Matthew 13:44ff

 

Matthew 13:44-58 – The Pearl of Great Price

 

“Whoever finds the pearl of great price, God’s kingdom, will happily give up everything to possess it.

 

Jesus tells of a dragnet being pulled into a boat with good fish that looked much like bad fish. Because He speaks these parables from a boat on the water, He may be saying that the parables themselves are like the dragnet, distinguishing those who listen from those who do not. God knows the difference, and one day the truth will be revealed (I Tim. 5:24).

 

Despite what His disciples said, they did not truly understand all of Jesus’ teaching. No doubt they understood more than the multitudes, but even they had a limited understanding of Jesus’ words.

 

Jesus targets His own disciples with the mystery of the last parable. Like a householder who values the new things along with the old, His disciples must understand the new things learned from Him considering the Old Testament scriptures.

 

When Jesus returned to His hometown of Nazareth, He found a population unwilling to recognize Him as the Messiah. They acknowledged His remarkable teachings and His many miracles but felt offended by Him because they did not see how a hometown boy could have possibly risen so high (Mark 6:3; Luke 4:24, John 4:44). In the Gospels Jesus is the only person said to scandalize others.

 

Jesus’ power was not diminished by the people’s unbelief; He did not do many mighty works in Nazareth because they were not coming for His miracles. It is possible that He wanted to limit the amount of what could be called “the high profile attention” to avoid creating greater public skepticism and greater opposition from the Pharisees and teachers (Mark6:5).

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

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Dr. David Jeremiah Study Bible. Nelson’s Quick Reference Study Bible, J. Vernon McGee Through the Bible.