To listen to an audio version of this post, visit www.covenantchurch.ca/podcasts/covenant-weekly.
I have a bit of a problem. And I’m sure I’m not the only one. When I say or do something, I really want people to respond or react to me based on what I intend or what my motivations are, not based on how things came out or how they were perceived. BUT, when I’m dealing with someone else, I actually respond or react to them based not on what they intended or their motivations. Instead my reactions are based on how things actually came out or how I perceived them. What I want for me isn’t the way I actually tend to treat others. That is only one of the issues Jesus addresses in the next few verses in the Sermon on the Mount. And it is only one of the issues we’ll discuss in today’s Covenant Weekly for November 19, 2024.
Matthew 7:1-6
“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
3 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.
6 “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.
A warning. A challenge. A proverb. That’s how I might sum up these six short verses. There is a lot here. I'm going to make a couple of observations about each part.
First, the warning. The warning is actually presented first as a positive encouragement: don’t judge others, and you will not be judged. And then Jesus explains why: You’ll be treated the way you treat others. And this passage suggests that this isn’t just in the human realm. It seems as though God allows us to set the standard by which we will be viewed - even by God. There are other passages that suggest the same thing, including parables that Jesus teaches.
This gets at the heart of the struggle that I shared in the intro. I want grace and patience and understanding! But I want it even when I don’t have it with others. Several times in scripture our treatment of others and our closeness to God are tied together. These include the great commandment to love God and our neighbour and when John says that if we don’t love our neighbour, but claim to love God we’re a liar. This passage seems to be built on a similar premise. How we relate to God is largely set up by how we relate to those around us - sitting in judgment (condemnation) of them, or not.
Second comes a challenge. In brief…will you focus on your own stuff rather than spending all your time and energy trying to fix everyone else?!? In a corporate sense, this is why many people have no time for what churches or denominations have to say about sexuality anymore. We’ve been railing against “sexual sin” for decades while infidelity, abuse, and coverups have been going on in our midst. In the meantime, how, we’ve gone about trying to correct people has deeply harmed them in the process.
This has played out in corporate and personal situations over and over and over again. And on virtually any issue where there are two or more sides, we tend to spend more time trying to correct the other than focusing on our own issues. In the process, we miss our own blindness, cause harm, and no one gets to “see” any better.
Will we have the humility and courage to focus on dealing with our own stuff rather than committing our time and energy to trying to fix everyone else?
Third, Jesus offers a Proverb. A proverb is a piece of wisdom that is generally true in how the world works. Another translation of verse six reads this way:
‘Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.
Okay. I want to acknowledge what many commentators have to say about this passage. Several commentators point out that dogs and pigs were wild and unclean animals to the Jewish people. They were, in some sense, everything the Jews were not supposed to be. Extrapolating from that, some commentators suggest that they represent gentiles in this passage and that Jesus is talking about preaching the good news of Jesus to unclean gentiles who aren’t ready to receive it. They claim it is a warning against calling those who are unready to respond to Jesus’ message to repentance and how they will likely harm you instead. I hesitate to say this is wrong because many of those commentators are far smarter and more studied than I am.
But I also struggle with this interpretation because there is nothing in this context about the gospel or preaching. Dogs and pigs were wild and unclean animals. But the good news of Jesus isn’t all that is holy. In a couple of places in the Old Testament Jewish people were told to be holy. The sabbath was marked out as holy. Their nation was considered holy - set apart. Their offerings to God were holy. The tabernacle and temple - symbols of all their worship - were holy.
If those holy things were postured or “given” to those who are unclean and wild, they may receive those holy things initially. But eventually, they will corrupt them and destroy them. As the saying goes, when you wrestle with a pig you both get dirty. And eventually, those who receive those holy things won’t be happy with what they have been given. They will come after all of you and destroy you.
In Jesus’ day, the Roman Empire occupied Israel. Their first relationship with Rome was going to them to ask them for protection. Israel gave their allegiance to Rome for the sake of the Roman army. And eventually, that same army consumed them and desecrated their temple.
The church has aligned with various powers in history for the sake of security and protection. And over and over again, in different parts of the world, it has lost itself and become preoccupied with power and wealth and control. This has happened so much in the West that many Christians equate not having power, wealth, and control as persecution! We’ve thrown the most valuable things we have in front of pigs and been trampled by them. But we’re so used to being in the mud we don’t even realize there’s a problem. The pearls, the things of true value, have been long lost.
And personally…what is my life devoted to? Things and people who look like Jesus and are there to offer me life? Or things and people that seem fun, but will eventually demand more of me than I can ever possibly give? Things that will eventually consume me? Mark recorded some other words of Jesus along this line when he asked rhetorically. “For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?”
There’s deep wisdom here if we’re ready to receive it. God has created you as a unique and holy being set apart for joy and beauty and a life to the full. In this messy world, all kinds of things and people work to harm, corrupt, and stain what was meant to be right. Jesus came with love to heal, restore, and cleanse. We can participate in that by not giving ourselves, our worship, our attention, our money to those things that are so focused on their survival that they will turn on us to destroy us. And the same is true for us as a Covenant family.
So there is it. A warning. A challenge. A proverb. Some wisdom from Jesus for us to sit with, consider, and allow to guide us. If you have some thoughts about these short passages, feel free to send me an email at jon@covenantchurch.ca and let me know! I pray that this week the God of love will bless you with glimpses and tastes of the life to the full you’ve been created and saved to live.
Peace to you.