Smoodock's Blog

Keeping in mind that Jesus told his disciples that they shouldn’t believe that he had come to destroy the law (Matthew 5:17), it is implied in that statement that what he says might be construed to mean that this was exactly what he was doing! In other words, the Jewish authorities, vis-à-vis the scribes and Pharisees, had been interpreting the Law of Moses, according to the Oral Law, which means, according to the tradition of the elders. Jesus taught that walking in the tradition of the elders, or the Oral Law, voided the Law of Moses, because, in teaching the people to obey these traditions instead of God, the Jewish authorities made the Law of no effect in the lives of the people (cp. Matthew 15:1-6). Thus, hearing Jesus condemn the teaching of the Jewish authorities could be thought by some to be actually destroying the Law of Moses, which the scribes and Pharisees claimed, they honored with their traditions.

Oath taking was a solemn ordeal, according to the Law. The commandment reads: “You shall not take the name of Jehovah your God in vain. For Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.” (Exodus 20:7). This is the original commandment about oaths. Later Moses said: “You shall fear Jehovah your God and serve Him, and shall swear by His name” (Deuteronomy 6:13). In other words, taking an oath was reserved for solemn occasions, like bearing witness in a court of law, or taking a marriage vow, or making a solemn promise to serve the Lord in a particular matter etc. The Psalmist asked: “Who shall dwell in your tabernacle…” In other words, “Who shall dwell in your Presence, vis-à-vis the Kingdom of Heaven. His answer included: “…he who has sworn to his own hurt and does not change it” (Psalm 15:4). In other words, who is worthy to dwell in the Presence of God? It is he who will not go back on his word at any cost! This was how the Law, concerning oaths, was originally given and understood, and this is what Jesus was pointing to, when he took exception to the interpretation of the scribes and Pharisees.

The Oral Law, or the tradition of the elders, was taught by the scribes and Pharisees, saying: “You shall not swear falsely, but you shall perform your oaths to the Lord” (Matthew 5:33). At first, one may wonder: what is wrong with that? However, the problem becomes clearer in what Jesus said afterward.

Apparently, the Jewish authorities had been misinterpreting the Law by permitting people to swear for any reason, as long as what one swore to was the truth (Leviticus 19:12). In doing so, they had taken away the solemness of swearing by the name of God (Deuteronomy 10:20), which was done not lightly, but to end a controversy (Hebrews 6:16). Therefore, not only was a man’s oath to be true, but it was also to be necessary to end strife between two individuals or two groups.

Moreover, it would seem that the scribes and Pharisees had sought to find loopholes in what one swore, making it less vital, claiming if one swore by things which were created, instead of God, the oath wasn’t binding. So, swearing “by heaven” seemed little more than an exclamation or an intensification of what is said, like the word indeed! Men will go to any means to make a statement to support their word, without actually employing the name of God. Modern expressions like gosh or golly are childlike forms of using the word “God” without it seeming one is swearing. In fact, such things like swearing by the hairs of one’s head (Matthew 5:36) are even incorporated in children’s fairy tales: “not by the hair of my chinny chin chin.”[1]

Therefore, normal conversation (Matthew 5:37) should be either “yes (that’s true)” or “no (it isn’t so), because taking oaths so lightly, without any regard to calling God to witness to one’s word, would end in one taking an oath without any strength to show it is the truth.  In such a context, how would controversy be satisfied? Moreover, taking oaths so lightly would eventually lead to having no intention in keeping them (cp. Matthew 23:16-22). Lawyers will always seek loopholes to get around obeying the law, and the ancient scribes and Pharisees were no different.

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[1] From The Three Little Pigs: “The big bad wolf came and said, “Little pig, little pig, let me come in.” Then said the pig: “Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin.” The author is unknown, but the best version comes from Joseph Jacobs in “English Fairy Tales” (1890).