Sermon Title: How should a follower of Jesus’ speech be described?
Scripture: Matthew 5:33-37
Main Thought: Our speech should be seen as trustworthy by all.
Engage:
The Man Who Lived Rent-Free in a Historic Hotel
In 2018, Mickey Barreto began living in Manhattan’s historic New Yorker Hotel, once frequented by figures like Muhammad Ali and Nikola Tesla. Barreto claimed that his $200 payment for a one-night stay granted him tenant rights under New York’s housing laws. When the hotel’s owners missed a critical court hearing, he argued they couldn’t legally evict him despite not paying rent. He even went so far as to forge a deed transferring ownership of the hotel to himself. Eventually, he was charged with multiple counts of fraud, but due to being deemed mentally unfit for trial, he was placed under psychiatric care.
TRANSITION –
Barreto’s actions highlight how individuals can manipulate legal systems for personal gain, exploiting loopholes to avoid responsibilities. Just as Barreto manipulated the system, the Pharisees in Jesus’ time manipulated oaths to suit their purposes. By misusing vows, they misrepresented the God they claimed to worship and swear by. In these verses, we have a great example of what shouldn’t be able to be said about our words and explicit instruction for what each spoken word should be as Christ’s followers.
BOOK: Matthew 5:33-37
1. You have heard it said…
“You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’ (Matthew 5:33, NLT)
When Jesus refers to the traditional teaching about oaths, He’s drawing from several Old Testament passages, including Numbers 30:2 and Deuteronomy 23:21.
A man who makes a vow to the Lord or makes a pledge under oath must never break it. He must do exactly what he said he would do. (Numbers 30:2)
“When you make a vow to the Lord your God, be prompt in fulfilling whatever you promised him. For the Lord your God demands that you promptly fulfill all your vows, or you will be guilty of sin. (Deuteronomy 23:21)
WHAT IS A VOW OR OATH?
The two types of vows mentioned here come from different but related Greek words. The first, epiorkeō, is a verb that means to break a promise, swear falsely, or commit perjury. The second, horkos, is a noun that originally meant to enclose or bind something—like putting up a fence around it. In this sense, an oath is meant to “bind” a statement with added seriousness, giving it strength by calling on something greater—often God—as a witness.
The book of Hebrews helps clarify what an oath is:
Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. (Hebrews 6:16)
WHY WOULD PEOPLE USE A VOW OR OATH?
People would invoke the name of someone more powerful—often God Himself—to back up their word. Calling on God in an oath meant inviting Him either to affirm the truth or to punish if it turned out to be a lie. That made the oath feel final and sacred. For instance, when the Jews returned from exile, they made an oath before God to follow His law and accepted a curse upon themselves if they failed (Nehemiah 10:29).
Then the rest of the people—the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, Temple servants, and all who had separated themselves from the pagan people of the land in order to obey the Law of God, together with their wives, sons, daughters, and all who were old enough to understand— 29 joined their leaders and bound themselves with an oath. They swore a curse on themselves if they failed to obey the Law of God as issued by his servant Moses. They solemnly promised to carefully follow all the commands, regulations, and decrees of the Lord our Lord: (Nehemiah 10:28-29)
DID GOD PERMIT HIS PEOPLE TO MAKE VOWS OR OATHS?
God allowed oaths to be made in His name (Leviticus 19:12).
“Do not bring shame on the name of your God by using it to swear falsely. I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:12)
The Old Testament clearly taught that oaths should be made only in God’s name. “Fear the Lord your God, worship Him, and swear only by His name” (Deuteronomy 6:13; 10:20). Isaiah said people should swear by “the God of truth” (Isaiah 65:16). Even non-Israelites were expected to swear only by God’s name (Jeremiah 12:16).
Many faithful people in the Old Testament did make vows in God’s name. Abraham swore in God’s name when making promises to the king of Sodom (Genesis 14:22–24) and to Abimelech (Genesis 21:23–24). He also had his servant Eliezer swear by the Lord when searching for a wife for Isaac (Genesis 24:1–4,10). Others, like Isaac, Jacob, Laban, David, and Jonathan, also made oaths before God to confirm covenants and promises (see Genesis 26:31; 31:44–53; 1 Samuel 20:16; Psalm 132:2).
Even God Himself used oaths at times. When Abraham obeyed and offered Isaac, God said,
“This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that 17 I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. (Genesis 22:16–17)
Since no one is greater than God, He swore by Himself (Hebrews 6:13–14,17). Of course, God’s word is always true, whether or not it comes with an oath. He uses oaths not because His truth needs strengthening, but to highlight the importance of a particular promise.
Jesus often used the phrase “Truly, I say to you” (Matthew 5:18, 26; John 1:51; 3:3), not to increase truthfulness—since all His words are true—but to emphasize the weight of what He was about to say. Interestingly, even Jesus swore an oath before the high priest, affirming that He was the Messiah, the Son of God (Matthew 26:63–64).
But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I place You under oath by the living God, to tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Matthew 26:63-64 NASB)
WHY DID GOD PERMIT VOW-MAKING?
God permitted oaths because He knows people lie. Oaths help make a person think twice before making a promise, especially in serious matters like marriage vows, where we promise before God to love our spouse for life. Psalm 15 describes someone who is worthy to dwell in God’s presence as one “who keeps his oath even when it hurts” (Psalm 15:1, 4). True worshipers are people of integrity—those who hate lies and honor their word (Psalm 119:29, 163; 120:2).
FLIPPANT AND UNFULFILLED VOWS
Sometimes, people make oaths rashly, without thinking. Joshua, Jephthah, Saul, and Herod all made foolish promises that brought serious consequences (see Joshua 9:15; Judges 11:30–31; 1 Samuel 14:24; Matthew 14:7).
God took oaths seriously. If someone made an oath carelessly—whether to do good or evil—they were still held accountable and had to confess and offer a sacrifice (Leviticus 5:4–6). Breaking an oath could bring judgment, as the Israelites feared in Joshua 9:20.
How the Rabbis Distorted God’s Teaching
By Jesus’ time, people thought they were following Scripture, but religious leaders had twisted the law’s intent. Two major problems developed.
First, they removed the idea that oaths should only be made in serious situations. People swore oaths casually—about everyday things—cheapening what should have been a sacred act. Oaths were so common and insincere that they became meaningless. Instead of being a sign of integrity, they became tools of deceit.
Second, they taught that only oaths made to God had to be kept. That meant if you made an oath on the Temple, or on your own life, you could break it without consequence. It turned oath-making into a spiritual loophole, a way to manipulate people while technically keeping the law.
This made lying easy and acceptable, as long as God’s name wasn’t involved. But this completely missed the heart of God’s law, which called His people to radical truthfulness in every word and promise.
The religious leaders had watered down God’s standard of truth to accommodate human selfishness. Instead of seeking God’s help upholding truth, they adjusted God’s expectations to match their own dishonesty.
2. But I say…
But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. 35 And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. 36 Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black. (Matthew 5:34-36)
Jesus, in contrast to the twisted traditions of His time, reaffirmed the original Old Testament principle regarding oaths: avoid making them casually or dishonestly. While He said, “Do not swear at all,” He wasn’t forbidding all oaths but was addressing the careless and hypocritical way people were using them. Oaths were meant to be reserved for serious situations and made only in the name of the Lord. Jesus calls us to be people of simple, consistent truth—in what we think, say, and do.
This makes sense when we remember that the Old Testament allowed oaths in certain circumstances, as seen above. Jesus also said in Matthew 5:17–18 that He didn’t come to abolish the law but to fulfill it, so He certainly wasn’t contradicting it. Even Paul, in Romans 9:1, makes an oath of sorts, saying, “I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying,” and calls the Holy Spirit his witness. That’s an example of a solemn and sincere oath.
However, in line with biblical teaching, Jesus made it clear that we should never swear by anything other than God Himself. Not by heaven, which is God’s throne. Not by the earth, which is His footstool. Not by Jerusalem, which is His city. Not even by our own heads—because we belong to Him, too. The Jewish leaders of Jesus’ time had created a workaround: they believed swearing by something other than God made the oath less binding. So, people would swear by grand-sounding things to add weight to their words, but without the intention of being held accountable.
Jesus exposed this flawed logic and hypocrisy, especially in His rebuke of the religious leaders in Matthew 23.
“Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.’ 17 Blind fools! Which is more important—the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 And you say that to swear ‘by the altar’ is not binding, but to swear ‘by the gifts on the altar’ is binding. 19 How blind! For which is more important—the gift on the altar or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 When you swear ‘by the altar,’ you are swearing by it and by everything on it. 21 And when you swear ‘by the Temple,’ you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it. 22 And when you swear ‘by heaven,’ you are swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne. (Matthew 23:16-2, NLT)
They taught that swearing by the temple meant nothing, but swearing by the gold in the temple was binding. Or that swearing by the altar wasn’t serious, but swearing by the offering on it was. Jesus calls this nonsense. He asks, “Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes it holy? The offering or the altar that sanctifies it?” The leaders had turned oath-taking into a spiritual loophole—something that was supposed to affirm truth was now being used to justify lies.
Jesus took it even further by saying that anyone who swears by the temple is also swearing by God who dwells in it, and anyone who swears by heaven is swearing by God’s throne and by God Himself. In other words, whenever truth is twisted, God’s name is dishonored—whether or not His name is spoken directly. Because He is the Creator of everything, any misuse of His creation to back a lie is ultimately a misuse of His name. There is no such thing as sacred versus secular in God’s eyes. Everything He made is sacred, and all truth belongs to Him. Every lie, every half-truth, every form of deceit is an offense against His holiness.
3. So, live in this way
Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one. (Matthew 5:37, NLT)
God’s standard has never changed. He calls us to complete honesty and sincerity in every area of life. Oaths, if used, must be absolutely truthful—but even more, our everyday speech should be just as trustworthy. Jesus says, “Let your ‘yes’ mean yes, and your ‘no’ mean no. Anything more than this comes from the evil one” (Matthew 5:37). The word used here is logos, which simply means “word.” Every word we speak—whether in a conversation, a promise, or a testimony—should be true and dependable. As James echoes,
But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned. (James 5:12, NLT).
Jesus’ point is simple: your everyday words should be truthful without needing an oath to back them up. “Let your ‘yes’ be yes, and your ‘no’ be no.” Anything more opens the door to deception (Matt. 5:37; James 5:12).
Truth isn’t optional. God hates lying lips (Proverbs 6:17), and He desires truth in our innermost being (Psalm 51:6). All speech—whether in church, at work, or at home—is spoken before God. There’s no divide between “sacred” and “secular” in His eyes.
Inspiration: Truett Cathy and Chic-fil-a
Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A, was renowned for his unwavering commitment to integrity and trustworthiness. One notable example of this was his practice of entering into verbal agreements sealed with a handshake, without formal contracts. While specific details about individual agreements are scarce, Cathy’s consistent adherence to his word and his expectation that others do the same are well-documented aspects of his business philosophy. This approach fostered a culture of mutual trust and respect within his company and among his business partners.
Cathy’s emphasis on integrity extended beyond business dealings; he believed that a person’s word should be as binding as a signed contract. This principle was integral to Chick-fil-A’s ethos and contributed to its reputation for reliability and ethical conduct.
TRANSITION
In the end, Jesus calls us to be people of integrity. No loopholes. No half-truths. Just honest, dependable words that reflect the God of truth we serve.
Let us speak the truth plainly, honor every promise we make, and reflect the character of the God who is always faithful and true.
ACTION
1. Follower –
- If you’re a business owner, may you act with integrity and fairness with your employees, customers, business deals, and taxes.
- Parents, may we be slow to speak with exaggerated bribes, threats, or promises. May we carefully choose the words spoken to our children so that they plainly explain our intentions and desires.
- Students, speak truthfully to your parents when asked questions, act with integrity in your school, circle of friends, and device usage.
- Speak with honesty—even when it’s uncomfortable.
- Apologize and make it right when you fail to keep a promise.
- Avoid exaggeration, gossip, or misleading speech.
- Teach your children that integrity matters—both in word and action. (Family Devotion)
- Let God’s truth shape your speech everywhere: home, work, online.
- Memorize Psalm 51:6
- Questions for Reflection:
- Are there areas in your life where your words haven’t matched your intentions?
- Do people see you as someone whose word is trustworthy?
- How can you grow in speaking the truth in love this week?
- Are there any promises or commitments you’ve made that need to be revisited and honored?
2. Far from God – be reconciled to God
This letter is from Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I have been sent to proclaim faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives. 2 This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began. (Titus 1:1-2, NLT)
“But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)
Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. 4 But—When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, 5 he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. 6 He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. 7 Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. (Titus 3:3-7, NLT)
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