Sincere Speech Series

Matthew 5:33-37. [33]"Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' [34] But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, [35] or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. [36] And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. [37] Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil. (ESV)

Kids can be creative in so many ways. They have a great ability to see animals in the clouds, play with imaginary friends and make up wonderful stories. Unfortunately, at times the line that separates fact from fiction is not drawn clearly enough. That wonderful faculty for imagination can be misused in lying or deceiving others.

Fundamental to relationships is the aspect of truth. When we believe what someone is saying we can form a relational bond that results in the sharing and depths of thoughts and feelings. When we think that someone is lying to us or covering something up we tend not to trust them and share little with them.

In their consciences people know that truth is right and essential. That is one reason even when people seek to deceive, they go to such lengths to make what they say appear to be truthful. Unfortunately, people are inclined to the truth only when it benefits them. The question for each of us is what is the pattern of our speech? Are we prone to say something and not follow through? Do we play word games and assure ourselves that “at least we didn’t lie”? If so, we do well to look at the teaching that Jesus has for us and learn from the Jews of Jesus’ day.

The ancient Jewish rabbis revered the idea of truth in principle, but in practice it was buried under their system of tradition, which over the centuries had continually cut God’s law down to fit their own sinful perspectives and purposes. In Matthew 5:33-37 Jesus proceeds to expose the convenient distortion and contradiction of the divine revelation they claimed to love and teach. In these five verses Jesus sets forth:

1) Promising Speech (Matthew 5:33a), 2) False Speech (Matthew 5:33b), distinguished from 3) Godly Speech (Matthew 5:34-37).

God’s expectation of Sincere Speech, is distinguished from:

1) Promising Speech. Matthew 5:33a

Matthew 5:33a [33]"Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, (but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn).' (ESV)

The traditional teaching that Jesus quotes here was a composite of ideas based on Leviticus 19:12, Numbers 30:2, and Deuteronomy 23:21. The two vows mentioned here are from two different, but related, Greek terms. The first is from the verb epiorkeo, which means to perjure oneself, to swear falsely, to swear falsely/make false vows. The second is from the noun horkos, which literally means to enclose, as with a fence, or to bind together. The truth of an oath or vow is enclosed, bound, and therefore strengthened by that which is invoked on its behalf. A clear description of an oath is given in the book of Hebrews: Hebrews 6:16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. (ESV). The name of something or someone greater than the person making the oath is invoked to give greater credibility to what is said. Any oath calling on God invites Him to witness the truthfulness of what is said or to avenge if it is a lie. An oath was therefore generally taken to be the absolute truth, which made “an end of every dispute,” because it invited judgment on the one who violated his word. (Neh. 10:29). God provided for making oaths by His name (Lev. 19:12). Even God The Father Himself made oaths on certain occasions. (Gen. 22:16-17). (Heb. 6:13-14, 17). (Ps. 89:3, 49; 110:4; Jer. 11:5; and Luke 1:73.). The Mosaic law forbade irreverent oaths, light use of the Lord’s name, and broken vows. Once Yahweh’s name was invoked, the vow to which it was attached became a debt that had to be paid to the Lord. (Carson, D. A. (1984). Matthew. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke (Vol. 8, p. 153). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)

• Making a solemn promise is a serious thing. Should there be an occasion for a child to do so an authority should provide the necessary counsel.

Please turn to Matthew 26

Jesus many times used the phrase “Truly I say to you” (Matt. 5:18, 26; 6:2, 5 16; etc.), and the even more emphatic “Truly, truly, I say to you” (John 1:51; 3:3, 5; 5:19, 24; etc.), to call attention to a teaching of special importance. As with God’s oaths, the words Jesus introduces with “truly” are no more truthful than anything else He said, but emphasize the unique importance of certain of His teachings. It is important to note that Jesus Himself swore an oath before Caiaphas: