Stories Jesus Told
The Pearl of Great Price
Aim: To present the church as the purchase of Christ, a gem in the sight of God.
Text: Matthew 13:45-46
Introduction: We come now to the parable known as “the Pearl of Great Price.”
Like most of the other parables this one too has been grossly misinterpreted to the extent that the real meaning has been obscured. In common with the previous parable, this parable has been applied to the sinner obtaining salvation, but as we saw with the Parable of the Hidden Treasure, to come to such a conclusion is to ignore the teaching of the Scriptures on the nature of salvation. The Bible clearly reveals that salvation can neither be bought nor sold, it’s the free gift of God, cf. Eph.2v8-9.
There are many similarities between this parable and the previous one, indeed so much so, that it seems clear that there is a strong link between them. What are the similarities? Well in both you have a man who sells all that he has to buy in the first place a field, and in the second place a pearl. We already know the identity of the man - the man is Jesus Christ. In the first parable he sells all that he has to buy the field, the world, with a view to securing the treasure which we understand is Israel. Now as soon as we begin to grasp the significance of the parable of the hidden treasure, our immediate thought is “What about the church?” Remember these are kingdom parables. They set out all that is to happen between the first and second comings of Christ. We call that period the church age, surely then Jesus had something to say about the church. Hence the parable of the pearl of great price. These two parables, the hidden treasure and pearl of great price are linked, insofar as one shows all the nature of Israel throughout the church age, and the second the nature of the church itself. It would seem natural after speaking of Israel’s place in this present age, for Christ then to reveal something of the new thing He was going to do during this dispensation.
We intimated last time around that the man selling all that he had to buy something was pictorial of Christ’s atoning work.
Notice then the nature of the church; The first thing I want you to see is the
I. The Church Is Bought Out Of The World.
A. Unlike Israel the church has no inheritance in the world.
1. This is where a lot of believer have gone wrong.
2. They make the church Israel, and allegorise the promises given to Israel to pertain to the church.
a. The promises given to the Jew of a glorious earthly kingdom become symbols of the present church age.
b. Zion ceases to be Jerusalem and becomes a synonym for the church.
c. The desert blossoming as a rose (Isa 35) is taken as a picture of the gospel and its spread in this present age.
d. The temple in Ezek 40-48 is not viewed as a literal future temple, but as a picture of the church.
e. Revelation with its judgments upon earth, wars, two witnesses, the sealing of the 144 000 Israelites, binding of Satan and 1000 year reign of Christ are all viewed symbolically as pertaining to church history in some way, rather than as future events.
f. So no distinction is made between the Israel and the church in this age - the church is Israel.
3. The problem with that is that the Bible makes a distinction between the two.
a. 1 Corinthians 10:32
b. Who is the Jew in this verse - he is Israel.
(i) The term Jew was derived from the name of Judah the son of Jacob.
(ii) and on occasion it is used in both the Old & New Testaments to define all twelve tribes of Israel - Esther 3:6 & Rom 1:16
c. So in this dispensation we have, according to 1 Cor 10:32, three classifications of men
(i) The Jew
(ii) The Gentile - the non Jew.
(iii) The church of God (comprised of born again Jews 67 Gentiles).
(iv) The third group are distinct from the other two, and it is positively wrong to suggest that the church of God has supplanted Israel in God’s plan, because the promises to the church and the promises to Israel are different, and when God finally closes the door on the church he re-opens His business with Israel, and fulfils all that he promised them under the old economy.
B. The difference between the two are seen in these parables.
1. In the Hidden Treasure Israel is buried in the world.
a. She inherits physical promises pertaining to her place in the world, and in particular to the giving of a land.
2. In the Pearl Of Great Price, the church is bought out of the world.
a. She inherits spiritual promises which are deemed to be heavenly;
(i). 1 Cor 15:49; Eph 1:3, 20; 2:6 etc.
(ii). That is why the Christian is constantly reminded to live above the world and separate from the world, because he was bought out of the world - Col 3:1-7
(iii) Whereas in verse 44 Israel is seen as being sought after in the world, and then lost in world to be rediscovered at a later date, in the Pearl of Great Price, the church, the pearl is not replaced upon the market stall, but bought and retained.
II. The Life of the Church Is Drawn From the Life of Christ.
A. You know I found out something interesting about pearls - In Hebrew culture pearls were not valued.
1. If you look for pearls in the O.T. you will find they are only mentioned once and that in Job 28:18 where they are disregarded as having any lasting value; “No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies.” (Job 28:18).
2. It is Gentiles rather than Jews who consider pearls as gems.
3. It i striking then that the Lord uses the idea of a pearl to describe the church.
a. In time, the church would become largely a Gentile body, and become an institution devalued and disregarded by the Jew.
B. this symbol is all the more striking when we consider how a pearl is formed.
1. Pearls are, of course, found in oysters, but how they get there is of great interest.
2. The pearl unlike any other precious stone is the product of life, the life of the oyster.
a. It is formed when a grain of sand gets into the oyster shell.
b. Of course it becomes an irritation to the oyster, which in order to get relief from the irritation throws off a secretion, which forms around the sand grain. The secretion is called nacre, but we know it better as mother of pearl, it is the very life of the oyster that is poured out to form the pearl.
c. So it is through the suffering and death of the oyster that the pearl is formed and perfected.
3. Friends, this is a wonderful picture of Christ’s church.
a. Where did that grain of sand that so troubled the oyster originate?
(i) From the sea bed, it began in the mire of the ocean floor.
(ii) The sea in the Bible is a emblematic of the Gentile nations out of which Christ is presently forming His church, cf. Isa 57:20.
b. As the grain of sand that grieved the oyster, so lost sinners severely grieve the Lord,
c. in order to make that troublesome speck a gem the oyster had the secret nacre, she had to give up her life and in covering the offending article - you see where we are going with this don’t you?
d. In order to make us into a precious gem, the church, Jesus had to secret His own blood, He had to cover us with His own life stream to take away our offence and turn us into something of great value to God.
(i) He had to suffer and die.
(ii) He literally had to sell “all that he had,”
(iii) He had to empty Himself - Php 2:5-8
C. What was it that Jesus emptied Himself of?
1. It was not His deity.
a. He remained omnipotent. Matt 28:18
i) Over disease
ii) Over demons
iii) nature
iv) death
b. He remained omnipresent. John 3:13
i) He had seen Nathaniel though he was not present with Him
c. He remained omniscient John 2:24,25; 18:4; 21:17
i) He knew Judas would betray Him
ii) He knew hearts of all men
iii) He knew history of woman at the well.
d. He remained immutable
i) Heb 13:8
e. He remained eternal.
i) John 8:58
ii) Rev 1:17
f. In essence, though He took upon Himself human form He remained as God.
2. If the Lord Jesus Christ gave up even one of His divine attributes, He would no longer be God
a. If He had have done that the triunity of God would have ceased to exist!
b. So He retained all of His divine nature.
D. Here is what he emptied Himself of, here is what He deprived Himself of when He made Himself of no reputation.
1. Heavenly glory.
a. John 17:5.
i) He gave up the adoring presence of the angels for the filthy spittle of men.
ii) He gave up the shining glories of Heaven for the dusty road to Calvary.
2. Independent authority.
a. He completely submitted Himself to the will of the Father.
i) Matthew 26:39
ii) John 5:30.
3. Divine prerogatives.
a. He placed limits upon Himself.
b. He walked in the power the Spirit, he depended greatly upon prayer, he even limited His omniscience - Matt 24:36.
4. Eternal riches - 2 Corinthians 8:9.
a. Though as Lord He was owner of everything, He made Himself poor.
b. How often do we find the Lord borrowing from man.
i) A place to be born
ii) A place to lay His head
iii) A boat to cross Galilee
iv) A donkey for His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
v) A room for the Passover
vi) A tomb to be buried in.
vii) Learn well the humility of the Lord.
5. Ultimately He emptied himself of life itself, became sin, and by extension death for us, suffering the wrath of His Father.
a. 2 Corinthians 5:21
b. “My God, my God why hast thou . . .”
c. That is what is meant by “He sold all that He had.”
III. Now The Church Is a Gem of Great Worth
A. The offender that causes the death of the oyster itself becomes a gem of great worth.
1. In language of the parable a pearl of great price.
2. That is how God views us - as a priceless gem.
(i) Eph 5:25-27
Conclusion: So then the parable of the hidden treasure, and the parable of the pearl of great price, explain the place in the programme of God for Israel and the church during this present age. But for you and I who are here this evening this has great personal significance.
If you are not a Christian, I am here in Christ’s stead to tell you that you are greatly valued by God, that He loves you with a great eternal love, and that upon the cross His Son, Jesus Christ, poured out His life for you. That by the shedding of His blood He sought to cover your sins, to take away your offence and make you something special to God. You need to be part of the church, not a denomination as such, but the church, that body of born again believers who span the globe tonight. I am asking you to come to Christ tonight, to take him as your own personal Lord and Saviour. To invite Him into your life & heart confessing your sin, and acknowledging your need of Him. I wonder will you do that this evening.
But perhaps you are here as a Christian, and you have been guilty of devaluing the church. Of making it a thing of insignificance. Perhaps you see it as a nuisance, or a necessary evil. It is so much more than that. It is a pearl of great price and you ought not to forget it. You should love it and serve it as the very body of Christ. Maybe tonight you need to re-appraise your priorities and see the church as God sees it.
