OVER THE YEARS, I’ve been asked the same anxious question more than once by believers who have tried repeatedly to witness to family members, friends, or co-workers, but to no avail. What are they supposed to do? Typically, they care about the other person and are worried about that person’s eternal destiny. Rightly so. And truthfully, they don’t want that person’s fate on their conscience. So they ask: Am I missing something? If my friend doesn’t believe in Jesus, is that on my head?

I love their conscientiousness and care. And at the same time, I don’t want them to lose sleep worrying about things that aren’t their responsibility. I try to reassure them that while we are all responsible for bearing witness, conversion and repentance are God’s business, not the direct result of our eloquence. We don’t change people’s hearts; the Holy Spirit does. And we can have a clear conscience if we have spoken the truth in love and without hypocrisy. It’s up to God to finish the work in his way, his will, and his timing — and quite possibly through someone else. Our ongoing job is to not do anything that will get in the way of the message that’s already been spoken.

Something like this, I think, is the point of what Jesus says next in the Sermon on the Mount:

Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. (Matt 7:6, NIV)

If that verse sounds a little odd to you, you’re not alone. As you might imagine, its meaning has been thoroughly debated over the centuries. It reads like a random saying of Jesus that’s unconnected with the rest of the chapter and out of context — and indeed, some scholars believe Matthew may have inserted it from other sayings of Jesus for reasons that are hard to fathom.

But what does the verse mean? The first big question is who Jesus has in mind when he speaks of “dogs” and “pigs.” Clearly, he’s not paying anyone a compliment. Dogs were dirty, wild animals, not beloved household pets; they scrounged for food in people’s garbage. Pigs were also dirty, and to a Jew ritually unclean. Assuming that Jesus’ audience was primarily or even exclusively Jewish, his hearers would probably have taken “dogs” and “pigs” as referring metaphorically to Gentiles. More generally for our purposes, we might think of them as unrepentant unbelievers. They’re not just people who don’t believe or have yet to believe, but those who refuse to believe.

There’s one other place in the New Testament where dogs and pigs are mentioned together: in the apostle Peter’s description of the false prophets who are leading people astray. He unsparingly describes them as blasphemers and adulterers, slaves to their own sin and wickedness. They have known the way of Jesus but have rejected it and turned back to the ways of the world. Peter calls them “unreasoning animals” (2 Pet 2:12), and finishes his diatribe with this:

Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.” (vs. 22)

Similarly, Paul uses the word “dogs” in Philippians 3:2 as a metaphor for the Jewish Christians who are trying to lead Gentile converts astray by pushing them to be circumcised. And the apostle John, in the book of Revelation, associates “dogs” with all those who will be left outside the Holy City after Jesus returns (Rev 22:15).

In the same vein then, what Jesus describes in the sermon as “sacred” or as “pearls” is probably the good news of the kingdom or the kingdom itself. There is, after all, only one other place in Scripture where Jesus refers to pearls. It’s later in Matthew’s gospel, in a short parable about the kingdom:

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. (Matt 13:45-46)

In telling his hearers not to give the sacred to dogs or cast their pearls before swine, Jesus is not saying that the kingdom isn’t for Gentiles, or that it’s forbidden to preach the gospel to them. That would contradict his own Great Commission to his disciples, in which they are instructed to “make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:19). Again, given the texts we read earlier, it would be better to take “dogs” and “pigs” as references to all those who refuse the kingdom, who refuse to repent, whether they’re Gentiles or not.

What Jesus seems to be saying, therefore, is that we shouldn’t persist in preaching the kingdom to people who refuse to accept it. He said as much to the Twelve when he sent them out on an evangelistic mission:

If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. (Matt 10:14-15)

There’s no question that people need to hear the gospel. But as anyone who’s ever been entangled in an ongoing argument should be able to tell you, repeating yourself more loudly or insistently won’t make the other person listen. Indeed, it can easily accomplish the opposite. What Jesus adds in the sermon is a warning: pushing the gospel where it isn’t wanted may result in blasphemy or violence.

But couldn’t Jesus (or Peter, or Paul, or John) have said this in a less insulting way? In Matthew 5, didn’t Jesus tell his hearers not to call people nasty names? And given what he says at the beginning of chapter 7, don’t his words sound a bit judgmental?

Perhaps. I’ll admit that the language sounds overly harsh to my ears. But remember: in the rest of the sermon, Jesus wasn’t simply cleaning up people’s language. He was preaching against unrestrained anger and self-righteous hypocrisy, and Jesus can’t be accused of either.

Think of it this way: how might a Pharisee have used Jesus’ words? Right, Jesus. Good word. Why should I bother wasting my wisdom on these sinful swine? These words of Jesus are not — indeed, cannot be — taken as an invitation to go full self-righteous Pharisee on someone else. Jesus can use such words without sin, but I cannot. Can you?

You’ve probably heard it said: “Preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, use words.” The quote is generally — and probably incorrectly — attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. But the sentiment applies here. We cannot continue to push the gospel with our words where that message is stoutly refused. Yet we can and must always live the gospel in the way we patiently love others.

And who knows? That may end up being the most convincing witness of all.