Why is Jesus called “the Pearl of Great Price”?

The Lord Christ says, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Matt. 13:45–46). No one can obtain the Lord Christ, the precious pearl, unless he sells all he possesses in his heart so that he can delight in Him alone. St. Jerome asked Furia not to read books of little benefit, but rather to sell them all in order to purchase “the pearl of great price” that is found in the Holy Bible and the writings of the Fathers. He tells her, “After the holy scriptures you should read the writings of learned men; of those at any rate whose faith is well known. You need not go into the mire to seek for gold; you have many pearls, buy the one pearl with these.”⁷⁷⁴ It is better for the believer to completely give up cheap books, and instead give an opportunity for the word of God to proclaim Christ transfigured in his life!

769 St. Ambrose of Milan, Letters 1–91 20 (FOTC 26:114).

770 St. Jerome, The Homilies of Saint Jerome, Volume 1 (1–59 on the Psalms) Homily 6 on Psalm 66 (67)

(FOTC 48:43).

771 St. Athanasius of Alexandria, Four Discourses Against the Arians 1.4.12 (NPNF II/4:313).

772 St. Athanasius of Alexandria, Defence of Dionysius 8 (NPNF II/4:179).

773 St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on John 6.2 (NPNF I/14:28).

774 St. Jerome, Letters 54.11 (NPNF II/6:106).

Origen says, “For what do you seek? Or what does every one who seeks find? I venture to answer, pearls and the pearl which he possesses, who has given up all things, and counted them as loss; ‘for which,’ says Paul, ‘I have counted all things but loss that I may win Christ’ (Phil. 3:8); by ‘all things’ meaning the goodly pearls, ‘that I may win Christ,’ the one very precious pearl. Precious, then, is a lamp to men in darkness, and there is need of a lamp until the sun rise; and precious also is the glory in the face of Moses, and of the prophets also, I think, and a beautiful sight, by which we are introduced so as to be able to see the glory of Christ, to which the Father bears witness, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased’ (Matt. 3:17). But ‘even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels’ (2 Cor. 3:10); and there is need to us first of the glory which admits of being done away, for the sake of the glory which excels; as there is need of the knowledge which is in part, which will be done away when that which is perfect comes (1 Cor. 13:9, 10). Every soul, therefore, which comes to childhood, and is on the way to full growth, until the fulness of time is at hand, needs a tutor and stewards and guardians, in order that, after all these things, he who formerly differed nothing from a bond-servant, though he is lord of all (cf. Gal. 4:1, 2), may receive, when freed from a tutor and stewards and guardians, the patrimony corresponding to the very costly pearl, and to that which is perfect, which on its coming does away with that which is in part, when one is able to receive ‘the excellency of the knowledge of Christ’ (Phil. 3:8), having been previously exercised, so to speak, in those forms of knowledge which are surpassed by the knowledge of Christ.”⁷⁷⁵

St. Jerome says, “What are we to understand by the many pearls, the many roads, the many courts, so that we may find the one pearl, the one road, the one court? Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; Moses, Joshua son of Nun; Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the twelve prophets; David, Solomon; all were courts. They are our courts; they are the courts we enter first; and from them we arrive later at the court of the Gospels and there we find Christ.”⁷⁷⁶