Sermon on the Mount: Matthew 5:33-37

Matthew 5:33-37

We don’t do much oath swearing these days. I’ve seen oaths sworn on two occasions: at a citizenship ceremony where new Americans took oaths of citizenship, and at weddings, where two people make vows to each other, which is like an oath, right?

What Jesus mentions about oaths is foreign to our culture and context. Swearing by heaven? By a throne? By my head? Imagine going to a wedding and hearing the couple say, “I swear by my head to love you unconditionally.” It’s just not a thing. 

So does this mean we write off this teaching of Jesus? Definitely not. Let’s dive into the context of Jewish oath swearing, which was actually a huge debate in Jesus’ time on earth. This teaching reveals how what we say, and how we say it, greatly matters to Jesus. 

Basically, “swearing an oath” in Jewish culture meant using the Holy name of Yahweh to bolster one’s claim and make it seem more righteous. For example, if I saw someone commit an injustice, say, steal some crops, I could swear on the name of Yahweh that I saw them do it to give what I am saying more credibility.

This practice eventually devolved into using the holiness of God (or things associated with his holiness) to justify one’s claims. So if I swore an oath on God’s Throne saying I saw my neighbor steal (but really just assumed they did it) and was proven wrong, I could sneakily say something like “well I didn’t swear on the name of God, just the throne of God. I wasn’t misusing God’s name or holiness.” 

People started using Holy things, whether it be the name of Yahweh, his throne, or the temple to justify their own wickedness or bolster their appearance. They were hiding the complete truth or their honest word by just associating what they said with righteous things. Thus, debates broke out about what Holy things were appropriate to swear by. Jesus cuts right through this debate by saying, “just say yes or no.” 

Though this type of Hebrew oath swearing doesn’t happen in our culture, we still use words to manipulate our rhetoric. Our sinful pride, need to be liked, and deep insecurities lead us to tell self-protective half truths all of the time. 

Have you ever “name-dropped” someone influential to make yourself seem more important or to appear as a better Christian? 

Have you ever said “God called me” or “I’ve prayed about…” without actually seriously praying about something? 

Have you ever pretended to know what you are talking about just so you don’t have to humble yourself and say, “I don’t know?”

There are countless ways we spin narratives to make ourselves look better. Instead of just telling the whole, honest truth about ourselves or situations, we hide behind our words to protect ourselves from actually being vulnerable. Jesus is saying here that anything other than the vulnerable, honest, truth is “from the evil one.” It’s no coincidence that Satan himself is called “the Deceiver” or “the Father of Lies.” 

But Jesus’ Kingdom is a Kingdom of honesty, integrity to one’s word, and vulnerability. While the world around us tends to hide behind half truths and perceptions of their character, disciples of Jesus have the opportunity to be a community where our words have integrity. We can be our authentic, honest selves because Jesus is redeeming and transforming our character; we don’t have to pretend we have it all together. 

So, when it comes to how you speak and how you present yourself, what needs to be transformed? Are you non-committal when you make plans with people? Do you find yourself trying to portray yourself as something you’re not? Do you use important people or expensive things to prop up your own image? Do you hide behind spiritual sounding words instead of being vulnerable? 

Whatever it is for you, take some time to repent and ask the Spirit to begin a work of transformation in this area. You might need to do some reflecting in order to find the root of these tendencies. Allow Jesus to compassionately do this work with you. Because of his love, you don’t have to hide, and by his grace, your speech can be made into a tool for building up the Kingdom rather than building up your own agenda.