, if he know not what the person of Christ is, may easily be cheated of 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 correspondent in those far countries to which he trades, who receives his merchandize, and makes returns. So all true Christians have their Blessed Correspondent in heaven, who manageth all their concerns; viz., the Lord Jesus.

XI. A merchant is very careful to attend the exchange, or place 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 neglect or are remiss in their attendance, it gives cause of suspicion that they may soon break, and cease to 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 great care to keep their 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 good end of their affairs, and that they are not wronged.

And thus also do the saints, they labour to cast up their accounts, viz., examine and try their hearts. Secondly: I shall show you these are the best and chiefest merchandize in the world, or no merchandize like spiritual merchandize.

I. Because the nature of these things these merchants trade in, far excel all 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 (Rev_2:3-18).

II. All things of the world are vanity (Ecc_1:2). 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 steal these goodly pearls.

IV. The rareness or scarcity of these merchandize, show their most excellent nature. Things are not only esteemed for their worth, but for their rarity. Now these things that spiritual merchants seek, are exceeding rare; hardly one man in a thousand finds these goodly pearls, the pearl of great price.

V. These merchandize were bought with a great price, 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 such that suit with and answer all the wants of the precious and immortal soul of man.

VII. These merchandize are the best, because of their duration; all the things of this world are but momentary, sometimes gone in a moment-the world passeth away; but spiritual things, which are not seen, are eternal.

VIII. Their correspondent, with whom these merchants trade, that manages all their concernments, and is engaged to make them sun- and safe, returns from afar. Now, as Jesus Christ is 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 wisest merchants doth appear in respect of 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 consistent with the design of redemptive grace, which is to advance the glory of God in His goodness, and to cut off all boasting, and cause of boasting, 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 of the returns these merchants have from Jesus Christ. They have quick returns (Isa_65:24). It is the best trade-they only trade for things of inestimable worth. The returns are certain-sure of growing eternally rich. Not only rich, but great and noble. These merchants are advanced to mighty honour (Pro_12:26). (B. Keach.)

What shall we buy

When the pilgrims were in Vanity Fair, one chanced mockingly to say to them. What will ye buy? But they, looking gravely on him, said, We buy the truth. At that there was occasion taken to despite them the more; some mocking, some taunting, and some calling upon others to smite them. Nevertheless, in spite of all the abuse, these good pilgrims 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, Buy the truth, and sell it not. And a most merciful provision it is; for, as one says, Those who sell the truth sell their own souls with it. (Robert Macdonald.)

The Pearl

The true lessons of the parable, as I understand them, are briefly these:-

I. It represents the experience, not of a careless or a profane man, who stumbles suddenly upon the gospel when he was in search of 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 conscience is 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 Gods mercy in Christ, taking away all a sinners sin, and bestowing on him freely the peace and privileges of a dear child.

III. It represents that these riches lie, not in an accumulation of 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 offered to him, cheerfully, eagerly, unhesitatingly gives away all that he possesses, in order to acquire it. That is, he gives all for Christ, and then enjoys all in Christ. (W. Arnot.)

Christ the pearl of great price

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 wear them are accounted the honourable of mankind.

VI. Yet many are ignorant of them, and many esteem them no more than pebbles. (Pulpit Helps.)

How visibly the providence of God appears to favour honest perseverance in our worldly callings. Man seeks for the 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 great price

No gem, in the estimation of the ancients, surpassed the pearl in value. The old writers speak of it as altogether wonderful, 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, condensed within the sea-shell, and doubling there its native perfections. They thought, moreover, that though born beneath the waves, it retained some unknown connection with its home in the sky, taking its beauty from the aspect of the heavens, and drawing virtue from them, limpid and clear when they were serene, turbid and cloudy when they were overcast. Its irridescence seemed the result of sympathy with the seven colours of the sunbeam: even the -hell which enclosed it partook of its silver beauty and many-hued reflections; while it was accounted the very queen of gems, as that to which no gravers tools nor implement of man can add a charm. (Morgan Dix, D. D.)

The pearl seeker

This merchantman is no lover of the degraded and 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 good is, 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 mans life: he was not prompted by sordid views of gain, but simply by the desire for the loveliest, purest, and best that can be found in this troubled world. And when at length he discovered what 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 ever This 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 suspect the number to be considerable, and have seen such instances ourselves. We have seen men who have long sought for true joys, without finding them; who have had in possession many excellent gifts, yet not the highest; who, after much experience, felt sure 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 replaced by another mind-the wisdom of this world is given up, pride of soul suppressed; trust in self also goes, with the confidence which once was felt in earthly things. A man, in a spiritual and metaphorical sense, may be said to sell all he has, to become poor in spirit, and lowly of heart, because he has found the pearl of great price, after travelling many years through waste places, and because self-renunciation is the price for which that treasure is to be bought. (Morgan Dix, D. D)

Persevere in quest of pearl

He who seeks what is honest and good is journeying in the right direction; it does not follow that all such men will find at last what the Lord promises. He who can be content without that pearl of great price, will never find it. The danger is that we may rest content 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 whatsoever of rare and precious we can lay our hands on, for our own satisfaction, or for a name among men as possessors of things 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 collect are gathered only 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 strewed about our coffins; when this search for what is good has reference to time only, to the pride of the eyes, and to the greater glory 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 cannot be taken from him, and of something worth more than the world, which he ought to possess and 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 for that best thing: then is the parable fulfilled. (Morgan Dix, D. D.)

One pearl

In these days of safety, easy transport, and credit, the bulk of any object of desire makes comparatively little difference to its worth. But in the former ages of insecurity, difficult conveyance, limited commercial transactions, when there were no railways, banks, or paper money-one of the great recommendations of precious stones was the ease and safety 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 gold and 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 sell all 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 set forth on foot, and travel as a pilgrim or a beggar towards 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 for us to attempt to take our wealth with us: those old thieves, sin and death and hell, beset the road; they have robbed all who have passed their 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 cannot take 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 safety with us, and keep securely by us? Yes, there is one; even the pearl of great price, Jesus Christ. No one can deprive us of that treasure; it is beyond the reach of any enemy or thief. And when we reach the 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 possession which includes in itself the possession of everything worth having. (R. Winterbotham, M. A.)

The pearl of great price

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 gem that 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 possess Christ, his inestimable value must be in some measure apprehended.

1. Of this truth the case of the Jews affords a convincing demonstration.

2. To reveal Jesus in His matchless worth is the special office of the Holy Spirit.

III. Those who have been brought to see and feel the Saviours 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 dearest friends, should their claims clash with His.

3. With every known sin, however agreeable or profitable. (Expository Outlines.)

A great bargain

The merchantman:-

I. Watch him while he is seeking.

1. He has his mind aroused and 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 resolved that he would have it.

III. His selling out.

1. Sell out 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.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 13:45-46. Again, the kingdom of heaven — That is, one that earnestly seeks for it; is like unto a merchant-man, who goes about from one city or country to another, seeking goodly, or beautiful pearls, or jewels. Thus the sacred writers often compare and prefer wisdom, or true religion, to costly jewels. See Job 28:15-19; Pro 3:15; Pro 8:11. Who, when he had found one pearl of great price — Of an exceeding great value, sold all that he had and bought it — As well knowing he would be a great gainer though he should part with all he possessed for 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 God into his heart, and may be made a partaker of the blessings of the 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 consent sincerely and 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.”

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

SIXTH PARABLE. — The Goodly Pearl, Mat_13:45-46.

As the former parable illustrates the hidden character of divine truth, so this illustrates its unsurpassed beauty and value. The pearl is the Gospel. The merchant is the true inquirer. As for that pearl he gives all he has, so the Gospel has that excellence that we wisely surrender all to obtain it.

45. A merchantman seeking goodly pearls — The Oriental profession of the travelling jeweller still exists. He deals in precious stones and pearls. He may find one which, if bought with all his present stock, may make his fortune by being sold at an exorbitant price to some extravagant prince for a crown jewel.

The pearl is selected as a beautiful image of divine truth. It strikes the eye of the beholder with admiration for its loveliness and value. The pearl is a white, hard, smooth, shining piece of substance, usually rather globular, found in a shell fish of the oyster kind. Its shell is called mother of pearl. The pearl is found in the Persian seas, and in many parts of the ocean which washes the shores of Arabia, and the continent and isles of Asia. It is brought up from the marine depths by professional divers. Pearls are of different sizes and colours. Some have been found more than an inch in length, the larger ones approaching the figure of a pear. They are valued according to their size, their roundness, and their purity or lustre. The Orientals have been more attracted by the beauty of the pearl even than the brilliancy of the diamond. A string of the largest pearls, both in extreme antiquity and at the present day, is an indispensable part of the decoration of an Eastern monarch. References to the pearl occur in different parts of the Scripture. Mat_7:6; 1Ti_2:9; Rev_17:4. In Rev_21:21, the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem were “twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl.”

Seeking goodly pearls — There are large masses of mankind who are like the swine, to whose taste the goodly pearl is not to be compared with their husks. This man is one whom husks will not satisfy; he looks for pearls.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 13:45. Οὐρανῶν—ἀνθρώπῳ, of the heavens—to a man) Comparisons of heavenly from human things. See Mat 13:52; ch. Mat 18:23, Mat 20:1, Mat 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.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 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 connoisseur in valuables.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchantman, seeking goodly pearls.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 45. A merchant man, seeking goodly pearls] A story very like this is found in the Talmudical tract Shabbath: "Joseph, who sanctified the Sabbath, had a very rich neighbour; the Chaldeans said, All the riches of this man shall come to Joseph, who sanctifies the Sabbath. To prevent this, the rich man went and sold all that he had, and bought a pearl, and went aboard of a ship; but the wind carried the pearl away, it fell into the sea, and was swallowed by a fish. This fish was caught, and the day before the Sabbath it was brought into the market, and they proclaimed, Who wishes to buy this fish? The people said, Carry it to Joseph, the sanctifier of the Sabbath, who is accustomed to buy things of great value. They carried it to him, and he bought it, and when he cut it up he found the pearl, and sold it for thirteen pounds weight of golden denarii!" From some tradition of this kind, our Lord might have borrowed the simile in this parable.

The meaning of this parable is the same with the other; and both were spoken to impress more forcibly this great truth on the souls of the people:-eternal salvation from sin and its consequences is the supreme good of man, should be sought after above all things, and prized beyond all that God has made. Those merchants who compass sea and land for temporal gain, condemn the slothfulness of the majority of those called Christians, who, though they confess that this salvation is the most certain and the most excellent of all treasures, yet seek worldly possessions in preference to it! Alas, for him who expects to find any thing more amiable than God, more worthy to fill his heart, and more capable of making him happy!

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(45) Like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls.—Here again the 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 (Mat_7:6; 1Ti_2:9). The story of Cleopatra, the fact that the opening of a new pearl market was one of the alleged motives which led the Emperor Claudius to invade Britain, are indications of the value that was then set on the “goodly pearls” 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 Persian Gulf 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 “goodly pearls” of wisdom, holiness, and truth, and has found them in at least some of their lower forms. Then he is led to the higher knowledge of communion with the life of Christ, and for that is content to resign all 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 excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord” (Php_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” (Joh_7:17).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

45, 46. The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price, in St Matthew only

Here the story is of one who succeeds in getting what he strives to obtain. The Jewish or the Greek “seekers after God,” possessing many pearls, but still dissatisfied, sought others yet more choice, and finding one, true to the simplicity in Christ, renounce all for that; the one his legalism, the other his philosophy.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Which when, it was full,.... As the Gospel, and the Gospel church state may be said to be, when all the ends of the preaching of the word are answered; when all are called by the one, and into the other, that were designed to be called; when the fulness of the Gentiles shall be brought in, and all Israel shall be saved,

They drew to the shore; which will be done, when the end of the world comes; then will an end be put to the Gospel ministry, the net will be drawn to shore; the preaching of the Gospel will cease, and no more use be made of it:

and sat down; the ministers of the word having done their work, enter into the joy of their Lord, and rest from their labours:

and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away; as fishermen used to do; though this last office seems, by the application of the parable, to be what will be performed by angels; who, as many as they find to have a good work of grace wrought and finished in their souls, they will gather into Christ's barn, into the everlasting habitations, the mansions in Christ's Father's house, he is gone to prepare: but as for the bad, who shall appear to be destitute of the grace of God, and righteousness of Christ, notwithstanding their profession of religion, they shall be rejected, as good for nothing, and shall be cast into the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:

Ver. 45. The kingdom of heaven, &c.] The wise merchant, besides the pearl of price, seeks out other goodly pearls, common gifts, whicb also have their use and excellence; but he rests not in them, as philosophers, politicians, and temporaries. These, as alchemists, who though they miss their end yet find many excellent things by the way, so though they failed of the glory of God, yet they have many commendable good parts and properties. The wise merchant so seeks after these, that he minds chiefly the main, the "one thing necessary," in comparison whereof he counts all things else, though never so specious, dung, and dogs’ meat.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchantman - The meaning is, that the proper seeking for salvation, or the proper conduct in reference to religion, is like the conduct of a “merchantman.” In his searches he found one pearl of great value, and sold all his possessions to obtain it. So, says the Saviour, people seeking for happiness and finding the gospel - the pearl of great price - should be willing to sacrifice all other things for this. Pearls are precious stones found in the shells of oysters, chiefly in the East Indies. See the notes at Mat 7:6. They are valuable on account of 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 designed to represent the gospel as of more value than all other things, and to impress on us the duty of sacrificing all that we possess in order to obtain it.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The state of the gospel dispensation is such, that men in it having a discovery of more excellent things than before they were aware of, life and immortality being brought to light through the gospel, 2Ti 1:10, grace and truth coming by Jesus Christ, Joh 1:17, men and women are set upon seeking for these spiritual things, as merchants do for goodly pearls; and when God makes a discovery of Christ and his grace to the soul, it appears to them as a pearl of great price, of more value than all they have in the world, and they are ready to part with all to obtain Christ and his grace. Both these parables have the same scope and tendency, viz.

1. To inform us that Christ and his grace are of a great and transcendent value.

2. That under the gospel there is a clear discovery of these things to the world.

3. That where this discovery is effectually and particularly made to any soul, that soul will part with all it hath, or is worth, rather than it will miss of Christ, and his grace and glory.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vers. 45, 46. The parable of the pearl merchant, Matthew only. Observe in this parable that the merchant is accustomed to deal in pearls, and is searching for good ones, when he meets with one worth more than the others he possesses all put together. If the former parable described one who finds the gospel as it were by chance (e.g. the woman of Samaria), this speaks of one who has long been searching for truth (e.g. Andrew and John, the Ethiopian eunuch).

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man. Evidently no poor man, but a rich wholesale dealer. (emporov : cf. Rev_18:23; not kaphlov , "a retailer;" cf. 2Co_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 got more than he can have thought possible. (Mat_7:7, Mat_7:8) Origen (Commentary, in loc. ; Huet, 1. p. 210) has much curious matter about the different kinds of pearls.

Vers. 45, 46. Satisfied only with the best.

The general truth taught in this and in the preceding parable is that he who would be a follower of Christ must be prepared to sacrifice everything for the kingdom of God. The difference between the two parables is that in the one case the man found accidentally, but in the other case he sought deliberately. "The one parable illustrates the eagerness of a poor man, who lights upon the treasure apparently by accident; the other illustrates the eagerness of a rich man, whose finding of the pearl of price is the result of carefully studied and long sustained search" (Dods).

I SOUL SEEKING. What does a soul seek? Man seeks the true and the beautiful. Souls seek the good; and this is but a way of saying they seek God. "Man feels that he was not made in vain, there must be a centre of peace for him, a good that will satisfy all the cravings of his soul, and he is determined not to rest until it is found.

II UNSATISFIED SOUL SEEKING. No ordinary pearls content the man. The human seeker often fancies for a time that he has found rest in things art, science, literature, or human love. The soul never deludes itself or permits any delusions. Short of God it never rests; it cannot. Illustrate by the hopeless wail of disappointment with which Solomon closes his life quest; or by the delusion of the mirage in the desert regions.

III SATISFIED SOUL SEEKING. Only reached when the soul gets full possession of, and calls its very own, the "Pearl of great price." To the unsatisfied soul there presently comes the voice, "None is good save one, that is God." He is good. All good is but some ray from that sun. And then the soul says, "Can I find him, can I get him, can I possess him as my own?" He can. When he does, he may say as the poet, who uses another figure"Now I have found the ground wherein Sure my soul"s anchor may remain

Can the soul find full satisfaction? It is not away in heaven, to be journeyed for. It is not in the deep, to be searched for. It is close nigh to every one of us. He who is the soul"s satisfaction is nigh. It is Jesus of Nazareth. It is God manifest in the flesh, who can be appropriated and possessed by our trust and our love. R.T.

Vers. 45, 46. The pearl of great price.

Many people regard religion as a matter of grave duty which it behoves them to attend to, but to which they turn reluctantly and with weariness, because they never hope to see in it any attractions or to make it an object of eager desire. To such people our Lord"s words may be a new revelation. In his teaching the kingdom of heaven is supremely desirable.

I THE PRECIOUSNESS OF THE PEARL. Our Lord is not speaking of the future heavenly reward, which most men vaguely imagine to be very valuable. What he means by the kingdom of heaven is a present possession the rule of God in the hearts of his people. We have to see that this is an exceedingly good thing, here and now. It is good on its own account, not for the sake of its promises of the future, not because of any further advantages which may be got out of it. Religion is 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, even to court customers in business, may be the ends of some people in their religion. But it has to be seen that such low aims utterly obscure the true glory of the gospel. The soul"s darkness and misery arise from enmity against God. To be reconciled to 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 fellowship with God enjoyed through Jesus Christ. He who has this has the pearl of great price.

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. That parable shows how God may 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 great prize. There are men and women who earnestly set themselves to seek for what is truly worth having in life they crave for knowledge, hunger for 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 possession of it. 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 gospel is God"s free gift; it was costly, for it cost the life of Christ on the cross; therefore it is not a cheap gospel; yet it is not bought by us, but by Christ. These facts, however do not exclude the necessity of sacrifice on our part. We can pay 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 great discovery. He feels that he has made a good bargain, though he has sold all to buy the pearl of great price. He who gives up all for Christ requires no commiseration, but rather congratulation, because his gain is great. W.F.A.

Vers. 45, 46. The superlative prize going to the seeker.

This sixth parable is also one which rather illustrates the power of the kingdom of heaven in its action on the individual. Under some aspect of it, it has justly fascinated him. For some reason he has seen, justly seen, his advantage in it, and has not confused that advantage with any lower one, nor lost it in even a thousand others. Therefore it seems to him, manifold though it really is, as one undivided thing, one prize of boundless desirableness a pearl justly appraised as of great price. The parable exhibits, then, the kingdom of heaven as

I PRESENTING ITSELF A PRIZE TO ONE WHO SEEKS PRIZES. He has the advantage of being a business man; he knows his business; he is accustomed to weigh, and compare, and judge, and choose, and to pay accordingly. He is an expert of a trained eye, trained mind, and trained knowledge. He knows pearls, and very many of them.

II IMPRESSING HIM IRRESISTIBLY, AS AN INCOMPARABLE, A SUPERLATIVE PRIZE.

III JUSTIFYING HIM REASONABLY AND UNHESITATINGLY, AT THE SAME TIME, IN STAKING EVERYTHING ELSE WHATSOEVER ON THE POSSESSING HIMSELF OF THAT ONE PRIZE. This seeker, this merchant of pearls, had thought to make his advantage out of a succession of pearls, or had hoped fondly to find his fortune in many of them gathered together; but he comes to find he needs only one, that only one will answer his idea and his quest, and that it is now before him. B.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The kingdom of heaven - That is, one who earnestly seeks for it: in verse 47 it means, the Gospel preached, which is like a net gathering of every kind: just so the Gospel, wherever it is preached, gathers at first both good and bad, who are for a season full of approbation and warm with good desires. But Christian discipline, and strong, close exhortation, begin that separation in this world, which shall be accomplished by the angels of God in the world to come.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

pearls

The true Church, "one body" formed by the Holy Spirit 1Co 12:12; 1Co 12:13. As Israel is the hid treasure, so the Church is the pearl of great cost. Covering the same period of time as the mysteries of the kingdom, is the mystery of the Church; Rom 16:25; Rom 16:26; Eph 3:3-10; Eph 5:32. Of the true Church a pearl is a perfect symbol:

(1) A pearl is one, a perfect symbol of unity 1Co 10:17; 1Co 12:12; 1Co 12:13; Eph 4:4-6.

(2) a pearl is formed by the accretion, and that not mechanically, but vitally, through a living one, as Christ adds to the Church Act 2:41; Act 2:47; Act 5:14; Act 11:24; Eph 2:21; Col 2:19.

(3) Christ, having given Himself for the pearl, is now preparing it for presentation to Himself Eph 5:25-27. The kingdom is not the Church, but the true children of the kingdom during the fulfilment of these mysteries, baptized by one Spirit into one body 1Co 12:12; 1Co 12:13 compose the true Church, the pearl.

kingdom (See Scofield "Mat 3:2").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Parable of the pearl:

v. 45. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls;

v. 46. who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

Knowing that a perfect pearl, of large size, of regular spherical shape, of even luster, would far surpass in value hundreds of small, imperfect pearls, this merchant, an expert in his line, set out to seek, and, if possible, to find, such a rare valuable. Having found one which seemed to him exceedingly precious, he risked his all, stripped himself of all his possessions in the one great venture of his life. The glory and beauty of God’s mercy in the Gospel is so great and precious that all else sinks into insignificance beside it. The pearl of the Christians is the greatest treasure in the kingdom of God, the salvation in Christ. He who has learned to know this priceless gift will gladly renounce all goods, joys, and delights of this world, and consider all human wisdom and righteousness as loss, in order to gain Christ.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

45. A merchantman seeking goodly pearls. Pearls were then esteemed as the most valuable ornaments, and were sought by merchants on distant shores, the most valuable being brought from the Indian Ocean.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

45, 46. THE PARABLE OF THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE,

in St Matthew only.

Here the story is of one who succeeds in getting what he strives to obtain. The Jewish or the Greek ‘seekers after God,’ possessing many pearls, but still dissatisfied, sought others yet more choice, and finding one, true to the simplicity in Christ, renounce all for that; the one his legalism, the other his philosophy. Nathaniel, Apollos, Timotheus, Justin Martyr are amongst those who thus sought and found.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(L) 45, 46. Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a merchant, seeking goodly pearls. And having found one precious pearl, he went and sold all that he hath, and bought it.]

ὁμοία ἐστί] see on v. 24.—ἀνθρώπῳ ἐμπόρῳ] cf. ἀνθρώπῳ βασιλεῖ, 18:23, 22:2; cf. ἀνθρώπῳ οἰκοδεσπότῃ, 13:52, 21:33.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.