The Price of a Pearl

The Value of a Pearl

The other day I saw a little brochure that said on the cover, “Why I Never Take a Bath.” Being curious, I thought I’d see what it said and why the author had an aversion to bathing. As it turned out, the man who wrote it had some very good reasons for never going near a bathtub or a shower:

1. I was forced to bathe as a child.

2. People who bathe are hypocrites; they think they’re cleaner than anyone else.

3. There are so many different kinds of soap; I can’t decide which is best.

4. It’s too boring.

5. I wash only on special occasions, like Christmas and Easter

6. The soap makers are only after your money.

7. The last time I bathed, someone was rude to me.

8. I’m too dirty to get clean; I’d clog up the drain.

9. I will bathe only when I find a bathroom that is exactly right for me.

10. I can watch other people bathing on television.

11. I can bathe on the golf course.

12. The bathroom is never the right temperature and I don’t like the sound of the plumbing.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly 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

Ephesians 5:25-27 -Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

In studying about the church, I came across this “Like As” of what the kingdom of God is like.

Among the kingdom parables of Matthew chapter thirteen, the pearl of great price stands alone in several respects:

It alone shows the product of God’s kingdom work from God’s viewpoint.
It alone shows the singular value God places upon His Church.

Seeing the relationship we have with Jesus in this light we see that from each perspective that relationship demands something. The believer must stake a legal claim on the treasure by first purchasing the field - commitment to the Christian life, into which the treasure of relationship with Christ is buried. On the other hand, Christ had to purchase at full price the pearl of great value, the Church. Redemption is not cheap. To be redeemed requires only recognition of the transaction and renunciation of the previous status. To redeem requires paying a price equal to or greater than what is redeemed. There is no bargain rate in redemption.

The kingdom of darkness is found resisting the kingdom of heaven in all of these parables:

The enemy would have men distracted by the work at hand and the difficulty of divesting in order to invest into the field containing treasure.
The enemy would distract the merchant by the allure of other more plentiful pearls of lesser value and lower cost. But once the enduring value of the treasure and the great pearl is understood, there is no contest.

A Merchant Man

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:” Matt 13:45

The kingdom of heaven is not compared to a merchant man. Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to the entire story told about a merchant and the pearl of great price. The entire story of the kingdom of heaven is not told in one parable or else there would only be one parable told. Each parable emphasizes a single important aspect concerning the kingdom of heaven.

When we understand this set of parables in Matthew chapter thirteen as a sort of narrative illustrating certain aspects about the growth of God’s spiritual kingdom, we can see:

Satan has resisted the growth of God’s kingdom in individuals and institutionally.
He worked against God’s kingdom in individuals by using false converts and false believers (sower and seed; tares among wheat).
He worked against God’s kingdom institutionally by using false teachers and false doctrine (mustard seed; leaven in meal).
But in spite of Satan’s attempts to destroy God’s work, many still understand the value of a relationship with Christ and invest in the Christian field (treasure hid in a field).
In spite of Satan’s attempts to prevent the kingdom of Heaven, Jesus still finds a pearl beyond price - His Church, the bride of Christ.

I believe the merchant in this parable is none other than Jesus Christ. He is wealthy beyond understanding. The protagonist of the previous parable was a poor farmer, cultivating leased land. This speaks of the sinner. The sinner sees a relationship with Jesus as a treasure to be claimed. The Lord Jesus views the Church as a gem to be redeemed.

The merchant is involved in business - “seeking goodly pearls.” He knows the value of what he sees. He seeks not jewels to enrich, but gems to adorn and reflect the glory of the wearer. The pearl is not a jewel that sparkles and dazzles as the diamond. The pearl has a quiet and warm luster that seems to glow from within. Diamonds as well as most other jewels reflect the light that strikes them. This is the source of their beauty. But the beauty of a pearl is a product of the process that produces the gem.

The Making of a Pearl

The pearl is the only gem formed by a living animal. Pearls are created when an irritant, such as a tiny piece of sand, becomes trapped in the fleshy mantle of a mollusk. The oyster or mussel begins to coat this impurity with the same secretion that forms the inside of its shell, which is called mother-of-pearl. This nacreous secretion is composed of alternating layers of aragonite (a crystalline form of calcium carbonate) and conchiolin (an organic protein that binds the crystals together). The beautiful luster and shimmer of a pearl come from the concentric layers of translucent aragonite.

The beauty of a pearl is a product of imperfection. An irritant wounds the oyster and causes it to secrete a fluid that encases the impurity. Layer after layer of this hardened secretion results in a pearl.

Did you know that the Church was formed from a wound? Man’s impurity, man’s sin caused a wound in the heart of God. Layer after layer of grace encased this irritant. Year after year passed as wave after wave of His love surrounded us. And the pearl grew and grew.

Also, the pearl is the only gem that requires no improvement by man. It does not have to be cut or polished. When the oyster has done its work, the pearl is a finished product. Christ’s Church requires no refining or developing by men. When the Lord created this Church she was as beautiful and refined as she would ever become. When men tamper with what God has wrought they only take away from the intrinsic beauty that belongs to God’s unique creation.

Notice that the divine merchant came to earth as a human to seek and to save that which already had so much invested in it. He was all about business when He came. He said, “I must be about my Father’s business” (Luke 2:49). He came seeking goodly pearls.

What did he find? He found that which He alone understood the value of. He found the pearl of great price, or great value. Many could see the beauty of this jewel, but only One knew the story behind the pearl. Only God manifest in flesh could really understand the value of this pearl. Only God knew what was already invested in the formation of His church. Only God knew the process - the impurity and the wound it caused. Only God knew how much love and forbearance went into encasing a piece of trash.

The Price

But the story is not over with the discovery of the gem.

“Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” Matt 13:46

The theme of the story is that one who knew the value of pearls sought, found, and purchased one pearl of great price. What did it cost this merchant? Everything - all that he had. God formed this Church with the love that flowed from a wounded heart. Then He came to earth as a man to purchase the Church with blood that flowed from a wounded side. Notice His divestment:

He left His glory - though the Creator God, He became a man.
He laid aside His royalty - though born a king in the line of David, He became a common man.
He laid down His kingdom - though the Messiah of Israel, He sought a spiritual kingdom instead.
He laid down His very life - though He was the truth, the resurrection, and the life, He allowed the contradiction of being put the death by sinners.
He sold all that he had to purchase this Church!

My contribution to the process of creating the Church was sin and impurity. My sin was a wound in God’s heart. My sin extracted the price of the Savior’s blood. I am the impurity that started the process. Just as you are also.

“Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it…” Eph 5:25-26

He purchased the Church with the price of His own blood.

“For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Cor 6:20

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:” 1 Peter 1:18-19

Price or Value?

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price…” Matt 13:45-46

The word translated “great price” in Greek is polútimon. This can be translated “extremely valuable” or “very costly.” Value and cost are not always the same thing. The King James translators chose to emphasize the price of the pearl by their translation of polútimon. The NIV takes the other path and translates this term “of great value.” The same exact word can mean two different things, with the scholars’ understanding being divided concerning the meaning in this context.

Price and value are not always equal. Price might be fixed, but value is more subjective. For example, I can’t make myself believe that any automobile is worth the fixed price on many models. The sticker declares the price, but my sense of value cannot support it. It is hard for me to imagine that one machine can transport me from one place to another 300% or 400% better than another cheaper model. I tend to equate value with functionality. The point is that in some ways value can be subject to personal preference and perspective.

I am glad that others did not determine my worth. Jesus saw something in me and in you that He believed was worth more than the price that sin set. No one else could pay the price. The price sticker was marked “one sinless life.” The Lord Jesus saw the price for my soul and He said, “Sold!” And He divested Himself of all, laid down His life, and died on a cross.

It is all because He saw value in me that no one else saw. Why? Because He understood the process that forms a pearl. As God the Father, He had already invested so very much in me. His mercy; His love; His tenderness. As a man, He made the last payment to purchase me, as well as the Church as a whole. That last payment was His life! No one else could pay the price of a sinless life.

The church began as an imperfection. God heaped layer upon layer of mercy, love, and compassion upon sinful man. The church was a priceless jewel to God because He saw the end product.

If this initial investment was not enough, God divested Himself of all to become a man and then purchase the Church with His life’s blood. The Church is the pearl of great price. But to God, the church is the pearl of great value.

Collier’s Encyclopedia states, “The genuine pearl is the only gem that comes from the sea and the only one made

by a living process.” Its value is unique because it is born from the pain of a living organism. Collier’s explains this

process: Genuine pearls are the result of an accidental entry of foreign matter into a pearl oyster. This may be

tiny grains of sand or possibly a parasite, which upon entry into the pearl oyster sets up an irritation. The

pearl oyster, unable to rid itself of the unwelcome intruder, seeks to reduce the attendant irritation by coating the foreign substance with nacreous material. The final result is a calcareous concretion built layer upon layer. Many genuine pearls, when sectioned, reveal no evidence whatever of an irritant. Paul’s Ephesians was produced as a result of the many

irritating arguments and debates of past writings, yet he proved to be the conqueror. By his spiritual walk with God

he covered the irritant of theological debate with the pearl of the gospel and thereby provided us with a statement of

victory that surpassed anything else he had previously produced. So well conquered was this irritant or argument

that even after one sections the epistle, no trace of the irritant can be found anywhere, just pure pearl.

This is a picture of how we should sell everything – but more so a picture of how valuable you are to God!

I Peter 1:18, 19 1 Peter 1:18 (KJV)
18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

Colossians 1:14-15 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: 15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;