Speak Truth - Matthew 5:33-37
Pastor Dennis Bone
5/12/13
SPEAK TRUTH 5-12-13
Back in the 60’s my parents watched the TV show “To Tell the Truth.” Some of you may remember it. A panel of four celebrities would try to guess which one of the three contestants were actually telling the truth about their occupation. It was a kind of “fun” and entertaining show, but it’s not all that fun or entertaining when two out of three people in your government or family or church is not telling you the truth, especially when the show never ends and you don’t know who the liars are.
In our culture today, this TV show “To Tell the Truth” had become a microcosm of life. The truth is scarce and everyone is suspect, thus we are more and more cynical about what politicians, lawyers, salespeople and even religious leaders say. People shade the truth; exaggerate facts or leave them out; they tell half-truths, white lies; betray confidence and then make excuses for it. Daniel Webster said, “There is nothing more powerful than the truth, yet often nothing as strange.” This quote is certainly appropriate today.
In our passage for this morning, from Matthew chapter 5, Jesus addresses this subject of telling the truth. He calls us as His disciples to speak truth – “Let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no.’” In other words, say what you mean and mean what you say. Be clear, straightforward and honest in your speech and with your communication towards God and towards other people. Listen to what Jesus says in Matthew 5:33-37:
Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, “Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.” But I tell you, Do not swear at all; either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no;” anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Jesus confronts a religious system where speaking truth was rare because the religious leaders developed a system that gave you a pass or an excuse for not keeping your promises and breaking commitments, thus minimizing and in some cases, eliminating the need to speak the truth at all. It reminds me a lot of our justice system today: everyone swears on the Bible, while the lawyers look for every loophole possible to get around telling the truth.
As we consider this passage this morning I want to look at three main points: first, the principles of the Mosaic law – what the Old Testament taught about oaths in relation to the truth; second, the perversion of the rabbinic tradition – that is the system developed and put in place by the Jewish leaders; and third, the perspective of Jesus’ teaching – the truth about telling the truth that Jesus affirms. As I have pointed out throughout our study of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is correcting the improper interpretation and application of the law and affirming and confirming its proper meaning and how His disciples should view it and live it.
First, the principles of the Mosaic Law – verse 33 – “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’” This statement is based upon Old Testament law. Oaths were part of the Old Testament and they are based upon the standards of truth laid out in the Scripture. There were two clear Old Testament standards: 1) the ninth commandment. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” – which includes anyone. God’s commandment sets the standard for truth. This standard applied to legal proceedings, as well as to everyday life. Telling the truth was the standard for all relationships. God’s people were to have true worship and honest communication with God and they were to have true fellowship and honest communication with each other.
We read in Proverbs 25:18: “Like a club or sword or sharp arrow is the person who gives false witness against his neighbor.” As we know, the standard of the ninth commandment is not limited to a formal or legal setting, but applies to any setting; which leads to the second Old Testament standard: the pure heart. Like the issue of murder, adultery and divorce, speech is an issue of the heart. The Pharisees inability to look at or consider the issues of the heart, and one’s spiritual condition before God, led them to twist the law in order to meet their own needs and in essence make a new standard of truth.
They did this through the common practice of oath taking. In the Old Testament an oath conveyed the idea of binding something or strengthening it, and the way to do this was to invoke God to attest to the validity of your word. In marriage we promise “before God” to keep our vow or oath of marriage. In court we swear to tell the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help me God. These are oaths that call God to witness the truth of our statement and at the same time invoke a curse from God if we are not telling the truth or don’t keep our oath. If we have a standard of truth, which is to not lie or bear false witness, then what is the reason for confirming the truth? Shouldn’t we just tell the truth in all situations?
Oaths were used to clarify one’s commitment so that there would be no doubt to the other person or parties involved; and as a way to resolve conflict or disputes. God explains the reason for an oath when He made one, as recorded in Hebrews 6:16-18, regarding the covenant. It says, “Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath.” It’s impossible for God to lie, but He accommodates Himself to a human mode or way – as He often does in Scripture – in order to provide an affirmation of truth for our sake.
Sinful people need affirmation and confirmation because they need confidence in the truth. Oaths convey the importance of trust. Psalm 132:11 says: “The Lord swore an oath to David, a sure oath that He will not revoke.” In the same way God instructed His people to only make oaths in His name, indicating the serious nature of what they were saying; it also points out the fact that oaths convey the consequences of breaking trust. Oaths were not to be entered into lightly, and we hear many warnings in the Old Testament about rash and unnecessary oaths. When you took an oath your were not only confirming you were telling the truth and affirming your promise, but you were taking on the punishment or judgment for not following through on what you said.
This is why Solomon said to not be quick with your mouth or hasty in your heart when it comes to oaths. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And it’s this perversion of the rabbinic tradition – a tradition that was based initially upon a proper view of oaths – which Jesus speaks against in this passage. The religious leaders had turned oaths into a system that circumvented the law. Swearing became common place, not as a way to affirm truth but as a way to lie and avoid the consequences. They knew that oaths were to be made to the Lord or in the name of the Lord, so if we avoided this and made them to other things – of course religious things, like heaven and the temple – this would lessen their responsibility to keep them.
The kind of swearing that Jesus is talking about is not cursing, but it’s frivolous and evasive speech that pretends to be serious about telling the truth. Jesus points out a missing ingredient and a missing emphasis in the Pharisee’s teaching. The missing ingredient was that the people were never told or taught when oaths were proper, thus it became common place and used in everyday conversation, but indiscriminately and wrongly. They were swearing by everything for no good reason.
This is why Jesus says these words in verses 34-36: “But I tell you, ‘Do not swear at all; either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.’” Jesus’ point is: If you don’t know what you are doing, then don’t make an oath at all. This was exactly what Solomon was teaching in Ecclesiastes. He knew the seriousness of oath taking, as did Jesus, and its seriousness had been removed by the religious leaders, thus the procedure of oaths ruined.
It was ruined because of the intentional loophole created by the Pharisees and religious leaders. The words might sound good; they may give the appearance of truth for it would be cloaked in religious language or terms, but when you didn’t follow through on what you said you would do, or when what you said wasn’t true at all, it was no big deal because you didn’t swear in the Lord’s name. Thus it was evasive because they avoided the Old Testament emphasis on swearing unto the Lord. If you swore to the Lord you had to do it; it had to be true; but if you swore by anything else you were off the hook so to speak. It was like swearing you will do it with your fingers crossed behind your back. There is no intention of doing it but you want it to sound like there is.
It was pretentious and deceptive, which is why Jesus speaks against it. This was simply a way to avoid speaking the truth, but like with the other issues of the law it was even worse. They were using the law to justify falsehood and lying, yet clothed it in religious terms and language. They were hypocrites as Jesus says later in Matthew 23: “Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are blind guides.” Once again, in this passage, at a different time, Jesus rebukes this same evasive and frivolous swearing as examples of leading people astray.
Their intent was to restrict the extent of the law by making a distinction between the sacred and the secular. Jesus is telling them and us that you can’t just tell the truth in certain situations or occasions, as if God is more concerned with certain words in certain places at certain times. God is concerned about truth and us speaking truth at all times and in all places. You can’t limit God’s oversight on speech. There is not one kind of language in the church and another at work or in the world. God hears all words, not just those spoken in His name or made in an oath.
So as we understand the meaning of the passage we need to see third the perspective of Jesus’ teaching. His conclusion in verse 37 is: “Simply let your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no;” anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” He is not forbidding swearing or oath taking, but Jesus’ emphasis, as opposed to the Pharisees, is on proper and positive communication. Simply, speak truth to all people in all situations. This does not eliminate the reasons for confirming the truth through an oath or vow, which I talked about earlier. We should still recognize the appropriateness of oaths for solemn occasions. God made oaths, Jesus took an oath at His trial and Paul made an oath over his concern for the Jewish people. There are solemn occasions in life where we formally confirm truth because of the seriousness of trust, but oaths and vows are not designed for every day live.
Jesus points out the inappropriateness of oaths for everyday conversation. If you have to walk around making sure everyone you deal with knows you are telling the truth, by taking a vow or swearing, then you should be suspect. Jesus’ perspective is that all speech is under God and that all promises should be kept, because speaking the truth is a reflection of the God of truth who speaks truth to us. Honest speech is the basis for trust and healthy relationships with God and with others.
The issue and problem that Jesus is pointing out in this passage, and in this sermon, is the one of our heart. The condition of the heart governs the condition of the tongue. If we don’t address the heart and the inward sin that causes us to lie and shade or spin the truth, then we will be like Pharisees who look for ways to justify and excuse our speech, even as we often seek to excuse our anger and our lust. In order to speak truth, the answer is not to just try harder to keep the law, nor is it to look for loopholes in the law, rather it is to look to Jesus who kept the law perfectly for us; and gives us the grace and ability to change, and as His disciples speak truth.
As Christians we are to be true witnesses not false witnesses; we are speak truth to our neighbor in all situations and circumstances in order to be witnesses to Christ and for Christ in this world. Jesus Himself is the truth, thus He calls us as His disciples to speak truth, because He calls us to speak for Him.
©You’re welcome to recycle these resources for your church free of charge. However, if you find them useful, please consider making a donation to the ministry of GCC
Pastor Dennis Bone
5/12/13
SPEAK TRUTH 5-12-13
Back in the 60’s my parents watched the TV show “To Tell the Truth.” Some of you may remember it. A panel of four celebrities would try to guess which one of the three contestants were actually telling the truth about their occupation. It was a kind of “fun” and entertaining show, but it’s not all that fun or entertaining when two out of three people in your government or family or church is not telling you the truth, especially when the show never ends and you don’t know who the liars are.
In our culture today, this TV show “To Tell the Truth” had become a microcosm of life. The truth is scarce and everyone is suspect, thus we are more and more cynical about what politicians, lawyers, salespeople and even religious leaders say. People shade the truth; exaggerate facts or leave them out; they tell half-truths, white lies; betray confidence and then make excuses for it. Daniel Webster said, “There is nothing more powerful than the truth, yet often nothing as strange.” This quote is certainly appropriate today.
In our passage for this morning, from Matthew chapter 5, Jesus addresses this subject of telling the truth. He calls us as His disciples to speak truth – “Let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no.’” In other words, say what you mean and mean what you say. Be clear, straightforward and honest in your speech and with your communication towards God and towards other people. Listen to what Jesus says in Matthew 5:33-37:
Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, “Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.” But I tell you, Do not swear at all; either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no;” anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Jesus confronts a religious system where speaking truth was rare because the religious leaders developed a system that gave you a pass or an excuse for not keeping your promises and breaking commitments, thus minimizing and in some cases, eliminating the need to speak the truth at all. It reminds me a lot of our justice system today: everyone swears on the Bible, while the lawyers look for every loophole possible to get around telling the truth.
As we consider this passage this morning I want to look at three main points: first, the principles of the Mosaic law – what the Old Testament taught about oaths in relation to the truth; second, the perversion of the rabbinic tradition – that is the system developed and put in place by the Jewish leaders; and third, the perspective of Jesus’ teaching – the truth about telling the truth that Jesus affirms. As I have pointed out throughout our study of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is correcting the improper interpretation and application of the law and affirming and confirming its proper meaning and how His disciples should view it and live it.
First, the principles of the Mosaic Law – verse 33 – “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’” This statement is based upon Old Testament law. Oaths were part of the Old Testament and they are based upon the standards of truth laid out in the Scripture. There were two clear Old Testament standards: 1) the ninth commandment. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” – which includes anyone. God’s commandment sets the standard for truth. This standard applied to legal proceedings, as well as to everyday life. Telling the truth was the standard for all relationships. God’s people were to have true worship and honest communication with God and they were to have true fellowship and honest communication with each other.
We read in Proverbs 25:18: “Like a club or sword or sharp arrow is the person who gives false witness against his neighbor.” As we know, the standard of the ninth commandment is not limited to a formal or legal setting, but applies to any setting; which leads to the second Old Testament standard: the pure heart. Like the issue of murder, adultery and divorce, speech is an issue of the heart. The Pharisees inability to look at or consider the issues of the heart, and one’s spiritual condition before God, led them to twist the law in order to meet their own needs and in essence make a new standard of truth.
They did this through the common practice of oath taking. In the Old Testament an oath conveyed the idea of binding something or strengthening it, and the way to do this was to invoke God to attest to the validity of your word. In marriage we promise “before God” to keep our vow or oath of marriage. In court we swear to tell the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help me God. These are oaths that call God to witness the truth of our statement and at the same time invoke a curse from God if we are not telling the truth or don’t keep our oath. If we have a standard of truth, which is to not lie or bear false witness, then what is the reason for confirming the truth? Shouldn’t we just tell the truth in all situations?
Oaths were used to clarify one’s commitment so that there would be no doubt to the other person or parties involved; and as a way to resolve conflict or disputes. God explains the reason for an oath when He made one, as recorded in Hebrews 6:16-18, regarding the covenant. It says, “Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath.” It’s impossible for God to lie, but He accommodates Himself to a human mode or way – as He often does in Scripture – in order to provide an affirmation of truth for our sake.
Sinful people need affirmation and confirmation because they need confidence in the truth. Oaths convey the importance of trust. Psalm 132:11 says: “The Lord swore an oath to David, a sure oath that He will not revoke.” In the same way God instructed His people to only make oaths in His name, indicating the serious nature of what they were saying; it also points out the fact that oaths convey the consequences of breaking trust. Oaths were not to be entered into lightly, and we hear many warnings in the Old Testament about rash and unnecessary oaths. When you took an oath your were not only confirming you were telling the truth and affirming your promise, but you were taking on the punishment or judgment for not following through on what you said.
This is why Solomon said to not be quick with your mouth or hasty in your heart when it comes to oaths. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And it’s this perversion of the rabbinic tradition – a tradition that was based initially upon a proper view of oaths – which Jesus speaks against in this passage. The religious leaders had turned oaths into a system that circumvented the law. Swearing became common place, not as a way to affirm truth but as a way to lie and avoid the consequences. They knew that oaths were to be made to the Lord or in the name of the Lord, so if we avoided this and made them to other things – of course religious things, like heaven and the temple – this would lessen their responsibility to keep them.
The kind of swearing that Jesus is talking about is not cursing, but it’s frivolous and evasive speech that pretends to be serious about telling the truth. Jesus points out a missing ingredient and a missing emphasis in the Pharisee’s teaching. The missing ingredient was that the people were never told or taught when oaths were proper, thus it became common place and used in everyday conversation, but indiscriminately and wrongly. They were swearing by everything for no good reason.
This is why Jesus says these words in verses 34-36: “But I tell you, ‘Do not swear at all; either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.’” Jesus’ point is: If you don’t know what you are doing, then don’t make an oath at all. This was exactly what Solomon was teaching in Ecclesiastes. He knew the seriousness of oath taking, as did Jesus, and its seriousness had been removed by the religious leaders, thus the procedure of oaths ruined.
It was ruined because of the intentional loophole created by the Pharisees and religious leaders. The words might sound good; they may give the appearance of truth for it would be cloaked in religious language or terms, but when you didn’t follow through on what you said you would do, or when what you said wasn’t true at all, it was no big deal because you didn’t swear in the Lord’s name. Thus it was evasive because they avoided the Old Testament emphasis on swearing unto the Lord. If you swore to the Lord you had to do it; it had to be true; but if you swore by anything else you were off the hook so to speak. It was like swearing you will do it with your fingers crossed behind your back. There is no intention of doing it but you want it to sound like there is.
It was pretentious and deceptive, which is why Jesus speaks against it. This was simply a way to avoid speaking the truth, but like with the other issues of the law it was even worse. They were using the law to justify falsehood and lying, yet clothed it in religious terms and language. They were hypocrites as Jesus says later in Matthew 23: “Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are blind guides.” Once again, in this passage, at a different time, Jesus rebukes this same evasive and frivolous swearing as examples of leading people astray.
Their intent was to restrict the extent of the law by making a distinction between the sacred and the secular. Jesus is telling them and us that you can’t just tell the truth in certain situations or occasions, as if God is more concerned with certain words in certain places at certain times. God is concerned about truth and us speaking truth at all times and in all places. You can’t limit God’s oversight on speech. There is not one kind of language in the church and another at work or in the world. God hears all words, not just those spoken in His name or made in an oath.
So as we understand the meaning of the passage we need to see third the perspective of Jesus’ teaching. His conclusion in verse 37 is: “Simply let your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no;” anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” He is not forbidding swearing or oath taking, but Jesus’ emphasis, as opposed to the Pharisees, is on proper and positive communication. Simply, speak truth to all people in all situations. This does not eliminate the reasons for confirming the truth through an oath or vow, which I talked about earlier. We should still recognize the appropriateness of oaths for solemn occasions. God made oaths, Jesus took an oath at His trial and Paul made an oath over his concern for the Jewish people. There are solemn occasions in life where we formally confirm truth because of the seriousness of trust, but oaths and vows are not designed for every day live.
Jesus points out the inappropriateness of oaths for everyday conversation. If you have to walk around making sure everyone you deal with knows you are telling the truth, by taking a vow or swearing, then you should be suspect. Jesus’ perspective is that all speech is under God and that all promises should be kept, because speaking the truth is a reflection of the God of truth who speaks truth to us. Honest speech is the basis for trust and healthy relationships with God and with others.
The issue and problem that Jesus is pointing out in this passage, and in this sermon, is the one of our heart. The condition of the heart governs the condition of the tongue. If we don’t address the heart and the inward sin that causes us to lie and shade or spin the truth, then we will be like Pharisees who look for ways to justify and excuse our speech, even as we often seek to excuse our anger and our lust. In order to speak truth, the answer is not to just try harder to keep the law, nor is it to look for loopholes in the law, rather it is to look to Jesus who kept the law perfectly for us; and gives us the grace and ability to change, and as His disciples speak truth.
As Christians we are to be true witnesses not false witnesses; we are speak truth to our neighbor in all situations and circumstances in order to be witnesses to Christ and for Christ in this world. Jesus Himself is the truth, thus He calls us as His disciples to speak truth, because He calls us to speak for Him.
©You’re welcome to recycle these resources for your church free of charge. However, if you find them useful, please consider making a donation to the ministry of GCC
