Jul 21, 2026 Written by 
Art'working

17th Sunday in O.T.

17th Sunday in O.T.

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (year A)

(Mt 13:44–52)

 

Matthew 13:44 The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field; a man finds it and hides it; then, filled with joy, he goes and sells all he has and buys that field. 

Matthew 13:45 The Kingdom of Heaven is also like a merchant in search of fine pearls;

Matthew 13:46 having found a pearl of great value, he goes and sells all he has and buys it.

 

The merchant is not merely a man who stumbles upon a treasure by chance. The merchant is an expert in treasures and values; he is a connoisseur. He is someone in search of precious goods; someone, therefore, who has already made a choice in life. When these merchants, constantly on the lookout for precious pearls, find one of great value, they decide to sell everything to acquire this new pearl.

Historically, these appear to be Jewish Christians. They are already experts on God and his world; they have already entered into covenants; they already possess the manifestation of God’s will in the Torah; they are people constantly seeking perfection in the Law. And it is precisely in this attitude of ‘seekers’ (Greek: zētounti) – as Matthew calls them – that they find the pearl of absolute value. For them, the Kingdom of God is not a discovery in the strict sense, but a re-understanding and a re-examination of their faith, which opens them up to new realities. They are shaped by the Mosaic faith and perceive this newness as a sort of evolution of their faith.

Here there is none of the joyful enthusiasm of one who has found the treasure and, driven by excitement, does not hesitate for a moment to dispose of his possessions in order to take possession of what is, for him, the supreme good (v. 44).  Here, on the contrary, there is indeed a selling, but a cautious one, filtered through personal interests. In this sense, the verbs Matthew uses to describe the sale of possessions for the purchase of the treasure and the pearl are significant. In the first instance (v. 44), the verb ‘pōléō’ is used, meaning to sell, to put up for sale, or to offer for sale; it characterises the act of selling by someone who wishes to part with an asset but is not seeking to profit from it; it is a straightforward sale of one’s own property, from which to obtain fresh money to be used immediately. In the second instance (vv. 45–46), the verb ‘pipráskō’ is used, which also means to sell, but refers to a professional-style sale involving negotiation, haggling and bargaining, and seeking one’s own gain. Here, the whole process is rendered more rational, more calculated and more difficult.

The parable, however, urges this group of people to cast aside their Mosaic-based resistance. Matthew uses here the imperfect indicative of the verb ‘echō’ (‘eichen’ = had; he sells everything he had) to indicate the continuing possession of an asset from the past (the Mosaic Law), which he no longer possesses. It is on this interplay between having had something before and no longer having it that the call to leave the past behind is based, for what they have found (Christ) is a pearl of great value, which places it above all the other pearls they already possessed (‘eichen’ = had).

The first parable (v. 44) speaks of grace: one comes across it without seeking it; one is sought out by God. The second (vv. 45–46) speaks of the active search one undertakes in one’s life; when one has sensed something, one seeks. And those who seek find.

This choice, however, requires the greatest of freedoms: the freedom to sacrifice everything for the supreme good that has been found. Those who lack this freedom will never be able to buy the precious pearl they have found. Without this freedom, one will live for the petty things of this present life, but these do not bring true joy. True joy is eternal joy, which comes from God. Without this supreme freedom from everything, from everyone, and even from ourselves, we will never be able to buy the precious pearl. To possess the kingdom of God, one needs a willingness to seek, discernment, freedom, and detachment from the things of this world.

The treasure is a quest. In the human heart lies the desire for the eternal, for God, for truth, for salvation, for redemption. The search does not stop at the first thing found. It is carried out with wise and intelligent discernment. One distinguishes pearl from pearl, a precious pearl from a more precious one, and the most precious of all. Within man lies the capacity for wise and holy discernment. Without this capacity, which is always a gift from God, one could never distinguish good from evil, good from better, or better from the very best.

Man can seek the best. If he can, he must. If he must, he is free to do so. If he does not, he is accountable before God. Man is capable of God, of eternity, of beauty, of truth, of holiness. Man is capable of transcending himself. He can transcend because the Lord places before him the pearl of inestimable value. He can rise above because the pearl exists and can always be found.

The parable of the pearl highlights the incomparable beauty of the kingdom. The prolonged search for pearls alludes to the commitment required to attain the kingdom – as, for example, the disciples of John the Baptist, or Nicodemus, or Joseph of Arimathea, etc., did. The parable of the hidden treasure, on the other hand, refers to the sudden conversion of some sinner, unexpectedly struck by the proclamation of the Gospel. 

 

 

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Revelation – an exegetical commentary 

- The Apostle Paul and the Judaizers – Law or Gospel?

Jesus Christ, True God and True Man, in the Mystery of the Trinity

Jesus’ Prophetic Discourse (Matthew 24–25)

All Generations Will Call Me Blessed

 Catholics and Protestants Compared – In Defence of the Faith

 The Church and Israel According to St Paul – Romans 9–11

 

(Available on Amazon)

                                                                           

161 Last modified on Tuesday, 21 July 2026 15:06
Rate this item
(1 Vote)
Argentino Quintavalle

Argentino Quintavalle è studioso biblico ed esperto in Protestantesimo e Giudaismo. Autore del libro “Apocalisse - commento esegetico” (disponibile su Amazon) e specializzato in catechesi per protestanti che desiderano tornare nella Chiesa Cattolica.

Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Latest from Argentino Quintavalle

Previous
« 16th Sunday in O.T.
Next
18th Sunday in O.T. »
back to top
As sometimes happens in the Gospel, faced with the trap set by his enemies, Jesus, with his response, rises above the contingent controversy and goes far beyond the particular and mutually divergent positions (Pope John Paul II)
Come talora accade nel Vangelo, di fronte al tranello mossogli dai suoi nemici, Gesù, con la sua risposta, s’innalza al di sopra della polemica contingente e va ben oltre le posizioni particolari e tra loro divergenti (Papa Giovanni Paolo II)
And blasphemy, the sin against the Holy Spirit, is the one unforgivable sin — as Jesus said — because it comes from closing the heart to God’s mercy which acts in Jesus (Pope Francis)
E la bestemmia, il peccato contro lo Spirito Santo, è l’unico peccato imperdonabile – così dice Gesù –, perché parte da una chiusura del cuore alla misericordia di Dio che agisce in Gesù (Papa Francesco)
The great thinker Romano Guardini wrote that the Lord “is always close, being at the root of our being. Yet we must experience our relationship with God between the poles of distance and closeness. By closeness we are strengthened, by distance we are put to the test” (Pope Benedict)
Il grande pensatore Romano Guardini scrive che il Signore “è sempre vicino, essendo alla radice del nostro essere. Tuttavia, dobbiamo sperimentare il nostro rapporto con Dio tra i poli della lontananza e della vicinanza. Dalla vicinanza siamo fortificati, dalla lontananza messi alla prova” (Papa Benedetto)
The present-day mentality, more perhaps than that of people in the past, seems opposed to a God of mercy, and in fact tends to exclude from life and to remove from the human heart the very idea of mercy (Pope John Paul II)
La mentalità contemporanea, forse più di quella dell'uomo del passato, sembra opporsi al Dio di misericordia e tende altresì ad emarginare dalla vita e a distogliere dal cuore umano l'idea stessa della misericordia (Papa Giovanni Paolo II)
«Religion of appearance» or «road of humility»? (Pope Francis)
«Religione dell’apparire» o «strada dell’umiltà»? (Papa Francesco)
In the crucified Jesus a kind of transformation and concentration of the signs occurs: he himself is the “sign of God”, especially in the mystery of his Death and Resurrection (Pope John Paul II)
In Gesù crocifisso avviene come una trasformazione e concentrazione dei segni: è Lui stesso il "segno di Dio", soprattutto nel mistero della sua morte e resurrezione (Papa Giovanni Paolo II)
However, the king was not discouraged and sent his servants out to seek other guests to fill his banquet hall. Thus the aspect of the refusal of those initially invited caused the invitation to be extended to all [Pope Benedict]
Il re però non si scoraggia e invia i suoi servi a cercare altri commensali per riempire la sala del suo banchetto. Così il rifiuto dei primi ha come effetto l’estensione dell’invito a tutti [Papa Benedetto]
Faith in God opens before us the horizon of a sure hope, one which does not disappoint; it indicates a solid foundation on which to base one’s life without fear; it demands a faith-filled surrender into the hands of the Love which sustains the world (Pope Benedict)
La fede in Dio apre all’uomo l’orizzonte di una speranza certa che non delude; indica un solido fondamento sul quale poggiare, senza paura, la propria vita; richiede l’abbandono, pieno di fiducia, nelle mani dell’Amore che sostiene il mondo (Papa Benedetto)
The "new evangelization" faces this challenge. It must work to ensure that people recover the awareness that in Christ evil can be conquered with good (Pope John Paul II)

duevie.art

don Giuseppe Nespeca

Tel. 333-1329741


Disclaimer

Questo blog non rappresenta una testata giornalistica in quanto viene aggiornato senza alcuna periodicità. Non può pertanto considerarsi un prodotto editoriale ai sensi della legge N°62 del 07/03/2001.
Le immagini sono tratte da internet, ma se il loro uso violasse diritti d'autore, lo si comunichi all'autore del blog che provvederà alla loro pronta rimozione.
L'autore dichiara di non essere responsabile dei commenti lasciati nei post. Eventuali commenti dei lettori, lesivi dell'immagine o dell'onorabilità di persone terze, il cui contenuto fosse ritenuto non idoneo alla pubblicazione verranno insindacabilmente rimossi.