PARABLES OF CHRIST
PEARL OF GREAT VALUE
DR. JIM DIXON
MATTHEW 13:45-46
OCTOBER 25, 1998
In 1628, a diver in the Persian Gulf discovered a pearl. He found the largest natural pearl, the most valuable pearl ever found in the history of the world. The pearl was shaped like a teardrop, three inches long, two inches wide. It came to be called the Pearl of Asia.
In the year 1647, that pearl was purchased by Shah Jahan, the Mongol Emperor, more accurately the Fifth Emperor of the Mogul Empire, which was created out of the Mongol Empire. It was Shah Jahan who, of course, built the Taj Mahal in India in honor his wife. It was Shah Jahan who built the Pearl Palace, again, in honor of his wife. It was Shah Jahan who purchased the Pearl of Asia as a gift for his wife. After the death of Shah Jahan, the Pearl of Asia disappeared for one hundred years but it resurfaced in the possession of Tian Lune, one of the richest men in the world. But after the death of Loon, the Pearl of Asia disappeared once again. From time to time, it would reappear.
Once in Hong Kong, it was auctioned, sold at great value and once in Paris, auctioned again. But in the year 1940, the Pearl of Asia disappeared once again. For almost 60 years now, no one has known where the Pearl of Asia is. Today, the Pearl of Asia is a subject of much discussion. Where is it? Who owns it? How much is it worth? But this much is clear. The Pearl of Asia is very much like the pearl Jesus Christ mentions in our parable for today. Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a merchant in search of goodly pearls, who, upon finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
Now, of course, this parable is not really about pearls. This parable is about the kingdom of heaven. In this parable, pearls are simply illustrative of the kingdom of heaven. From this parable we have two teachings this morning and the first teaching is this. The kingdom of heaven is meant to be the object of a quest. It’s meant to be the object of a quest. If, this morning, you are not a believer in Jesus Christ, if you are not a Christian, then this morning, God, through this parable, invites you to enter a quest, a quest for the kingdom of heaven. “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a merchant in search of goodly pearls, who, upon finding one pearl of great value, sold all that he had and bought it.” God invites you to enter this search, to enter this quest, and God would ask you this morning, “What are you seeking in life? What are you searching for and what is your quest?”
During the reformation era, there lived a man named John Calvin. John Calvin was one of the greatest theologians the Christian world has ever seen. John Calvin put all of his ideas into a multivolume book called “The Institutes of the Christian Religion.” The theology of John Calvin is, of course, today called Calvinism and Calvinists are those who espouse Calvinism. Many Calvinists today doubt that anyone in the world really seeks God. Calvinists are those who doubt that anyone in the world is really on a quest for the kingdom of God. Calvinists rightly affirm original sin, and they rightly affirm the depravity of humanity, the fall of humanity into sin. Calvinists say that because of sin, no one in this world is really seeking God. Calvinists say that, rather God is seeking us. Certainly, Calvinists are right about that. God is seeking us.
As we saw in the parable last week, the parable of the lost sheep, God seeks the lost. God loves us. “God is not willing or wishing that any should perish.” But, you see, it is also true that God wants us to seek Him. It is also true that God wants us to enter a quest for His kingdom and for knowledge of Him. God invites us to enter this quest. When we find heaven, when we come to His kingdom, even though we have sought it and even though we’ve been in this quest, we give Him the credit.
I mean for years; I was in a quest for a wife. This began in college, and it continued after college. I was in a quest for a wife. I wanted her to be beautiful. I wanted her to be intelligent. I wanted her to be fun and funny. I wanted her to have a great personality. I wanted her to love Christ. I wanted her to just be wonderful, and that quest ended when I found Barb. I mean that quest ended when I found Barbara, and yet I know that I did not win Barb. I know that I did not win her. God gave her to me. And truly, Barb did not win me. God gave me to her. And so even though I entered into this quest, and she was what I was seeking all those years, I do not credit myself. I credit God. It is His gift and His provision. It is that way when you seek the kingdom of heaven. When you find God, you do not take credit for it. You give all the credit, you give all of the glory, to God.
God does want us to seek Him. He wants us to enter this quest. The Bible tells us in the book of Acts how the Apostle Paul journeyed to Athens, and there in Athens, he went up on the Hill of the Acropolis. He saw the Parthenon, and he saw many altars and idols dedicated to many gods. He saw one altar with this inscription, “To an Unknown God.” And then Paul traveled over to the Areopagus and to Mars Hill, and there Paul began to speak. He said, “People of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along, observing the objects of your worship, I saw one altar with this inscription, “To an Unknown God.” “What therefore you worship as unknown, this I declare to you. The God, who made the universe and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by men, nor is He served by human hands as though He has need of anything since He gives to all people life and breath and everything, for He didst make from one person all the nations of people to dwell upon the face of the earth, having determined their allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitation that they might seek after Him and find Him for He is not far from any one of us, for in Him, we live and move and have our being.”
You see, Paul wanted the Athenians to know the will of God, that they enter into a quest, that they seek God and that they seek the truth of God and the kingdom of God. In the book of Proverbs, in the eighth chapter, God says, “I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me diligently shall find Me.” In Jeremiah, chapter 29, in verse thirteen, God says, “If with all your heart, you truly seek Me, you will surely find Me.” So, God wants us to seek Him.
It is true that there are very few people in this world who seek God. think there are many in this world who seek a caricature of God, who seek their own idea of God. There are many people in this world who look for a God that will not alter their lifestyle. They are seeking a God that requires no behavioral modification. They want a God who offers heaven but never mentions hell, a God who rewards and never punishes. They are wanting their own idea of God. There are many people in this world like that. Then, of course, there are people in the world who really do not seek God at all. They kind of seek God-substitutes, someone or something to fill the void, to fill that God-shaped vacuum in their soul. They seek to fill that vacuum, that void in their soul with materialism or with hedonism or with fame or ascensionism.
Just a month ago, in the USA Today, Madonna was quoted. She said that she had sought fame all of her life. She said she was addicted to the pursuit of fame. And yet, she said, she had discovered that fame rapes the soul, that fame leaves the soul vacuous. She said she was struggling to overcome this addiction, this need for fame because, she said, it just never satisfies the soul.
I think many of you have heard of Tantalus. Tantalus was the King of Lydia in Greek mythology, and he was the son of Zeus. For his sin, he was punished. He was made to live forever in the midst of a freshwater stream with the water up to his chin. Above his head there was a fruit tree and a branch coming over the river laden with fruit. Whenever his thirst was great, he would lower his head to drink from the freshwater stream, but the water would always recede just out of his reach. Whenever he was hungry, he would reach up for the fruit of this tree laden with fruit, but the branches would rise so that they were always just out of his reach. It was that way forever and ever and ever. This was his punishment. He would always hunger, always thirst, but he would never be satisfied. He would be enticed but never fulfilled. And, of course, we get the word tantalize from this Greek mythological character of Tantalus.
You know, I mean I think most of you know, that Satan tantalizes. He promises but he never fulfills. He offers the world fulfillment through materialism and through hedonism and through fame and through ascension, but it never satisfies. In the words of the Rolling Stones, “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.” This is the condition of the world, but Jesus Christ satisfies. Jesus said, “I’ve come that you might have life and you might have it abundantly.” Jesus said that He has given His words to us that His joy might be in us, and our joy might be full, and if you would enter a quest for God and for the kingdom of God and the King of Heaven who is Jesus Christ.
Most of you know that on November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy died, assassinated in Dallas, Texas, 35 years ago. Most of you who are over 45 years of age can probably remember that Friday, that tragic Friday, very clearly. Of course, John Kennedy is greatly beloved in this nation, beloved by many. Though he certainly was a womanizer, perhaps more promiscuous than even our current President and beloved, nonetheless.
Many do not know, most people in this world do not know, that on that same day, November 22, 1963, on that same day, the greatest Christian theologian of the century died. On the same day, C.S. Lewis died. C.S. Lewis who wrote Perelandra, That Hideous Strength, and Out of the Silent Planet. C.S. Lewis who wrote the Chronicles of Narnia. C.S. Lewis who wrote The Problem of Pain and The Great Divorce and Screwtape Letters. A professor at Oxford University, a brilliant man. He describes his quest for God and his quest for the kingdom of heaven in a book called Mere Christianity. In that book called Mere Christianity, and you can purchase that in the Inklings Book Store right here, Lewis describes his pilgrimage from atheism to agnosticism, from agnosticism to theism, and from theism to Jesus, that quest which led him to Christ.
You know, if you do not believe in Christ and you are not a Christian, you have not received Him as your Savior and your Lord, I know God is seeking you. I know He is seeking you even today and would that you committed your life to Him today, but if you’re not ready, at least enter the quest. Enter the quest. Go get that book and read it and read about another person’s quest and how they found Christ.
You know the Apostle Paul was once in the town of Berea and he shared the gospel there, and he told the women and men about Jesus Christ. They studied the scriptures to see whether what Paul was saying was true, whether Jesus really was the Messiah. Paul said the people of Berea were more noble than the people in Thessalonica because they studied the scriptures to see if these things were true. They entered the quest. And so, through this parable, there is an invitation here. The kingdom of heaven is meant to be the object of a quest.
There is a second teaching here. The second teaching is about this pearl, one pearl of great value, someone went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
Many of you here, most of you I am sure, believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior. How valuable is He to you? How much is His kingdom worth for you? That is the question God would ask us on this communion Sunday as we come to this table. How much is His kingdom worth?
In the state of Texas, in the city of San Antonio, there is a structure called the Alamo. The Alamo was, of course, originally a church and a monastery, but it is most famous as a fort. The year was 1836 when 186 men, under the leadership of Colonel William Travis, fought for the independence of Texas from Mexico, besieged by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana, with his force of 5,000 men. There were many famous people in the Alamo, many famous people amongst those 186. I mean there was Davy Crockett, famous frontiersman, a U.S. Congressman, there was Jim Bowie.
But, of course, for me at least, the greatest person in the Alamo defending the independence of Texas was a man named James Bonham. It was James Bonham who was commissioned by Colonel Travis to sneak out of the Alamo and to go for help. One hundred and eighty-six could not stand against 5,000. So, James Bonham was sent through enemy lines to go and find help. James Bonham snuck through the forces of the enemy, and he made his way 90 miles, to the town of Gilead, where there was an army garrison. He pleaded for help and no help was provided. They refused him.
So, what did he do? I mean he was free. He could have gone anywhere. He could have lived the rest of his life without danger, and yet he chose to return to the Alamo and to die with those others who fought for the independence of Texas. And so it was, on March 6, 1836, those who defended the independence of Texas gave their lives. For them, Texas and the independence of Texas was a treasure. It was a treasure for them, worth everything they had.
In 1776, 56 men signed the Declaration of Independence, and they pledged their lives and their fortunes and their sacred honor. For 222 years, this nation has endured. Through these 222 years, hundreds of thousands of women and men have given their lives that this nation might continue, and that this nation might be free because, for many, this nation is a treasure worth everything, worth everything we have.
The Bible tells us that there is a government greater than any earthly government. There is a nation greater than any earthly nation. It is called the kingdom of heaven. This kingdom is worth everything we have. The King of Heaven died for us, and He alone offers forgiveness of sin, mercy and grace. The kingdom of heaven provides a community of brothers and sisters the world over. The kingdom of heaven provides a purpose in living and hope in dying. The kingdom of heaven provides eternal life itself. There’s no treasure like this. This treasure is worth everything you have. It is worth everything I have. The disciples understood this. I think it is good to look back on those who went before us and the sacrifices they made for this treasure called the kingdom of heaven.
I think many of you know that the disciples, with the exception of John, gave their lives for the gospel. According to church tradition, Matthew was killed with a sword in Ethiopia where he was a missionary for Christ. Mark was a missionary in Egypt, but he died when he was dragged through the streets of Alexandria. He literally bled to death, gave his life for the one who bled for him. Luke was hung from an olive tree in the nation of Greece where he bore testimony to Christ. The Apostle Paul was beheaded at Three Fountains in Rome by the decree of Emperor Nero. The Apostle Peter was crucified upside down near the place where the Basilica of St. Peter’s stands today, again by the decree of Emperor Nero. Philip was strung from a pillar and then strangled to death in the city of Hierapolis in Phrygia, modern day Turkey, a city that is now called Pamukkale. James the Greater, as described in the book of Acts, was beheaded in Jerusalem for his faith.
James the Less, also one of the twelve, was beaten to death with a club because of his testimony for Christ. James, the brother of Christ, born in Nazareth, reared with Christ… James, the brother of Christ, who became the great head of the Jerusalem Church, who wrote the epistle that bears his name in the New Testament, was pushed from the pinnacle of the temple, and then stoned to death where he fell. Jude, the brother of Christ, who wrote the little epistle that bears his name, was shot through with arrows because of his testimony for Christ. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was crucified in Thessalonica. It was said of him that he preached the love of Christ to his crucifiers until he drew his last breath.
Bartholomew was beaten to death. Barnabas was stoned to death and Matthias, who was elected to take the place of Judas, was stoned to death and then beheaded. Thomas, called Didymus, the twin, was run through with the lance in Coromandel on the coast of the East Indies near the place where the Krishna River enters into the sea. Of course, only John survived. Only John died a natural death, and he was incarcerated on the island of Patmos by the decree of the emperor Domitian.
It is true. The foundation of the church of Jesus Christ is literally poured in the blood of the saints. Jesus said, “I will build My church and the powers of hell will not prevail against it.” The kingdom of heaven is a treasure for which many have given all they have. Even today there are many all over the world who suffer because of their love for Christ. We are so blessed to live in this nation where we are so free, but God would ask us today, “What’s it all worth to you?” “What’s My kingdom worth to you?” Jesus would ask you, “What am I worth to you?” What is Jesus worth to you?
As we come to the communion table this morning, Jesus Christ invites you to consecrate yourself anew to Him and to His kingdom, to give Him all that you have from head to toe, your time and your talent and your treasure, to resolve that you will seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Let us close with a word of prayer.