The Parables Of The Hidden Treasure And The Pearl Of Great Price

The Parables Of The Hidden Treasure And The Pearl Of Great Price

(A Teaching On The Value Of Each Individual Soul)

Matthew 13:44-46

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

"Oh, what precious parables! Their message is the same;
A picture painted clearly, showing why our Saviour came!
He made Himself of no repute and walked upon the Earth,
Coming to redeem the lost and show them what they’re worth!

He tells a tale about a man and treasure that he found;
In order to possess the gem he had to own the ground.
Joyfully he sells his all to claim the jewel therein,
Giving everything he had for the treasure found within!

Then there comes the merchant, seeking pearls of greatest price
And selling all to gain just one would be the sacrifice!
A beautiful reflection, for this love beyond all measure
Shows what Christ has paid for us for we’re His priceless treasure!

Our Saviour came in great pursuit, redemption was His goal
And now we see the value of the individual soul!
Although our hearts were truly lost and buried in our sin,
We’re purchased by the blood of Christ and now belong to Him!

We are His inheritance and priceless in His eyes!
Never should we doubt our worth for we’re His greatest prize.
Praises to our Mighty King! Let us heed His call!
May we render everything to Christ who gave His all!"



John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”


Romans 5:7-9
“For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”

Points For Reflection And Insight
There are seven parables in Matthew chapter 13 and they fall into the category known as, “The Kingdom Parables.” In these stories, Jesus uses common forms of work known to the people of that day which could speak clearly to the believer about the Kingdom of God but remain incomprehensible to the unbeliever.

The first parable, the parable of the sower, describes man’s response to hearing God’s Word about His Kingdom. The parable of the wheat and the tares along with the parable of the dragnet address the difference between true and false believers found within the Kingdom community. Jesus shows us through these stories that the world will remain divided right up until the end of the age.

The parables of the mustard seed and the leaven also speak about corruption within the Kingdom community. These stories are not giving us pictures of the Church infiltrating the world but rather how the world has been infiltrating the Church over the years through compromise and wickedness.
They show how satan has been permeating the true community of God with evil things disguised as “holy” or “righteous” but really they have nothing to do with Jesus at all.

For example, a mustard seed would normally grow into a bush. The fact that it grows into a huge tree in the parable shows us that Jesus is making the point that the Church has morphed into something it was never intended to be.
Birds are often used as a symbol for sin and wickedness in the Bible and so Jesus highlights the sin and wickedness that has crept into the Church when He speaks about the birds nesting in the branches.
Equally, leaven is also used as symbol for sin and evil throughout God’s Word. This parable further emphasises the point being made that not all things which appear under the banner of “Spiritual” are necessarily of God or His Church. Sadly, there are many deeds that have been done in His name that have nothing to do with God whatsoever.

This is a very sad truth as there are many people who would be open to Jesus but they’re not open to the Church because of the terrible acts that have been done which have misrepresented God. Thankfully Jesus makes it clear in this chapter that God takes this very seriously indeed. Anyone who has used His Church as nothing more than a way to gain personal fame, fortune, status or power is known by God and will be held to account.

The last two parables which I look at in my series however, the parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price are very different in character. These two stories speak of how highly the King values the people of His Kingdom.

In these verses we see a picture of how Jesus would give His all to purchase the individual believer. It’s a powerful picture that clearly shows us how Jesus gave everything to redeem the whole world and to preserve the treasure within it. The treasure of course being His people!

At times these parables have been misinterpreted as a picture of a person finding Jesus as the treasure but this is not so. Jesus is not the treasure for one simple reason, He cannot be purchased! There is nothing we could possibly own or give that could buy God!
These verses also show us that we don’t find Jesus, He finds us! We are His treasure, we are His inheritance!
In Ephesians 1:18, the Apostle Paul actually talks about the fact that Christ’s inheritance and the riches of His glory are in the saints of His Church! That means that each believer is part of the inheritance of Christ! It’s quite a thought! So often we think of what we’ll inherit as followers of Jesus but it blows the mind to consider that Jesus inherits us!

So precious was each individual in the sight of God that Jesus came to the Earth and bought back the rights to His own creation. We see this reflected in the parables as under Rabbinical Law, if a person found treasure hidden in a field then the treasure belonged to the land owner. This is why we see the men in the stories go to great lengths to first purchase the land before rightfully claiming the treasure.

This mirrors the fact that although God created the Earth, the dominion which he originally gave to Adam was forfeited to satan when Adam rebelled and sinned against God. Sin had cost mankind dominion so in order to possess the land again and claim the treasure within, Jesus had to pay the price for sin and reclaim the territory. Our Saviour’s love was so great for us that He bought the world with His blood to gain the Church, His Bride and His treasure.

Also, the fact that Jesus uses the image of a pearl in the second parable shows us just how precious we are to Him.
A pearl was considered to be one of the loveliest of all possessions. What’s interesting to consider is the process in which a pearl is created. I remember hearing my Pastor give a teaching on the significance of the pearl and the more we look into it, the more it becomes clear why Jesus used this to emphasise His point.

A pearl is the only gem formed through the pain of a living organism as it begins as a grain of sand or dirt which becomes lodged within an oyster. As the grain of dirt begins to irritate the oyster, the oyster starts to cover it over and over again with a substance in order to stop the irritation. The more irritating the grain, the more the oyster has to cover it! After a time, the piece of dirt becomes so cloaked by the oyster that it transforms into a precious pearl.

This creates a beautiful picture of how our Saviour takes each and every one of us, cloaks us again and again in His grace, love and mercy in order to transform us into something precious and wonderful! We become glorious because we are clothed by our Saviour, the One who endured the worst pain imaginable to have us. Thanks to Jesus we are covered by the blood of the Lamb, dressed in the garments of salvation and clothed in the robes of righteousness! These wonderful parables really help us to see these glorious, incredible truths!

One more significant fact about the pearl is that human sweat actually erodes it. This is again a wonderful reflection, this time showing that we are not saved by our own efforts or the sweat of our own brow. Salvation is a gift from God. No amount of striving or “good works” can make us “worthy” of God’s love or keep us within it. We are covered by God’s grace and God’s grace alone.

The parables absolutely blow me away and as is often the case, Jesus has revealed so much and given incredible, profound depth within just a few short sentences.

Some final points for us to reflect upon in this parables series:
Have you ever thought of yourself as a treasure in the eyes of God? Have you ever considered how valuable you must be for Jesus to give up everything He had in order to have you? Have you ever thought of yourself as Christ’s inheritance?

May we remember the truths of these parables the next time we hear the lies of the enemy whispered in our ears. If we can truly grasp just how valuable we are to Jesus then we’ll never look down on ourselves again! We are His joy and His treasure. Let’s live in the glorious light and the security of this truth.

Series Conclusion

I pray my “Poetry Through The Parables” series has been a benefit to you through 2022. As I said in my introduction at the beginning of the year, the topics I covered are barely even scratching the surface of the many levels Jesus was teaching on but I hope you enjoyed the verses and points for reflection.

Through this series we looked at:

The Parable Of The Lost Sheep
(A Teaching On How God Pursues The Sinner)

The Parable Of The Lost Coin
(A Teaching On How The Church Must Shine The Light)

The Parable Of The Prodigal Son
With part one focusing on The Younger Son
(A Teaching On Man’s Need For Repentance And God’s Forgiveness)

The Parable Of The Prodigal Son
With part two focusing on The Older Son
(A Teaching On How We Are Saved By Grace, Not Works)

The Parable Of The Good Samaritan
(A Teaching On Sacrificial Love)

The Parable Of The Wise And Foolish Virgins
(A Teaching On Being Ready For Christ’s Return)

The Parable Of The Talents
(A Teaching On Redeeming The Time)

The Parable Of The Old Wineskins
(A Teaching On The Old And New Covenants)

The Parable Of The Persistent Widow
(A Teaching On Persistence In Prayer)

The Parable Of The Sower
(A Teaching On Our Response To God’s Word)

The Parable Of The Wheat And The Tares
(A Teaching About True And False Believers In Christ)

And

The Parables Of The Hidden Treasure And The Pearl Of Great Price
(A Teaching On The Value Of Each Individual Soul)


These teachings from Jesus certainly give us so much to consider, to pray about and to be thankful for! I hope you’ve found this series both challenging and encouraging, as I have. After studying these parables, I’ve been left absolutely amazed at the sheer genius of Jesus and in awe of His heart of love which shines through these Scriptures.

He reveals His absolute disdain for pride and hypocrisy which is refreshing and reassuring when combined with His patience and desire for all people to repent and know Him as Saviour. Ultimately He shows us clearly God’s heart towards His Creation and how all things are working, according to His Sovereignty until the Day of His return. It really does fill my heart with so much love for my King and inspires me to use the time I have on this Earth to bring His name glory.
With that in mind, onwards to 2023!