Matthew 13:45-46
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
The kingdom is valuable. But the kingdom is also hidden from the superficial lookers who do not want to look deeply to the…to the truth that is hidden in the Word of God. That’s why it says in Luke 13:24, “Strive to enter in at the narrow gate for many I say will seek to enter in and shall not be able.”
Even the pearl gives this same idea. The pearl, while it is not hidden in the sense that the man doesn’t have to dig it out of someplace, it still, originally, had to be gained at the most incredible kind of circumstance, where the person dives into the sea, digs it out of the bottom, opens the shell, finds it there. And now the man pursues it all over the world till he finds it.
And so there is the sense in which we see the hiddenness of the message. The world doesn’t see it. You know, Jesus said that “You will not come unto Me that you might have life.” And then He said, “Search the Scriptures, for they are they which speak of Me.” And John said, “He was in the world and the world was made by Him and the world – ” what? – “knew Him not. He came unto His own and His own received Him not.”
You see, just the average run-of-the-mill superficial approach to life, just pumping your way through, trampling across the path of life, day to day, with never a thought for anything that is deep or profound or of true value is not going to render you the truth at all. It isn’t on the surface. There has to come that desire at some point to respond.
(Excerpt from John MacArthur's Parables: The Mysteries of God's Kingdom Revealed)
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
The kingdom is valuable. But the kingdom is also hidden from the superficial lookers who do not want to look deeply to the…to the truth that is hidden in the Word of God. That’s why it says in Luke 13:24, “Strive to enter in at the narrow gate for many I say will seek to enter in and shall not be able.”
Even the pearl gives this same idea. The pearl, while it is not hidden in the sense that the man doesn’t have to dig it out of someplace, it still, originally, had to be gained at the most incredible kind of circumstance, where the person dives into the sea, digs it out of the bottom, opens the shell, finds it there. And now the man pursues it all over the world till he finds it.
And so there is the sense in which we see the hiddenness of the message. The world doesn’t see it. You know, Jesus said that “You will not come unto Me that you might have life.” And then He said, “Search the Scriptures, for they are they which speak of Me.” And John said, “He was in the world and the world was made by Him and the world – ” what? – “knew Him not. He came unto His own and His own received Him not.”
You see, just the average run-of-the-mill superficial approach to life, just pumping your way through, trampling across the path of life, day to day, with never a thought for anything that is deep or profound or of true value is not going to render you the truth at all. It isn’t on the surface. There has to come that desire at some point to respond.
(Excerpt from John MacArthur's Parables: The Mysteries of God's Kingdom Revealed)