In today’s Sermon on the Mount passage; Jesus tries to “expand” our understanding of what it means for followers of God to keep their word, connecting His last conversation on marriage with this teaching on the 3rd & 9th Commandments.

Exodus 20: 7 & 16 “You shall not misuse the Name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His Name.” “You shall not give false testimony  against your neighbor.”

* Exodus 23: 1-8 * Leviticus 19: 11-18 Much like the other Commandments that Jesus has covered so far (murder, adultery / honoring marriage); He now addresses the Commands of not misusing the Name of the Lord and not lying to one another. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Exodus 23: 1-8 * Leviticus 19: 11-18

Numbers 23: 21-23 “If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the Lord your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin.   But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty. Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the Lord  your God with your own mouth.”

Numbers 30:2 “When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.”

-------------------------------------------------------- Deuteronomy 10:20 “Fear the Lord your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His Name.” -------------------------------------------------------- Hebrews 6:16 “People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.”

Jesus pronounces “woe” on the Pharisees, scribes, Matthew 23: 16-22 Jesus pronounces “woe” on the Pharisees, scribes, chief priests, elders, and teachers of the law. In this section, He focuses on the absurd “loopholes” they created to legitimize when someone could be released from an oath.

Matthew 5: 33-37 [The Message] “Don’t say anything you don’t mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, ‘I’ll pray for you,’ and never doing it, or saying, ‘God be with you,’ and not meaning it. You don’t make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. Just say ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong.”

If we build up a reputation of being honest and as someone with true integrity, we won’t have to resort to “swearing” on God’s Name recklessly and won’t take oaths in casual conversations.