The Oyster and the Pearl

When Jesus taught in parables, he used imagery and language common to Jewish culture. In Matthew 13:33, for instance, He said the kingdom of heaven was like leaven (yeast) which a woman hid in a lump of dough. I’ve often heard teachers say that the lump of dough represents the world and the leaven represents the Gospel which will ultimately influence and permeate the whole world. From a Jewish perspective, that interpretation is utterly unthinkable! Jews always likened leaven to sin and moral corruption. It was never used to illustrate something good or noble. During the Passover they were commanded to rid the house of every trace of leaven and the bread they ate had to be baked without yeast. Likewise, Jesus warned his disciples against the “leaven of the Pharisees.” The Apostle Paul also likened leaven to moral corruption.(1 Cor.5 and Galatians 5) A loaf of bread was often used as a symbol of fellowship. The shewbread in the Tabernacle, for example, was comprised of 12 loaves arranged together on one table to represent the 12 tribes of Israel in fellowship with one another. What then was Jesus saying when he taught this parable to his disciples? He was telling them that from the very inception of the Church (loaf) the woman (the enemy of the church) has been influencing the people of God to live morally corrupt lives. In the book of Revelation the woman is called Jezebel.(Rev. 2:20) She is accepted in the church. So subtle is her diabolical influence, she is even esteemed as a great, anointed prophetess while she leads God’s people into idolatry and sexual sin. The woman is also called The Mother of Harlots (Rev. 17:5), and The Great Whore (Rev. 19:2). In Ephesians 2:2, the Apostle Paul wrote that the spirit of corruption “operates in the children of disobedience.” So for two thousand years, the woman has been working unseen to influence the Church and lead her into idolatry and sexual sin. Today, adultery - both natural and spiritual - is rampant in the church. Not long ago, a high profile internationally known evangelist began a relationship with his babysitter. That relationship ultimately led him to divorce his wife so that he could marry his mistress. After only a year and a half he has been "restored" to ministry. Yes, Jesus foretold the moral corruption that would overtake His Church!

But that is not the whole story. Jesus told two more parables which actually relate to one another. The first was about a man who found a treasure in a field. Upon finding it, he hid it again and then purchased the field. The treasure would have to wait to be revealed. The Greek word “treasure” is the word "thesaurus" which refers to a receptacle. The word also means a “coffin.” The Jewish disciples who heard this parable had no problem identifying who the treasure was. They knew that God had called Israel to be his special treasure.

Exodus 19:5 “Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar TREASURE unto me above all people.”

Psalm 135:4 “For the LORD has chosen Jacob to Himself, and Israel for his peculiar TREASURE.”

When Israel rejected Jesus as their Messiah, they received a spirit of “slumber” (Romans 8:11). They have become spiritually dead so-to-speak and, being dead, they have in essence been put into a coffin (thesaurus) and buried away for a season. They have become God's "hidden" treasure! But at the end of the age, God will experience the joy of having His buried treasure revealed once more. The Apostle Paul said that the future restoration of Israel would be tantamount to raising them from the dead:

Romans 8:15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?

But that is still not the whole story because God has yet another treasure!

The next parable that Jesus told was about a merchant seeking beautiful pearls. Jesus began by saying, ‘the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls” (Matthew 13:45) How horrified those Jewish disciples must have been to hear the precious kingdom of heaven described as something originating from an oyster! We must remember that oysters were ceremonially unclean for Jews. Jesus could just as well have said that the kingdom of heaven was like a man looking for a good pig to make his prize possession! To Jews, both images were equally repugnant. But, Jesus was referring to another treasure - this one comprised of Gentile believers (who were considered unclean to Jews).

The treasure found and then hidden again in the field are the Jews who have been temporarily hidden away. The unclean oyster represents the Gentile church.

Then what of the pearl the merchant sought? Well, the parable says that the merchant found ONE pearl of superlative value and sold all he possessed to obtain it. Beloved, the oyster is the Church, but the pearl is God’s Bride! In Song of Songs chapter 8, Solomon says that his bride is the ONE and ONLY ONE he loves.

Song of Songs 8:8-9 There are 60 queens and 80 concubines, and virgins without number. But my dove, my UNDEFILED and PERFECT ONE stands alone [ above them all] she is the ONLY ONE of her mother, she is the CHOICE ONE of her who bore her.

The Church has been influenced by the enemy from the very beginning. It is both loved and prized by God but also defiled because of the leaven that is working within it. Nevertheless, the Church is fulfilling God’s ultimate purpose by producing for Him a pure, devoted Bride within itself. Like the hidden treasure that the Jews are to God, the Bride is also a hidden treasure.

Three things are unique to the pearl:

1) It is the only jewel that is the product of a living organism. The Church is a living organism.

2) A pearl is formed from constant irritation. A single grain of sand becomes lodged in the oyster which causes the oyster to coat the sand until it forms into a jewel. The pure, devoted Bride of Christ is an irritant to the compromised Church. The history of Bridal theology is filled with men and women who were persecuted by the very Church that produced them!

3) A pearl must ultimately be removed from its place of origin in order to seen and valued as the beautiful jewel it is. Likewise, at the end of the age, the Bride of Christ is being called away from the lukewarm Church to “make herself ready” for the return of her Bridegroom. The moment is fast approaching when Christ will say to His Bride ” “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues (Rev. 18)

Beloved, this is not a message against the Church. I am a pastor of a church. I love the church because Christ loves the church. But I also realize that the Church is not the Bride. Today, while the Church flounders in self-indulgence and impurity, the Bride - God’s Pearl - is being called to distinguish herself by singleness of devotion and moral excellence. So, which will we be? The oyster or the pearl?