The Pearl. Bryant Hewitt Message

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Matthew 13:45--46
Parable of the Pearl of Great Price
45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found pone pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.Do join our Peace Tour as we bring the Lords Crusades to Africa, Asia, India, Europe, www.bryanthewitt.com

The Parable Of The Hidden Treasure", I suggested...
   a. That Jesus was depicting the "value" of the kingdom to one who 
      accidentally finds it
   b. That Paul's conversion was an example of how one is willing to 
      give up all in order to lay hold of the "treasure" of the kingdom
   c. That the value of the kingdom can be seen when we consider that
      it is:
      1) A refuge from the powers of darkness - Col 1:13
      2) A domain of righteousness, peace, and joy - Ro 14:17
      3) An unshakable kingdom - He 12:25-29
      4) Destined for eternal glory - Mt 13:41-43

2. Jesus followed His parable with another short parable...
   a. Commonly called "The Parable Of The Pearl Of Great Price" - Mt
      13:45-46
   b. Its similarity to the previous parable is obvious, and yet there
      is a difference

[The difference and some related thoughts will serve as the basis for
our study as we take a closer look at "The Parable Of The Pearl Of
Great Price".  We begin with...]

I. THE PARABLE EXPLAINED

   A. THE DETAILS OF THE PARABLE...
      1. A merchant is seeking beautiful pearls
      2. He finds one pearl of great price
      3. Undeterred by its price, he sells all that he has and buys it!

   B. THE MEANING OF THE PARABLE...
      1. The use of the word "Again" ties this parable to the preceding
         one
         a. Where the value and preciousness of the kingdom was being
            described
         b. Where we saw the value to one who accidentally finds it
      2. But in this parable, the person is on a mission to find that
         which is of great value
         a. He believes there is something out there worth looking for,
            or he would not be seeking it
         b. When he finds it, he immediately recognizes its value and 
            is willing to sell all to obtain it
      3. Neither this parable (nor the previous one) is suggesting we 
         can "buy" or otherwise "earn" our salvation
         a. For salvation is a gift - cf. Ro 6:23
         b. We can "buy" salvation only in the sense of gaining 
            rightful possession of it
            1) Which we do by grace through faith - cf. Ep 2:8-9
            2) When we submit to the working of God and the renewing 
               the Holy Spirit which takes place as we are baptized 
               into Christ - cf. Col 2:11-13; Tit 3:4-7
      4. This parable, then, describes how some people react to the 
         kingdom of heaven, when they know there must be something out
         there worthy of great value and have been searching for it