Whenever we study the Bible, we have to read it in context. We can end up misinterpreting and misunderstanding what the truth of the Bible is if we just pluck and go. The best way to read in context is to read the verses before and after the Scripture you are studying, understand what book you are reading, and understand where it is in Scripture. The most important thing is finding the Gospel truth that exists inside the verse you are studying. This lesson has to be viewed in context, or we can walk away believing the Bible teaches something that it does not.
- Can you think of any verse that gets misused because we do not read it in context?
Before we jump headlong into this lesson, let us review what we went over last week. Matthew 7:1-5 says, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
- How would you summarize Jesus’ teaching from Matthew 7:1-5?
One of the very important words to notice in Christ’s teaching is the word “brother.” When Jesus says “brother,” He is instructing this truth to be applied within the context of those who know Him as Lord. Followers of Christ should not be passive about helping their brothers and sisters in Christ in their walks with Jesus, but followers of Christ should also take every opportunity to get themselves in the right standing with Christ as often as it presents itself. The overall truth found in Matthew 7:1-5 is that when we, as God’s people, see a fellow follower of Christ straying from God’s Word, we ought to rightly, lovingly, and gently help restore them while we take an inventory of our walk with Christ and make sure our standing with the Lord is in proper alignment.
- Would you be willing to share a story of when you had to remove the log from your eye? Did this help your relationship with God and the person whose actions you were judging?
With all of that context, now we look at this week’s lesson.
Matthew 7:6 says, “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.”
Jesus does not come off as much of an animal person here. Sadly, I have heard people use this verse to justify acting in a way that made a person who professed Jesus come off as a person who was not much of a people person.
- What makes Matthew 7:6 hard to understand? Is it possible for Jesus to say anything that is unloving?
The two things we have to understand to properly put this verse together are what Jesus meant by using animals here and what Jesus meant by pearls.
One thing about Jesus’ teachings was that He was teaching as a Hebrew who did the bulk of His teachings in and around the year 30 A.D. When Jesus taught, He was speaking in the context of 30 A.D. So, when Jesus says “dogs,” his view is not man’s best friend. Dogs in Jesus’ day were not domesticated. They were despised scavengers who were not known for being companions. “Pigs,” well, not much has changed in 2000 years, are pigs. In Hebrew culture, pigs are considered the dirtiest of animals. The one thing for us to know is when we say “pig,” we are not talking about “Babe” or “Wilber.” In Jesus’ time, He is talking about something closer to a wild boar. When Jesus says “pigs,” He is referring to an animal that is dirty, greedy, and vicious. With all that in mind, when Jesus speaks of “dogs” and “pigs,” His point is a person who is antagonistic, unclean, wild, and who prefers their own filth.
- What does Jesus tell us not to give to the “pigs” and “dogs” of our lives?
- Was Jesus a dog person?
I pray you had a “wait a minute” moment here. I hope you now see why we needed to start with logs, planks, and eyes before we got to dogs, pigs, and pearls. One thing we have to know more than anything is that no one is too far from the love of Jesus. There is never a person to whom we should avoid preaching the Gospel of Jesus. Even while preparing this lesson, I was praying that no one would walk away from it thinking, “Hey, there are people in my life who are in clear need of knowing Jesus, but they are jerks sometimes. So, because Jesus said they are a pig, I am not going to go talk to them, and I am okay with them suffering in Hell for eternity.”
In 2 Peter 3:9, we read, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
- What should you do when you encounter incorrect biblical interpretation?
- Why is growing in your understanding and application of the Bible so important?
The next big truth we have to understand is what Jesus means when He talks about “holy” and “pearls.” While the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a precious thing and is holy, that interpretation here leads us to a horrible truth. To understand the “holy” and the “pearls,” we have to know what Jesus was just talking about. Jesus was discussing the standard of the pearls and the holiness of His Kingdom. Jesus never taught to avoid teaching a person about the Kingdom of God, but what He did teach was to not go and present Kingdom truth and its standard to someone who is antagonistic towards God’s truth. Proverbs 9:7 says, “Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.” Jesus echoes this instruction.
- If you see a person who is unsaved, what is the only message they need to hear?
Too often, we approach people who do not know Jesus as their Savior and go to war about their immoral living. Early in my walk with Christ, the man who was sitting with me teaching me the Bible asked the question, “What is your expectation for something that is dead?” It was a perplexing question, and the more I thought of it, the more I realized that I did not have an answer. As if he knew I did not have an answer, he looked at me and said, “Exactly, dead things are dead. That is the same approach we have to have with someone who does not know Christ. You cannot have the same expectations that they will live, act, or respond like those who have life. Yet, it is our responsibility to preach the Gospel so that they come alive.”
- Have you ever approached an unsaved person and instructed them to live as if they were a “brother”? How did that go?
Our understanding of the Bible is so crucial. If we are off on our understanding, it alters the way we view God, and it can alter how we show the reality of who God is to the lost of the world. Jesus loved the world, which includes you, me, and the most hostile towards Him. He loves us all so much that He died on the cross for our sins. For some of us, we know that truth and tragically, there are some who are hostile towards the truth that there is a God who loves them more than they could ever understand. If you do not know Jesus as Lord, tonight can be the night. Talk to your Growth Community Leader. As brothers and sisters in Christ, let us hold each other accountable, but let us also make sure that the first holy and precious thing the lost hear is that Jesus loves them and died for them, and if they put their faith in that truth, they can know life.