Title Do not swear / Matthew 5:33-37
word for content
Even in our daily life, we see that we make a lot of oaths. Treaties between nations, personal oaths, oaths… A vow, an oath, a promise to God...
1. What is an oath?
An oath is an oath that is made with a special guarantor in order to confirm and prove the truth of what one intends to do or say. When people make a declaration or solemnly promise something by using God as a witness, it is called an oath. Or you risk your money, or you risk your life. The Bible says a lot about oaths.
1) There is an oath that God has made. It is called an oath or covenant.
When Abraham was about to offer Isaac as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah according to God's command, God said this:
Genesis 22:16-18
“I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that you have done this, and have not spared your only son, your only son, so I will bless you and make your offspring great, and I will make your descendants like the stars in the sky and like the sand on the seashore. You will have the gates of your enemies, and through your seed all peoples under the world will be blessed, because you have done what I said.”
Genesis 26:2-4
The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt, but live in the land that I will show you.
If you stay in this land, I will be with you and bless you, and I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants. and in your descendants all the peoples of the world will be blessed.
Exodus 6:8
I will bring you into the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as an inheritance.
Deuteronomy 4:31
The LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not forsake you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant he swore to your ancestors.
Since there is no one greater than Himself, God made Himself the guarantee of the oath and covenant.
2) There is an oath that man makes to God. It is called an oath or vow.
Jacob, Hannah, David, Zacchaeus,…
1 Samuel 1:10-
“When Hannah was troubled in her heart, she prayed to the Lord, wept and vowed a vow, saying, “O Lord of hosts, if you will look on your maidservant’s affliction and remember me and not forget your maidservant and give him a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and bring him a razor. I will not put it on his head.”
We are told not to profane the name of God by swearing falsely in His name.
3) There is an oath made between people.
Neighbors, friends, business, when getting married…
2. What does the Bible say about oaths?
Leviticus 19:12
“You shall not profane the name of your God by swearing falsely in my name, for I am the LORD.”
Numbers 30:2
“If a man has made a vow to the LORD or has made an oath to control his heart, he shall not break it, but shall do whatever comes out of his mouth.”
Deuteronomy 23:21
“When you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not delay paying it; for the LORD your God will surely demand it from you, and delay is a sin against you.”
Do not swear falsely, and if you make a vow, pay it back. If you make an oath, make a vow, and do not keep it, it is a sin.
For the Jews in Jesus' day, oaths were made like a fad.
Many people took the oath because they looked great and had good faith when they took an oath in front of a lot of people.
He swore by heaven, swore by earth, and swore by his head.
In Matthew 23:16 and below, there were those who took an oath by the temple, and they swore with the gold of the temple, with the altar, and with the sacrifice of the altar.
3. How did the Jews in Jesus' day teach the oath?
Matthew 5:33
“You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘You shall not swear in vain, but keep your oath to the Lord.
A false oath is an oath made falsely. Can I swear falsely when I swear? That is, it is an oath that is not to be kept. There can be no false oaths. Nevertheless, the legalists, and the ancients, taught oaths in stages. These oaths had to be kept, and even if they had made these oaths, they had to set their own rules of oaths and taught them.
Matthew 23:16-22
“Woe to you, blind guides, you say, “If anyone swears by the temple, nothing happens, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he will keep it. He said, "It is nothing if anyone swears by the altar, but if he swears by the gift that is on it, he must keep it." Blind men, which is the greatest? And he who swears by the temple swears by the temple and by him who is in it; and he who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits on it
Where are the oaths that must be kept, and where are the oaths that must not be kept? Even if you make an oath on the basis of something, everything is an oath to God.
4. What does Jesus say about oaths?
What is Jesus saying in today's text?
Matthew 5:34 “I tell you, you shall not swear at all.”
Why not swear? “Neither by heaven, for this is the throne of God.”
Matthew 5:35-36
“Neither by the earth, for it stands as the footstool of God; neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king, nor by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black.”
Even if you swear by anything, it is an act of denying that God is Lord. God will do this. I'll do that. If you make an oath, even if it looks like an act of faith, it is the result of denying that you are in control of your life and that it belongs to God.
We must know for sure that everything in this world is not something we can do on our own or our responsibility.
Heaven and earth, the church, all these things are God's dwelling place and are under God's control. Moreover, to swear to do anything in the face of the fact that you cannot whiten or blacken even a single hair on your head is hypocrisy, pride, and in God's eyes it comes from evil. So Jesus said in verse 37.
Matthew 5:37
“But say what you say is right, it is right, and no, it is not. Anything that goes beyond this is of evil.”
Faith is not in words, but in the center of our hearts and in our lives. What motivates you to make an oath? Do you do it to justify your position and defend your position? It is hypocrisy. Do you do it to boast of your abilities or strength? It is an act of disregarding the sovereignty of God. Only tell the truth truthfully. right right no no
1 Corinthians 4:20 “For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.”
closing words
Jeremiah 5:1-2
“Go and go quickly into the streets of Jerusalem, and look for them in the wide streets, and know that if you find even one man who does justice and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city. 』
James 5:12
“Above all, my brethren, do not take an oath; do not swear by heaven or by earth or by any other thing;
What is the fundamental force that makes it all work? Love. Love is the fundamental force that makes things work, whether they take oaths or vows or not. God is not the guarantor of our cheap oaths, but the object of worship, service, and love. He is the absolute Sovereign in control of our lives that make us prosper and destroy.