Sacrifice

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. 46 When he found one priceless pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it. -- Matthew 13:44 - 46 Around the year 2006, a Filipino fisherman made an amazing discovery in the sea off the coast of the Palawan Island, Philippines: a two-foot-long (26 inches to be exact) pearl inside a giant clam. He must not have realized its value since he took it home and hid it under his bed, keeping it as a good luck charm. Regretfully, his house burned down, but the pearl survived. It weighed almost 75 pounds and was worth about $100 Million USD in 2016. As we follow Jesus today, we will see him talking about a pearl, too. In this case, the person would not have mistaken that 75-lb pearl as a good luck charm; he would have known its value. However, what Jesus is showing us today is that what He has for us is not just worth $100 Million USD; it is “Worth Everything.”

We left off last week with the entire town begging Jesus to leave. Crazy as that sounds, it is true. However, it turns out there is one lone sole who is begging Jesus as well, but this person is not begging Jesus to leave, but is begging Jesus, to follow.