In Matthew 5, Jesus reveals how his followers are to live by making six contrasts between the common understanding of the Old Testament law versus his own authoritative application of the law. The fourth of these antitheses (Matthew 5:33-37) has to do with swearing oaths. Jesus isn’t talking about using foul language. He’s taking on the practice of invoking an oath to underscore the truthfulness of our words. We do this especially when we make promises. “I will do it; I swear it!’ As children, we fortified our promises by saying, “Cross my heart and hope to die!” You might have heard someone say, “I swear on my mother’s grave” or “I swear by all that’s holy.” Those are examples of oaths. But oaths are not necessary to uphold truth. In fact, they can be used to encourage deceit. By contrast, Jesus calls us to just tell the truth.
The Pharisees made a game out of vows and oaths.
The Old Testament law made a provision of using an oath to reinforce a vow: “A man who makes a vow to the Lord or makes a pledge under oath must never break it. He must do exactly what he said he would do” (Numbers 30:1-2). In Matthew 5:33, Jesus summarized this and other passages about oaths when he said, “You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’” Originally, the purpose of an oath was to call yourself to accountability to tell the truth, especially when making a promise to God or others. The point of this law was to insure that a person would “do exactly what he said he would do.”
Yet over time, Jewish religious leaders created a loophole that undermined God’s original purpose. They put together a complicated system that dictated which oaths were binding and which were not. For example, the Pharisees did not consider it binding to swear “by God’s temple” but it was binding to swear “by the gold in the Temple” (Matthew 23:16). Jesus was responding to that system in Matthew 5:34-35: “But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King”.
One problem with swearing oaths like this is that it fosters idolatry. Such oaths anchor your promise in something or someone other God – like the Temple or heaven. Calling someone or something else besides God as the ultimate witness of your truthfulness raises that person or thing to the level of God. You can swear by your mother’s grave, but your mother’s grave doesn’t have the power to validate your truthfulness or to hold you accountable for what you say. Only God can do that.
Another problem with oaths is that, while they were originally intended to reinforce the truth, this system of oaths did just the opposite. It actually undermined the truth. For example, rather than calling you to be accountable to God for what you say, oaths became a means to convince others that you are telling the truth (even if you aren’t). The intent of oaths was further diluted when people began using oaths to create a way out of whatever they were promising – like a child crossing his fingers behind his back. In other words, this approach to oaths encouraged dishonesty by allowing evasive oaths. This may not have been the Pharisee’s intent, but it allowed people to obey the letter of the law without actually being fully honest or taking accountability for their words and promises.
Jesus is not forbidding oaths; he’s telling us not to play games with the truth.
As we noted, vows and oaths are rooted in the Bible. The apostle Paul swore to God: “Now I call upon God as my witness that I am telling the truth” (2 Corinthians 1:23). In fact, God frequently swore by his own name (Genesis 22:16-17; Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 6:13) as a way to encourage people to fully trust in his promises. God is a God of truth. Deceit is contrary to his nature (Numbers 23:19). As his people, we’re called to reflect his character by telling the truth.
After all, swearing an oath won’t necessarily make a liar tell the truth. On the night before the cross, Peter invoked an oath to deny that he knew Jesus (Matthew 26:72). Many people in court have sworn to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and have then perjured themselves.
Rather than using oaths of any kind to undergird your truthfulness, Jesus concludes his point in Matthew 5:37 by saying, “Just a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.” Forget all the complex reasoning about what is a binding oath and what is not. Just tell the truth. It should never be necessary to swear an oath before making a promise. Our word should always be trustworthy enough that no oath is needed. Jesus’ teaching on this is reflected throughout the New Testament. For example, James says, “But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned.” (James 5:12).
When our words can’t be trusted, it’s hard to point people to a God who can be.
As human beings, lying comes incredibly easily to us. But there are greater consequences than just broken promises or losing people’s trust. Our truthfulness has a bearing on how people think about God.
God never breaks his word (Hebrews 6:17-19). That means we can have great confidence in him as “a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.” But why would people believe that God is trustworthy if his own people aren’t? Why would people believe God’s promises when they can’t believe our promises? God’s faithfulness offers great hope in an ever-changing world filled with fraud and hypocrisy. When our word can’t be trusted – especially when we create loopholes to manipulate the truth – we undermine the promises of God.
If you mean “Yes,” just say “Yes.” If you mean “No,” just say “No.” You don’t need to swear an oath to tell the truth. That’s the Jesus Way of keeping your word.
