Matthew 5:33-37 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’, and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”
Jesus has taken us from murder and anger to sexual sin and lust and now, in our passage today He begins to teach about oath-taking and swearing. What is the significance of this? Does it fit with the others? As Jesus reveals the heart and mind of God, and the character of those in the Kingdom of God He is now going to teach about two things that are polar opposites and bitter enemies of each other, truth and vanity. Why do we take oaths in the first place? Whether it is in a court of law for legal purposes or children that “cross their heart” we take oaths because we lie. If no one ever lied there would be no need for an oath, a vow or even a promise for that matter. Whether it is someone crassly swearing by the name of God or “on their mother’s grave” or it is someone passionately trying to prove credibility by invoking someone else more credible than them as a witness the reality is that if men didn’t lie oaths would never have become needed. We must become a people that loves and values the truth, not just in the things that we think matter but in all things and at all times. Based on a true story is not the truth, embellished for dramatic purposes is not the truth. The truth is not always entertaining but that doesn’t mean that it needs to be fixed up a little, we need to learn what it means to let our yes be yes and our no, no. The other reason for an oath or a vow is that it appeals to our vanity and pride. The story is bigger, the promise seems greater, the vow more pious if is not just spoken or promised but sworn to. The sin in our lack of truth and abundance of vanity is that we have found ways to draw God into our oaths and vows. It’s not enough to swear by our own name, we swear by God’s. It’s not enough to give our opinion or interpretation or experience we share them as God’s decree, that this is His mind and His word. When we say the words “Thus saith the Lord”, or “God said” we should tremble at the thought of speaking with and for the Almighty God, they should not be words we use to prove a point or attempt to gain acceptance or agreement. The scribes and the Pharisees represented a human condition that we all suffer from, the desire to be believed even when we are false and the longing to be exalted even though we should be brought low. I pray that today we will listen to Jesus’ words closely, find out the incredible power of His name and live lives of truth that reject vanity at every turn.