Hey everybody! Thank you for joining me in daily Bible reading as we seek to glorify Jesus, know Him more, and interpret the truth of His Word.
If this is your first time going through the Bible, I am incredibly excited to have you here. If this is your 5000th time, I am humbled that you are here and hope you grow in your relationship with Jesus along with me. May we all seek to know Him more and apply what we learn to further our mission of spreading the gospel. If you missed a day and want to catch up, visit the archives page HERE! But there is no shame if you start today! Day 160, Matthew 13:45-46 — Jesus’ Parables Matthew 13:45-46 (NASB1995) “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” Historical Context Matthew organizes much of his gospel topically rather than chronologically. We know chapter 13 as the parable chapter, as we read many of Jesus’ parables throughout. A parable, or parabolḗ in Greek, is an illustrative teaching with allegorical elements. Most of Jesus’ parables use an example or story from everyday life to illuminate a deeper or hidden spiritual idea. In this chapter, Matthew has provided an image of Jesus speaking to a large crowd along the sea of Galilee. This great crowd surrounded His home at the end of chapter 12, where Jesus then led Himself from His house to the sea to continue teaching instead of resting or eating. We have read parables about the sower (vs. 3-9, 18-23), the wheat and tares (vs. 24-30, 36-43), and the kingdom heaven compared to a mustard seed (vs. 31-32) and leavened bread (v. 33). Jesus reveals the sowers’ interpretation to the crowd, but keeps the rest hidden from them. Now, He teaches a new parable to the multitude along the sea. Discussion Yesterday, we read Jesus’ parable about the kingdom of heaven compared to hidden treasure. In ancient times, there were no banks to store currency or possessions safely so many people secretly buried their more valuable possessions or large sums of money to counter potential theft or power-hungry rulers. In the parable, we see a man stumble upon a great treasure or inheritance hidden in a field, which represents the kingdom of God. Instead of taking the treasure for himself, he sells all his possessions to purchase the entire field. If he dug up the treasure, it would go to whoever now owned the land. If left unknowingly buried, it would remain part of the field. Therefore, the man sells everything he has to purchase the land so he can rightfully receive the great inheritance. Jesus uses this parable to show how valuable the kingdom of God is. While money and possessions might make us feel secure, they hold no eternal value. A person should value eternal treasures over temporal ones and be willing to sacrifice all they have for them. Today, we read a parable about the kingdom of heaven compared to fine pearls. Jesus says, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” Here we see Jesus begin this parable by saying “again” which shows that its meaning directly ties into the last one. While similar, this does not mean it has less significance. The LORD is making a point about the importance and value of the kingdom of heaven. In ancient times, some people labored as sea merchants and divers seeking high-valued goods. These merchants would dive to search ship and boat wreckage along with hunting the sea floor for pearls in the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Indian Ocean.[1] Some of the pearls and other jewels found were worth enormous sums of money (e.g., equal to millions), just like certain gemstones today (e.g., diamonds). In this parable, a sea merchant seeks fine pearls and comes across an extremely valuable one. As with the farmer, the merchant decides to sell all he has to buy the pearl for himself. He does this because the pearl is worth drastically more than all that he owns. Again, Jesus is making the point that the kingdom of heaven and things that hold eternal value are priceless compared to the passing ‘treasures’ of this temporal world. It is worth losing all that we have to have to possess the kingdom of heaven and its countless eternal treasures. Notably, “the kingdom [of heaven] has already been identified as something to be sought (Matt. 6:33).”[2] We will read another of Jesus’ parables tomorrow. Application Today’s application is much like yesterdays, but the emphasis on seeking the kingdom is important to note. This is one difference between the two parables. The man stumbled upon the inheritance in the field while the merchant sought after the pearls. We can apply this principle to a person who radically encounters God and is welcomed into the kingdom by putting their faith in Christ. In doing so, they decide to lose everything from their past life because of the value of the eternal gift found in God. As for the merchant, we see a person actively seeking the kingdom of God and all its eternal treasures. This thought is similar to what we applied yesterday, as this person does not care for material possessions and pursues eternal things above temporal desires. There is zero value in seeking and holding onto the things of this world while the eternal things of the kingdom will last forever and only increase. Seeking the kingdom of God is a great investment, as it was for the man and merchant in these parables. May we praise, worship, honor, and glorify Jesus every day in all that we do while continually pursuing righteousness, holiness, and forgiveness as He forgave us. Looking Ahead Thank you for joining today’s daily Bible reading! Next, we read Matthew 13:47-50. I hope you join me! I have made commenting available, so please feel free to discuss the reading and ask questions. If you do not want to discuss publicly, you can reach out to me privately. We are on this journey together. References [1] Craig Keener, “IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, Second Edition.” [2] Doug O’Donnell, “New International Greek Testament Commentary.”
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