[Barry Korthuis] My way of introduction now for the sermon. I like to provide just a little bit of history on this particular subject we'll talk about. Well, throughout history, the pearl, the pearl has been one of the most prized and sought after gems.

In ancient Rome, pearls were considered among the highest symbols of wealth and social standing. The Greeks esteemed the pearl both for its unrivaled beauty and its association with love and marriage. Even during the Middle Ages, fair maidens of nobility cherished delicate pearls or actually delicate pearl necklaces while gallant knights often wore pearls into battle. Some with the mystical believe the misguided belief that they somehow held some kind of power to protect them from harm.

Thereafter, the Renaissance saw the Royal Courts of Europe inundated with these gems. Because pearls were so highly regarded, so highly prized, a number of European countries actually passed laws forbidding anyone but royalty to even wear them. A law established in 1612, drawn up by the Duke of Saxony, prohibited the wearing of pearls by nobility or anyone else for that matter in an effort to further distinguish royal appearance.

So only if you were royalty: king, queen, prince, princess, duke, or duchess, that sort of thing, only then were you eligible under these laws to even wear them. And during the European expansion into the new world, the discovery of pearls in Central America added to the wealth of Europe.

Unfortunately, greed and lust for these sea-grown gems resulted in the depletion of virtually all the American pearl oyster populations by the 17th century. And until the early 1900s, natural pearls were accessible only to the rich.

So valuable were they, so valuable were pearls, particularly the best, the best natural, the best pearls that even in 1916, the renowned French jeweler, Jacques Cartier bought his landmark store on Fifth Avenue in New York by trading two pearl necklaces for that property, a highly valued property.

But since about the 1930s human intervention in the production of pearls came about with a process called pearl cultivation. Now, what is pearl cultivation? Well, it's where they graft, they graft and actually implant tissue, and often a spherical bead into the oyster to induce it to produce. This makes pearls readily available and more affordable to a lot of people.

But if you think about a natural pearl, a natural pearl, the birth of that is truly a miraculous event. Unlike gemstones that are mineral-based or precious metals that must be mined from the earth, pearls are organic, formed by living organisms, such as an oyster living below the water surface.

And gemstones are different. They have to be cut, they have to be polished in order to bring out their beauty. The pearls don't need that. Don't need that kind of treatment to reveal their loveliness and their beauty. They come from oysters complete with a shimmering iridescence luster and soft inner glow unlike any other gem on earth. But a natural pearl does not begin this life as something beautiful. It doesn't begin that way.

Rather, it begins as a foreign object, most often from a parasitic worm where pieces of the shell of worm or worm larvae or some dead worm on it that somehow gets lodged inside an oyster's soft inner body where it cannot be expelled. It gets in there and it gets stuck.

According to the American Museum of Natural History, this is not typically a grain of sand as it's commonly believed. Intrusion of a grain of sand is actually a rare occurrence. But with this invader, this irritant, if you will, this imperfection, this start… something that actually could harm it. Actually, harm or even kill that oyster, the oyster responds in a unique way. It begins to secrete something, a smooth, hard crystalline substance around that irritant, in order to protect itself, the substances called nacre, nacre.

And as long as that irritant remains within its body, the oyster will continue to do this, secrete nacre around it layer upon layer. Over time, the irritant will be completely encased in this silk or silky crystalline coating. And as a result ultimately is this lovely, and this lustrous gem called a pearl. It's a rare thing. There's only a very small percentage or a very small number of oyster, shall I say, ever produce a pearl. Actually, 1 in perhaps 10,000 oysters, well, actually natural oysters will ever produce a pearl. And of those only, a very, very small percentage would actually yield a gem that is the right shape, the right color, something desirable. Let alone something viewed at or near perfection.

Well, contained in the scriptures of our Bibles are parables that reveal to us the deeper wisdom of God's teachings and among them is the parable of the pearl of great price, pearl of great price. Parable that includes the pearl as an example to teach us a great deal about the Kingdom of God, teach us about the future, the future God has for His people. And with that in mind and for the sermon time today we'll first spend some time reviewing a small sampling of parables and how they're used to teach us, and then focus specifically on this parable. This parable of the pearl of great price. And we'll do that with the purpose of showing another aspect to this parable, reflecting the depth of God's love and God's will too, the depth of it.

Let's begin by turning to Matthew 13. Matthew 13. In this chapter, we find many parables. We find the parable of the sower, the wheat and the tares, the mustard seed, the parable of leaven, the hidden treasure, the dragnet, and of course, the pearl of great price.

And in much… or it's really most of these parables found in the chapter they specifically begin with a reference, where they reference, "The kingdom of heaven is like..." "The kingdom of heaven is like..." And then the parable illustrates what it's like. So there's a focus through the parables in this particular part of scriptures that help us understand the Kingdom, the future. Which is another expression of the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of heaven and the Kingdom of God are synonymous.

God's future plans when and after Christ returns. Let's begin with verses 34 and 35 when Jesus gives instruction on the use of parables. Matthew 13:34-35. "All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 'I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.'"

And the Greek word for parable is parabole, which is, generally speaking, it's a symbolic account or a story used to make a comparison so that the teaching or a concept can then be revealed. And, for example, a parable may use something relatively common. And we've all read about the Wheat and the Tares. Well, something where somebody can relate to what it is being used as an example in that particular story and teaching.

People understood wheat fields. They understood that tares grow in wheat fields, and they understood what that meant, at least at that level. But what it then does, it makes then a comparison in order to bring about a deeper lesson, and a deeper understanding. And the parable uses that comparison to teach, and it does it to reveal, to reveal. So if you understand this, then you will understand that in some way or another. But of course, there is a kicker here.

Some might be able to make part of that connection in the parables' teaching by the example used, but the deeper meaning, the deeper, the spiritual, those meanings are revealed by God. And we'll refer to some specific scriptures on this in just a little bit.

So somebody might understand a basic part of the parable. But if you're going to understand the spiritual intent, God says, that's something that He reveals. So, as we look through and read the Bible, of course, we see that the use of parables, it's quite common in the Gospel accounts. Well, we also see that they're found throughout scriptures in the Bible. Let's go through some examples here before we actually focus in on the pearl of great price. And we'll begin with exploring something we find in Proverbs.

Now, see if you might want to turn if you would to Proverbs 2. It's interesting that this book is also about parables, Proverbs. The title itself comes from the Hebrew word Mashal, and it's translated as parable in other places. So Mashal, Mashal and so they say in Hebrew is similar to what parabole is in the Greek. But here we're going to read verses 4 and 5, and we're going to read about the value of wisdom. Proverbs 2:4-5. It says, "If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God."

The parable helps us to see not only the importance of wisdom, it says, but if you want that, and if you're going to have that, you've got to search for it. You have to seek it. It has to be a treasure to you. It has to mean that much to you. It has to have that value if you're going to get it. It has to be prized.

It also says that if we search in this way, you're going to find it. You will find it. In particular, wisdom of the right kind of fear, the right kind of respect [of] the Lord and the wisdom that only God can teach to reveal. It's a simple yet profound teaching of what it means to search for something and place such value on it, that you will put tremendous efforts in obtaining it. It says if you do you will have it.

Parables can be short, like this one, or long and are used in many places in scripture, the more commonly known ones, for example, the parable of the sower, the ten virgins, the prodigal son, so-on. They have some sort of story that's connected with them. But parables are certainly not limited to stories. Some are simply in response to a particular situation where Jesus uses a parable to teach. With that in mind, and for another example and making a comparison, let's turn to Matthew 15.

Matthew 15, and I'll look at a response from Jesus to an accusation, an accusation by some of the religious leaders of the time that the disciples were not going through the appropriate ceremonial washing procedures before they ate a meal. Obviously, a big deal to them. Well, His response was addressing how the traditions of men were getting in the way of God’s... the commandments of God, and how they focus rather on the appearance of doing what God wants while ignoring the real thing that God was after, and that's the change of heart.

This was a problem of leadership that included a problem with their teachings. So here, quoting Jesus, He provides advice to His disciples in the form of a parable. And he simply says this, Matthew 15:14. He says, "Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch." And even a brief parable like this contains some kind of symbolism or story to illustrate a lesson or a truth.

Now, here, Jesus is not making light of someone who's lost their physical sight. He's asking the disciples to make a connection, a comparison. And He's asking them to imagine, and he's asking them to bring to their minds a mental picture of two people who cannot see going along a path or trying to do so. We can imagine that too. We can imagine them kind of wandering, struggling, maybe even tripping over something, maybe walking into something, a person or wall, a tree, or whatever. And Jesus does this to teach a spiritual lesson.

It says, there will be those who will hold themselves out to be teachers, but they are spiritually blind. He says, first understands that. Understand that exist, they exist. He says, and they're not fit to lead, and they're not fit to guide even though they think they are. And if they think they're legitimate, and they will ultimately lead others into the ditch, and trip them up in some way. And the lesson is also to the follower. He says, those who allow someone spiritually blind to lead them, you're going to end up in the same place.

He's making that connection as well. And His advice in the very beginning of this particular verse regarding these teachers is to let them alone. He's saying to His disciples, this is something to avoid. It's something to avoid. Clear to us perhaps but not clear to a lot of people who read this and understand whether it's spiritual depth of what we're supposed to understand. Maybe we've all heard of this, at least in part of the various studies that have been done about the tendency people have to travel in circles when they're lost.

Has everybody heard about that? Maybe. And no matter how hard they try to walk in a straight line, they often ended up going in circles without even realizing it. Not even realize they're crossing their own paths. The exception is when they have a landmark and they can see something. Whether that's a mountain top, or that's the sun, the moon, what have you, something that brings reference and something they can orient from, then they can travel, and they manage to travel in a particular direction.

But as we just read in the parable, it's speaking of those who cannot see physically, and how that symbolizes a lack of spiritual sight. Interestingly, researchers have challenged people to walk when they're blindfolded. And they couldn't see at all. And in these tests when they did this, not only do people walk in a circle, they end up walking in surprisingly small ones, commonly making that circle without going any further than 66 feet, 20 meters out, 66 feet, they'll actually do a circle.

And more than that in repeated attempts, blindfolded walkers circle in one direction sometimes and then the other direction at other times. The point here is that the spiritually blind who leads will inevitably fall into a ditch. And the one who follows will, of course, follow right along. A simple parable with profound implications.

So I was reading this stuff. I was just thinking, what would the world be like if false teachers were never followed? What if everyone followed this particular parable? Imagine the impact of that. Nobody following a false teacher, nobody following them, nobody giving them their time of day. It'd be pretty amazing implications here. But parables are a powerful teaching tool when they… when we make these spiritual connections that God has us do when He intends to do is reveals those to us.

And the parable conveying two different things. Well, one thing helps to explain the other, whether that's comparing physical things with physical things or spiritual things with spiritual things. Let's go ahead and return to Matthew 13. I'm going to pick it up in verse 10. The parables are found in many places in the Bible, it's not to say they are something just anyone can understand.

Again, to be truly understood even where they can only be understood at a very, very limited basis unless God reveals the deeper meaning. So it's God's decision, His willingness to work with His servants, His people that any of us get to learn anything about what these are about. So God gets the credit for that.

And here in Matthew 13, the disciples asked Jesus why he taught with parables. Let's go ahead and pick it up in verse 10, and read 10-17 of Matthew 13. "And the disciples came and said, 'Why, why do You speak to them in parables?' He answered and said, 'Again because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive.'"

So why is that? Let's go and continue in verse 15. "For the hearts of this people grow dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them. But blessed are the eyes where they see, and your ears, they hear, so surely, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desire to see what you see and did not see it and to hear what you hear and did not hear it."

Certainly, an honor that God's willing to work with us, with humanity, with people to reveal these things, the sheer truth and the depths of it. Again, as we just read in verses 11 and 12, He says, “I have given this to you. I've given it to you to know. I've given it to you to understand the mysteries. I've given it to you to understand the kingdom. I've given it to you to understand your future. I've given you all of this so that you can see. You can see what it is that I have in store for you, the promises I have. And not only that how I'm going to bring them about.”

And part of the idea here is the understanding of the mysteries of the Kingdom will become more apparent for those who draw all the closer to God. As those who have understanding will be given all the more. Just as the understanding would then be taken away from those who become dull in the heart, spiritually hard of hearing, close their eyes and so on, as what we've just read in 13, verses 13-15 as they show.

Think about it, the mysteries of the Kingdom of God are kind of like a puzzle in a way. Unless God reveals what that puzzle is picturing unless He does that we really don't know how the pieces fit. But when He does, then we see it. We see it.

Let's turn to 1 Corinthians 2 because God also uses parables to hide the meaning from those He's not yet chosen to reveal them, these verses speak to the importance here. It's 1 Corinthians 2 that the Holy Spirit helps us understand the depth of what God is trying to teach. Let's read verses 7-14 of 1 Corinthians 2.

He says, "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit from God, that we might know the things which have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

Now, as we read earlier in Matthew 13, the disciples came to Jesus and asked a very important question. “Why, why do You speak to them in parables?” And He answered them, He says, "Because it's been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them, it has not. It's not been given to them, not then, not yet. Whoever has, more will be given and he will have abundance. But whoever does not have even what he has will be taken away." We've been given something to know, to know a mystery.

And we know those who have passed before us that knew this mystery too, deeply or at their core. He says it's vital that you grow in the knowledge of this Kingdom. You understand the meaning of the parables that Christ taught, all the teachings of the Bible too. He says, keep it. Keep it close, keep right this vision. There is a kingdom coming. Be thankful for it. Live your life today in anticipation of it. It's not an optional study for us, is it?

It says, progress, learn more, draw close, understand, increase your knowledge. Of course, I'm speaking as one who could use a lot more study of my own. That's part of what God is teaching us, a part of what Jesus is teaching us in the parable.

If you're not there already, let's go ahead and return to Matthew 13. I want to review a particular parable that will be the focus of the remaining sermon time. It's this parable of the pearl of great price. It's a beautiful encouraging lesson for everyone who's looking forward to the kingdom and a wonderful glimpse into the depth of God's love.

Matthew 13:45-46. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it." It's a short parable but a lot going on. There have been key aspects regarding the meaning of this parable, have been shared over time that the merchant represents you and me, and others before us, Christians, those of faith, and that the pearl of great price is the Kingdom to which we give all to be part of the Kingdom of God. And the honor of being part of it has value beyond what can be expressed, a great price. Great can also mean immeasurable, value beyond comprehension.

And if someone can understand that, what would they do? They'll do anything to be part of it. It would orient their entire life in a way that they could pursue it because it means so much to them as they understand the value of it. Another aspect has been considered is that the pearl is Christ. And a Christian gives all to God the Father through His Son. He's in similar variations, they're wonderful, they're powerful illustrations, meaningful illustrations.

And as we look at this parable today, I'd like us also to look at another dimension too, to this particular parable, another aspect to its meaning. So we step through this parable in detail and we look at it from a bit of another point of view, too. And I think we'll find as we go through, it doesn't mean that these views are mutually exclusive. Actually, they're complementary. But I would like to take us a little bit of a different view on it.

And we're going to begin by taking a closer look at the merchant, remains to be a merchant in the context of this particular parable. It’s here a merchant, I'm talking about a merchant. You find someone serious, purposefully searching to secure this great pearl, this costly gem. And being a merchant in the parable describes a central focus of his life. It's who the merchant is and what the merchant does. And pursuing this pearl is of utmost importance to the merchant.

But more than that the merchant here is described as one who travels. The word also means someone removed from one place to go to another. The idea being that this merchant then travels far in pursuit of the pearl leaves his homeland to pursue something more. And a skilled merchant not only knows what he's looking for, he knows the best when he sees it. And he knows what he's been seeking before he ever embarks on his travels. On top of that, the merchant knows the real worth, the real worth of pearls.

He knows the best when he sees it. In this parable, he assessed the value of one particular pearl as so great. He's willing to pay full price for it. Not just any price, but a great price, an immeasurable price for it.

If we think back to when the time when Jesus shared this parable, He knew merchants well. Where Jesus lived and taught He was very close to major trade routes. But even the use of the words merchant and seeking in Matthew 13:34 is rather unique. The word "seeking" is just not about finding something. The meaning here is seeking something in honor of or on behalf of God. It's seeking with a particular mission in mind, the specific purpose.

So we have this merchant who not only traveled a great distance, but he has done so seeking something in honor or on behalf of God. Let's reference a few scriptures that together help add some color to this. And let's begin in Philippians 2. Philippians 2, here, it speaks of the incredible love God has where Jesus gave up His place with God the Father to come not only in the form of a human but that of a slave.

Hebrews [Philippians] 2:6-7. And it says, "Who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God." And some other translations word this as, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. But here, “who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men."

And one of the descriptions of the merchant is someone who's been removed from one place to arrive in another, someone who travels a great distance in pursuit of something unique. Of course, a part of that story here is that Jesus says. Of course, there's a lot more to the story here. Let's continue with some things as we round this out. What is it that He was seeking?

Let's turn to Luke 19, Luke 19. Here Jesus is passing through Jericho. He encounters a man named Zacchaeus, and the scriptures among other things include three details about Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector, a very unpopular profession among the people. Second, he was rich, which made his tax collecting profession even more suspect. Because it was common that tax collectors pocketed some of the tax proceeds. And third, it says he was short in stature.

He even climbed a tree as we read in there, as he's trying to find Jesus and he could not see over the crowd, so he had to climb a tree. I think it was a sycamore tree. But as the story goes, Jesus tells Zacchaeus that he will be staying at his home, while the crowd expresses their displeasure that Jesus would be a guest in the home of a sinner.

Well, Zacchaeus does perceive this from the crowd. What's going on? And he makes a case in his defense, explaining to Jesus, "Hey, I don't exploit my office. I don’t... as tax collector, I give half of my goods to the poor. If I do something wrong, anything from a false accusation and something happens I pay back fourfold." He's basically saying that "Yeah, I'm not perfect. My profession isn't perfect. I have flaws. I'm trying. But I'm trying to have some integrity here." And Jesus responds to this, makes a very interesting statement in Luke 19:9-10. "Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he also was a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.’"

He came to save the lost and all who have been lost would remain lost without His coming. Come to save imperfection, to bring about perfection. And someone spiritually lost, they don't know where they're at. They don't know where they truly are. They don't know where they should be. They certainly don't know how to get there. They need help. They're imperfect. They need guidance. If there's any chance for them reaching their potential. And nobody makes it to the kingdom without God's help, do they? That is guidance.

Nobody makes it to the kingdom without somebody making a sacrifice and coming here and seeking them out. Not only did Jesus come to save the lost, he came to seek something in particular as well. And we find that detail as well in the parable, the pearl of great price. As we read earlier in Matthew 13:45, “the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking” what? Beautiful, “beautiful pearls.” Another key to the parable, the word beautiful here means virtuous, moral, pure, without blemish. Merchant was seeking pearls of feature of character. Specifically, the merchant was seeking a pearl, a great pearl without blemish.

Let's turn to Ephesians 5. Ephesians 5 and we'll read a portion of a letter that Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus. But earlier in the chapter, Paul talks about our Christian walk, specifically walking in love, walking as children of light, and walking in wisdom. And then he talks about marriage in general. And then some parallels regarding the future marriage of Christ and the Church. Something we were saying about just a little while ago.

Ephesians 5:25-27, he says, “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, that she'd be holy and without blemish."

It's outside the scope of this sermon to spend meaningful time covering the marriage of Jesus Christ and the Church, and we find details of that in places like Isaiah 40, I don't know, chapter 54 verse 5, and we find it also in Revelation 19:7-9, and so on other places. But I do want us to focus though, on how the merchant has traveled this great distance to seek something, something of beauty, something of virtue, and something without blemish. And let's return now to the parable, that in mind, let's return to the parable of great price and continue in verse 46 of Matthew 13:46.

Speaking of that merchant seeking beautiful pearls, Matthew 13:46, “who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it." What does it mean to sell all that he had? Well, this isn't about someone selling some worldly goods for a property or for the pearl. It's not someone who decides to sell, "Hey, I have land. I'm going to sell my land. I'm going to liquidate some assets. I'm going to go buy this," that sort of thing.

The concept of “sold all he had” means more than just like the assets or the cash someone might have. It means the merchant included his future in the sale, being a bondservant, a slave. He sold all that he had, is part of the concept here. The merchant made the purchase with his life in order to obtain the pearl, his life. Earlier we read in Philippians 2:7, how Jesus gave up his divine privileges to become a bondservant. He took the humble position of a slave.

And if we turn to the 20th chapter of Acts in a place where Paul was exhorting the elders in the church of Ephesus, we read in verse 28 of Acts 20, "Therefore take heed to yourself and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood."

And a part of this parable, the pearl of great price within this beautiful picture that's contained within it is about this merchant who travels a long, long way with a specific purpose in mind. He knows what he's looking for. And he's looking for and what he's looking for is unique. It's precious. He gives everything he had to do it. Again, seeking this beautiful, this great pearl, and he's willing to pay the ultimate price for it.

And the parable of the pearl of great price includes this, again, this beautiful aspect and picture of the purchase of the Church, purchase of the Bride in Jesus Christ. Why is that one pearl worth so much? Is it because of the pearl itself? The pearls' value? Well, the way the parable is written, the way it's presented it compels us to consider that the pearls' real value is in the enormity of the price paid for it. It's interesting as well that there's nothing in the parable that suggests the merchant would purchase a gem of this nature to sell it.

As we read earlier in Ephesians 5:27, the Bride, the Church without blemish will be presented to Jesus. We adhere “that He might present her to Himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she should be holy, without blemish.” Jesus purchased the bride, the church with the intention to keep it forever.

And as mentioned in the introduction, a pearl that's built over time, thin layers of nacre, glossy material. Oyster also uses to line the inside of its shell. It's a long process, it's a slow process, but the oyster the material must be extracted from the surrounding water, processed by special cells in the oysters' body. Sometimes it takes a whole year to add just a few layers, the shell walls, and the growing pearl.

In a cultivated pearl, it's when man intervenes, it's common for a core placed inside the shell. For example, a bead takes the oyster maybe two or three years to cover it with thin layers. Maybe five or seven years, it's a little thicker, making the pearl bigger, more valuable, but a natural pearl isn't that way. It takes many, many, many more years, 20 years or more to form an oyster because the nacre exists at its very core.

You see in Scripture that, and even the building of a Church, the preparation of the Bride, the conversion process, it all takes time. We also see in Scripture that the Church does not begin nor any of us in our relationship with God with some sort of false or fake core, so it can take on the appearance of value. It begins in imperfection. But then, a change occurs over many years, and it becomes something that God would have it be through the process of time. If you think about it, why is it that Jesus would look at the Church as a Bride, as being without blemish?

Well, put another way, why is that pearl so beautiful? And we've talked about how nacre in the pearl, it's not just a soothing substance that is used to protect the oyster, how it overcomes the imperfection. That was the beginning of that oyster. Nacre is also something else. It's amazing how God made this. It's composed of microscopic crystals of calcium carbonate. And these platelets, these crystal platelets that are… they're aligned with one another in the crystal, excuse me, in the... They're aligned within the… why am I missing this? Oh, wait, wait.

Sorry. It's so complicated. I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me just read this verbatim. Let’s start again, so you have your pearl and they have these crystal platelets. They're aligned with one another, and they're held together with a natural elastic biopolymer. Again, this is kind of technical but hang with me. Nacre appears iridescent because the thickness of those crystals, those crystal platelets is close to the wavelength of natural light, visible light. And the architecture of those crystals, how God made them, how He designed them, it allows light passing along the axis of one crystal to be reflected and refracted by another to produce a rainbow of light and color.

Because a pearl's surface is round it acts as a convex mirror, reflecting light in such a way that it appears to be emanating from the pearl itself. Why is the pearl of great price so beautiful? The answer is simply this. The beauty of the pearl is in its reflection and its reflection of light. That's what makes it so beautiful.

Jesus shared a very powerful example of light found in John 8. Let's go and turn there. It's an example of how far He will go to seek and to save which was lost, that which was lost. And here we find a situation where the religious leaders, had brought somebody before Him, accused someone of adultery. They were trying to test Him, to trick Him in order to accuse Him. They were more interested in destroying Jesus than in saving the life of the accused. They were prepared to pronounce a death sentence. But Jesus could see through the entire situation. He did not pass sentence but neither did He proclaim her to be innocent. Rather, He says, "Go and sin no more." Like become the pearl, become part of that.

At the end of this interaction, we read a profound statement in verse 12 of John 8, and I'll just read it here, you're there already. "Then Jesus spoke to them saying, 'I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life… the light of life.'" Mr. Elliot talked about that, life. All have sinned, all have fallen short, everybody has, we have humble beginnings. And if God were to leave the beauty of the great pearl to itself, the pearl representing the compilation of the character of God's people through time, it wouldn't of itself have the beauty that we're talking about here.

A pearl in the dark has no real beauty at all because there's no reflection. But a pearl on the light when it's formed correctly reflects the light that shines on it. And given the complexity of the layers within it, a pearl refracts light between the individual crystal platelets as the light bends, as it travels within the structure of that pearl. In other words, the structures in orientation within the pearl complement one another in reflecting that light. Part of the Body of Christ future Bride. It's how God looks at us. It's how God chooses to look at us.

Let's turn to Ephesians 5. Everything Jesus did or does is according to the will of God the Father. And Jesus came to seek, and we like all who have fallen short are no-longer confined to our past when we walk according to the light of the world and we become part of something beautiful and its reflection of true light.

Ephesians 5:8-14, it says, "For you were once darkness, but now you are the light of the world. Walk as children of light, (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which were done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by light, for whatever makes manifest by light… is light… makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: ‘Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.'"

And as we review today a parable, it is, generally speaking, a symbolic account. A story used to make a comparison so God could reveal a teaching, a concept known. It may use something relatively common to make a comparison in order to bring about this deeper lesson or understanding that a parable uses this, this comparison to teach, to reveal, to encourage. I'm saying if you understand this spiritually you will understand that spiritually. And contained in the Scriptures of our Bible are parables that through God's Holy Spirit reveal to us these deeper wisdoms and the beauty of those promises too that God has made.

And among them is the parable of the pearl of great price. It teaches us a great deal about the depth of the love of God has for us. It's also our reflection of our future which is also a window into how God views us. And God views us as saints, those who have passed before us as we march forward to this Kingdom, as we move forward. It's a wonderful parable what… it shows what God is willing to do to redeem so we can be with Him forever.

My hope is that perhaps when we see a pearl, we might think of these promises. And perhaps as we're going through the parables, and we continue to study these and we study God's Word that we spend a little extra time to reflect on things like this, that full depth and the power of the things that God is revealing through us through His parables.