💵 Matthew 13:45-46 | All In

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Happy Wednesday, everyone!

We are halfway through the week and halfway through memorizing this verse.

If you missed this week’s emails, you can read them here: Monday and Tuesday.

In today’s email…

• 🗣️ The Greek word for Kingdom

• 🤔 A wise C.S. Lewis quote to help us focus

• 🥖 Break the cycle of poverty from your phone

• 📚️ Resources to help you dig deeper

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MEMORIZE 🧠 

Again, ___ _______ __ ______ __ ____ a ________ in search __ ____ ______,

who, on finding ___ pearl __ great _____, went and ____ all that __ ___ and bought it.

Matthew 13:45-46

CONTEXT 📕 

Jesus' parable of the Pearl of Great Price reveals the true nature of God's kingdom.

But what is the Kingdom of Heaven?

In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus uses the term Kingdom of Heaven 32 times!

What does it mean?

Jesus used the Greek word for kingdom (basileia, pronounced bah-see-lie-ah), which doesn’t primarily refer to a physical place.

Instead, it refers to God’s rule, reign, and authority over all things.

Jesus’ ministry consistently taught that God’s kingdom is breaking into the world — not as a political empire, but as a spiritual reality for those who follow Him.

And so the Kingdom is not something we as humans build.

We participate in it, witness to it and we choose whether or not to enter it (Matthew 6:33). But it's something God establishes.

The Cost and Worth of the Kingdom

The phrase "sold all that he had" is a statement of total surrender.

The merchant gave up EVERYTHING he had to buy the pearl.

Why?

Because it was worth it.

Entering the Kingdom of God costs us — but we receive so much more than we could ever possibly give up.

In this parable:

• The pearl is the Kingdom

• The merchant is all of us

The merchant is wise. He lets go of many things of lesser value to take hold of the one thing of ultimate value.

Following Jesus is not a side pursuit; it demands being all in.

Note: Tomorrow, we’ll cover something that not everyone catches when they read this parable.

APPLY AND RESPOND 🏃‍♂️ 

The merchant went all in. Jesus calls us to do the same.

C.S. Lewis put it this way:

“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

Reflection Questions:

• If someone were to watch the “film” of your day to day life (your schedule, your interactions, your bank statement), would they conclude that the Kingdom of Heaven is the most valuable thing in your life?

• Are you holding anything back from God?

• Where is God inviting you to more fully give Him your allegiance?

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_{*Please consider checking out our partners. They help us keep Malachi Daily free!}

RESOURCES 📚️ 

Here are a few resources to help you dig deeper into this week’s passage:

• 📚️ Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus by Klyne Snodgrass (link)

• 📚️ The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (link)

• 📚️ How God Became King by N.T. Wright (link)

• 📚️ The Gospel of Matthew (NICNT) by F.T. France (link)

• 🎙️ Sermon: The Parable of the Pearl by Tim Keller (link)

• 💻️ Got Questions: Parable of the Hidden Treasure (link)

• 🎥 The Bible Project’s Video on The Parables of Jesus (link)

ANSWER KEY ✅ 

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,

who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Matthew 13:45–46