A statement by Jesus that seems a bit strange
Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs.
If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
Matthew 7:6
In the first part of Matthew Chapter 7, which is part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was dealing with the hypocrisy of believers. He shared that we, as His followers, had a propensity to judge others when we were guilty of the very same sin, and even more so. Before we lovingly confront our brother or sister in Christ, we need to first come clean with God about our own sin.
It is in this context that this somewhat bizarre verse is said by Jesus. Don’t give a dog sacred food? And why would we give jewelry to pigs? They might then turn on us and make us minced meat? Sounds a bit gruesome!
2 Peter 2:22 mentions both animals: “Of them (false prophets/teachers) the proverbs (Proverb 26:11) are true: ‘A dog returns to its vomit,’ and, ‘A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud’’’.
In most developed countries, you won’t see wild dogs and pigs roaming the streets. You might see an occasional escaped neighborhood dog though. In pretty much all of the Third World countries I have been to, there are plenty of animals roaming the streets. Their hunger and their palettes are non-discriminatory. They will eat whatever they can find.
As today’s verse says, the dogs and pigs – both unclean animals in Jesus’ day – do not appreciate what is being given to them. A dog would not appreciate the “sacred” meat that was sacrificed on God’s altar in the Temple. Nor would a pig appreciate any fine food (the allegorical “pearls”). These animals may even try to turn on you, despite your intentions to feed them.
There are some commentaries and sermons on this verse that believe the dogs and swine refer to those in the world who will reject the Gospel message that is offered to them. They will be unreceptive to any spiritual advice and may even turn on us.
Discernment is greatly needed to handle this delicate situation. We need to be cautious, because the people being described here will not likely receive any kind of correction. On the contrary, they will be combative.
Proverbs 9:7-9 addresses this very issue:
Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked
incurs abuse. Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise
and they will love you. Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still;
teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.
