16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And he who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it.”
“Blind guides!”, “Blind fools!”, “Blind men!” – not sounding too good for these religious leaders of Jesus’ day. In God’s estimation, those in leadership and teaching positions are held in higher accountability for the truth they profess as well as for their walk to match their talk. Having professed to have a clearer knowledge of Truth, these teachers were all the more bound to obey it. James tells us:
1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. James 3:1 (NIV)
In our verses for today Jesus exposes the duplicitous character of the religious elite who tricked their following by making fine lines of distinction that could possibly invalidate oaths. They were forever allowing mental reservations within their vows. Bottom line, they were not truly seeking to abide by their word. In God’s estimation, oaths are not something to tinker with or taken lightly – FYI. God detests any breach of faith whatever the case may be. We are to be honest before our Creator and His creation and careful of every verbal commitment we utter. God never looks lightly upon unfulfilled vows freely falling from our lips – our words and actions matter very much to Him. He sees all and judges even the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts. We are told in Deuteronomy to be sure to do whatever our lips utter because we make our vows freely with our own mouths:
21 If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. 22 But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty. 23 Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the LORD your God with your own mouth. Deut 23:21-23 (NIV)
Jesus took this a step further in the Sermon on the Mount by stating we are not to even vow at all, simply let our “yes” be “yes” and our “no’s” “no”. We are to be a people so well known for living Truth and not deception that our word is our bond making vows unnecessary. Our lives should back up our words. All oaths tend to do is emphasize the wickedness in a man’s heart.
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ 34 But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; 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 swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” Matt 5:33-37 (NIV)
“When you read God’s Word, you must constantly be saying to yourself, ‘It is talking to me, and about me.’” Soren Kierkegaard
“Every time we resist the slightest temptation, we honor God. Every time we overcome even the smallest problem by trusting and obeying our Lord Jesus, God is glorified in our lives. Whenever we choose character over convenience, faithfulness over ease, or honesty over deceit, we bring honor to the Lord Himself.” Robert J. Morgan
However we do find in Scripture both Jesus and Paul submitting to the world’s standards regarding vows yet it is not to be our regular practice. Later in Matthew we discover the Lord Jesus finally stating under oath to the high priest that He was indeed the Christ after a period of silence. This serves as an indication that it is not a sin to be forced to state an oath. Sometimes it is necessary for Truth’s sake to submit to this practice as a confirmation to the world of the truthfulness of our word:
62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 63 But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Matt 26:62-64 (NIV)
Paul stated to the church in Corinth:
23 I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. 2 Cor 1:23 (NIV)