In the ancient world pearls were of very great value and were even considered priceless. They were worn as prized jewels to make a person appear more beautiful and magnificent to behold. Holiness, likewise, is a very precious jewel that radiates the beauty of God's truth, goodness, and glory. God offers us the precious gift of his holiness so that we may radiate the splendor of his truth and goodness in the way we think, speak, act, and treat others.

Why does Jesus contrast holiness and pearls with dogs and swine (Mt. 7:6)? The Talmud, a rabbinic commentary on the Jewish Scriptures, uses a proverbial saying for something which appears incongruous or out of place: an ear-ring in a swine's snout. Jesus' expression about "pearls before swine" and "not giving dogs what is holy" is very similar in thought (Mt.7:6). Jewish law regarded swine as unclean. Wild dogs were also treated as unfit for close human contact as they were prone to attack or cause trouble.

The early church referenced this expression with the Eucharist or the Lord's Table. In the liturgy of the early Church, a proclamation was given shortly before communion: Holy things to the holy. The Didache, a first century Church manual stated: Let no one eat or drink of your Eucharist except those baptised into the name of the Lord; for, as regards this, the Lord has said, 'Do not give what is holy to dogs.' The Lord Jesus invites us to feast at his banquet table, but we must approach it worthily.