THE MERCHANT GAVE UP ALL FOR THE PEARL, HE HELD NOTHING BACK
“Who…went and sold all that he had…”
A man came to Jesus one day and asked, what must I do that I may have eternal life. Jesus said, keep the commandments. The man said, Lord, I have kept all your commandments from my youth. Jesus said to him, sell all you have, give it to the poor, follow me and you shall be perfect. Here it was, eternal life, presented to this young man. He could have it! However, he would not take hold of it, for he loved his possessions more than he loved Christ. In contrast to the men of faith in Hebrews 11, the rich man who came to Jesus counted the riches of Egypt greater reward than the treasures of Heaven. This rich man perished in his sin, for he did not buy that one pearl of great price, but rather he bid for it and came up short.
Paul counted all things as loss that he might gain Christ. He counted even his own life as forfeit compared to the riches of Heaven and being present with the Lord. The Lord here is not saying, put yourself into poverty and you will have me as your Savior. But he is certainly saying if we count anything as equal to Him or greater than Him, we are not worthy of Him. Even more so, the Lord is showing that this merchant let nothing stand in the way of obtaining Christ. Whatever hindrance there was, he sold it all that he might not lose Christ, but that he might gain Christ. If the TV was leading him to laziness and worldly thoughts and pleasure compared to the treasure of Christ, the TV was gone. If his habits were leading him to think too highly of himself, he changed his habits. If he was living with his girlfriend in sin, he stopped. Whatever in his life was contrary to Christ, he sold all, he gave it all up, that he might gain, receive, embrace Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
In society today it is an odd thing to think of losing all for the sake of Christ. We have so much wealth and no one is taking it from us or even threatening to take it from us because of our faith. But do we count it all as loss? Can you lose your 401k tomorrow and follow Christ? Is your hope for retirement in Christ or in your savings account? Is it in Christ the giver of your wealth or is it in your wealth? Have you deceived yourself into thinking that it is easy for a wealthy man to get into heaven? If your wealth is keeping you from the kingdom perhaps it should be shrunk. What happens if tomorrow you are in poverty? Have you learned with Paul to rejoice in plenty or in want? Where is your treasure? The Merchant sold all and bought the pearl.
I remember in college, when the lottery was very high, thinking to myself when buying a ticket and telling God to make it legitimate, “If I win the lottery, I will give half of the after tax proceeds to the church and missions and other God honoring places.” How silly and foolish this thought was. Do we think this way about our current wealth?
I would be willing to sacrifice half for Christ…but hopefully I do not need to sacrifice all.”
“I am willing to give up some sins but let me keep a few secret sins.”
Jesus said, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26). He also said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:4) Do we think that Jesus is teasing when he said this? Be not deceived – there are none in the Kingdom of Heaven but those who have sold all and bought the pearl.
Dear friends, the hour is coming when the pearl may no longer be found. The day is coming when Jesus Christ the master of the gate shall close the gate and no more may enter. Though they offer all it will be too late. Do not negotiate for the pearl today my friends. Do not offer a portion of what you have today, my friends. At the end of the day today, the Lord may close the gate. The free offer of the gospel to all men may be brought to an end. The Lord may return or end your life. Buy the pearl, dear friend! Rid yourself of all that leads you from Christ, count all as loss. It is free, come, buy without money! But it will share its place with none else. Sell all else, my friends, and buy the pearl this very day!
Ben Stahl, Elder