Years ago children, in an effort to convince their friends that they were really serious about a matter, used to make an oath of sorts. The oath was something similar to, "Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye." When that "cross my heart" vow was taken, the only legal way to break it without any repercussions was to have had your fingers crossed at the time the commitment was made. The thinking was that you could commit to anything, and as long as you had your fingers crossed you could renege with impunity.
While all the oath taking and finger crossing seemed to be quite innocent back then as kids, that same mentality seems to have followed many into their adult years. Many in our society have kept right on using that finger-crossing technique in order to find ways to justify breaking almost any commitment, especially when keeping the commitment becomes too difficult, costly, or even just inconvenient. As a society we are reaping the consequences of generations of finger-crossing. Each year we spend billions of dollars to cover the cost of broken commitments in businesses, in marriages, and in many other facets of life.
The cost of broken commitments goes beyond the financial realm. There are also personal, emotional, and spiritual costs that need to be considered as well. Nearly all of us, at one time or the other, have experienced the pain of discovering that someone we trusted, a parent, a spouse, a child, a friend, an employer or a co- worker, apparently had their fingers crossed when they made a "cross my heart" promise. It’s because of this that these words of Jesus are so relevant to us today. In these verses, Jesus is calling His followers to a new and different way of living.
I. THE COMMENCEMENT
A. An Oath Defined
1. The entire concept of oath-taking originated in the Old Testament, but before considering its origin we would do well to understand what an oath is by definition.
2. "An oath is a solemn affirmation or declaration, made with an appeal to God for the truth of what is affirmed, and imprecating His vengeance, and renouncing His favor if what is affirmed is false." (Barnes’ Notes, The Gospels, page 57)
3. In other words, when a person takes an oath, he or she is making a solemn declaration or statement with an appeal to God to bear witness to the truth of what was affirmed, denied, or promised. The individual taking an oath is calling upon God to be witness, judge, and revenger if they are not speaking truthfully.
4. An oath was and is a very serious thing.
B. An Oath Demanded
1. Deuteronomy 6:13
2. The reason behind the commandment with regard to oath-taking was first and foremost to restrain man’s inclination towards lying. Because of sin, lying was prevalent among the people in Moses’ day just as it is in our day.
3. The taking of an oath in the name of the Lord was meant to bring to bear upon the minds of the people the seriousness of lying to their fellow man.
4. Another reason for the oath-taking command was to restrict the practice to serious matters only. The act of taking an oath had been trivialized and people were taking oaths in the name of God over the most insignificant matters.
II. THE CORRUPTION
As was the case with killing, adultery, and divorce, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day had corrupted the matter of oath-taking. The Pharisees had developed a teaching that made a distinction between what they referred to as binding and non-binding oaths. That such was the case is obvious from Matthew 23:16-22.
A. Non-Binding Oaths
1. Non-binding oaths were oaths that were taken by the temple or the altar. Other oaths considered to be non-binding were oaths taken by heaven, the earth, Jerusalem, and even one’s own head.
2. The obligation of an oath depended upon the nature of the object by which the person swore.
B. Binding Oaths
1. The only oaths considered binding by the Pharisees were those taken in the name of the Lord. As long as they did not invoke the name of God, they were free to renege, so they thought.
2. In His sermon, Jesus refutes the false teaching of the Pharisees by proclaiming that all oaths are binding. Even though they may not mention the name of God, He is nonetheless Creator and Owner of all things.
3. Jesus reminded the Pharisees that to swear by "heaven" was in effect to swear by God because heaven is where God’s throne is.
4. To swear by the "earth" would be to swear by the place that is considered to be God’s footstool and to do so would be to swear by the One whose footstool it is.
5. To swear by "Jerusalem" would be to swear by "the city of the great King" and consequently to swear by the King Himself.
6. Swearing by one’s head or by one’s life as it meant, was also to swear by God because He is the author of life and is in control of life even down to the color of one’s hair.
III. THE CONFUSION
Not only were the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day guilty of misinterpreting and consequently corrupting this practice of oath-taking, but so are some who live in this day and age. Due to a misunderstanding of the teaching of Jesus in this passage, they refuse to take any kind of oath, legal or otherwise.
This confusion becomes unnecessary when Scripture is compared with Scripture. God would not condemn in one Scripture what He and His followers practiced in other Scriptures.
A. The Pattern of the Sovereign
1. God Himself swears numerous times in the Scriptures.
2. Psalm 89:34-37
3. Psalm 110:4
4. Psalm 132:11
5. Isaiah 45:23
6. Amos 4:2; 8:7
7. Hebrews 6:12
B. The Precedent of the Saviour
1. Matthew 26:59-63
2. The words "I adjure thee by the living God" was an official oath which demanded an answer.
3. The High Priest was calling upon God to witness the truth of what was being said. In essence, Jesus was being put under oath to tell "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." This was the perfect time for Jesus to set a precedent concerning the taking of oaths. He did establish a precedent, and that was to vow, in a court of law, to tell "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."
C. The Practice of the Saints
1. Saints of both the Old and New Testaments made vows and swore one to another.
2. Abraham swore to Abimelech (Genesis 21:23-24).
3. Abraham required an oath from his servant (Genesis 24:8-9).
4. Jacob swore to Laban (Genesis 31:53).
5. Joseph swore to his father (Genesis 47:31).
6. Paul often put himself under oath (2 Corinthians 1:23; Galatians 1:20 Philippians 1:8; 1 Thessalonians 2:5, 10).
IV. THE CONCLUSION
"But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil" (Matthew 5:37). In this verse Jesus does two things:
A. Jesus Calls for Communication that is Honest
1. As followers of Christ, the only oath and guarantee that any man should ever need from us is our word. We ought to be men and women of character, men and women whose word can be trusted.
2. Our lives ought to be so that there would be no need for anyone to question our character.
3. Our word should be our bond. Our "yes" ought to be absolutely "yes" and our "no" ought to be absolutely "no."
B. Jesus Condemns Conduct that is Horrible
1. The need for anything other than a simple "yes" or "no" rises from the depravity of man.
2. Since the fall of Adam, lying has been a natural part of man’s life. Man is born a liar (Psalm 58:3).
