What does Matthew 13:45 mean?

This begins another short parable. Jesus begins by saying "again," which directly ties the meaning of this parable to the previous one. In that parable, a man sells everything he owns in order to buy a field. He does this because he has found a treasure in the field that is of enormous value. Jesus' point was that it is worth any sacrifice to belong to the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 13:44).

This parable likely also fired the imaginations of Jesus' listeners, because it pictures unexpected good fortune. This one features a merchant in search of fine pearls. In ancient times, divers would hunt pearls in the ocean waters that surrounded the middle east. The best pearls could be sold for enormous sums of money. This is not much different from how large, pure gemstones, such as diamonds, can be worth staggering amounts of money in modern contexts.

Jesus will continue to show how the kingdom of heaven is like such a pearl.