Have you seen the TV show Storage War$? This program features the sale of storage lockers seized for non-payment of rental fees. The auctions are fast-paced and competitive though the buyers rarely know exactly what they’ll end up carting away should they land the winning bid. The only information available to them before bidding is what they can observe from the locker door, as they are not allowed to enter the unit or open containers. Because of this, buyers often end up paying hundreds of dollars for nothing more than dirty sheets. But sometimes these bidders find real treasure like a comic collection that was resold for $130,000! This is why Storage War$ is a popular show: everyone dreams of finding buried treasure.
Today the Holy Spirit is going to help us discover buried treasure. That will happen when we pry open the Parable of the Pearl and find Jesus’ priceless treasure. We’ll also find Jesus, priceless Treasure.
We’re actually going to be looking at two parables but they make the same point. In the first parable Jesus spoke about a man who was walking through a field and stumbled upon hidden treasure. He buried it again and excitedly sold all he had so he could buy that plot of ground. Some question the morality of this. Shouldn’t this man have reported the treasure to the owner of that field? What we have to remember is that parables are stories meant to teach one main spiritual point and Jesus is obviously not advocating: “Finders keepers. Losers weepers.” That would go against everything else he taught about loving our neighbor. So what is Jesus’ point? Consider the second parable. There a merchant was looking for fine pearls. When he found one of exquisite beauty, he sold all he had - his other pearls, his house, his Harley, his Pink Floyd record collection, even his X-Box - he sold it all to purchase this one pearl.
Wasn’t this merchant a bit short sighted and perhaps even a little crazy? I mean what would you think of ____ here if he sold everything - his house and his clothes, to purchase a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, a car worth half a million dollars? He’d end up with a sweet ride but how is he going to sleep and make meals in that thing? And no, he can’t stay at a hotel to do this because all his money has gone to purchase that one car. Crazy! Yet that’s Jesus’ point with the Parable of the Pearl: there is something worth giving up EVERYTHING to obtain. What could be so valuable? Let’s pry open the Parable of the Pearl to find out.
First of all consider the parables that precede the ones in our text. They all begin, “The kingdom of heaven is like…” and then each parable goes on to describe something God does. For example in the Parable of the Weeds and the Wheat, the kingdom of heaven is compared to a man planting good seed. Jesus explains that he himself is the sower of that good seed, which represent believers. In the next parable, the kingdom of heaven is compared to a tiny mustard seed that a man planted and which grew into a large tree. In the parable after that the kingdom of heaven is compared to a woman who takes a pinch of yeast to leaven dough. With the Mustard Seed and the Yeast parables Jesus was making the point that while the church would have humble beginnings, he himself was establishing it and would ensure that the church would grow and grow. After explaining the Parable of the Weeds and the Wheat Jesus launched into the parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl. They too start with the words, “The kingdom of heaven is like…” If Jesus is sticking to the pattern he established in the other parables where the kingdom of heaven describes God’s activity on earth, then the man who discovers hidden treasure in a field and the merchant who sells everything to buy one pearl is…Jesus himself!
If Jesus is the merchant, then what is the pearl? For what, for whom did Jesus, the Son of God, give up EVERTHING? You are the pearl! “Oh, but how can that be, Pastor? Look at how grimy and dirty I am with sin. Jesus could never consider me a treasured possession worth giving up everything to obtain!” You’re right. You are dirty and grimy with sin, just as I am. But look at the parables again. Where did the man find the treasure in the first parable? He found it buried in dirt, not on display in some boutique on 5th Avenue. And the pearl? Where did that come from? Like all other pearls it came from a dull-looking oyster that was slimy and gross on the inside. No, this parable is not saying that Jesus sought us because we were beautiful. If that was the case, there would have been no need for Doug and Christina to bring little Elijah to be baptized as God instructed them to do through his Word. Sure, baby Elijah may look cute and cuddly but, like you and me, he was born with the stain of sin. And so just as a pearl merchant will wash off the slime from a freshly plucked pearl, Elijah needed to be washed by the waters of baptism. Like a canal that connect two bodies of water, the waters of baptism connect us sinners to the sinless Son of God causing love and forgiveness to flow from him to us.
But back to our text! These awesome parables illustrate what God said through Moses to the Old Testament Israelites: “The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession” (Deuteronomy 7:6b). That was a truth Jesus’ disciples needed to hear. At the time those disciples were “buried” in Galilee (not hanging out in the power center of Jerusalem) and following an increasingly unpopular Lord but no matter. They were secure, for the Son of God himself had gone and would go to extraordinary lengths to secure them as his own (Jeffrey Gibbs).
How does this truth make you feel? When I finished my text study I felt like the man in the first parable - as if I had just stumbled upon some hidden treasure. I am God’s treasured possession? I am Jesus’ priceless treasure? Yes! And so are you. Sure, you may feel neglected by busy parents, or you may be struggling in your marriage so that you don’t feel loved or very precious but look again at these parables. What matters is what God thinks about you. What matters is what God’s Son did for you. He sought and bought you. He gave up EVERYTHING - his glory in heaven, his honor, even his own life to make you his treasured possession. Because you are Jesus’ priceless treasure you can take seriously our Epistle lesson where Paul promised: “…in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28). That’s not just a churchy slogan. It’s reality. If a merchant sold everything to obtain a pearl, don’t you think he would do everything to care for and protect it? He wouldn’t carelessly shove it in his back pocket, or toss is up and down like a $2 beach ball he could afford to lose should it skip away from him. Neither is that how Jesus treats you! You are his priceless treasure and so he is caring for and protecting you no matter what you’re having to endure right now.
The fact that we are Jesus’ priceless treasure makes Jesus our priceless treasure. With that thought in mind we can identify with the man in the first parable who unexpectedly found hidden treasure buried in a field. What did he do? With joy he sold everything he had to buy the field in which the treasure was hidden. Friends, when we consider what great lengths Jesus went to make us his most treasured possession, how can we act as if Christianity is some joyless religion? We’ll only think that if we suppose that Christianity is just a bunch of rules Jesus makes us follow. But that isn’t the essence of Christianity. It’s not about our love for God or our obedience to him; it’s about God’s love for us! Rejoice! You are forgiven. You are bound for heaven because Jesus has polished and keeps polishing you with his righteousness.
Since Jesus treats me like his most treasured possession, why wouldn’t I want to give up everything to hold on to him? If I don’t have Jesus, I don’t have much. I don’t have God’s love. I don’t have forgiveness. And I don’t have a purpose in life. Nor will I have any comfort when I face death. But like a child who carelessly tosses a $100 bill aside to pick up a dime because it’s shinier, though not worth as much, I often think that keeping up with football, updating my Facebook status, checking my investments, and ticking off the “to-do” list at home is more important than making every effort to tighten my grip on Jesus, my priceless treasure. Talk about short sighted! Thank God that he who never lost sight of what was truly important has also wiped this sin from us.
I especially urge you to take these words to heart, Doug and Christina. With child number two to feed and clothe now, your life has suddenly gotten much busier. There are some activities you may need to drop to get everything done in the day. But whatever you do, don’t drop your daily devotions with your kids and with one another. And don’t cut back on your worship attendance. “Sell” everything else, but don’t let go of the treasure of faith and forgiveness which God has given you through baptism.
Did you know that you can bid on the contents of abandoned storage lockers right here in Edmonton? What if such a group of treasure seekers ended up here by mistake this morning? What if they were standing outside our church doors right now waiting for the auctioneer to fling them open so they could get their first look at what treasures lay inside? I imagine they would be somewhat disappointed. How much can a church full of sinners be worth? And what resale value would Bibles, a bowl of water, and a cup of wine and a plate of bread have? Not much it would seem. But you know better. For you have pried open the Parable of the Pearl and have found Jesus’ priceless treasure, and by God’s grace have grasped again Jesus, priceless Treasure. Hold on to him for all you’re worth. Amen.
