University of Mobile students were recently reminded of their value and the victory won through the ultimate price Christ paid on their behalf during a message from Jason Allen.
Allen, president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri, also serves at the seminary as professor of preaching and pastoral ministry.
While reflecting on the parable in Matthew 13:45—46, where Jesus explains the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant who looks for great pearls, Allen reminded students that eternal life through Jesus is an enduring joy that only He can give.
Seeking true value
“A relationship with Christ is the only thing in this world of truly unsurpassed value,” Allen said. “The concept of a pearl of surpassing value — that is the picture Jesus uses to present to us in the text. As Jesus so very often does here in the context of parables and other teaching venues, He takes a metaphor, an event, an object, a happening, an item and He applies a Kingdom lesson from that metaphor such that Jesus’ ancient hearers, and for that matter, His modern hearers can gather precisely what He is saying.”
Allen noted that pearls are never mentioned in the Old Testament.
“Pearls emerged as this item of value in that intertestamental period between the Old and New Testament,” Allen said. “The pearl is the object of supreme worth. Again, we might think of the pearl industry like our diamond industry. This item is so much of supreme worth that Jesus would say things like, ‘Don’t cast your pearls before swine.’ … Heaven is described as having gates that have been hewed out of pearl.”
He continued, “So, as Jesus communicates to us in this parable, and with this picture of pearls, we understand He’s talking about this object, then and now, that was incredibly rare, incredibly attractive, and thus, incredibly valuable,” Allen said. “Jesus uses something along those lines to give us this divine analogy. As He does, He reminds us that there is something of far greater value than what is of greater value humanly speaking.”
Eternal life in Christ
Allen emphasized that in this passage and parable, where Jesus mentions the Kingdom of Heaven, it is a reference to eternal life in Christ.
“Here is what it’s like to be a citizen in the Kingdom of Christ,” Allen said. “Here is what it’s like to have eternal life and be a child of God through Christ. He presents this picture by saying the Kingdom of Heaven is like this. The picture He paints is one that the merchant who is searching, a merchant who is looking. We know again in Jesus’ day, and in our day, human nature is that we are natural searchers.”
Searching for identity
Allen also expressed that it is natural to search for identity, belonging, community, value, worth, fulfillment and satisfaction.
“Some seek to find that through a hedonistic pursuit of life where you pursue all the pleasure, and hopefully, if you get enough pleasure, you’re satisfied,” Allen noted. “We are natural searchers and looking for something that satisfies. In this case (of the parable), the searcher is a merchant.”
Allen noted that the Romans and Egyptians actually worshipped pearls because of their value, and it was a hazardous undertaking to find pearls while diving deep into the ocean.
“The merchant is going out and engaging with those who had to dive and find these pearls, seeking to buy a low price to take and resell to make a profit,” Allen explained. “The picture here in this story at this point is of a man or woman like those in the room today. So many of you are 18–22 years old, and you look toward your future with hopefulness, but likely, with uncertainty as well, with a sense of optimism but also with question marks. Perhaps you have more questions than answers. I was in the same place as you not too long ago, just like your professors and leaders on this campus.”
Pivotal moment
Allen acknowledged that even though he grew up in a Christian home and went to church almost every week, he went off to college without knowing Christ as His Savior.
“I was searching for something like this merchant, and I thought college would bring a removal from supervision and the opportunity to pursue things that would not be permissible at home,” he recalled. “I thought it would give me joy, satisfaction, hope and fulfillment. But … I found myself acutely aware of my own sin, and I found myself convicted of that sin. I found myself wanting Christ and to live for Him. When I went home one weekend and went to church with my family, I heard the gospel preached as never before and repented of my sins and gave my life to Christ.”
Allen concluded his message with an invitation for students to find true satisfaction, identity, belonging, fulfillment and joy through a relationship with Christ and to see the value and victory of being in His kingdom for eternity.
Share with others: