May 10, 2017
In today’s episode we’ll be looking at verses 33-37 of Matthew 5. I’ve entitled this episode, “Trustworthy Truthfulness”, because in these verses, Jesus is going to bring up the issue of oaths, but His real emphasis is going to be on speaking truth. For the Jewish people, oaths had become another misunderstood and misused tradition that provided them with an excuse to lie and get away with it. Originally, swearing an oath had been a serious thing. It was a way of guaranteeing your word. But, over time, the religious leaders had developed workarounds or loopholes that allowed someone to make an oath and then break it. It was like crossing your fingers. You made a promise, but with no intention of keeping it. And the worst part was, many were using God’s name or things associated with God, to back up their oaths. So, when the failed to live up to their word, they were dragging God’s name through the mud. Which is what led Jesus to take this on in the first place. In essence, Jesus is telling them to say what they mean and mean what they say.