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The Spirit of Prophecy Volume 2
condition of success, and well may the earnest seeker afford to sell all
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that he has to possess this blessing of divine love—the pearl of great
price.
There were many fishermen in the assembly that listened to the
teachings of Jesus; and therefore he spoke a parable that would bring
his truth directly home to their minds by an illustration drawn from
their daily lives. Said he, “Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like unto
a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind. Which,
when it was full, they drew to shore and sat down, and gathered the
good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of
the world. The angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from
among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall
be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Here again the separation of the
wicked from the righteous at the end of the world is impressed upon
the minds of his hearers, in words that cannot be mistaken.
Jesus had a wise purpose in making use of so many parables by
which to teach the same important truths. All classes were before him,
for it was a place where many different people met in the pursuit of
their business or in their journeys. By using a variety of illustrations he
succeeded in reaching many minds. The parable of the sower and that
of the wheat and tares, applied to all. The fields were before them, and
the laborers scattering the seed, or harvesting the earlier grain. Also
the mustard that grew so luxuriantly about them furnished a lesson for
all.
But in order to press home his truths more closely, he also spoke
other parables to suit particular cases. The searcher for riches repre-
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sented a large class, who could not but be struck by the parable of the
hidden treasure. And the leaven, buried in the meal, while it was an
illustration that could be understood by all, brought home the truth
with added power to the minds of the women, who knew so well the
action of the leaven upon the meal, and were thus enabled to draw a
forcible comparison between that and the workings of God’s grace
upon the human heart. Jesus overlooked none in his teachings, and the
humblest were remembered with tender pity.
The Saviour inquired of his disciples if they understood these
things. They answered, “Yea, Lord. Then said he unto them, Therefore
every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of Heaven is like
unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his