Matthew 5:33-42 – How Will People Know We Follow Jesus?
Oaths
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to
the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is
God’s throne; 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 swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need
to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. [a]
Eye for Eye
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ [b] 39 But I tell you, do not resist an
evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone
wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile,
go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants
to borrow from you.
“I say to you” – divine authority and Kingdom ethics
+ Jesus is again drawing out the real significance of the Old Testament law
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to
the Lord the vows you have made.’
“Do not break your oath” – alludes to:
Leviticus 19:12
2 “‘Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
Numbers 30:2
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.
- Do not perjure yourself…don’t lie
+ “…to swear” does not mean to curse or use bad words, but to affirm the truth of a statement while
calling on God to judge oneself if it is in fact untrue.
+ Jesus is basically saying “don’t swear at all”
+ TO CLARIFY: There are oaths that are consistent with God’s character and demands even in the New
Testament
2 Corinthians 1:18
18 But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.”
Galatians 1:20
20 I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.
+ Given the elaborate hierarchy of laws of first century Judaism on oaths, Jesus declares that it would be
best to avoid them altogether…not because of the commandment, but because of their traditions.
+ The Lord’s name was not to be used falsely, so the Jews developed a “theology of oaths”
34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 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 swear by your head,
for you cannot make even one hair white or black.
+ Basically, Jewish leaders viewed swearing by “heaven’, “earth”, “Jerusalem” or one’s head as
less binding than swearing “by God” – they weren’t swearing by God, so they were releasing
themselves from the promise they were making
- Jesus responds by stressing that each of these items belongs to God in an important
way, so that the conventional Jewish distinctions are not genuine.
Isaiah 66:1
66 This is what the LORD says:
“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
Where is the house you will build for me?
Where will my resting place be?
- Heaven is God’s throne – earth is His footstool – Jerusalem is His city and He numbers
the hairs of our heads and chooses their color.
Matthew 23:16-22
16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone
who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the
gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means
nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which
is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar
swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the
one who dwells in it. 22 And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who
sits on it.
+ The Jews apparently reasoned that, because a lien could not be put on the temple or altar,
then oaths invoking those objects were meaningless. Jesus maintains that the temple, gold, altar
and gifts all point to God and remain equally sacred – so oaths taken in their name remain
equally binding.
+ All that being said, No promise can ever be made, no word ever spoken without it being done in the
presence of God
+ Jesus is pointing out their deep-seated dishonesty – their lies masquerading as theology (whoa)
THE POINT IS: Let your YES mean YES and your NO mean NO. We should not have to call on God to
witness what we say because God is watching us and present as we speak, knowing our hearts through
and through. Jesus’ followers should be people whose words are so characterized by integrity that
others need no formal assurance of their truthfulness in order to trust them.
37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. [a]
+ Jesus said that anything beyond straightforward honesty comes ‘from the evil one’’
+ Do you start sentences with “to be honest”, or “honestly” to drive home your point? What
does that say about the rest of the time?
We know now what this is saying…what is this NOT saying?
1. This is NOT talking about oaths in a court of law. It’s highly unlikely that this is what Jesus was talking
about. He was obviously prepared to speak under oath during His trial:
Matthew 26:63-64
63 But Jesus remained silent.
The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the
Son of God.”
64 “You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man
sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” [a]
+ When He was under oath, Jesus broke the silence He had maintained in the earlier part of the
proceedings as though recognizing the binding nature of being put under oath.
2. This is NOT talking about being “brutally honest” letting your venting, attitude, irritation, jealousy and
arrogance masquerade as actual honesty.
+ “I just call it like it is. That’s the way I am”. “The truth hurts”… Don’t confuse honesty with
being a unkind. Christians can be really good at this. Our arrogant frankness masquerading as
honesty
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ [b]
“Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth…” – Jesus is alluding to:
Exodus 21:23-24
23 But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand,
foot for foot,
Deuteronomy 19:20-21
20 The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done
among you. 21 Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
+ These were speaking of justice, not retaliation. In fact, it was done to limit, and if necessary, restrain
retaliation.
+ Christian kindness should transcend even straightforward retribution
3. In light of prevailing ethical thought, Jesus contrasts radically with most others of His day in stressing
the need to decisively break the natural chain of evil action and reaction that characterizes human
relationships.
39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the
other cheek also.
+ “resist” often used in a legal context
+ Jesus’ teaching similar to 1 Corinthians 6:7 against not taking fellow believers to court, though
it could be translated “do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you”
+ But we are to resist evil:
James 4:7
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Striking a person on the right cheek suggests a backhanded slap from a typically right-handed aggressor
and was a characteristic Jewish form of insult.
+ The only legal recourse against this insult is to take someone to court…similar to libel or
defamation of character
+ Jesus teaches us not to trade such insults, even if it means receiving more
( In NO way does it require Christians to subject themselves or others to physical danger or
abuse)
+ Don’t make your “rights” the basis for your relationships with others. Jesus is teaching us that
standing on OUR rights and seeking to have OUR dignity reaffirmed is not the Christian response
to an insult.
+ Will anyone be won for the Kingdom by your retaliation?...by standing for your rights?
40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.
+ Clearly limited to a legal context. If a coat was taken as a financial pledge, it had to be returned
by nightfall, because for some, it served as both clothing and bedding.
- One must be willing to give as collateral an outer garment – more than what the law could
require, which was just an inner garment (Exodus 22:26-27)
Exodus 22:26
26 If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it by sunset, 27 because that cloak is the only
covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in? When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am
compassionate.
+ Coat and shirt are contemporary parallels to cloak and tunic
+ Jesus’ point is this: when His followers meet with opposition and persecution, they should not stand
on their legal rights. Instead, where the sin of others abounds, grace in them should abound much more.
In that, we will be like Him.
41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.
+ Referring to the Roman conscription of private citizens to help carry military equipment for Roman
soldiers
The soldiers didn’t have the right to make someone go more than a mile. Jesus is saying to do it
voluntarily.
+ Simon of Cyrene – forced to carry Jesus’ cross
+ The Jews hated this practice because it publically illustrated the humiliation of being a
subjugated people.
+ Jesus’ point here is that the Christian does the unexpected, because grace makes him or her
seek to win others by love rather than retaliate on the basis of rights.
4. Each of these commands require Jesus followers to act more generously than what the letter of the
law demanded – sometimes literally “going the extra mile”
+ Not only are we called to reject and avoid retaliation, but to positively work for the good of
those with whom we would otherwise be at odds.
42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
+ Jesus presumes that the needs are genuine, and commands us not to ignore them.
+ This was not a legal duty
Romans 13:10
10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
+Only when we show love, grace and sacrifice for the sake of others, will they see what the God-given
meaning of the law really is…the “but I tell you”…Then, they will understand that our citizenship is in the
Kingdom of Heaven
BE DIFFERENT than what the world would teach and expect
BE SELFLESS (think of your SELF less)
BE HONEST without being unkind
BE KIND
BE OBVIOUS
+ The works of the flesh disqualify us for the Kingdom of God because they break God’s law, but there is
no law against the fruit of the Spirit, those things whose opposites the law forbids.
Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Matthew 7:15-20
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are
ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from
thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree
bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good
fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by
their fruit you will recognize them.
+ Way too many Christians who are not demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit
By our fruit, people will know us. - They can trust us when we speak.
Matthew 5:33-42 – How will people know we follow Jesus? 07/24/22
Matthew 5:33-42
Matthew 5:33
Leviticus 19:12
Numbers 30:2
2 Corinthians 1:18
Galatians 1:20
Matthew 5:34-36
Isaiah 66:1
Matthew 23:16-22
Matthew 5:37
Matthew 26:63-64
Matthew 5:38
Exodus 21:23-24
Deuteronomy 19:20-21
Matthew 5:39
James 4:7
Matthew 5:40
Exodus 22:26
Matthew 5:41
Matthew 5:42
Romans 13:10
Galatians 5:22-23
Matthew 7:15-20
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