Jesus and Oaths The context of his teaching – The Sermon on the Mount gives Jesus’ teaching on living with ‘Kingdom character’ Having righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees (cf. 5:20) – Jesus came to fulfill the law and teaches his followers to fulfill the law by living out the Jesus Creed ‘loving God and loving others’

Jesus and Oaths The content of his teaching "Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.' But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be 'Yes, Yes' or 'No, No'; anything more than this comes from the evil one. Matthew 5:33-37 NRSV

Jesus and Oaths The concern of his teaching Jesus is addressing the problem of false- promises and lack of integrity – By the 1 st century a tradition had developed that allowed people to break promises and avoid commitments (cf. Shabuot 4:13) – The initial intention may have been well-meaning but it devolved into confusing casuistry (hair-splitting) and creative cancellation of commitments (loop holes)

Jesus and Oaths The concern of his teaching "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath.' You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred? And you say, 'Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gift that is on the altar is bound by the oath.' How blind you are! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it; and whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears by it and by the one who dwells in it; Matthew 23:16-21 NRSV

Jesus and Oaths The concern of his teaching People were taught oaths invoking God must be kept, but oaths invoking lesser things were not binding – e.g. swearing by heaven or earth was not binding Jesus makes it clear that even these ‘lesser things’ were connected to God

Jesus and Oaths The command in his teaching We miss the point if we take this as a simple prohibition of oaths In typical fashion Jesus uses exaggerated language to make his point: – BE TRUTHFUL

Jesus and Oaths The command in his teaching Jesus wisely understood the importance of personal integrity and the problem of oaths – Philo: “In the eyes of sensible people much swearing is a proof, not of good faith, but of faithlessness.” (Special Laws II) – Josephus: “One who is not believed without an appeal to God stands condemned already.” (Jewish Wars 2.135)

Jesus and Oaths The command in his teaching “The challenge is to stand, as far as one’s word is concerned, nakedly on one’s own integrity: neither by the introduction of an oath implicitly to downgrade the committedness of one’s word without an oath nor by the use of an oath to take hostage the honour of anything else to our own claim to truthfulness.” (John Nolland, Matthew, 251)

Jesus and Oaths The co-mission of his teaching We are called to participate in God’s mission of reaching and restoring people to Himself – We must represent God accurately and faithfully – Since God keeps His promises and commitments, we must keep ours Even when it is inconvenient Even when it is costly Even when it hurts (cf. Psalm 15:4)

Jesus and Oaths The co-mission of his teaching There is something quite wrong when we fail to recognize the problem of false promises and broken commitments – Our culture may accept Machiavelli’s maxim, but Christians must reject it Thankfully God does not make false promises nor does he change the terms and conditions of his commitments – God does what He says He will do – We ought to do the same