New Testament · Gospel

Matthew 5:33

The Sermon on the Mount

Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ Matthew 5:33 · Berean Standard Bible

What It Means

Matthew 5:33, in plain English

You've been told to keep your oaths to God. People would swear by heaven, by earth, by Jerusalem to make their promises sound more binding. Jesus has something different in mind.

Why it's here

The oath system had become a way to manipulate truth. Some oaths were considered binding; others were loopholes. It was a game of religious dishonesty.

Who's speaking

Jesus addresses the culture of oath-taking.

Where it sits in the story

Wherever there's a system for getting around the truth, Jesus cuts through it. Honesty isn't negotiable.

A Closer Look

The scholarly reading

The fourth antithesis addresses oath-taking, citing the principle from Leviticus 19:12 and Numbers 30:2 about fulfilling sworn vows to the Lord. The elaborate oath system had become a way to create 'binding' versus 'non-binding' promises.

Language and setting

Rabbinic tradition had developed complex hierarchies of oaths, distinguishing which were absolutely binding and which could be evaded, effectively creating a system of sanctioned deception.

Voice

Jesus, introducing the fourth antithesis on oaths.

Significance

Jesus addresses a system where people used elaborate oaths to create loopholes in truth-telling.

In context

Matthew 5:31–35

31It has also been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’

32But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, brings adultery upon her. And he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

33Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’

34But I tell you not to swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;

35or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

Read all of Matthew 5 — Jesus turns the world's values upside down. The blessed aren't the powerful — they're the poor in spirit, the grieving, the meek.

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