Pearl of Great Price

In the parable of the Pearl of Great Price, Yeshua provides the understanding prior to the parable, Matthew 13:44.

⁴⁴Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

The kingdom is a treasure.  We are to sell all we have for the kingdom.  This is referring to more than money.  It is referring to our lives.

Matthew 13:45-46

⁴⁵Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: ⁴⁶Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

The merchant sold all he had just to purchase the pearl.  The pearl is the gateway to the kingdom, Revelation 21:21.

 ²¹And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

Through this gateway is entry to the kingdom, something few find in life.  This is the importance that the kingdom should have in the life of the believer.  It should exceed all other things.  It should occupy all our time and thoughts.  It should take precedence over our work, our hobbies, our family and even our on personal ministry.  That may seems pretty drastic; however, without the kingdom those thing will own us rather than us owning them.

Yeshua tells us to give up so much, Matthew 16:24-26.

²⁴Then said Yeshua unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. ²⁶For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

We are to take up our cross and lose our life in Him.  Until we do that, a believer will not  have a life of much value.  Hang on to your life and eventually you will lose everything.  It is only through Him that one can really experience life.

There were a couple of individuals that wanted to follow Yeshua.  These are lessons to us on what it takes to walk with Yeshua, Luke 9:59.

⁵⁹And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

This individual wanted time to bury his father, before he followed Yeshua.  It seems like a reasonable request.  Yet, Yeshua told him in Luke 9:60.

⁶⁰ Yeshua said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

Some have looked at this dialogue and thought that Yeshua was not very compassionate.  The truth is this man’s father was not dead.  If his father was dead, his father would have already been in the ground.  Jews bury their dead within 24 hours.  That is why Yeshua stated, let the dead bury the dead.  He was not referring to physically dead.  He was referring to spiritually dead.

Luke 9:61-62

⁶¹And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. ⁶²And Yeshua said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Do you honestly believe that Yeshua would not give this man 5 minutes to say good bye to his family?  Many do.  The point is, one must be ready to go on a moments notice.  Just like what happened on the first Passover night, Exodus 12:11.

¹¹And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Yehovah’s passover.

We are to eat in haste, because we are not to delay.  Each moment we delay sin and the world sets in.  We are to quickly and immediately with all our heart and soul seek first the kingdom of God.  We are to find the gateway.

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