“I swear on the grave of my mother.” S31e68 Mt5:33

Why do we sometimes attach oaths to our words? Why might we be tempted to add an oath, for example, "I swear on the grave of my mother?" Why would something I say, merit the calling upon the support of the burial plot of someone dear to me? 

This is such a strange thing: that adding an OATH somehow increases the likelihood of a statement being TRUE. 

The fact that there are oaths at all tells us one thing: that often, our words aren't true. Join me for 6 minutes to see what Jesus has to say about it. 

https://youtu.be/VR3iVyroWw0

Transcript

“I swear on the grave of my mother.” S31e68 Mt5:33

This is such unique thought. Why would something I say, merit the calling upon the support of the burial plot of someone dear to me? Or, more seriously, how about the term, “I swear to God”? or how about if you should find yourself before a judge, the clerk of courts will ask you, “Do you SWEAR to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.?” 

Why do we sometimes attach OATHS to our words.

What is the strategy that make oaths TEMPTING?

How are we called to live, and called to speak, where such assurances are UNNECESSARY.

Join me in the Sermon on the mount in Matt 5, just past the beatitudes. Jesus is raising the bar on living a holy life. He’s been addressing some “big topics’: divorce, lust anger, marriage and fulfilling the law, we now come to this.

Listen as He talks about how to live on a new subject.  That is, how to live with. Your TONGUE, and how to live with the TRUTH.

Oaths

33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 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 take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil. .

Follows the pattern where Jesus is claiming authority: you have heard it said. 

Raises the bar from don’t swear FALSELY to DON’T SWEAR

         Don’t connect the Lord’s NAME to give truth to a statement

         Don’t use the Lord’s name to act as a guarantee for words.

         Don’t use “something greater than yourself” to give credence to what comes out of your mouth

         I swear on. My monther’s grave

         I swear on the Bible.

Of interest, in the USA, in court, and in oaths of office, they are often done “with your hand on the Bible”

Or, raise your right hand (point it to God) do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth

He is calling here to a living a pure life and then speaking a pure life

Back up the film here a little bit: What’s the problem with words?

Why does Jesus see fit even to address this issue? 

They aren’t very reliable as they come from humans. 

We are liars. Or at least sometimes we are. When it suits us.

If we didn’t lie, this paragraph wouldn’t be necessary

We are liars and He doesn’t like it. He doesn’t want it.

BECAUSE we know that people often lie, we think, if we attach Jerusalem, or the hairs on my head, or heaven, this then takes regular, fallible words and elevates the statement to that of reliable truth.

This passage says no, attaching the Lord’s name, or the name of our beloved city Jerusalem to a statement doesn’t make it more true.

This identifies the real problem though: Let your Yes. Mean yes. Let your no mean no. Let your words construct only truth.

Stop lying. He doesn’t like it. He doesn’t want i.

Live in such a way that it is unnecessary to attach something valuable to your account such as, “I swear on the grave of my mother.” Or “I swear by heaven and earth” To give it veracity.

What should I know at the end of this 7 minutes in a particular paragraph. Much of this is not a surprise: 

People sometimes/ often rebel against God

People sometimes behave in ways contrary to the truths of God

People sometimes then SPEAK in ways contrary to truth of God, which is the truth

In short, People are liars. 

People don’t tell the truth , sometimes.

Then, as a solution

People are tempted then, to attach OATHS to certain statements to prop them up into truthfulness

         I swear on the grave of my monther

         Or attaching a “so help me God” –attaching the name and wonderfulness of God or my mother, somehow changes or reinforces the truth of the statement

WHY jump through all these hoops?  Why not just be TRUTHFUL.

Let your outsides reflect an inside that is without guile. Without deceit. Live truthfully. 

Building a reality of genuine truths, rather than a matrix of some truths and some not truths

If you live by the truth and state only truth, then no web of testimony enhancement is necessary or desired. 

Finally: if you are a liar, if your words are not 100% true, then God is apparently grieved about it. You should be too. Repent. Go speak the truth