– Matthew 5.33-37 –

The Sermon on the Mount 7: Falsehood and the Kingdom

Text

Matthew 5:33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform 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' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”

Introduction

As we have seen, Jesus is bringing the law near to his disciples to make them children of the kingdom. He is not giving a theological lecture, but going the things they need most to repent of. Having covered murder and adultery, he turns to falsehood.

Lesson

“You have heard that it was said to those of old . . . (33).” The law forbade using the Lord’s name falsely when swearing an oath: “And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.” (Lv 19.12.) Based on this, the Jews developed a complex theology of swearing under which the bindingness of the oath depended on what the oath was sworn on (Mt 23.16-19).

“But I say to you, do not swear at all . . . (34-36).” Though it may seem so at first blush, Jesus is not changing the law by forbidding all swearing. After all, Jesus testified under oath at his own trial (Mt 26.63-64). Jesus forbids swearing by heaven, earth, Jerusalem, and one’s own head (34-36). Jews were swearing by these and similar things, then going back on their oaths with the excuse that they had not sworn falsely in God’s name (Lv 19.12). Jesus forbids the practice, pointing out two problems. First, it excuses and promotes falsehood, which is from the evil one (37). Second, and more fundamentally, it is implicit atheism. There is nothing we can swear by without implicating the name of the God who owns and controls all things (34-36).

Once again, Jesus is not introducing a new standard, but reacquainting his disciples with the old one. Leviticus 19, which forbids false swearing in God’s name (vs. 12), also forbids dealing falsely and lying to one another (vs. 11). The reason is grounded in God himself. The passage begins with God’s command, “You shall be holy, for I am holy” (2), and ends with, “You shall observe all my statutes . . . ; I am the Lord” (37), and right in the middle comes the second greatest commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (18). The passage is filled with individual commands that would appear to have nothing in common with one another – commands such as, “Don’t reap the corners of your field” (9), “Don’t curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind” (14), “Don’t be partial in judgment to the rich or the poor” (15), “Don’t bear a grudge” (18), “Don’t practice divination or soothsaying” (26), “Don’t place any cuts or tattoo marks on your skin” (28), “Don’t prostitute your daughter” (29), “Keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary” (30), “Rise before the gray headed, and honor an old man” (32), “Do not mistreat a stranger, but love him as yourself” (33-34), and, “Maintain fair weights and measures” (35-36). These apparently unconnected commands are connected by who God is. People who sense God in their midst live like Lv 19.

“But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No’ . . . (37).” In other words, “you shall not deal falsely or lie to one another” (Lv 19.11). There are special occasions when oaths are appropriate. But in normal, day-to-day life, you should need no oath, let alone an oath with “just the right words,” for you should be completely honest and trustworthy.

Why is this important? Because it images God. We saw with the commands against murder and adultery that they are not essential denials but affirmations – they affirm and protect something priceless, something grounded in God himself. The same is true with the command against falsehood.

The wonder, significance, and glory of our speech is grounded in the wonder, significance, and glory of the fact that God has spoken to us and allowed us to speak with him and one another. We speak because God is the Great Speaker. Our speech is to image his speech. In a real sense, our words are not our own but belong to God.

When we get away from this reality, our words become extremely destructive, operating as instruments of deception, cruelty, or both (Jm 3.6-8). Accordingly, true religion always entails bridling one’s tongue (Jm 1.26). To think ourselves spiritual when we don’t bridle our tongues is self-deception (Jm 1.26).

Falsehood includes more than perjury and lies; it also includes flattery and duplicity (Ps 5.9; 12.2-3; 78.36-37; Pr 20.19; 23.6-8; 26.28; 28.23; 29.5). People under the curse of God are full of flattery, deception, and duplicity (Jer 9.4-6). This erodes the trust which is foundational to society and to all relationships. This is society in Satan’s image (Jn 8.44). Deception is a form of murder (ibid.). Society in God’s image is a society of life, goodness, and enjoyment, which means it is a society of trust and truth: "He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit.” (1Pt 3.10, quoting Ps 34.12).