When I was younger in the faith, it was really easy for me to play the hero. When I was immature in the faith it was easy to see myself as David. That I would go get the five smooth stones, or I would be Shadrach, Meshack or Abednego in the fiery furnace and my faith would be unshaken.
I have matured I have seen that maybe I am not so much of a hero.
In our last time together we were in Matthew 13 where we find the parable of the “Pearl of Great Value.” We were making a comparison that just as Jay Leno found this $10 million car in the middle of the field and it was rare and of great value (to someone), that it was a hidden treasure.
There are a series of parables in Matthew 13 of talking about the Kingdom. There is:
- The parable of the sower
- The parable of the wheat and tares
- The parable the mustard seed and the leaven
Jesus is making the point that the kingdom of heaven has a hidden value. The main character in each of the parables that lead up to our parable of the Pearl of Great price is God. He is the hero. God is the hero in these passages.
It is easy for me to say, “I have found the kingdom and I am going to give up everything for the kingdom.” Please, I invite you, read the whole chapter. The hero in each parable in Matthew 13 is God. That is the main character.
It is possible that the pearl of great price is Jesus. It is not me who gives up everything. It is possible that this is one interpretation. That “God so love the world that he gave His only Son” (John3:16). God gave everything for this pearl of great price that we have in Christ.
Let me know what you think of this. Commentators are split. Some see it one way and others see it differently.
In my book, Jesus is ALWAYS the hero.
S.D.G.