Behold The King: The God of Truth
Notes
Transcript
Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:
Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
A vow was a voluntary offering. It was assumed by a group or an individual. For the Jew, these vow’s were made verbally and were considered binding. It was not a sin to take a vow or not, but when a vow was taken fulfilling it was an obligation.
Nazarite vow.
The Contemporary Belief about oaths
The Contemporary Belief about oaths
Jesus confronts the current teaching about taking vows with revieling the human error of interpreting Scripture without the aid of the Holy Spirit. He uses
And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord.
As a launching point. This helps us understand what He ment by the statement “not forswear thyself.” Do not say you are going to do something without counting the cost of that situation.
Integrity is required for trust. If people can’t trust your word, they won’t trust you.
Trust is necessary for influence. People choose those they let influence them, and this is based largely on trust.
Influence is essential for impact. You can’t make the impact you want to make unless you can influence others and shift their behavior. - Michael Hyatt, https://fullfocus.co/keeping-your-word/
My desire to help everyone often provides a trap of the “yes.”
But Jesus uses this passage to share with the Jews that falling into the human trap of “yes” is also considered using the Lord’s name in vain.
That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the Lord thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Jesus shows that the inability of mankind to predict the future really causes vow-takers to stumble and cause other’s to stumble.
Should I even take a vow?
Should I even take a vow?
If you swear by heaven, you are claiming an authority that is God’s alone. By earth, you can’t make the earth change course. By your head, even plastic surgeons can only go so far in changing your natural features.
People like to try to convince others that they are trustworthy. Jesus is not saying everyone is untrustworthy, He is bringing the heart of the third and ninth commandments to light.
God is a God of truth and all authority,
God’s Throne and footstool:
Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: Where is the house that ye build unto me? And where is the place of my rest?
Jerusalem:
Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, On the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
Your own head:
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
I have the authority to choose what I vow to God and others
I have the authority to choose what I vow to God and others
The word translated “communication” is the Greek word Logos. and gives the sense of a message - a communication that is most often spoken, but can come through other means.
Jesus is the Logos (Word) God in the flesh. He communicated through His words, but most often through His actions.
Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
The phrase of evil means hurtful, wicked, degeneracy. to be sick or diseased.
Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
Conclusion:
Before the pandemic in 2020, Edelman, a leading global communications marketing firm, publishes a yearly "Trust Barometer" report. A recent report (2018) shows a plummet in trust across the United States. Here's a summary of the report:
Trust in the US has suffered the largest-ever-recorded drop in the survey's history among the general population. Trust among the general population fell nine points to 43 percent, placing it in the lower quarter of the 28-country Trust Index.The collapse of trust in the US is driven by a staggering lack of faith in government, which fell 14 points to 33 percent.The remaining institutions of business, media, and NGOs also experienced declines of 10 to 20 points.
"The United States is enduring an unprecedented crisis of trust," said Richard Edelman, president and CEO of Edelman. "This is the first time that a massive drop in trust has not been linked to a pressing economic issue or catastrophe … In fact, it's the ultimate irony that it's happening at a time of prosperity, with the stock market and employment rates in the US at record highs."
Followers of Christ have the distinct privilege of providing a world that distrusts everything with a Christlike example of trustworthiness.