David W Palmer
Today, Jesus comes to his next lesson. It’s a very short and succinct statement, but it is full of holy wisdom for those who understand the value of spiritual pearls. That is, for those who value what he is saying enough to give it the focus, meditation, and heed it deserves:
(Matthew 7:6 DKJV) “Do not give that which is holy to the dogs, and don’t throw your pearls before swine, in case they trample them under their feet, and turn again and tear you to pieces.”
Jesus begins with, “Don’t give that which is holy to the dogs.” This illustration probably refers to sacrificial meat. It is holy because it is intended for, and dedicated solely to, the worship of God. Obviously, dogs would find it desirable, as they cannot distinguish the holy from the profane. They would make a meal out of getting their paws on something holy.
Many in today’s world are like the dogs Jesus mentions; they cannot see the value and holiness of the “meat” of God’s revealed rhema. If we throw it to them in debate, or even hand it to them in explaining our actions, they relish the opportunity to sink their teeth into it: “At last,” they think, “I have this where I want it, and you won’t be able to restore it to its holy function once I get done with it.” Let me explain:
In John 3, we read the account of Nicodemus’s interaction with Jesus. This happened just after Jesus took a whip, and drove the moneychangers out of the temple. Without doubt, the religious leaders had been debating and discussing Jesus and his actions, so Nicodemus came at night to talk to him:
(John 3:1–2 NIV) Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. {2} He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
Nicodemus was a man, a Jew, a Pharisee, and a ruler. He was clearly a pious, religious, and learned man, and he confessed that he knew Jesus was a “teacher come from God.” Nicodemus obviously expected Jesus to teach him, explain things to him, or at least enter a rational, logical debate with him over doctrinal matters. He was probably hoping that Jesus would give him a reasoned and Bible-based defense of his actions, so he could report it back to the council in Jesus’s defense. However, what Jesus said to him must have come as quite a shock:
(John 3:3 NKJV) Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Jesus, the master teacher, God’s apostle of truth, didn’t enter any debate or discussion with Nicodemus at all. He simply said that he would have to be “born again” before he could even “see the Kingdom of God.” This seemed a strange thing to say to this erudite Jewish leader; but with God’s infinite wisdom, Jesus knew that any intellectual or doctrinal debate with someone who is not born again, would produce no good fruit. The Holy Spirit unfolds this idea further:
(Titus 3:9 NKJV) “But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless.”
You see; a non-born-again person is in a different kingdom altogether. Jesus said they cannot even “see” God’s kingdom, and that they have not “entered” it (John 3:5). So how can they possibly have an honest discussion or debate about a kingdom they cannot even see let alone enter? If we do engage them in a verbal stoush, as they are completely unable to do so in our kingdom, we would have to step back into theirs to participate. This is where we begin to throw “holy” meat to dogs, and “pearls” to swine. These are not descriptions to denigrate any person, but illustrations of how unwise such an action is.
If we who are born again return to the other kingdom for a debate, and if we bring for evidence the words Jesus has quickened to us in confidence, we are literally bringing the living word, Jesus, back to the merciless world that crucified him in the first place. This is what Jesus calls handing over that which is holy to dogs.
Another way this applies is when we bring any revealed word back to the intellectual realm to judge it, to test its veracity, or to assess it by the world’s standards. This then becomes an exact parallel of Judas handing Jesus over to the Jews, who took him before Pilate. Once he is betrayed into that system, the outcome is already fated; he will be crucified. And let’s never forget where the living word was originally crucified: Golgotha—the place of the skull:
(John 19:17 NIV) Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha).
Whenever the living Word of God is dragged to the place of the skull—the intellectual realm of worldly reasoning—he will come there carrying his cross. How betrayed he must feel when we take his pearls of wisdom and the substance of his sacrifice, and throw it into the feeding frenzy of the dogs and swine of worldliness, intellectualism, religion, and carnal reason.
Today, I encourage you to keep the intimate communications between you and Jesus private. Yes, we do need accountability in this and openness to ensure we are not being misled or deceived by spirits other than the Holy Spirit. However, we should only bring them into the open with trusted born again people, true spiritual leaders, or Godly counselors—people whose only interest is Jesus’s kingdom and our growth in our intimate relationship with him.
Also today, I encourage you to avoid debating the deep things of God’s kingdom with those who have not yet entered it and cannot even see it. Like Jesus, we have only one message for them, which we must communicate in love and humility:
“You must be born again.” (John 3:7 NKJV)
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