What Jesus Really Meant by 'Judge Not' and 'Casting Pearls Before Swine

What Does "Judge Not" Really Mean?

One of the most misunderstood and misquoted verses in the Bible is “Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matthew 7:1). Ripped out of its context and most often used by people who don’t believe anything else that the Bible says, it is often used as a club to beat Christians who say anything about sin. Any time that sin is identified for what it is, you are almost guaranteed that someone will retort with: “Jesus said “don’t judge”, so you shouldn’t be judging me.”

When we read the verse in context, we find out that Jesus goes on to tell us how one ought to judge. If you are going to judge someone else, first check that you are doing so with the right motive and without harbouring sin in your own heart. “Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:5).

We will understand what Jesus is talking about here even better when we deal with the next verse. “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.” (Matthew 7:6).

The ‘dogs’ and ‘swine’ (pigs) were easy enough to identify for the Jewish disciples whom Jesus was addressing at the time. These terms referred to Gentiles — those who were not among the people of God.

After Jesus rose from the dead, Gentiles could become people of God without becoming Jewish, but the verse still applies similarly. Anyone who has not yet submitted to Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour is not one of God’s people. Here, I use the term ‘unbelievers’ to identify them.

What Are the 'Pearls' in Matthew 7:6?

The real question we need to address in verse 6 is: What are our ‘pearls’? We know that Jesus is telling His disciples not to give something holy and precious to unbelievers. Some say that He is warning Christians to be careful about who we preach the gospel to — if people are hostile and unreceptive, they could “turn and tear you in pieces”.

The gospel is indeed holy and precious, but is it really the ‘pearls’ that we should not give away? It seems to me that such a warning runs contrary to His explicit command: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).

We are told many times in the New Testament that the gospel will not always be well-received by those who hear it. Besides Jesus’ own warnings to this effect (e.g., Matthew 10: 16–26), we see examples of people being tortured and killed because they preached the gospel throughout the Book of Acts.

Were they “casting their pearls before swine”? If so, we are saying that people like Stephen and Paul were foolish to preach the gospel to hostile crowds. Yet they are quite clearly presented in Acts as doing God’s will. Similarly, missionaries throughout the last 2,000 years have preached the gospel to hostile people and have paid with their lives for it. I believe that they were doing what Jesus told them to do; they were not casting pearls before swine.

If that is so, what does this verse mean? The answer lies in the previous verses. The kind of ‘judging’ that Jesus is talking about here is between ‘brothers’: “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3, emphasis mine).

The term ‘brothers’ is used throughout the New Testament to refer to other believers (this includes sisters, of course). The ‘judging’ in verses 1–5 is therefore about fellow believers helping each other to identify sin in their lives and remove it. Provided it is done correctly and without hypocrisy, this is a good thing.

I believe that Jesus uses the jarring terms ‘dogs’ and ‘swine’ in verse 6 to make a clear switch from talking about relationships between believers to relationships between believers and unbelievers. The overall topic nonetheless remains ‘judging’ in the sense of pointing out sinful behaviours that ought to change.

What then are the holy pearls that believers should not give to unbelievers? Given the context, the pearls are pieces of advice about removing sin and living a holy life. This may come as a shock to believers who give such advice to unbelievers, while the unbelievers who like to misquote “Judge not” may feel vindicated.

Perhaps you think I am saying that Christians should just shut up about sin and let unbelievers remain as they are. It’s a bit more complicated than that, so please hear me out.

Preaching the Gospel vs. Casting Pearls Before Swine

Identifying sin is an integral part of the gospel message — if you don’t think that you’re a sinner, then you don’t need a Saviour. It is therefore critically important for the unbeliever to recognise their sin before they are willing to reach out for the Saviour.

One way to do this is by going through Jesus’ version of the Ten Commandments, as He did earlier in this passage of Matthew (read Chapters 5–7 for the whole message). When you do that, you realise that every one of us is a sinner.

Ever called someone a bad name in anger? Murderer (5:21–22). Ever lusted for someone who is not your spouse? Adulterer (5:27–28). Ever made a promise that you didn’t intend to keep? Liar (5:33–34).

Jesus is pointing out that we are all sinners in God’s sight. We therefore desperately need a Saviour — Him. Clearly, when He gets to the “Judge not” part of His message, He isn’t telling people to ignore sin or fail to identify it. He has just given us a very clear blueprint for revealing sin in our own hearts, which is the necessary precursor to the Good News that He paid for it on the cross.

When saying “do not cast your pearls before swine”, I think that Jesus is telling us how not to talk about sin and holiness to unbelievers. If we see someone committing sin or ‘living in sin’, we may be quick to say: “Jesus says you shouldn’t be doing that” or “that’s not right, God will judge you” or “all sinners are going to hell”.

If that is all that we are telling people, then we are not preaching the gospel. We are just criticising their non-Christian lifestyle from a Christian perspective. Jesus warns that when we do this, the unbelievers will simply turn on the Christian and tear them to pieces. If we dish out unsolicited critique of sinful lifestyles and suffer for it, we are not ‘suffering for doing good’ (1 Peter 3:17), we are suffering for foolishly ignoring Jesus’ warning.

By making such a critique, we could (perhaps unintentionally) be sending the message that people have to “clean up their act” before coming to Jesus. This is exactly what Jesus did not preach. He welcomed sinners and freely forgave all who repented. They stopped living in sin after they came to Jesus, not before. They were no longer ‘swine’; they became God’s people.

How to Apply 'Judge Not' Without Casting Pearls Before Swine

How then do we deliver the gospel message to all people — no matter how hostile or unreceptive — without casting our pearls before swine?

First, we maintain Jesus’ definition of sin and His standard of righteousness as described in Matthew 5–7. This standard doesn’t just condemn particular kinds of sinners; it condemns us all. I am a sinner by Jesus’ standard, and so are you.

Following Jesus’ example, we can describe sin clearly without telling sinners that they must “clean up their act or go to hell”. Those who hear the Biblical definition of sin and realise that it applies to them are feeling the Holy Spirit at work. He convicts people of their sin, not the human messenger.

Second, we introduce people to the Saviour. Jesus will receive and change anyone who comes to Him in repentance. At that moment, He washes them clean by His blood, gives them a new spiritual nature, and brings them into the family of God.

From now on, their lives will be distinctly different. This includes becoming sensitive to the Spirit working through their conscience to identify sin whenever it crops up. No spiritual policemen needed.

Third, we help each other to deal with sin as fellow Christians. After you have met the Lord, He starts to clean up your act. He may do this directly through the Spirit, or indirectly through His church. The latter operates through the kind of ‘judging’ that Jesus described in Matthew 7:5.

This happens only within a loving Christian community, where each ‘judge’ examines their own life very carefully before helping others, and is willing to be ‘judged’ in turn (in today’s language, we call this “accountability”). The Ultimate Judge remains on His throne — we all account to Him in the end.

When we follow these steps in order — particularly by not putting step 3 before step 2 — we will use the pearls of wisdom that God gives us at the right time and for the right purpose. All of us who were once ‘swine’ will be changed into brothers and sisters by the power of the Holy Spirit. Together, we will draw closer to our Lord and glorify Him before all the earth.

© 2026 Gail Thomson.

Want more content like this? Explore more articles in Exploring Scripture.

If you want to see this played out in real life:

The Healing Power of Grace in Mother-Daughter Relationships Tessa Lind shares an honest, personal look at choosing grace over criticism in one of the hardest relationships to get right, and what happens when we let go of the urge to correct and lean into love instead.

The Art of Responding with Grace, Not Reacting in Anger A practical look at what it means to pause before we speak — trading a quick, wounded reaction for a response shaped by patience and grace.

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