In our verse for this evening we have something related to this. But there is a different nature and character in this verse that we don’t have in chapter 10. As first glance, this sounds more like Pharisee-speak than it does the loving Lord Jesus. I’m sure that it was about those Pharisees that Jesus was speaking. But, generally speaking, it is more pharisaical than Christ-like to resort to terms like “dogs” and “swine.”
I’m sure that some unbelievers would like to censure the Lord for talking like this. But there are a couple of things to keep in mind – First, Christ wasn’t talking about specific people; He didn’t point to someone and say, “You swine.” And second, remember that the Lord was constantly using parables and down-to-earth illustrations to drive His lessons. I will come back to this in a moment, but “dog” and “swine” aptly describe groups of people and the characteristics of certain people. The Lord was pointing out that people who behave like pigs and curs should be treated as such.
So who are these “dogs” and “swine”?
We must be careful about this, because we wouldn’t want to confuse a wayward sheep with a pig. Do you suppose that Christ Jesus or the Holy Spirit deliberately intended to put this point right on the heels of the previous paragraph? “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” As I’ve said for two weeks, it’s not that we aren’t suppose to try to discern between good and bad, right and wrong, or even between sheep and goats.. But clearly, we need to have a keen, clear eye. With beams in our eyes, we might not be able to determine what is a lamb and what is a dog.
Thursday Judy and I saw a scruffy, shabbily-dressed, pony-tailed, leather-skinned man going into a building. As it happened, I followed him in, and he and I had the opportunity to talk. He was a pleasant, funny, fairly-well educated man. His appearance may have suggested “dog,” but appearances are often deceiving. A poor man is not necessarily a dog. A man who drinks wine is not necessarily a swine in Jesus’ context. Just because a person hasn’t had much education or isn’t too smart, that doesn’t make him a dog. And that includes those who are 100% ignorant of the Bible. Just because someone might initially laugh at your presentation of the gospel, that doesn’t make him a dog. You’d probably not apply that term to yourself, and most of us initially rejected the gospel. I think that we can say that adulterers, cheats, liars and sinners in general are not necessarily swine. Generally speaking not all rebels are in this group, even though these dogs and swine are spiritual rebels.
So who are the people to whom the Lord refers? Perhaps we need to investigate what the Bible might say about dogs and swine, and what do we know about them personally? First of all, they are both are unclean animals – spiritually unclean – according to the Scriptures. Neither kind of animal was to be eaten by the people of God. And both of them eat just about anything – there is hardly anything that they won’t eat. Except of course that many dogs don’t eat healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. And neither of these animals are usually interested in eating pearls, diamonds and emeralds. Remember that “the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls.” Dogs and pigs are generally-speaking unclean. I know that many would like to argue with me or perhaps make comparisons with other animals. But a pig would rather lie in a filthy puddle than on a nice patch of green grass. And why does a dog want to roll around on top of a dead fish or some other disgusting substance? Unlike the cat, when was the last time that you saw your dog giving himself a fastidious personal cleansing?
I don’t say this to embarrass anyone, because the same thing occurred during my watch…. But Wednesday when we arrived for the service, Jackie found a pile of dog poo between the pews. Dogs and pigs don’t really care where they defecate. They even do it deliberately and even on the most holy of doctrines. As unclean beasts, dogs and swine were not permitted in the tabernacle or temple. Deuteronomy 23:18 says, “Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.” Remember that the Jews were required to sacrifice to the Lord the first born of all that they possessed. They were permitted, however, to redeem some sacrifices with cash, and to give that to the Lord. For example, that was what was to be done in regard to the first born son of the family. But let’s say that someone raised hunting dogs ( don’t know that they did, but let’s assume so). Under no circumstances was the first puppy, or even the cash equivalent, to be given to God.
Generally dogs in Hebrew society were a plague and menace, running wild as packs in and outside of the community. They were thieves and robbers Can we say that dogs are cynical? We have a generally well-behaved dog at our house. But whenever a stranger comes to the door, or even across the street, he goes into his protective mode. He questions the motives and honesty of everyone who visits us. He raises his voice and barks up a storm, sometimes even for the members of our own family. Have you ever met a dog who wasn’t greedy, and at times self-absorbed? How many times during a meal do you have to tell your dog to stop begging? How often have you given your dog a snack, and it seemed that he couldn’t possibly have tasted it, because he swallowed so quickly – instantly begging for more?
\Who are the people to whom the Lord refers? They are unclean – not necessarily on the outside but on the inside. “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.” As unclean they are as uninterested in being in the Tabernacle as the Tabernacle is interested in entertaining them. Neither kind of beast knows the value of a pearl of great price. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they can’t be taught that value, as you have been. But if the pig refuses and refuses, then eventually it becomes time to kick off the dust of our shoes before him. They are covetous and greedy about things of no consequence, but show no interest in the eternal. They are cynical and critical of the things of God, despite all the instruction and education that we might give to them. I suppose that it is possible to say that some old goats become dogs and swine over time.
In understanding this verse, we next have to ask ourselves what is it that is called holy?
“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine.” The way that our Lord is using that term, this appears to be a fairly broad subject. I have heard it applied to the gospel, which certainly ought to be holy. I have heard it applied to the Word of God in general, and I have no problem with that. And as I pointed out all ready – “The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it” – Matthew 13:44-46. We could apply Christ’s reference to the Lord Himself – who is holiness incarnate But there is another application of the word in the light of the preceding context – judgment and correction.
Remember that this is instruction being given to those men who will become the Lord’s evangelists.
And what is the instruction in regard to these dogs and 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.” Once it has been established that the people with whom we are dealing are spiritual and religious swine, then we are to stop presenting them with the Lord’s holiness.
Six weeks ago when Brother Carter was hear, he and I talked about a situation which has arisen in his church. There was a member who had grown up in a home where Christ was denied. It wasn’t just that his father refused to believe on Christ as Lord and Saviour. But the man had totally rejected the idea of Christ to the point of denying Jesus’ very existence. The son of that man, a husband and father, had joined the Anchorage Sovereign Grace Baptist Church, apparently rejecting the Christless atheism of his Father. But then a few months ago, he completely reversed and denied his profession of faith, declaring openly his apostasy, although that was probably not the term which he used. Of course that declaration devastated his wife and children and the church which had grown to love him. At that point, Brother Carter had to decide how the man was to be treated – socially and spiritually.
Whether you or I agree, it was decided that the man should be treated as even less than a lost man. The man is being treated as a spiritual dog or swine. Of course the man’s wife is in a very special situation, but for the rest of the church, it was counseled that he be treated as “a dog.” The apostle John reminds us, “there is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.” I don’t know that I could ever tell someone not to pray for a certain lost man, but there are scriptures from which that can be argued. As John Gill says on that verse – I John 5:16 – “The apostle does not expressly forbid to pray for the forgiveness of this sin, yet what he says amounts unto it; he gives no encouragement to it, or any hopes of succeeding, but rather the reverse; and indeed where this sin is known, or can be known, it is not to be prayed for, because it is irremissible; but as it is a most difficult point to know when a man has sinned it, the apostle expresses himself with great caution.“ Is this a part of what the Saviour is telling us here in Matthew 7? It appears so.
I have always said, and will probably continue to say – “As long as there is life there is hope.” As long as that rebel and apostate is still living, there is possibility of repentance and salvation. But we must keep in mind that repentance is a gift of God, and when that apostate is condemned by God, then there is nothing that we can do. When someone clearly proves himself to be an unclean, feral, filthy dog, and there appears to be no reason to expect anything else, then Christ seems to be telling us to take the Lord’s pearls, the water and bread of life, the gospel and share them with others who will be more apt to respond to it.
“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.” I notice that one commentator suggested that when the instruction of verses 1-5 are shared with dogs and swine, they may not only reject it, but turn on you. When someone is told that there is a beam in his eye or that he is an hypocrite, and his response is a vicious counter attack, it may be proof that he is a cur and a pig. I’m not sure that we should confine this verse to that context, but that is certainly a part of the lesson.
Matthew 7:6 is one of those scriptures which needs to be handled and applied very carefully.