16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? 18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.” (Matthew 23:16-22 ESV)
In the context of Matthew 23:13-36, Jesus heralded seven woes against the scribes and Pharisees. Luke 11:37-54 records an earlier lamentation of six woes. Rather than an oracle from a prophet of God, these woes are an oracle from the God of the prophets; Jesus Christ.
What does it mean to swear an oath? To swear an oath (ὀμόσῃ; amose) in this context does not mean to use verbal profanity. Rather, it means to affirm the truth of a statement; as in a court of law. An oath is a solemn promise, often calling upon God as a divine witness, regarding one’s future actions or behavior. How often as kids did we use the phrase, “I swear to God.”
“Today’s passage gives us the third woe Jesus uttered against the scribes and Pharisees (Matt. 23:16–22), the content of which He previously delivered in the Sermon on the Mount (5:33–37), albeit in a different form. As a background to our study, remember that our Creator instituted oaths and vows to safeguard the sanctity of truth (Num. 30). Lying is second nature to fallen people, and the use of oaths and vows to call God as a witness when we make a promise is designed to make us more likely to keep it. Knowing that the Almighty has confirmed the oath should motivate us to fulfill it lest we incur His displeasure,” states Dr. R. C. Sproul.
Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount, 33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 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 take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” (Matthew 5:33–37 (ESV)
“The present paragraph (23:16–22), in distinction from the one in chapter 5, shows how stupid and absurd it is to say that an oath by the sanctuary (the inner temple, consisting of “the holy place” and “the holy of holies”) amounts to nothing, but that an oath by the gold of the sanctuary is binding; that an oath by the altar is not valid; but one by the gift on the altar, valid. Naturally it is the greater, in the present case the sanctuary and the altar, that lends sacredness to the lesser; that is, respectively, to the gold of the sanctuary and to the gift on the altar; just as, for example, the “office” of the president of the United States is greater than the person who happens to be elevated to it at any particular point in history. But whether one swears by the sanctuary, by its gold; by the altar, by its gift; by heaven, or by God’s throne, in the final analysis all such oaths are “by God” who owns all and controls all,” explains Dr. William Hendriksen.
May our commitment to the Lord simply be yes and no. Yes to the thoughts, speech and behavior pleasing to Him and no to that displeasing to Him. Read Colossians 3 for further study.
Soli deo Gloria!
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