# Is Jesus the 'Pearl of Great Price'?



## jason d

Matthew 13:44-46 reads:



> “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it."



I ask cause I am wanting to sing this song by Sovereign Grace Music that has a chorus that says _"Only Jesus! The Pearl of greatest price"_

Is that theologically accurate?


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## ewenlin

Every Christian should have a Matthew Henry 1 Volume Commentary on the whole Bible on their shelves.


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## carlgobelman

jason d said:


> Matthew 13:44-46 reads:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it."
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I ask cause I am wanting to sing this song by Sovereign Grace Music that has a chorus that says _"Only Jesus! The Pearl of greatest price"_
> 
> Is that theologically accurate?
Click to expand...


In a nutshell, "yes." The other way of interpreting this passage is to say that the church is the pearl of great price and that Jesus is the merchant. Jesus finds the church and sells all he has (i.e., gives up his life for the church) to buy the church.

Warren Wiersbe interprets this parable (and the parable of the treasure in the field) this way. When I read through his "Be" series on Matthew, I had to put the book down; I couldn't read it any further. There is nothing inherently valuable about the church.

The key to interpreting this parable is in Matthew 13:44 ("The *Kingdom of Heaven* is like a treasure hidden in a field"). These two parables are teaching parallel thoughts. The Kingdom of Heaven is the treasure and the pearl.


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## jason d

I have a Matthew Henry's but didn't get to it yet, I was still looking it up in Calvin's commentary (is it confusing to look up stuff in the gospels because he does them in "harmony", which makes it hard to look up a specific verse sometimes) :-/

found this [finally] in Calvin's commentary:



> 46. *And bought it.* By the word buy Christ does not mean, that men bring any price, with which they may purchase for themselves the heavenly life; for we know on what condition the Lord invites believers in the book of Isaiah, (55:1,) *Come and buy wine and milk without money and without price.* But though the heavenly life, and every thing that belongs to it, is the free gift of God, yet we are said to buy it, when we cheerfully relinquish the desires of the flesh, that nothing may prevent us from obtaining it; as Paul says, that he
> 
> *reckoned all things to be loss and dung, that he might gain Christ,*
> (Philippians 3:8.)


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## TKarrer

I'd most certainly agree with Calvin. Its never sat right with me to hear that the treasure is the Church. I argued this point with my Pastor, and he just couldn't get the idea that we must "sell all" in order to gain Christ; too opposed to the fact that it's a gift, he said (I'm church-searching) . Though it wouldn't be an inconsistent error to suppose such- that Jesus "sold all" to purchase us- clearly the Christian either forsakes all, which is true repentance joined with faith, or "he cannot be" Jesus' disciple (Luke 14:33); and clearly, this is the intended meaning of the text!


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## tdowns

*I will soon...*



ewenlin said:


> Every Christian should have a Matthew Henry 1 Volume Commentary on the whole Bible on their shelves.



Just ordered it, with Josh's recent postings, and this thread, I had to do it...I'm excited.

Thanks.


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