Matthew 5:33-37

Matthew 5:33-37

Again, you heard that it was being said to the ones who lived a long time ago, “Do not fail to keep an oath you’ve sworn.  And you will cause your oath to happen for the Lord.”  And I say to you all, do not affirm the truth of something by calling upon the character of another at all!  You should not affirm the truth of something by calling upon the character of another: neither in heaven (that is, the throne of God) nor in the earth (that is, the footstool for His feet) nor into Jerusalem (that is, the city of the great king) nor in your own head because you are not powerful enough to make one hair brilliant white or black.  Let your word of yes be yes and let no be no.  Anything outside of the scope of this is out of evil. 

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Let’s look at what the Bible often terms as “oaths.”  The Greek verb here is omnuo (ὀμνύω).  This verb means as I have translated it: to affirm truth by calling upon the character of another.  In other words, a person who says something like, “May God strike me dead if I don’t fulfill such-and-such.”  Jesus is talking about people who want to make their argument stronger by placing the weight of God on their side.  Jesus is talking about people who seek to make their case by inviting punishment upon themselves if they are wrong.  These are the people that Jesus is condemning here.

Do you ever do this?  Do you ever seek to strengthen your own case by asking God to punish you if you are wrong?  Why do you – or people around you - do this?

Second Thought:

Therefore, Jesus isn’t talking about oaths as in promises or testimonials here.  Jesus is telling the people around Him that what is wrong is asserting the claim that the absence of punishment is the same as divine approval!  Jesus doesn’t have a problem with me promising to do something.  Jesus has a problem with me telling God to hold me accountable if I don’t do something!  And there we finally see the heart of the matter.  Can I know the mind of God?  Who am I to tell God that it’s up to Him to hold me accountable if I don’t keep my word?  Who am I to lay that burden upon God’s feet?  That’s precisely what it means when a person says something like “so help me God.”  What that person is claiming is that if I don’t go through with my promise that it is up to God to punish me.  But here’s the truth.  I already deserve punishment!  I deserve God’s punishment – and I will get God’s judgment – whether I keep my word or not!  By appealing to the character of God to make my claim stronger what I am actually doing is trying to put myself above God and tell God what to do!  Who am I to think I can do that?

Have you ever thought of the words “so help me God” as a challenge to His omnipotence before?  How are people who make claims like this really asserting their own arrogance?

Third Thought:

This is why Jesus gives us sage advice in the end.  He says, “Let your yes be yes and your no be no.”  Jesus doesn’t have any issue with me making promises.  He doesn’t have any issue with me agreeing to do something.  What He doesn’t want is for me to involve the character of God in my promises.  He doesn’t want me to put God in a position where if I break my promise then God’s character is in question.  My promise is my promise.  I should let my ability to keep or break my promises rest on my own head, not God’s.

Does your yes mean yes?  Can people believe your promise when you give it?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 5:38-42