Matthew 7:6 Don't throw your pearls to pigs.

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We are not to be hypocritical judges, yet we must be able to discern the swine, lest we cast our pearls before them.

Repeatedly sharing the gospel with someone who continually scoffs and ridicules Christ is like casting pearls before swine. We can identify such people through discernment, which is given in some measure to all Christians (1 Corinthians 2:15–16).

The command not to cast your pearls before swine does not mean we refrain from preaching the gospel. Jesus Himself ate with and taught sinners and tax collectors (Matthew 9:10). In essence, the instruction in Matthew 7:6 is the same that Jesus gave to His apostles when He said, “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). We are to share the gospel, but, when it becomes apparent that the gospel is not welcome, we are to move on

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QUESTION

What did Jesus mean when He said to not cast your pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6)?

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ANSWER

“Do not cast your pearls before swine” is a portion of the Sermon on the Mount, and, to understand its meaning, we have to understand its context and placement within the sermon. Christ had just finished instructing the crowd on judgment and reproof: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:1–2), and “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:5). Then in verse 6, Christ tempers these admonitions and shows us the difference between “judgment” and “discernment.” We are not to be hypocritical judges, yet we must be able to discern the swine, lest we cast our pearls before them.

Before Jesus says, “Do not cast your pearls before swine,” He says, “Do not give dogs what is sacred.” An analogy mentioning dogs is also used in Proverbs: “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly” (Proverbs 26:11). A dual reference to swine and dogs is also found in 2 Peter 2:22, “Of [false teachers] the proverbs are true: ‘A dog returns to its vomit,’ and, ‘A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.’” In His sermon, Jesus uses dogs and pigs as representative of those who would ridicule, reject, and blaspheme the gospel once it is presented to them. We are not to expose the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who have no other purpose than to trample it and return to their own evil ways. Repeatedly sharing the gospel with someone who continually scoffs and ridicules Christ is like casting pearls before swine. We can identify such people through discernment, which is given in some measure to all Christians (1 Corinthians 2:15–16).

The command not to cast your pearls before swine does not mean we refrain from preaching the gospel. Jesus Himself ate with and taught sinners and tax collectors (Matthew 9:10).

 In essence, the instruction in Matthew 7:6 is the same that Jesus gave to His apostles when He said, “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). 

We are to share the gospel, but, when it becomes apparent that the gospel is not welcome, we are to move on.

 We are responsible to share the good news; we are not responsible for people’s response to the good news.

 Pigs don’t appreciate pearls, and some people don’t appreciate what Christ has done for them. 

Our job is not to force conversions or cram the gospel down people’s throats; there’s no sense in preaching the value of pearls to swine.

 Jesus’ instruction to His apostles on how to handle rejection was to simply go elsewhere. There are other people who need to hear the gospel, and they are ready to hear it.

Casting pearls is throwing them at a hurting, often angry or discouraged person, who is not ready for healing. 

When first cast, the words are seeds God can use as He heals their areas of irritation to form pearls in their lives.

 To keep casting when the person is unreceptive is useless and harmful. It brings about sin in their lives as they resent and mistreat the things of God and His treasure formed in us. 

And it can raise up sin in us as frustration brings discouragement or, worse still, a fight to have our way in the life of another.

When God tells us to stop sharing the treasures of our experience with someone, we knock the dust off in witness against them, surrendering them to God with hope’s assurance that He is working where we can’t. 

Our job then is to trust the Lord, and pray. I can tell you from experience that it brings great joy when they speak our words as their own because God softened the soil of their hearts with the seed planted and formed a pearl that is now their‘s to treasure.

Question: Have you bit the head off of anyone in your life, someone who loves you enough to throw their treasure trove of pearls your way? What would God have you do with that?