A Fortune in a Field and a Goodly Pearl

Matthew 13:44-46
 
The Field
The Kingdom of Heaven is more significant than all else we can have, and an individual should be willing to forsake any pretense of everything to get it. The one who found the fortune in the field coincidentally found it unintentionally, however, he knew its worth when he discovered it. The merchant was genuinely looking for the best pearls, and when he found it, he sold all that he had to buy it.

• 1 Corinthians 6:20, For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
• Philippians 3:7, But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

 
Why did the man sell all he had to buy the field? It was common in this time to shroud cash or different effects in the ground. Banks, as we consider them today, essentially did not exist. Political unrest and poverty made everybody defenseless against having their assets taken or taken by people with great influence. It would have been more normal at that point, contrasted with now, for a reserve of assets to be left in the ground since the past proprietor passed on without telling anybody they were there. Jesus utilizes this plan to depict the kingdom of heaven.
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By rights, such incidentally found fortune would belong to the proprietor of the land. Nearby laws and customs imply that since that fortune stayed covered, it was viewed as a component of the field. On the off chance that it was removed from the ground, it was the property of whoever claimed the land. All in all, the fortune could essentially be taken, that would be burglary. Notwithstanding, if the field's proprietor sold the land, he would likewise be selling any covered resources, anything buried. The new proprietor would be lawfully allowed to uncover and take such fortune. The fact is not enumerating property law. Christ's message is that the kingdom of heaven merits exchanging for everything an individual claims, to come into "ownership" of it.
 
The Pearl
This illustration probably sparked the minds of Jesus' audience members, since it pictures surprising favorable luck. This one highlights a vendor looking for fine pearls. In biblical times, divers would chase pearls in the sea waters that encompassed the middle east. All that pearls could be sold for tremendous amounts of cash. This is not vastly different from how huge, unadulterated gemstones, like precious stones, can merit stunning measures of money in our current time.

The merchant discovers one pearl of colossal worth. He perceives that the pearl is worth more than all the other things he possesses consolidated. He offers everything to acquire this remarkable thing.

Once more, Jesus is saying that the kingdom of heaven merits the expense of all that we have in this life. The pearl vendor is not parting with his assets for reasons unknown; indeed, he is expanding his wealth. Selling all that he has might appear to be extremist, yet it bodes well given what he gains as a tradeoff.

Jesus instructed in a prior chapter that "he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 10:39). This and the past story effectively express that idea. It merits the expense of our whole lives to be part of the kingdom of heaven. The worth of what we acquire for eternity is far greater than what we can gain in a short natural life.
 
How much is it to find/follow Christ?

• Mark 1:18 – And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.
• Mark 10:28 - Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.

 
Counting the cost.

1. Our social status.
2. Our money.
3. Our time.
4. Maybe our career.
5. Our family/friends.
6. Our life.
7. Do we leave the past and devote the future?

 
The rich young man was not willing to give.

• Mark 10:21, Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
• Luke 14:33, So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

 
These were two short and related anecdotes about the value of the kingdom of heaven. The first portrays a fortune buried in a field. The one who discovers it readily offers everything to purchase the field, so he can procure the fortune. Similarly, a merchant exchanges all his abundance of trade for a pearl of tremendous value when he discovers it. The two stories show that incorporation in the kingdom of heaven merits any measure of penance. Whatever is lost chasing the kingdom of heaven is a little cost to pay, considering the value of what is acquired.

Did not God do that for us? Christ’s death freed us from sin but obligates us to service. Our bodies and our lives belong to God and we must not violate his standards for living. What are we willing to give for the fortune that God has provided for us?