Words That BindSample

Day 2: Don’t Claim What Isn’t Yours

Looking deeper into Jesus’ warning against oaths, we see that there is another danger that arises when we swear carelessly: the danger of claiming authority that doesn’t belong to us.

In Matthew 5:34-35, Jesus explicitly says that we are not to swear by Heaven, earth, or Jerusalem, and He is clear about exactly why we can’t swear on those things.

You see, at the time that Jesus was alive, Jews would often employ things like Heaven in their oaths because it made them sound so religious and serious. By swearing on such important things, they intended to add a sense of authority and credence to what they were saying.

But friend, we do not have the authority to claim such declarations. Jesus reminds us in these verses that Heaven is the throne of God. It is His eternal abode, the place where He alone sits and makes decisions, so He is the only one who has the right to make any kind of declaration or promise from it. We really have no business invoking it.

The same goes for the earth, which Jesus describes as God’s “footstool.” It is the place where He puts His feet, asserting His total dominion over it and everything in it. Jesus also says not to swear by Jerusalem, because it is the Lord’s city. It is His bustling center of activity, the place where He rules, so who are we to swear by it?

He even tells us that we can’t swear by the hairs of our own heads! Friend, you do not have enough intelligence in your mind or enough power in your being to turn even a single one of your own hairs gray. If you don’t even have that authority, how can you say you have the right to swear by it?

Friend, there is nothing in the entire world that you can swear by, because you simply do not have the appropriate control or ownership. If you try to swear by something, then you’re not adding real authority to your words — all you are doing is usurping the position that is rightfully God’s.

That is such a serious blunder, friend, so I urge you: Don’t fall into such careless speech. Get a grip on your mouth and think before you speak, because those words are not empty, and they come with consequences.

For Your Consideration

• Swearing on something may sound impressive or extra potent, but that is really an empty illusion. Why is that? How does this change your view on how you speak?
• In our culture, we may not swear by Heaven, earth, or Jerusalem the way the Jews of Jesus’ time did, but what are some ways you have heard people replace those terms? Do we have any more right to swear by these new things than by the old ones?