Daily Manna – March 25, 2016
Topic: God’s gift of salvation
Reading: Matthew 7:1-6
Scripture: Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. (Matt 7:6)
Note: Dogs and swine are two figurative expressions of animals that are metaphorically used to refer to people who are not of holy minds, impudent in their thinking and who will fiercely reject the truth, turning themselves into rebels and fault finders with no regard to holy things.
Such obnoxious and distasteful expressions of animals with very low regard by the Israelites in Scripture commonly referred to the despised in society such as homosexuals, wicked men, false prophets, deceived people, fools, backsliders, the Gentiles, and occasionally to wicked rulers. Jesus even referred to Herod, the governor of the province of Galilee, as a fox, a member of the dog family (Luke 13:31-32).
A pearl refers to any jewelry of great value, hence very much cherished and used only on great occasions. Giving such expensive items to swine literally smacks of extreme idiocy, as they don’t appreciate the value of the pearl. It’s of no use or value to them, hence the predictable outcome will be to trample it under the feet. In the context in which Jesus spoke, he was addressing the Pharisees on hypocrisy and double standards. Jesus was infact referring to the religious bigots as dogs and swine, for consistently and obstinately rejecting the truth of God whilst they themselves were the problem.
The Pharisees and the religious rulers didn’t take a cue from the harsh words of Jesus to repent from their double standards. They pursued Christ relentlessly until they had him arrested on false charges; tried, tortured, brutalised, humiliated, flogged, stripped naked and sentenced to death on the cross.
They ruthlessly rejected the greatest gift of God for the salvation of mankind. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God was rejected by the people to whom he was sent. They didn’t recognize him due to the way God packaged Christ to them. The end result was gross brutality on his body until Christ could no longer be recognised, looking ugly and despised.
Food for thought: The greatest tragedy of life is to reject God’s gift of salvation for mankind.
Declaration: He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:3)
© Author: Rev Fred Aboe
