Persecution: The pearl of great price

Of all the parables of Matthew 13, the pearl of great price is my personal favorite. While the parable of the hidden treasure teaches biblical Christianity to side with Israel in the Middle East contest for Jerusalem, the pearl of great price is concerned with true, biblical Christianity itself. And while I am an ardent supporter of Israel, my true love is good news that affects me (isn’t that natural for us all?).

Matthew 13:45-46 says, “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.”

Quite obviously, there are two main objects to this parable, the first of which is the merchant man. I hope that it is equally obvious to you that in this merchant man, Jesus is referring to himself, for it was he who came to seek and to save that which was lost. And when he found what he was looking for, he sold all he had (his life), for 30 pieces of silver, and made the purchase. Literally, this is the price of blood.

Yet for all the importance of this merchant man, the main emphasis is placed on the object of his desire, the pearl of great price. Of this object, there are two things that should be of great interest to the Bible believer, the first being how a pearl is formed: by accretion. Quite literally, an irritant enters into an oyster, such as a grain of sand, which the oyster then secretes a substance over it to neutralize the irritation. In the process, a gem is formed.

Likewise, biblical Christianity is an irritant to this world, and the world in turn deals with it through persecution. Nine times in the New Testament the word persecution occurs, and a study of these passages is fruitful. From these passages, two reasons for Christianity’s persecution become apparent, the first being the cross of Christ. The Apostle Paul calls it an offense, and that because of Jesus’ claim to exclusivity, being “the way, the truth, and the life.” Christianity is also hated and persecuted because of godliness. Even in our own country, the battle is over behavior, with those who are wicked demanding acceptance and equal standing with those who seek to live according to the Bible. To this Paul says, “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”

What this means to biblical Christianity in a practical sense is that Christ values very highly suffering for his name’s sake. Our sufferings for him make his sufferings on the cross worth it all.

The second feature of the pearl that gains our attention is when it becomes an adornment: When it is “lifted” from where it was formed. This, my friend, ought to make every Bible believer shout and holler, for this speaks of the rapture. Though many believers have passed on and now stand in the presence of our Lord, the rapture is a bodily lifting where even those who sleep in Jesus will resurrect bodily with those of us who remain, such that the whole “pearl of great price” will rise together to adorn its Lord in the air.

Lastly, as I have already mentioned, as the kingdom of heaven parables parallel the seven churches of Asia, the pearl of great price then parallels the church of Philadelphia. Interestingly enough, we see these same features found in this church. Historically speaking, Philadelphia is the tail end of what I like to call the Smyrna-Philadelphian continuum which represents the persecuted church. Persecuted first by the Roman Caesars beginning with Nero, the trail of blood continued through the Roman Pontiffs on up into early Protestantism, and was only stopped in our country with the adoption of that First Amendment to our Constitution.

Though there is much more that could be said, I must point out that of the seven Asian churches, only to Philadelphia is the rapture promised. Ephesus is no longer, and Smyrna is bound up with Philadelphia, but Pergamos, Thyatira and Sardis are all warned of going through the tribulation period unless they repent, while Laodicea is lukewarm and plainly in need of salvation.

Let me make it plain here that though all who are biblically born again will take part in the rapture, the church that is the pearl is that which persecution has transformed into a gem. Wouldn’t you like to be a part of such a church?

Ron Hamman is pastor of Independent Baptist Church of Wasilla. Contact him at 357-4229 or ron.hamman@gci.net.

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