MT 5:33-37: A simple yes or no

 

MT 5:33-37: A simple yes or no

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MT 5:33-37

33 You also know that in the old days people said, You must not make a false vow, but must do what you have promised the Lord.^1,2
34 But what I say is: do not make oaths at all. Do not swear 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 should you swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair black or white.
37 Let your communication be: "yes, yes" or "no, no." Anything beyond that comes from evil.

The prohibition against taking the name of Jehovah in vain included a prohibition against pledging to do something with God as a witness and then failing to do it. For example, a person might pledge to give some, probably pricey, animal offering to the Temple in return for favor from God, only to renege later. Such an oath was held to be binding. But scholars have found that Jewish legalists had decided that any oath given by heaven or earth was not binding. Neither was an oath by Jerusalem, though an oath toward Jerusalem was (presumably because God resided inside the Temple's Holy of Holies).

Jesus, ever focused on motive, is saying that such legalistic evasions don't work, as everything has the hand of God on it and in it. The "material world" is in fact holy -- if we could only see that. In fact, what is the point of binding yourself in an oath to God? Should you not already be bound to do the next right thing? In particular, Jesus was guiding his new disciples on how they should behave once they had received the Holy Spirit.

Just say yes or no; everything else is rooted in evil, or, that is, in the fear and doubt that plagues the insecure mind.

Some have wondered about the double affirmation and negation in MT 5:37.

Use of repetition here is, I suggest, not meant for much more than emphasis. Perhaps the idea is that the person should mean what he says, as when responding to someone who asks more than once. That is, don't give a casual "yes" or "no" but be serious about your response.

But I don't think we should read too much into the reading "yes, yes" as opposed to simply "yes." The point has been made. Swearing an oath means that you are pledging not to lie or to wiggle out of your promise. But why would you need to give such assurances?

The biblically conscious writers of the U.S. Constitution were careful to permit citizens, in legal matters, to give either an oath or an affirmation. A citizen is not required to "solemnly swear." He may say, "I affirm..." or use words that mean "I affirm."

On examining relevant OT passages, we run up against a bit of a puzzle.

DEUT 6:13

Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.

DEUT 10:20

Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.

From this, it might appear that Jesus is abolishing the law as stated in DEUT 6:13 and 10:20. The phrase "swear by his name" might well be taken to mean "don't use some other name when making oaths." It was customary for the ancients to make solemn pledges in the name of some god or other. Doubtless the author of Deuteronomy assumed that this custom was to be followed. Yet though the phrase reads like an imperative, it need not be taken as one. Evidently Jesus did not see the imperative form as required by DEUT. What DEUT required was avoidance of invoking some other god's name.

In fact, the Septuagint, with which Jesus and his hearers were most familiar, makes that point.

DEUT 6:13

Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, to him only shalt thou do service, and swear by no other name than this.

DEUT 10:20

Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve none but him, hold close to him, and make thy vows in his name;

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Footnotes:

1.

LEV 19:12

And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

2.

NUM 30:2

If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.

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