Matthew 13:45-46 (RSV)
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
When our Lord Jesus Christ start teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven, He cited many parables regarding this. He discussed in parables because Jesus according to the will of the Father hid the things about the Kingdom of Heaven from the wise and the learned of this world. Luke 10:21says; “In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will.” That’s why He gave a strict instructions to His disciples not to give dogs what is holy; and not to throw the pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn to attack the owner of the pearls (Mat 7:6). Dogs here are the learned or wise, those who think highly of themselves, while the swine are those who do not care about the value of the Jesus, the WORD of GOD.
According to the Bible, the Kingdom of Heaven belongs only to those poor in Spirit and to those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake (Mat 5:3,10). Poor in Spirit means we are beggar of Spiritual richness, or in a simple word, humble to admit we have no resource but GOD to be Spiritually rich, we need Someone who is Holy to make us holy. Righteousness in this sense means Jesus Christ, as Jesus is our righteousness and holiness through the wisdom from GOD (I Cor. 1:30). When men revile us and persecute us and utter all kinds of evil against us falsely on Jesus account, our reward is great in heaven (Mat 5:11-12).
But how is the Kingdom of GOD be ours? Is it possible for us to do this on our own? In Matthew 19:16-26, a very rich young man who had observed all commandments of GOD, asked Jesus, “What good deed must I do, to have eternal life?”, Jesus answered, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. Jesus continued, “Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Learning from the story of the rich young man is that, he does it on his own, his righteousness is his own. Jesus as the Word of God has no part in his life. Thus the result of his righteousness is pride because he did it on his own, his heart is where his material treasure is and what he’s lacking is the treasure from heaven that comes from the Word. He did not have found the finest pearl in our verse today which is the Word of GOD. Why? Because in the first place, he is not poor in Spirit. He thought that he did it all, he doesn’t need someone to make himself righteous, he think highly of himself, he is a dog. Thus, the rich young man, had not entered in the joy and peace brought by the kingdom of heaven that should be in his heart. He became sorrowful at the end for he did not understand the value of the word of Jesus to him, the treasure in heaven, he is a swine as well.
Jesus said in Luke 18:17; “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” A child knows only one thing; he is in need of someone to take care of him. With that, he has no worries even he is always asking, even he is depending always on that someone to do something for him, specially to feed him, to nourish him. A child knows and admit he could not do on his own to have life, but trusting that one who is helping him. With that security and assurance, that child received and owned the Kingdom of Heaven. That’s the same thing with us. If we have no Spiritual guidance that only comes from the Word, we’ll have no Spiritual life. John 6:63 says; ”It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” If we know the Word is more important than the world, then we will have peace, no worries, nothing is lacking, we have joy, ours is the Kingdom of God, we will be in His dwelling place and he will dwell in us. Jesus says; “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” (John 15:4)
Let us have His word to own His promise, the Kingdom of Heaven:
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want;
he makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies; thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
AMEN
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