01.20. The Sermon on the Mount (28)
The Sermon on the Mount (28) Casting Pearls before Swine
’Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.’ This verse is the counterpart to the first five verses of the chapter. There the Lord Jesus warns his disciples against a wrong judgement and about a judgmental spirit. Here He warns about a lack of spiritual discernment in certain situations, into which they might come as they follow their master.
Divine Blessings The Lord Jesus first of all mentions the ’holy’ and the ’pearls’. Holiness is primarily an attribute of God, a hallmark of His pure, glorious, eternal being (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8). Therefore all that comes from him is holy. This is why Jude calls the Christian faith ’your most holy faith’ (Jude 1:20).
Pearls in the Scriptures are a picture of preciousness and beauty. We are reminded of the ’one pearl of great price’ in the fifth parable of the kingdom of the heavens in Matthew 13:45-46. There we see the assembly of the living God from the point of view of her value to the Lord Jesus. In Revelation 21:21 the twelve gates of the new Jerusalem, the holy city (which is previously called ’the bride, the Lamb’s wife’) consist of twelve pearls. The expressions ’holy’ and ’pearls’ are therefore used to describe divine, precious truths and blessings in connection with the kingdom of God. Note that when the Lord Jesus spoke these words the time had not yet come for the revelation of the special spiritual blessings of Christendom. And yet He points to many things in His ’talks’ before the cross. Think for example of what He says about the name of the Father in the Sermon on the Mount and the one pearl of great price in Matthew 13:1-58. This is why the unique blessings and privileges of believers in the present time of grace are included in the expressions ’holy’ and ’pearls’.
Christ has offered Himself on the cross for the salvation of lost men and the glory of God. And in Christ the Father has bestowed upon the redeemed all spiritual and heavenly blessings as well as the greatest and precious promises (Ephesians 1:3; 2 Peter 1:4 JND).
- He has given us new and eternal life and by it made us his own precious children and has translated us into the elevated position of sons in Christ.
- He has also given us his holy Spirit as guide, earnest and seal. And by this seal he will accomplish all his promises.
- And by the holy Spirit all believers have been joined together in the assembly of God, and are now forming the body of Christ, the temple of God and the bride of the lamb.
These are a few of the wonderful spiritual blessings the Father has given us in Christ. All these riches, and the privileges connected with them, are holy and precious treasures. We ought to keep them faithfully in order that we might not lose them and the enjoyment of them.
What do the expressions ’Dogs’ and ’Swine’ signify?
According to the law of mount Sinai dogs and swine are unclean animals. The Jews were explicitly forbidden to eat swine (pork) and the price of a dog was not to be brought into the house of the Lord (Leviticus 11:7; Deuteronomy 23:18). The Greeks, who did not know the holy standards of God, considered both animals as symbols of uncleanness and greediness. Dogs and swine in antiquity were not tamed pets or fully domesticated animals we know today, but they were generally free living, half-wild animals. The dog especially in the word of God is a picture of unclean, evil and detestable people (see Psalms 22:16; Php 3:2; Revelation 22:15). Peter, writing to those who have a knowledge of Christianity but have turned away from it, quotes the proverb: ’The dog (is) turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire’ (2 Peter 2:22). Dog and swine here represent natural men, who will not change, even after having known to a certain outward degree the grace of God. How different indeed are the sheep who are tame, quiet and dependant on the shepherd’s care. That is why Scripture so often uses them as a picture of believers in the Lord Jesus, (see Psalms 23:1-6; John 10:1-42). But Who is Meant? The Jews not only considered those of the Gentiles but also Jewish publicans, who served the Roman occupying power, as unclean and far away from God (see Matthew 11:19; Acts 10:28). They therefore avoided any contact with them. We might think that the Lord Jesus took the same view when a Canaanite, that is, gentile woman, asked Him to have pity on her daughter, He said to his disciples: ’I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel’ and to the woman: ’It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.’ But when He saw the poor woman’s great faith He graciously answered her wish (Matthew 15:21-28). He also entered the publican Zacchaeus’ house to dine with him when many of the Jews murmured about this (Luke 19:7). No the Lord Jesus did not take this view, although as the promised King of Israel He at first sent his twelve disciples to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and commanded them not to go to the Gentiles or Samaritans (Matthew 10:5-6). He said: ’And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet,’ (Matthew 10:13-14). Later on when He sent out seventy other disciples He said: ’Behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves’ (Luke 10:3; Luke 8:1-56; Luke 9:1-62; Luke 10:1-42; Luke 11:1-54)! So it is clear that the Lord Jesus did not refer to national or social groups of people when He spoke about ’dogs’ and ’swine’ even if the Jews and maybe at first, His disciples thought so. The gospel of the kingdom goes out to all men without regard to their origin. So it was then and so it will be in the coming day (Matthew 24:14). The same applies for the gospel of grace in our day. Among the believers in Corinth there were people who had been fornicators, adulterers and drunkards, and yet Paul was able to write to them: ’And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God’ (1 Corinthians 6:11). It is not the origin or the past of a man, but God takes into account his response of heart when he knows the truth. Does the Gospel not go forth to Everyone?
Everyone who accepts the judgement of God upon sin and who genuinely believes His message will be accepted by him, whoever he may be. The messengers of Christ are not to constrain those who shut themselves up and drag God’s message in the mire. The things that are holy are not intended for such persons. This does not mean at all that the gospel should not be preached to everyone. Indeed the commission after His resurrection still stands: ’Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature’ (Mark 16:15). But the apostles realised later what the Lord foresaw when he sent out the twelve and seventy disciples. The Jews in Antioch blasphemed, such that Paul and his companions left the city, and the same happened again in Corinth (Acts 13:45-51; Acts 18:6). They shook off the dust of their feet and their garments against them. This indicated that no communion of the Spirit was possible at all. Had they continued to preach the precious gospel of salvation in the face of this fierce refusal they would have given the holy unto the dogs and cast their pearls before the swine. The pearls are trampled upon where the gospel is laughed at and blasphemed. The persecutions the apostles suffered and many servants of the Lord still suffer today show the meaning of the Lord’s words: ’... lest they trample them under their feet and turn again and rend you.’ Does this imply that we cannot or ought not to be a witness for our Lord where there is mockery? Not at all! But in these very situations we need spiritual discernment to know what is the right thing to do. In such events we can call upon our Lord and implore him for wisdom and help. It might then be that he will tell us to reply the mockers with an earnest appeal: ’Be not deceived; God is not mocked.’ Or we might have to suffer the mockery quietly. Lastly it might even be that we have to turn our back with sadness because the Lord reminds us of his words: ’Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.’ An Application to Christendom
It is surely not without reason that Peter applies the behaviour of dogs and swine to people who have come to know the way of salvation and then have turned their back on it. For down the ages the holy things in Christendom have been given to unredeemed people, things which are destined only for the children of God. These people profess faith outwardly only, for many of them are baptised without being born again and many of them partake of the Lord’s supper without being a member of his body! Consider for an example what has been made out of the truth of the priesthood of believers in Christendom! In this respect also holy things have been given to the dogs and pearls have been cast before swine. This has led to misuse of the truth of God and to despising the Lord. Especially in Europe where the gospel has been preached for over 1000 years and where God has given so much blessing through the Reformation nearly 500 years ago) Theologians trample the precious pearls of the truth as they spread false teachings and mock those who wish to keep the truth in singleness of faith. This means our Lord’s warning remains valid today.