What is the value of a human soul? How much are you worth to God?

As Jesus concluded His teaching of the Kingdom Parables, He shared two parables that answer those questions. Two parables, one message, told in such a way to remove any doubt as to the preciousness of the human soul to God.

In the first of these two parables, Jesus told the story of a man who found a treasure in a field. This man found a treasure hidden that was so precious, he found it necessary to buy the entire field so that the treasure could be his. He went and sold everything that he had to raise the funds to purchase the field, so he could have the treasure.

While there may have been value to the field, the driving force behind the man’s purchase was the treasure. The result was the man bought an entire field, but his only interest was the treasure.

Employing the symbols and rules of interpreting the Kingdom Parables we’ve previously discussed, we find that the man represents the Son of Man, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The field represents the world. Thus, the man, Jesus Christ, purchased the entire world (the field), to obtain the treasure He truly wanted, which are those of us who believe.

This concept is proven in scripture. 1 John 2:2 says that Jesus is “the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world.” In essence, 1 John 2:2 says that the Lord paid for everyone’s sins so that He could save those who repent and believe.

That concept offends some who hold to the doctrines of Calvinism, because they believe that it would paint the Lord as wasteful, having wasted a payment on the sins of those who would never come to salvation. However, not one of those Calvinists would feel that they wasted any money purchasing a barn that contained an all-original 1962 in showroom condition. Though the Calvinist had no use for the barn, in that transaction, he would receive what he was truly paying for, and that would be the Corvette.

The beauty of this concept is not only that we are so precious to the Lord that He paid for the sins of the world so that we can be saved, but also that, with all sins having been paid for, anyone can be saved. Anyone can be redeemed. Anyone can be transformed. As long as there is the breath of life in the individual, there is hope that he can be saved, no matter how far he has drifted.

As for the treasure, scripture clearly teaches that God’s love for us motivated the Gospel. Hebrews 12:2 states, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

It was for the joy set before Him that Christ endured the cross. That joy was not the glories of Heaven, nor the ownership of the universe. He already possessed those. The joy set before Christ was His people. To redeem His people, He went to the cross to pay for the sins of all people. With the sins of all people being paid for, there would be no limitations on the redemption of His people.

He truly purchased the entire field so that He could have the treasure.

In Matthew 13:45-46, Jesus followed that parable up with the Parable of the Pearl of Great Price.

In this parable, we find a merchant man seeking good pearls. He finds one, the greatest, most beautiful pearl he has ever seen. Needing to add this pearl to his portfolio, he goes and sells everything he has so that he may purchase the pearl.

Once again, employing our rules of decoding the Kingdom Parables, we find that the man represents Christ. However, what about the pearl?

If the treasure in the field represents all of the saved, then the pearl represents an individual who has been saved. Whereas the treasure in the field shows us the big picture, the pearl of great price shows us how precious each individual is to the Lord.

Notice how Jesus described the man. He is a merchant man looking for goodly pearls. Pearls are his business, and he depends on that business to thrive.

For the Lord, 1 Timothy 1:15 says that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” The Lord’s business was saving souls, individual souls. And in 1 Timothy 1:15, Paul said that out of all of those individual souls, he was the worst, and he was saved.

In Luke 19:10, Jesus Himself said, “The Son of Man is come to seek and save that which is lost.”

Jesus is in the business of saving souls, and each individual is precious to Him. The Lord did not merely go to the cross to save the mass of humanity, but He went to the cross to save you as an individual.

This idea is backed up by the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin.

So, what is the value of a human soul? How precious are you to God? So valuable and precious that the creator of the universe willingly and steadfastly laid down his life for you. And if you truly grasp that idea, then your soul has felt its worth.