Text for the Week: Guided by Integrity

What Scripture: Matthew 5:33-37

³³ “Again, you have heard that it was said by the ancients, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall fulfill your oaths to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; ³⁵ nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶ Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷ But let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these comes from the evil one.

Questions

1. What was the harm of swearing an oath by God’s name that it was considered sinful?
2. What is the point of swearing oaths that Jesus is completely against the idea of using them?
3. Why is Jesus concerned about what we can control when we are swearing oaths by something?
4. How does an affirmation beyond yes or no come from the evil one?
5. How are we to understand Jesus’ words with regard to the fact that the Old Testament promotes oath swearing (even by God’s name) and we are told God even swore oaths to Abraham and the Israelites?

Background

Related Scriptures: Exodus 22:10-13, Leviticus 19:9-16, Numbers 30:1-15, Deuteronomy 6:13, 23:21-23, Matthew 23:16-22, Hebrews 6:13-20, James 5:12

Jesus is referencing Leviticus 19:12 which itself seems to be an elaboration on the prohibition on speaking/behaving as if God’s name has no meaning (Exodus 20:7). The prohibition against false oaths was meant to remind the people of Israel that even if society at large did not know the oath was false God would and would ensure justice was done. Further, the Bible assumes there is power in the name YHWH and so to connect it with a false statement is to limit how the power of God’s name can impact society to make it sacred.

The idea of oath taking in Jesus’ day was not simply about honesty, oaths were not simply sworn to prove one to be telling the truth but also to show the magnitude or importance of what the person was saying.

The concept of oaths adding magnitude to people’s words and a hierarchy of importance seems to be behind Jesus’ criticism of the pharisees in Matthew 23, they believed that some oaths were more important because they reflected more sincerity and thus should be prioritized.

When the Temple authorities are questioning Jesus at his trial he gives them no answer until they place him under oath (Matthew 26:63-64), and when they place him under and oath he begins to answer them including confirming his status as Messiah.

Reflection

We all understand the harm that can be done by lying and that swearing a false oath, that is to know that something is false and swear anyway, is reprehensible. The first century Jewish philosopher Philo addressed false oaths saying, “I take Thee [God] as a cloak for my wrongdoing. I am ashamed to appear a sinner, be Thou [God] my accomplice; take the charge of my villainy upon Thyself instead of me.” (Spec. leg. 2.11). Leviticus’ prohibition on swearing falsely makes sense, not only does it harm the person making the oath, it harms society, and worse still God’s reputation. To drag God into a situation where one is knowingly lying is inexcusable and there is some amount of pleasure the honest person can derive in Leviticus’ assurance that even if this lie is not detected on earth, God will still know and judge. But why would Jesus take issue with swearing oaths in general when they show the solemnity of a person’s statement and hold that person accountable for their comments? After all Deuteronomy 6:13 tells people to swear oaths by God’s name, and God has even in the words of Hebrews “swore by himself” to Abraham. Jesus himself remains silent before his accusers until they charge him under an oath to defend himself as the Messiah (Matthew 26:53-64). How then do we understand Jesus’ words here that we are not to swear by anything, let alone God’s name?

As I have said in the previous two weeks, we do Jesus a disservice if we take his words as a face value command instead of wisdom literature we should meditate on. Jesus clearly knew his Scripture and understood the number of times God swore oaths to either individuals or Israel as a whole. He also knew the rule of Deuteronomy 6:13, and he is not laying either aside. He understands human nature which is prone to deceit, especially when that deceit leads to our gain. Further, he knew how we are prone mistrust others because of the pervasive nature of deceit in our world. For humanity, so used to being deceived, it would be difficult to trust even God when God is telling us something difficult and so an oath proving one’s sincerity seems necessary.

The entirety of the Sermon on the Mount is Jesus outlining his idea of life lived in restored relationship with God in God’s kingdom. We he says that we are to let our ‘‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and ‘No’ mean ‘No”, he is telling us we are to be people of such integrity that when we speak others trust implicitly what we say. We are becoming people who need no oaths because we are not attempting to deceive anyone or to use our words to gain an advantage over anyone. But creating the kind of societal trust that would make Jesus’ vision a reality is difficult, it takes open honest conversations with people and a commitment to looking out for others even when that means difficulty comes back on me. Jesus’ vision means that each individual is so committed to living out “you can trust me” that they are completely believed. This does not simply mean that I do not lie, it also means that when I make a commitment I resolutely follow through on that commitment. We all have those individuals in our lives that even though they may not intentionally deceive us, we still have difficulty believing them because they do not follow through on their commitments. These individuals are the kind that frequently say things like, “this time I’ll be there, I swear.” Why? Because in the past through negligence or other failure they have failed to keep their word. Oaths are used to ensure confidence that this time this individual will prioritize what they are saying above all other priorities in their life. But Jesus wants us to be so up front with our lives, including our priorities and commitments- both with others and ourselves- that we are aware of what we can and cannot say. The goal is to be people so authentic that when we make commitments to others they know we will follow through on those commitments.

We God made oaths in the past and the Israelites were told to swear oaths by God’s name, these were accommodations to the deceitful and mistrusting nature of humanity. Even today when we sign contracts or take an oath to join an institution or to give honest witness we are not violating a command of Jesus. We recognize that we still live in world infiltrated by dishonesty and coercion. We may still have to provide oaths to people, what Jesus is asking of us is to be the kind of people who would live up to the same standard even if the oath were not laid upon us. Our concern is not about following these words to the letter but becoming the kind of people who do not require oaths and special promises either to prove our fidelity or to trust in the words of others.