Keep in mind that this section of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:17–48) is the Lord’s correction of the Pharisees’ interpretation and application of the law (v. 20). Verse 33 introduces the use of oaths. Modern Christians usually find this section of little or no interest, not seriously examining Christ’s teaching here. Some commentators, seeking to identify the source and location of verse 33 in the OT, fail to understand that these are Christ’s own words explaining what the disciples heard (“you have heard”). The Pharisees erroneously interpreted the third commandment, “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain” (Exodus 20:7). After exposing the corrupt “righteousness” of scribes and Pharisees, He corrects with the righteousness (right living in conformity to God’s standards) required of citizens of the kingdom of heaven.
The third commandment does not just govern the use of the divine Names as “cuss words.” Its main aim is warning those who swear by the Lord’s name. “It is the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear” (Deuteronomy 6:13). The oath is a solemn appeal to the divine Name. Taking that Name in vain refers to using the oath to assure another that one’s word was good when the swearer had no intention to keep it. Psalm 15 describes the character of those who “dwell” on the Lord’s holy hill. Verse 4 lauds the one “who swears to his own hurt and does not change.” The error of the so-called doctors of the law was their limitation of the prohibition to perjury. However, any frivolous use of the God’s holy and awesome Name in ordinary communication is forbidden and will be brought to judgment.
Certainly, perjury was strictly condemned in the law of Moses. The Pharisees held that there was no evil in an oath provided the oath taker did not perjure himself in matters of controversy or contention that could not be settled without it. This is very similar to the use of oath-swearing in courts of law. Sadly, the evil hearts of religious practitioners focused on only the personal benefit of their use of oaths. They invented means of swearing falsely by avoiding the use of the divine Name yet making it sound official. They would swear by heaven, earth, Jerusalem, the temple, or one’s own head, thinking that such did not bind them to fulfill the obligation to which they swore. They piously made promises they never intended to keep, believing themselves to be free of judgment.
No one is exempt from truth-telling; thus, there really is no need for oaths at all. Kingdom citizens need say only “yes” or “no” to confirm the truth of their words. Believers keep their word and fulfill their obligations, don’t they?
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