Matthew Chapter 5: Oaths

Bible Answer Man Podcast with Hank Hanegraaff

On today’s Bible Answer Man broadcast (04/16/21), Hank continues teaching through the fifth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. In verses 31 and 32, we see Jesus discuss the matter of divorce. As humans, we are created in the image of the Trinity and thus are intended for marital unity. God commanded Adam and Eve to be fruitful and to multiply. Thus, the Church considers marriage a sacramental mystery—one of the greatest gifts God has given humankind. In the mystery of marriage, the husband is the image of Christ; the wife the image of the church. Thus, as Christ is sufficient to our every need, a husband is commanded to fulfill the needs of his wife. A wife, likewise, is to fulfill the needs of her husband. In full view of the mystery of marriage—replete with its parabolic profundity in Christ and the Church—its potential for procreating children in the image and likeness of God, and its promise of psychophysical pleasure, we must not so much as consider divorce. Moving on to verse 33, Jesus talks about oaths. Here Jesus refers back to the Old Testament to underscore the sober reality that as people of the promise we must never swear by the name of the Lord in an unjust or capricious manner. To do so is to defile the name of God. If we make an oath or swear under oath, we do so simply to appease a world full of liars. As such, even Jesus took an oath before the Sanhedrin. In a world ruled by the prince of darkness, oaths are quite simply a necessity. However, for religious leaders and followers of Christ, oaths should be completely superfluous. If you are part of the kingdom of heaven, there is no need to swear by anything. Simply let your yes be yes and your no, no. Be a person of your word—trustworthy and true.