Matthew 5:33-37

Rachel Workman: 33 “You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’[n] 34 But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. 35 And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. 36 Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black. 37 Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.

Keeping your word must have been something that Jesus valued. I think we should get back to place that we also value our word.

____________________________________________________________________________________

John Burnett:  ³³ “Again, you have heard that ^[a]the ancients were told, ‘^[b]You shall not ^[c]make false vows, but shall fulfill your ^[d]vows to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, ³⁵ or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or ^[e]by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶ Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷ But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is ^[f]of evil.  I promise to not make promises that I cannot or will not keep.  A promise unkempt is nothing more than a lie and all liars will have their part in the lake of fire.  This liar however, has been saved by the amazing grace of Jesus Christ and His gospel.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Allen Michaels:  ³³ “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ ³⁴ But I tell you, do not swear an oath 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 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

Here Jesus was emphasizing the importance of telling the truth. People were breaking promises and using sacred language casually and carelessly. Keeping oaths and promises is important; it builds trust and makes committed human relationships possible. The Bible condemns making vows or taking oaths casually, giving your word while knowing that you won’t keep it, or swearing falsely in God’s name. I hate when I hear somebody say “I swear to God.” They have no idea what they are saying. Oaths are needed in certain situations only because we live in a sinful society that breeds distrust.

Jesus told his followers not to use oaths or vows—their word alone should be enough (see James 5:12). Can we be called people of our word? Truthfulness seems so rare that we feel we must end our statements with “I promise.” If we tell the truth all the time, we will have less pressure to back up our words with an oath or promise.