Field Day or "Pearl" Jam

Since we are closing in on the annual remembrance of Pearl Harbor Day, I thought I would share my thoughts on a different kind of pearl.. the pearl of great price as found in Matthew 13:44-46

44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man has found, he hides, and for joy thereof goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.

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

There are several interpretations of this parable. One is that Jesus is the "Pearl of Great Price" and we as His followers should give up everything we have so we can have Jesus. This is the way I was always taught in the past to interpret this parable. Like many other things I was taught when I was young, this is incorrect for several reasons.

First, Jesus is not for sale. Salvation in Jesus is a free gift. Our money is no good in Heaven. The only medium of exchange we can use to "buy" Jesus is to trust in His death, burial, and resurrection as sufficient payment for our sins and to make us righteous in God's sight. For a scripture reference look at Revelation 22:17 "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that hears say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life "freely".

Second, if Jesus was for sale, we have nothing to buy Him with. We are just lost sinners. Even the good works we think we do are worthless. See Isaiah 64:6 "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness's are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." How could we possibly "buy" Christ with filthy rags?

I strongly believe that this parable should be interpreted that we are the Pearl Of Great Price and Jesus Christ gave all that He had (insert the cross here) and with His precious blood purchased us from the hands of Satan and took us for His own.

In fact, if you go to verse 38 of the same chapter 13 of Matthew, Jesus is explaining the parable of the sower sowing seeds and mentions that the "field" is the world. Well, we are in the world so we being pearls in the field of the world makes complete sense.
38 "The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom."

So the next time you feel discouraged or out of sorts spiritually, remember that Jesus thought enough of you to give everything He had for you. In His eyes you are a precious jewel beyond value. Since we are valuable pearls to Christ we should not "clam" up when it comes to sharing our faith with others. For all that Christ gave for us, the least we could do is share what He did with the world.

However you personally wish to interpret this parable, please keep in mind that it is a parable and as such is not always definitive in it's meaning. We never want to use a parable as proof of scripture if it contradicts a much clearer verse somewhere else in scripture.