Sermon Tone Analysis

Yes Yes

Matthew 5:33-37   |   Shaun LePage   |   July 2, 2006

 

 

I.

Introduction

A.   *Credibility gap* is a political slogan, originally used in the /New York Herald Tribune/ in March 1965, to describe then-president Lyndon Johnson’s handling of the Vietnam War.

The term was later applied to the discrepancy between evidence of Richard Nixon’s involvement in the Watergate break-in and his repeated claims of innocence.

(Wikipedia.com)

B.    J.

Dwight Pentecost writes that our times are characterized by a credibility gap.

“Every man’s word is suspect,” he writes, “and we have adopted the attitude that although we hear what is said, we know what is said is not what is meant.

This has become so widespread that government has had to move into the advertising realm and establish certain guidelines about truth in advertising.

Facts we had accepted as truth are now found to be false.

So we have come to mistrust almost everything that is said.”

(/Design for Living/, p.107)

C.   In Matthew 5, Jesus makes it clear that His disciples should not have a credibility gap.

We should be completely credible.

Believable.

We should be people of integrity.

Listen to verses 33-37.

II.

Body

A.   Matthew 5:33-37 (NASB95): 33 “*Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your 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 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 of evil*.”

B.    “*Again, you have heard*…”

1.     Verse 33: “*Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.’*”

2.     This verse is not a direct quote from the Old Testament, but a summary of several passages.

Let me read two key verses:

a)    Leviticus 19:12: “‘*You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the Lord*.’”

b)    Numbers 30:2: “*If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth*.”

3.     Oaths or vows are found all over the Old Testament.

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David and many others made oaths by calling on God to be their witness.

It’s important to note that God did not outlaw vows or oaths in the Old Testament.

What was illegal was breaking an oath.

“*Swearing falsely*” was making an oath with no intention of keeping it.

C.   “*But I say…*”

1.     “*Make no oath at all*…”

a)    This is a very strong statement.

Many—such as the Quakers—have taken it to mean that Christians should never take oaths or vows of any kind—even legal oaths such as in a court of law when a witness must say, “I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.”

But what exactly does this mean?

What about the “oath of office” a person takes before they become a mayor or representative or senator or the President of the United States?

What about wedding vows?

What about church covenants, which are very common in our day?

What about a contract to buy a house?

A notary public puts a stamp on a document to legally swear that it was signed in his presence.

When I use my debit card or a credit card, I must sign it—which is a way of saying “I swear that I will meet the obligations of this transaction.”

Are we who have taken wedding vows or signed a contract or used a credit card in violation of Jesus’ command?

b)    When we study a passage of Scripture, we must look at it in context.

Remember that Jesus had told His disciples that their “*righteousness must surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees*.”

He is giving us examples of how the scribes and Pharisees misinterpreted Scripture in order to achieve a shallow level of righteousness.

This is what Jesus is addressing, so we must understand it first in order to understand how our righteousness is to surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees.

So, it’s important to understand—in context—what the scribes and Pharisees were doing.

How were they misunderstanding and misusing the OT commands concerning vows and oaths?

c)    Turn to Matthew 23:16-22.

(i)   The Life Application Bible Commentary tells us that this passage—along with ancient Jewish documents—reveals that the religious leaders of Jesus’ day had developed an elaborate system to explain “how binding an oath was depending on how the oath had been made.

Such a system was a contradiction in terms (an oath by definition is binding), and it made light of God’s Law.

The leaders said that if they swore by heaven or by the earth or by Jerusalem, they could get out of their oath without penalty because they did not make the vow in God’s name.”

(/LABC/, Matthew, p.100).

(ii)  John MacArthur describes it this way: “The system of oaths between one person and another was like a giant game of King’s X.

People would swear by heaven, by the earth, by the Temple, by the hairs of their heads, and by any other thing they thought would impress those they wanted to take advantage of.

That kind of routine oath-making was usually lie-making; and it was considered by those who practiced it to be perfectly acceptable as long as it was not in the name of the Lord.

The command ‘You shall not swear falsely by My name’ (Lev.

19:12) was conveniently interpreted to mean that swearing falsely by any other name was allowed.”

(TMNTC, Vol. 1, Matthew 1-7, p.323)

(iii)    So Jesus was specifically addressing this system of oath-taking by the scribes and Pharisees.

That was the historical context in which Jesus gave this command.

d)    We must also look at this command in light of the greater context of the NT and the Bible.

(i)   Jesus spoke under oath.

Matthew 26:63-64.

(ii) God Himself used oaths.

Acts 2:30 refers to Psalm 132 and 2 Samuel 7 and reminds us that God swore to David with an oath to seat one of his descendants on the throne—a Messianic prophecy in the form of an oath.

This reminds us of the many covenants God made (e.g., Adam, Abraham, Noah, etc.) and each time God made a covenant, He was taking an oath—making a promise—to do something or not do something.

(iii)    The Apostle Paul used oaths.

Look at Romans 9:1-2.

This is a perfect example of a first-century oath.

He called on Christ and the Holy Spirit (God) as His witnesses.

There are at least three other examples where Paul vows or promises in this way.

e)    So, the immediate and larger contexts reveal that Jesus was not forbidding all oaths in every circumstance.

Jesus was using hyperbolic or exaggerated language to address dishonesty—a kind of dishonesty that used the Law of God as a smokescreen.

This becomes more evident as we look at the rest of what Jesus had to say in the final verse of this passage: 5:37.

D.   “*Let your statement be*…”

1.     Matthew 5:37:  “*But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ /or /‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil*.”

2.     “*Statement*”

a)    “*Statement*” is the Greek word “word” (logoV: “word; declaration; weighty saying”).

This is where the idea of “my word” comes from.

I give you my word that I will do this or that.

b)    Isn’t a “statement”—giving you “my word”—much like an oath?

Couldn’t we substitute “*statement*” in all those examples I gave earlier?

I gave my “*statement*” (my word) on my wedding day that I would love, honor and cherish Beth until death.

I give my “*statement*” (my word) when I sign a contract to buy a house.

I give my “*statement*” (my word) when I sign a credit card receipt that I will pay that bill.

c)    So much of the discussion around these verses is caught up in what Jesus meant by “*take no oath at all*.”

When in reality a “*statement*” is not much different than an oath.

And the real issue Jesus was getting at was integrity—honesty.

When the scribes and Pharisees swore by heaven or earth or Jerusalem or one’s own head, fully intending either to not fulfill that vow or knowing that if they couldn’t fulfill their vows they could get out of them, they were intentionally deceitful.

Instead, Jesus tells us to be straightforward and honest.

3.     “*‘Yes, yes’ /or /‘No, no’*”

a)    This is simple, straightforward language for mean what you say.

Follow through with your promises.