July 18, 2026
PEARL OF GREAT PRICE
There is a parable Jesus spoke of in Matthew 13. He told the people of His day many parables to explain the kingdom of Heaven to them. One of the parables He spoke of was the Pearl of Great Price. In this parable He describes someone who finds the best treasure ever, in this case, a pearl. That treasure hunter went home, sold everything he owned in order to buy the field in which the treasure was found. We can extrapolate from this that Jesus is referring to Himself in this parable. When we come to the end of ourselves and truly Find Him, we don't care about the things that used to make us happy because now we have Him and He is all we want.
I believe this parable has a double meaning. In the early church, Christians sold property and possessions and gave the money to the church, to distributed among them helping the poor. You can read about the terrible outcome in Acts 5: 1-11 when Ananias and Sapphira sole their property but withheld some of the prophet for themselves. Because of their greed and deception, having lied about the sale, both fall dead at the disciple's feet. One might say that in the early church, they fully grasped the parable of the Pearl of Great Price, selling all their belongings and following Christ, all except Ananias and Sapphira of course.
Might it be possible that the parable Jesus spoke of has a dual meaning? In my morning prayer time, the temptation of Christ in the wilderness came coming to the forefront of my mind, so much so I was like "Um, excuse me, trying to pray here!". But the image wouldn't leave my mind. Satan tried three times to temp Jesus; how foolish and fruitless and endeavor that turned out to be, but he have it his best shot nonetheless. Ever hear the saying "You saved the best for last"? That's exactly what Satan did here, he saved the best and biggest temptation for last. He knew that the most precious thing to Jesus was us! Remember that Jesus existed with God in Heaven before the foundations of the earth. When God said "Let us create man in our own image" Genesis 1:26. And in Colossians 1:16 is says that ALL things were created through Him (Jesus) and for Him. So we can be assured that we are super important to the God of the Universe. And Satan knows it. That's why he showed Jesus what He wants more than anything, US! Every tribe, nation, people group throughout all of history, every last one of us. Looping back to the Pearl of Great Price, the parable says that the man/woman in the story sold ALL they had to purchase the field where the treasure was found. We being that treasure, Jesus willingly and deliberately left His throne behind to come to earth to purchase us. And what the price? EVERYTHING! He held nothing back like Ananias and Sapphira did. Jesus went all out. He valued us more that anything and was willing to do WHATEVER it takes to get us, that Pearl of Great Price. And that price was nothing short of His blood. In order to get us, He had to die, and He knew that you and I are worth it. Imagine that. Who else would do such a thing? I'll speak for myself here and say that I wouldn't. You and I meant so much to the King of Kings that He came here to purchase us at the utmost highest price. Nothing was going to deter Him from getting His most precious Pearls.
I don't know what your going through in your life. You may think that God doesn't care about you or that you turned away from Him so now you can't find your way back to Him. Lies! All lies, whispered in your ear from the Father of Lies. John 8:44 tells us that Satan is a liar and the father of lies. When he speaks, he lies. No matter what we have done, no matter how many times we have sinned, Jesus loves His pearls so much, that He always takes us back. He never asks us to do something He Himself is not willing to do so you can rest assured that when we are told in Matthew 18:22 to forgive our brother seventy times seven, Jesus also will forgive us when we truly repent and turn back to Him, seventy times seven...and seven more for good measure. Romans 8:38 reminds us that absolutely NOTHING can separate us from the love of God. I don't know about you, but that makes me feel pretty good to know that I can't screw it up so badly that God just forgets about me or stops loving and caring about me, and I'm no one special. So that means, nothing you can do will ever cause Him to look away and give up on you either.
Let this be an encouragement to you. Are you under spiritual attack? That means that You are precious to Jesus. Why would Satan waste his time (because it is super short now) bothering those who are following him straight into hell? He'd much rather hit God right where it hurts....His children. He may not be able to take your life (only God has that authority) but he can hurt your finances, relationships, make your body hurt. In Acts 5:41 it says that Jesus's disciples rejoiced when they suffered for Christ, because they were counted worthy. I can't say that I feel overjoyed when I'm suffering, lets be honest, no body likes to suffer, but it does remind me that I'm being attacked spiritually BECASUSE I belong to HIM and for no other reason. If I am that Pearl of Great Price to Christ, then He is mine.
Prayer:
Father, We come to you now broken, beaten, washed up, tired and weary. We tried it our way only to find out that it doesn't work. We are turning back to You Jesus. You are the Lord and You love us with an everlasting love that this world can not understand. Forgive our iniquities and sin, wash us in the precious blood of Jesus and clothe us with Your righteousness. Grant us the ability to follow You, and obey You, so that we might stay in Your perfect will for our lives. Heal our hearts, our minds, our bodies. Make us new again in You Jesus. Fill us with the glory of of Your Holy Spirit that we may have a desire to know You better, serve You better, and love You with all our heart, soul, and strength. Keep us safe under the watchful eyes of Your angels, and grant us new life in You. Help us to endure our present suffering and give you Glory. Enable us to be patient as we wait for Your return. Thank you Father for giving Your all for us because You love us. We give You all praise, all worship, and all glory. Amen.
