“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” Matthew 13:45-46.

The most logical title for this study would be, “The Pearl of Great Price”, but there is a Mormon book with that name and I wanted to avoid any confusion here.

The content of the Mormon’s Pearl of Great Price is not the same as the one which Jesus is talking about here.

It is a book which is divided into five sections with titles like, “The Book of Moses” which is a sort of preface or introduction to the Genesis account of creation and the fall.

Another title is “The Book of Abraham”, which tells of the early life of Abraham and his vision of the cosmos as given to him by God. The accounts given in this section and the one above speak of God, Jehovah, and other gods who created earth and mankind.

The section with the title, “Joseph Smith – Matthew” covers Matthew 23:39 and chapter 24. While it looks almost like a paraphrase of those Scriptures there are some serious changes made to the Lord’s narrative.

The other two sections are on the life of Joseph Smith and the articles of faith of the Mormon Church; Latter Day Saints.

What we can see from the above, is that Joseph Smith, and possibly his son, had read enough of the Bible to know the truth and willfully reject it.

We can also see that these men have significantly altered the content of Scripture to fit their own narrative, something which carries a curse with it.

“You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.” Deuteronomy 4:2.

“Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.” Proverbs 30:5-6.

“For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life [condemn to the lake of fire], from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” Revelation 22:18-19.

“The Pearl of Great Price” adds things to Scripture that are in no way compatible with the rest of the Bible; embracing heresies that conflict with the word of God, and raising up gods whom they allege are equal to the God of all creation.

“Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me…” Isaiah 46:9.

This book is considered to be just as authoritative as “The Book of Mormon”, which also contradicts God’s word.

But the pearl of great price spoken of here by Jesus is an enigma to some, a stumbling block to others, but to those who believe it is precious.

Just as the man who found the treasure hidden in a field was identified as Jesus (Matthew 13:44), so too the merchant seeking beautiful pearls is also Jesus.

While there are those who maintain that this parable too is about a man (merchant) who finds Christ, the pearl, and gives up all for the service to the Lord.

If this interpretation were correct, it would seem to be redundant to repeat the same parable again in another manner.

But there is a difference between the two parables. In the first case the treasure hid in a field, the field is the world and the treasure is all of mankind who have put their trust in the promises of God, who cannot lie, and had promised to send a redeemer to crush the head of the serpent Satan (Genesis 3:15).

This group includes everyone before the flood, after the flood, the children of Abraham (Genesis 15:1-6, Galatians 3:6-7, Romans 4:1-8), Israelites, Christians, tribulation saints and beyond through the end of time. In short, all who put their trust in God and His Christ.

The one pearl of great price is the same theme but with a different object. Many of those who agree that the merchant is Christ also see the pearl as the church, His bride, and as stated in another place, the bride is whosoever will come.

It should also be noted that the church is almost entirely made up of Gentiles. This brings in another interesting hint from the Lord; the pearl is a product of the sea which is also a type of the Gentile nations which like the sea itself are always in turmoil.

As a result, we find the merchant, Christ buying with His own blood a church made up of Gentiles out of the restless nations.

“There is neither Jew nor Greek [Gentile], there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28.

There are those who go on about being the bride of Christ, and this is a wonderful truth, but the bride of Christ is not our focus at this time because the bride will not be complete until the last person before the rapture accepts Christ as their Savior.

“For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness [full number] of the Gentiles has come in.” Romans 11:25.

The church age that we are now in will exist and the bride of Christ will not be complete until the last person (Gentile or Jew) accepts Christ. When this happens the bride will be complete and the rapture of the church/bride will occur.

The bride of Christ is, at this time, a minor doctrine spoken of in but a few verses, while the church as the body of Christ is discussed on numerous occasions.

In fact the New Testament is filled with teachings on Christian behavior which has the intent of fitting the Christian for service in the body of Christ which when taken out of the world will become the glorious bride of Christ.

“For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:2.

“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, ‘Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s [Christ’s] wife.’” Revelation 21:9.

So the bride of Christ is something very real to be looked forward to, but it is the church, the body of Christ which we should be seeking to build up and do our part in while in this life.

This by the way is how the bride of Christ can be increased through a church functioning as Christ intended it.

“And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” Colossians 1:18.

“And He [God the Father] put all things under His [Christ’s] feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His [Christ’s] body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Ephesians 1:22-23.

“For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.” Ephesians 5:30.

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Ephesians 4:4-6.

“For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do no have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them…” Romans 12:4-6a.

“And He Himself [Christ] gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting…” Ephesians 4:11-14.

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 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 has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2.

The merchant who found the pearl would have been an expert on pearls, so we can be sure that it was one of great perfection, something we do not see in the church today.

But the nature of pearls is that they are formed when some sort of an irritant enters an oysters shell (most mollusks can produce pearls), such as a grain of sand.

Now any of you who have had a burr or a pebble get into your shoe will know how this little guy feels about such a thing. However he cannot just take it out, so he does the next best thing, he covers it with a substance called nacre which forms the pearl itself over time.

This, as you might imagine forms different sizes, shapes, and hues of pearls, which in turn produces a system of grading them on the marketplace.

It is not coincidental that the pearl starts with an irritant and produces a work of art; those within the body of Christ are also vexed with trials and the weaknesses of the flesh.

Often though we are far from being irritated by some of these things, in fact it is possible for us to treasure the flaw far more than the pearl forming over it.

“And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: ‘My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.’” Hebrews 12:5-6.

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Romans 8:28-29.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25-27.

When this pearl of great price was still in the shell of the oyster it was worthless, if men did not understand the value of pearls it would still be of little worth. It took someone who valued the pearl more than anyone else to pay the highest of prices set by the market.

It might not be an exaggeration to say that this pearl is quite different from all others because the buyer bought the pearl when it was not, and even now after about two thousand years the pearl is still forming and will not be complete until God the Father says it is.

The price the buyer paid was all that He had.

“And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” 1 Peter 1:17-19.

“Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:10-12.

This post has been titled “A Pearl of Infinite Value” because the blood of Christ has infinite value, not because those who make up the pearl are of infinite value; that is the price that Jesus was willing to pay.

Mankind sold themselves into slavery to the devil for a handful of lies when they fell in the Garden of Eden.

The body of Christ, the church derives their value from the One who redeemed them from hell and set them in a high and lofty place.

“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” Ephesians 4:32-5:2.

A Pearl of Infinite Value taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 1-7-15, updated on 7-18-23.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.