Giving what is Holy to the Dogwoods

Matthew 7:6–Hogs and Dogs

“Do not give what is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine… (Matthew 7:6) When I checked out a similar verse to this one about the Woman who Jesus the Jewish Teacher compared her (and her countrymen) to Dogs, I noticed something quite striking.

The (Canaanite) woman came and knelt before Him. “Lord, help me!” she said. But Jesus replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”“Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” “O woman,” Jesus answered, “your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour (Matthew 15: 21-28).

After speaking with the Woman, Jesus the Jewish Teacher called her “O Woman as if referring to her as a great pearl of faith and wisdom. In addition, I checked out the Greek word used for Dog in Ancient Greek and noticed that it was κυνάρια! This Greek word means dogwoods. Coincidently, dogwoods are protected here in Canada because the dogwood is the official flower of the province of British Columbia, located on the west coast of Canada.

However, check out what Ken Weliever, the author of ThePreachersWord, says about the dogs and the pigs IN THE CONTEXT of what the many followers of Jesus thought in the first century. The Reverend Weliever interprets the scripture as if the dogs and the pigs were wild as if they were from the woods! In other words they would lack the culture and “good” manners of the respectable, law abiding city dwellers.

“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces,” commanded Jesus in His famous Mountain Message.

This is one of the more difficult sayings of the Savior. What did He mean? To whom was He referring? And how can we apply it?

Defining the Terms

First of all, it’s important to understand He was not speaking of a dog like we do today. It was not a cute, domesticated house pet. A dog was a wild, scavenger animal. Dogs would roam the streets looking for any bit of food they could find. They were unclean animals. Fierce. And would often attack.

Secondly, to the Jews, pigs were an unclean animal (Lev. 11:7). They were viewed with contempt and considered filthy. Eating their meat was an abomination under the Old Law (Deut. 14:8). Demons were banished to a herd of pigs (Matt. 8:30-32).

The Reverend Weliever goes on to make the point that it is pointless to keep trying to convert these dogs and pigs. He says…

I have known folks through the years who have been trying to convert the same neighbor, friend, relative, or co-worker for 20 years. They are not interested. They could care less about the gospel, the church, or the salvation of their soul. Yet, I’ve heard some say, “We should never give up.” Well, maybe. But this text says not to extend the pearl of great price to those who deny, reject and ridicule its value.

A pearl is priceless. But not to a pig. That which is holy holds sacred value. But not to a dog. Let’s not allow the Word of God to be blasphemed.

True, sometimes one just has to stop trying so hard and just let the neighbour be. If one’s neighbour wants nothing to do with the Gospel, it is heartbreaking. One feels like one’s faith is being lived out in vain.

You can read the whole blog that Reverend Weliever posted and view my comment.

In my comment I tried to once again point out that Jesus the Teacher is speaking to the Woman Jesus called the Pearl of great price!

Today it is extremely difficult for people in a progressive multicultural province such as British Columbia, Canada to see the Woman Jesus. People only see Jesus the Jewish Teacher and fail to see how Jesus the Jewish Teacher came to the Woman Jesus under the cover of darkness!

Even here in the land of the dogwoods, Patriarchal language, the language of HIM, has veiled the Woman Jesus. It takes a keen ear and a keen eye to see and hear the Woman Jesus speaking and distinguish her words from Jesus the Teacher’s.

Dan Brown’s and Margaret Starbird’s assertion that Jesus was married and had two children has been rejected, denied and ridiculed.

The agenda here in progressive British Columbia is to promote Christ as Queer in keeping with the idea that Jesus never married. Queer folk want to believe that Christ is the foundation upon which the Church is built. Yet they cannot see that the Rabbi called John by his followers testified that Christ is the Bride who belongs to the Bridegroom! They cannot see the evidence (John 3:28-29).

Queer folk are not alone. Many modern worshippers have lost sight of the Woman Jesus and the Rock she loves. The Story talks about being the light and letting the light shine. No one lights a light and puts it under the bed or under the table! People who value the light put it on a lamp stand.

So why do people read John 8:12 and assume Jesus the Teacher of Israel is speaking and not the Woman Jesus trapped in adultery? Why don’t people living in the land of the Dog woods see the Woman Jesus as the Light of the World?

Yes Queer folk and adulterous men and women would like to be accepted and affirmed as civilized people, worthy of eating at the table with righteous believers.

However, I must point out. Jesus the Teacher standing with her, did not condemn her. But he did tell her to “go and sin no more” (John 8:11). Thus it is important to repent and become a “turner” and turn from sin.

Adultery and sex outside marriage has always been the big taboo. Civilized people need to honour and cherish their loved ones and treat them with dignity and respect with a covenant, a promise that they regard as “sacred”.

So where does this leave Queer folk? Some say as long as Queer folk live in committed loving relationships with one another…let them be. Others insist their way of life needs to be protected. Others insist the Queering of Christ is threatening the Light of the Gospel and keeping an adulterous generation from seeing the Light of the World as the Penitent Woman!

Could it be that many non-Queer affirming people are also keeping this adulterous generation from seeing Jesus as Penitent, because they do not understand that to be like Jesus who was/is sinless, one must repent and actively “go and sin no more”?

Remember, when Jesus the Teacher and Simon the Father of the Law and Oral Tradition (aka the Pharisee) met and spoke about sin. The moral teaching came to light when Simon concluded that the one who was forgiven the most would love the most. Thus the Woman whose sin was greater than Simon’s and was forgiven was deemed to be more loving than Simon the Father of the Oral Tradition and the Law! And the story concludes…

But those at the table began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

And Jesus told the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Again the Woman’s faith is what saves her. She goes in peace. She doesn’t go condemned with a scarlet A marked on her forehead.

Yet today people still demonize her, they speak ill of her, as if she was the town prostitute. They just can’t see Simon’s point of view.

Simon thought, Jesus the man she anointed with her “alabaster” jar, should acknowledge how he knew this woman was a sinner and why she was “touching” him (Luke 7:39). In other words, Simon thought that Jesus the Teacher was not worthy of being the “anointed” one and should confess that he had spent the night under the cover of darkness with her and repent!!!

I realize this is difficult for many Christians to realize. We are all sinners and the death of Jesus on the Cross does keep the Sun from shining for three whole hours (Luke 23:44).

It is difficult to deny oneself and take up the Cross…especially if your worldly thoughts and worries are keeping you from seeing the Pearl of Great Price that the Cross is.

But as Jesus turned…and said to Simon…

But Jesus turned and said to (Simon) Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me. For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.

When one denies oneself, one dies to self and begins to learn how to love God with one’s whole heart and mind and one’s neighbour as one’s self.

However, thinking like a man, a person without any desire for the Woman of Faith or any appreciation of her as the Pearl of Great Price, one may likely see the Cross as a lifeless lamp stand or a lifeless piece of dogwood that is detached, that has been cut down and without roots.

Yet the Hope of the Gospel is that…Simon bar Jonah, also called Peter the Rock, does declare his love for Jesus and takes on the responsibility of feeding the sheep of Jesus (John 21:17). He too repents and turns from his sin, his lack of faith in the Light, working by the sea at night, without the morning Light, hoping to secure gold and silver like the billionaires controlling the world.

What Simon does is awesome. Make no mistake. Simon allows himself to be human and allows his story to shape the Jesus story. At first like the disciples, like sinners, Simon fails to realize the catch of the day, and fails to realize that the Woman of Faith he dearly loves is the Pearl of great price, and the coin of true wealth, hidden in the mouth of the Fish, waiting for him to embrace.

Having faith in Simon bar Jonah is what Jesus the Teacher and Jesus the Woman of Faith and their disciples must have. For without Simon and the sheep he feeds there would be no Gospel!