From: E. W. Lucas <earnie.lucas@gmail.com>

Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2012 10:21 PM

To: Dwayne Cook

Subject: The Pearl of Great Price

“THE   PEARL   OF   GREAT   PRICE.”   (Mt 13:45-46)

Jan 8^th,  2012

Int.       The Popular interpretation is by the Arminians.  They say this pearl is the ultimate reward for diligently seeking salvation, which is Christ the pearl of great price.  In other words, the sinner buys Christ instead of Christ buying the sinner.

a.         (Acts 20:28)  "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood."

            b.        Even J. C. Ryle says: “This parable teaches us that men really convinced of the importance of salvation, will give up everything to win Christ, and Eternal life.

            c.         Spurgeon seems to have this merchant man to be a dedicated Christian.

            d.        Benjamin Keach: “This respects a man seeking after heavenly things.”

            e.         Let us examine this:

I.          THEY   SAY   THIS   PICTURES THE SINNER DILIGENTLY SEEKING  SALVATION.

            a.         The sinner should seek salvation; for he certainly needs it bad enough.

            b.        The sinner should seek salvation, for he is commanded to:

                        1.        (Isa 55:6-7)  "Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: {7} Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous   man his thoughts: and   let   him   return   unto   the   LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."

            c.         The problem is that the sinner will not seek the Lord unless quickened.

                        1.        Adam did not seek God; he hid behind a bush.

                        2.        Abraham did not seek God;

                                    a.         (Josh 24:2-3)  "And   Joshua  said   unto   all   the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods. {3} And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac."

                        3.        No one seeks God today.

                                   a.         (Rom 3:11)  "There   is   none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God."

                        4.        Contrast   (Lk 19:10) “For the Son of man is come to seek and to  save that which was lost.”

II.        NOTICE THAT THEY SAY THAT THE SINNER SOLD ALL AND BOUGHT   THE   PEARL WHICH   THEY   SAY   IS  CHRIST.

            A.        BUT   THIS   CANNOT   BE   TRUE   FOR   SEVERAL REASONS.

            1.        The sinner has nothing worth selling in the sight of God.

            2.        The sinner has no righteousness of his own.

                        a.         (Isa 64:6)  "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."

            3.        The sinner has no goodness.

                        a.         (Rom 3:12)  "They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."

            4.        The sinner has no faith of his own.

                        a.         (Eph 2:8)  "For by grace are ye saved through faith;   and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:"

5.        The sinner has no purchasing power.

                        a.         (Isa 55:1)  "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price."

“Nothing either great or small

Remains for me to do;

Jesus died and paid it all-

Yes, all the debt I owe.

“When He, from His lofty throne,

Stooped down to do and die,

Everything was fully done-

Yes, ‘finished’ was the cry.

“Weary, working, plodding one,

Oh, wherefore toil you so?

Cease your doing–all was done–

Yes, ages long ago.

“Till to Jesus’ work you cling

Alone by simple faith,

‘DOING’ is a DEADLY THING–

All ‘doing’ ends in death.

“Cast your deadly ‘doing’ down–

Down all at Jesus’ feet;

Stand in Him–in Him alone–

All glorious and complete.”

III.       TO   SAY   THAT   THE   SINNER   BUYS   THIS ONE PEARL  ---CHRIST,   IS   WRONG.

            A.        THERE   IS   NOTHING   MORE   CLEARER THAN SALVATION   BY   GRACE.

                        1.        It is not of works...

                                    a.         (Titus 3:5)  "Not   by   works   of   righteousness   which   we   have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"

                        2.        It cannot be purchased.

                                    a.         (Rom 6:23)  "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

IV.       CONSIDER   NOW   THE   BIBLICAL   INTERPRETATION.

A.        THE   MERCHANT   MAN   IS   THE   SON   OF   GOD. (Vr. 45

                        1.        Notice the first and second parable and look for   “Man”   (Vr. 24, 37, 45)    

                                    a.         (Mat 13:24)  "Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:"

                                    b.        (Mat 13:37)  "He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;"

                                    c.         (Mat 13:45)  "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:"

B.        CONSIDER   FIVE   THINGS   ABOUT   THIS MERCHANT MAN.

C. NOTICE   HIS   DESIRE   FOR   THE  PERARL. Vr. 45)

                        1.        He declared it to be of great price   (a picture of the local church)

2. .      Even Mr. Spurgeon didn’t see the pearl being the Elect sinner.

D.        NOTICE   HIS   DETERMINATION   TO   BUY   THIS   PEARL. .  (He sold all that He had)

                       1.        (2 Cor 8:9)  "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."

Ill.        Cleapatria had a pearl as large as a pigeon egg and valued at $400.000.00.

E. NOTICE THAT HE SOUGHT THIS PEARL..(MERCHANT MAN SEEKING)

                        1.        (Luke 19:10)  "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." 

                        2.        The Jews were hidden in (Rom11;25)

a. (Rom 11:25)  "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in."

b.        But here he is seeking.

F,         NOTICE   THAT  HE   BOUGHT   THIS   PEARL...

                        1.        He paid for it at Calvary.

                                    a..       (1 Cor 6:20)  "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

                        2.        (1 Pet 1:18-19)  "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; {19} But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:"

                        3.        (Acts 20:28)  "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood."

V.        CONSIDER   THE   PEARL   ITSELF.

            A.        NOTICE   IT’S   UNITY.  (One pearl)

            B.        John MacDuff, "The Shepherd and His Flock") 

                        1.        "As the pearl would remain forever in the depths of the ocean unless the diver descended for it; so,  unless He who purchased us as gems and jewels  for His crown had taken us from the depths of sin, there we would have remained forever. And as He rescues the pearl, so He keeps it, polishes it, and finally inserts it in His eternal diadem! "

                        2.        “What makes the pearl "One pearl of great Price" is the cost that purchasing our Salvation cost the Son of God.

            C.        J. Vernon McGee:

                        1.        The popular interpretation of this parable says that the sinner is the merchantman and the pearl of great price is Christ. The sinner sells all that he has that he might buy Christ. One hymn says:

I have found the pearl of greatest price.

My heart doth sing for joy.

And sing I must for Christ is mine;

Christ shall my song employ.

                        2.        I cannot accept this interpretation, and I have dismissed it as unworthy of thoughtful consideration. To begin with, who is looking for goodly pearls? Are sinners looking for salvation? My Bible does not read that way, nor has that been my experience as a minister. Sinners are not looking for salvation.

                        3.        The merchantman cannot be the sinner because he has nothing with which to pay. To begin with, he is not seeking Christ, and if he were, how could he buy Him?

                        4.        The merchantman sells all that he has!   how can a sinner sell all that he has when he is dead in trespasses and sins (see Eph. 2:1)!

                        5.        Further, the Scriptures are very clear that Christ and salvation are not for sale. Salvation is a gift!!!

                        6          (John 3:16).“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life!!

                        7.        And in Romans 6:23 we are told that the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”   

                        8.        The correct interpretation of this parable reveals Christ as the merchantman. He left His heavenly home and  came to this earth to find a pearl of great price.

                        9.        He found lost sinners and died for them by shedding His precious blood. He sold all that He had to buy us and redeem us to God.

10.      (2 Cor 8:9)  "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."

                        11.      The   pearl was never considered very valuable by the Israelites. Several verses of Scripture give us this impression.

                        12.      (Job 28:18)  "No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies."

                        13.      Although the pearl was not considered valuable among the Hebrews, it was very valuable to the Gentiles.

                        14.      Christ came to this earth as the merchantman. He saw man in sin, and He took man's sin and bore it in His own body.

                        15.      Our sin was an intrusion upon Him it was that foreign matter.

                        16.      And He was made sin for us.    As someone has put it, I got into the heart of Christ by a spear wound. Christ  was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities ? (Isa. 53:5).

                        17.      We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus  (Eph. 2:10).

CONCLUSION:        Notice how God’s elect are described in that New Jerusalem, coming down from heaven.

(Rev 21:21)  "And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass."

E. W. Lucas

Website:  www.friendship-baptistchurch.com