Matthew 23:16-22: “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.
If this sounds familiar, it’s because Jesus covers the topic of oaths earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, saying, “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil” (Matthew 5:37). Oaths aren’t unique to the book of Matthew. The Torah warns against making them: “If you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin. You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God what you have promised with your mouth” (Deuteronomy 23:21–23). The words “voluntarily vowed” stand out in this passage. The least we can do is shut our mouths! If we don’t make a promise, we can’t break a promise. Again in Numbers, “If a man vows a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth” (Numbers 30:2).
How our mouths get us into trouble! Look at King Herod, who makes a dumb and deadly promise at his birthday party in front of lots of people: “But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. Prompted by her mother, she said, ‘Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.’ And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given (Matthew 14:6–9).
Then there’s Peter, who insists he would give his life for Jesus. But when recognized as one of his disciples, denies it thrice as Jesus foretold, each time with increasing vehemence. The first is simple denial, then he adds an oath, and then he starts invoking curses on himself, swearing he doesn’t know Jesus:
Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.” After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.” Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly (Matthew 26:69–75).
But let’s get back to these blind guides and the woes Jesus is pronouncing on them. Frank Stagg writes, “Jesus wept over Jerusalem, and the seven woes are lamentations over, as well as condemnations of, religious leaders who were misleading those who trusted them. It is not to be overlooked that these woes were not directed against ‘little people,’ tax gatherers, or harlots, but against those who were in position to know better and to do better. They were directed against privileged leaders who shut the kingdom of heaven against men.”1
Lord, it’s much easier to say the right things than to do them. Our words are powerful— they can help or hurt; bring comfort or confusion. Teach us how to say what we mean and mean what we say. Give us discernment and discipline to shut up when we don’t know what we’re talking about. Increase our wisdom and give clarity to our speech. Be honored in our words, actions, attitudes, and efforts.
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few (Ecclesiastes 5:1–2).
- Frank Stagg, “Matthew,” in Matthew–Mark, ed. Clifton J. Allen, Broadman Bible Commentary (Broadman Press, 1969), 212–213. ↩︎
