Dogs, Pigs and You
Lighthouse Assembly of God
1/22/06
Pastor Greg Tabor
Introduction
“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 then turn and tear you to pieces.” Matthew 7:6 NIV
This is a difficult verse, is it not? I mean, at first glance, do you know what it means? It comes right after Jesus told us to take the ‘plank’ out of our eye so that we can take the ‘splinter’ out of the other person’s eye. Jesus was telling us we needed to be in a right condition in order to judge. Now, verse 6 is telling us we need to make a judgment call. We need to know who the ‘dogs’ and ‘pigs’ are and what it is we are not supposed to do.
Who are dogs and swine?
Who they aren’t
While the Jews sometimes referred to Gentiles as “dogs,” Jesus is not using this term to mean that His disciples shouldn’t give His message to Gentiles. While Jesus’ earthly ministry prior to the cross targeted mainly Jews, after His resurrection He gave a Great Commission in all four gospels and the book of Acts that declared a worldwide evangelism that would take place. God would also later show Peter that he was to minister to Gentiles as well as Jews. So we can know that Jesus is not against evangelism to ethnic groups other than the Jews. As if we didn’t know that already!
Who they are
So if dogs and swine are not terms for certain ethnic groups, then what are they?
Last week we learned that we were not supposed to judge, at least in a self-righteous, hypocritical manner. We also learned that we were supposed to learn to make proper judgments. In order to do this our spiritual lives need to be cleansed of things that blur our spiritual vision. The need to extract the plank out of our eye in order to extract a splinter out of our brother’s eye is a great illustration painting a picture of the right way to judge. David understood in Psalm 51 that after God had restored him, then he could teach transgressors God’s ways.
With all that in mind, it is so important that our spiritual life be cleaned up so we can wisely discern who and who not to spend time on when it comes to giving the truths of God’s Word concerning the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Now, the reality is God wants us to go to all people. He doesn’t want anyone to perish. I believe like Ezekiel we will be held responsible for the lives of those we didn’t tell but could have told. Just like Ezekiel, our message may not always be accepted, but it is our responsibility to tell people.
BUT, Jesus’ words here tell us that there are people that we shouldn’t waste a lot of labor on because they are not receptive.
Listen. The illustration I picked up from commentaries was that of the priest throwing the offering dedicated to God off of the altar and into the streets for the wild dogs of that time period to eat. That would be unthinkable. That would desecrate that offering. A priest would never do that. The other illustration is that of a wild pig being thrown pearls. The pig would think they are food and become angry and tear into the person that tricked them. The illustration is one of giving something to someone that does not appreciate it and treats it with contempt.
Dogs and Swine are people who reject our message and treat it with contempt.
What warning is being given concerning dogs and swine?
The reality is that you and I are required here to make a judgment. The judgment is one of discerning whether or not we should continue laboring among certain people. When people treat the message with contempt and ridicule it and are not being receptive, then you and I need to know when to call it quits and move on down the road.
Listen to what Jesus told the 12 when He sent them out:
“If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.” Matthew 10:14 NIV
“And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them.” Mark 6:11 NIV
“If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them.” Luke 9:5 NIV
Listen to what He told the 72:
“But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.’” Luke 10:10-11 NIV
This was a way of saying ‘we did our part; you didn’t receive it; now we wash our selves of you and move on.’
There is a story in Acts 13 where Paul and Barnabas had spoken in a synagogue in Pisidian Antioch. The Jews became jealous because of the great number of Gentiles that came out to hear these men. Verse 44 says, “On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.” The Jews “talked abusively against what Paul was saying” (v.45). Because of the way they were treated they turned from the Jews to the Gentiles. The Jews then worked up leading people in the city and got Paul and Barnabas expelled. Listen to what then happened:
“So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.” (v.51)
Paul and Barnabas then moved on. Look, there are plenty of other people who are receptive and who will sit down and reason with you as opposed to making sport of you.
Jesus didn’t waste his time talking with Herod when He was on trial. Listen:
“When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased , because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform some miracle. He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him.” Luke 23:8-9, 11a NIV
Herod wasn’t interested in the truth of Jesus’ message. He was only interested in Jesus entertaining him. And he showed his true colors when he ridiculed Jesus. Jesus didn’t throw what was holy to this dog because He knew it was an exercise in futility.
Conclusion
How do we apply what we’ve talked about today?
We are called by our Lord to be discerning as to how and with whom we share the Gospel message. We are called to discern when it is time to wipe the dust from our feet and move on to more receptive ground.
This doesn’t mean we quit praying for hardened individuals. Jesus wept over the Jerusalem that rejected Him.
This doesn’t mean we are not open to ministering again to the person who has rejected our message should they become more receptive. Obviously if God softens their heart, then we walk through that door of opportunity.
It does mean that in a hostile world we are ambassadors of a priceless message and we need to be discerning as to the people that are ripe for harvest. There are many dogs and swine that would simply make sport of our message and to continue to argue with them is to throw what is holy to the wild dogs and what is priceless to the pigs. They won’t appreciate it and they’ll trample us in the process.
