Today’s Reading: Matthew 13:44-46, 53-58, 14:1-21

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.

“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!” – Matthew 13:44-46

Jesus painted a beautiful picture of what God desires from us — to be all in. He wants our full attention as we give ourselves completely to the life He is calling us to. Nothing is more important; nothing has more value than the Kingdom of Heaven.

The man discovered the treasure in a field. Perhaps he was not looking for it but knew the value of what he had found. He sold EVERYTHING in order to have the treasure. On the other hand, the merchant was searching. He was on the lookout and his attentiveness caused him to discover a pearl of great value. He was looking for choice pearls and found one of even greater value than he was expecting. He sold EVERYTHING. He bought into it and fully owned it.

The merchant was amazed at what he had found, just as the people of Nazareth were amazed at the wisdom and healing power of Jesus. They had known him as the son of Joseph, but they struggled to see him as the King of Kings.

When Jesus had finished telling these stories and illustrations, he left that part of the country. He returned to Nazareth, his hometown. When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was amazed and said, “Where does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?” Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. All his sisters live right here among us. Where did he learn all these things?” And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.

Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.” And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief. – Matthew 13:53-58

THEY MISSED OUT ON THE EXPERIENCE OF JESUS.

They did not see Jesus as special. They went from being amazed by what Jesus could do to offended that he was trying to be anything other than the Nazarene carpenter’s son. They dug in their heels and refused to believe in him. And because of their unbelief, many went unhealed. Their experience of the ministry of Jesus was minimal because they lacked the faith to believe he could make that kind of impact on their town.

Upon hearing the news that Herod had put John the Baptist to death, Jesus went away to have some time alone. But crowds of people from many different towns followed him to that area and met him as he stopped out of the boat. Jesus had compassion on them and began to heal those who were sick.

THEY WERE HUNGRY TO EXPERIENCE JESUS.

That evening the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.”

But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary — you feed them.”

“But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!” they answered.

“Bring them here,” he said. Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers. About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children! – Matthew 14:15-21

So where do you see yourself in this morning’s coffee? Do you see the experience of Jesus as something worth seeking? Are you willing to give your all to that which has eternal value? Perhaps this describes who you used to be, when you were searching and discovering Jesus for the first time. But it is easy for the stories of Jesus to become so commonplace that we no longer treat them as special. We allow Jesus to be so familiar that we are no longer expecting something special from him.

Lord, we need a fresh passion from you this week. Give us a hunger to search your scriptures like a merchant searching for choice pearls. Open our hearts to the discovery of something of great value as we prepare our hearts for the celebration of your birth. May we be intentional to give you our full attention, experiencing you in new and powerful ways this Christmas. Surprise us beyond what we can even comprehend experiencing in you — a pearl of greater value than expected. Amen.