Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm20120718.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Matthew: Jesus As Israel's Messiah And His Kingdom
Part XI: Christ As Israel's Messiah By His Surpassing Righteousness
G. The Biblically Consistent Righteousness Of Christ's Subjects Regarding Oaths
(Matthew 5:33-37)
  1. Introduction
    1. When Jesus said that one's righteousness had to exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees if he were to be a part of the Kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20), He had to clarify to His Hebrew listeners how that could be, for the Pharisees adhered to the principle of Halacha, "concern for every jot and tittle of performance" regarding the Mosaic Law, Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, volume Four, p. 748.
    2. Matthew 5:21-7:6 provides many illustrations of Jesus' point, with Matthew 5:33-37 commenting on how His kingdom righteousness regarding oaths far surpassed the righteousness of the Pharisees as follows:
  2. The Biblically Consistent Righteousness Of Christ's Subjects Regarding Oaths, Matthew 5:33-37.
    1. The third command of the Ten Commandments called for one not to take the Name of the Lord in vain, requiring that oaths taken in the Lord's Name be kept, Ex. 20:7 with Lev. 19:12; Num. 30:2; Deut. 23:21.
    2. Thus, "(e)very oath contained an affirmation or promise and an appeal to God as the omniscient punisher of falsehoods, which made the oath binding. Thus we find phrases like as the Lord liveth' (1 Sam. 14:39)," Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to Matthew 5:33.
    3. However, "(t)he emphasis on the sanctity of oaths led to the feeling that ordinary phrasing need not be truthful or binding," so oaths were taken in various deceptive ways to impress the hearer that the speaker intended one thing when the speaker could later claim that since he had not actually invoked the Lord's Name, he was not bound to what the hearer thought was his oath unto him! Such abuses turned oaths into a means of deceitfully manipulating others for gain, the opposite of the intent of oaths under the Law!
    4. Jesus thus countered this abuse, directing that one always speak the absolute truth, Matthew 5:33-37:
      1. Referring to the teaching in Leviticus 19:12, Numbers 30:2 and Deuteronomy 23:21, Jesus told his hearers that the scribes and Pharisees taught that they should not perjure themselves, but perform unto the Lord the oaths they had taken in His Name, Matthew 5:33.
      2. However, in view of the many deceptions involved in the taking of oaths in that era, Jesus told His hearers that the righteous standard in His Kingdom would not tolerate making any oaths, Matt. 5:34a.
      3. To clarify, Jesus alluded to the making of an oath by heaven as the Pharisees would do, a way of speaking that could impress a hearer to think he referred to God when the speaker thought that since he was not using God's Name, he was not making a binding oath. Jesus explained that since heaven was God's throne, swearing by it alluded to God regardless what the speaker thought to the contrary, making his oath binding, Matthew 5:34b!
      4. Jesus also forbade one's swearing by the earth, for though a deceptive manipulator might think he were not taking God's Name in vain by such an oath, since the earth was God's footstool, it alluded to God, making the oath binding before Him, Matthew 5:35a.
      5. Jesus forbade swearing by the city of Jerusalem, for though deceptive manipulators thought this kept them from swearing by God's Name, since Jerusalem was the City of the Great King, God Himself, it alluded to the Lord, making the oath binding, Matthew 5:35b.
      6. Jesus forbade swearing by one's head, for though one might think this did not allude to God's Name, one could not make a single head of his hair white or black, but only God could do that as Sovereign Creator of every human being, thus alluding to the Lord, so the oath was binding, Matthew 5:36!
      7. In summation, Jesus said that one should not take oaths, but tell the truth in all of his speech, letting his "Yes" mean actually "Yes" and his "No" mean actually "No," for anything that departed from this standard of communication arose from the evil of deceit and lying, Matthew 5:37!
Lesson: Jesus taught that His Kingdom's subjects were to hold to such a high standard of truth in their speech that they never needed to take an oath, for they should always mean exactly what they said.

Application: May we speak the truth, only the truth, and nothing but the truth, in every word we speak.