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NASB | Matthew 7:6 ¶ "Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 7:6 ¶ "Do not give that which is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, for they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. |
Subject: throwing our pearl? |
Bible Note: Dallas Willard, author of "The Divine Conspiracy" said, in his view, that Jesus didn't teach rules on how to live, but taught the way things are. In other words, according to Willard, Jesus, as creator and designer of us, knows how we are wired and taught the way His creation was designed to work. He also taught how things behave in a fallen world such as ours. For example he taught we would be blessed in marriage if we stayed married to the same woman for life (see Matt. 5:27-28). He didn't teach that if you divorce you will go to hell, but rather, in the kingdom of heaven, marriage is for keeps and should not be entered into or exited from lightly. Becuase of our fallen nature, there will be christian divorces. What Jesus taught was that life will be harder as a result because His intent was for marriage to endure. Likewise, I believe in the case of casting pearls, Jesus is offering a scenario of what is likely to happen if one "preaches" rather than "loves" those whom one would view as vile low lifes, the unlovable in other words. Those who opposed Jesus most strongly were the self-righteous. The ones who were so certain of there theology that they missed the very one on whom they supposedly based their lives. Jesus reacted very strongly to these folks, and I believe in this teaching, which follows on the heels of his discourse on judgment and condemnation, He is saying self righteous condescension will be received badly whether you are delivering the truth or not. |