Matthew 5:36

Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. NEITHER SHALT THOU SWEAR BY THY HEAD, BECAUSE THOU CANST NOT MAKE ONE HAIR WHITE OR BLACK. In the other oaths specified, God's name was profaned quite as really as if His name had been uttered, because it, was instantly suggested by the mention of His "throne." His "footstool," His "city." But in swearing by our own head and the like, the objection lies in their being 'beyond our control,' and therefore profanely assumed to have a stability which they have not....

33-37 There is no reason to consider that solemn oaths in a court of justice, or on other proper occasions, are wrong, provided they are taken with due reverence. But all oaths taken without necessity, or in common conversation, must be sinful, as well as all those expressions which are appeals to God, though persons think thereby to evade the guilt of swearing. The worse men are, the less they are bound by oaths; the better they are, the less there is need for them. Our Lord does not enjoin the precise terms wherein we are to affirm or deny, but such a constant regard to truth as would render oaths unnecessary....

Verse 36. _NEITHER SHALT THOU SWEAR BY THY HEAD_] For these plain reasons: 1st. God commands thee not to do it. 2dly. Thou hast nothing which is _thy own_, and thou shouldst not pledge another's property. 3dly. It never did, and never can, answer any good purpose. And 4thly. Being a breach of the law of God, it is the way to everlasting misery....

NEITHER SHALT THOU SWEAR BY THY HEAD - This was a common oath. The Gentiles also used this oath. To swear by the head was the same as to swear by the life; or to say, I will forfeit my life if what I say is not true. God is the Author of the life, and to swear by that, therefore, is the same as to swear by him. BECAUSE THOU CANST NOT MAKE ONE HAIR WHITE OR BLACK - You have no control or right over your own life. You cannot even change one single hair. God has all that control; and it is therefore improper and profane to pledge what is God’s gift and God’s property; and it is the same as swearing by God himself....

EXPOSITION MATTHEW 5:1 AND SEEING THE MULTITUDES; _i.e. _those spoken of in Matthew 4:25—the multitudes who were at that point of time following him. HE WENT UP. From the lower ground by the lake. INTO A MOUNTAIN; Revised Version, _into the mountain _(εἰς τὸ ὄρος);_ i.e. _not any special mountain, but "the mountain nearest the place spoken of—the mountain near by" (Thayer); in contrast to any lower place, whether that was itself fairly high ground (as probably Luke 9:28) or the shore of the lake. The actual spot here referred to may have been far from, or, and more probably ...

NEITHER SHALT THOU SWEAR BY THY HEAD,.... This also was a common form of swearing among the Jews: take a few instances. "If anyone is bound to his friend by an oath, and says to him, vow unto me בחיי ראשך, "by the life of thy head"; R. Meir says u, he may retract it; but the wise men say, he cannot.'' Again w, a certain Rabbi said to Elijah, "I heard "Bath Kol" (or the voice from heaven) mourning like a dove, and saying, woe to my children; for, because of their sins, I have destroyed my house, and have burnt my temple, and have carried them captive among the nations: and he (Elijah) said unto him חייך וחיי ראשך, "by thy life, and by the life of thy head", not this time only it says so, but it says so three times every day.'' Once more x, says R. Simeon ben Antipatras, to R. Joshua, "I have heard from the mouth of the wise men, that he that vows in the law, and transgresses, is to b...

Matthew 5:17. _Think not that I am came to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill._ The life, work, and words of Christ are not an emendation of the Old Testament, or an abrogation of it. It stands fast and firm, fulfilled, carried to perfection, filled to the full in Christ. Matthew 5:18. _For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven._ It is vain to teach the commandments without first doing them. The doi

5. THE PROCLAMATION OF THE KING CONCERNING HIS KINGDOM. CHAPTER S 5-7 _ 1. The Characteristics of the heirs of the Kingdom.(Matthew 5:1 .) 2. The Confirmation of the Law and its Expansion.(Matthew 5:17 .)_ CHAPTER 5 In the closing of the last chapter we saw our Lord Jesus Christ surrounded by a great multitude of people, which followed Him and who were attracted by the King's presence, before whom the various diseases had to flee. If we turn to the eighth chapter we find the continuation of these scenes we had in the last half of the fourth chapter. Between these two Chapter s are three very important ones, which are as such found only in this Gospel. The contents of the fifth, sixth and seventh Chapter s are in the form of a continued discourse of our Lord, commonly called “t

OATHS. Jesus sums up several OT passages, _e.g._ Exodus 20:7; Leviticus 19:12; Numbers 30:2; Deuteronomy 23:21. The use of oaths and vows by the Jews was much abused, and the Rabbis were continually discussing whether or no certain vows and oaths were binding. Jesus goes to the root of the matter by forbidding all oaths, and admits no limitations to the general principle, a position adopted by the Quakers as by Irenæ us, Origen, Chrysostom, and Jerome. The Essenes abstained from oaths except at their initiation. Yet Paul uses solemn expressions of appeal to God (_cf._ also...

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT (Matthew 5:1-48) As we have already seen, Matthew has a careful pattern in his gospel. In his story of the baptism of Jesus he shows us Jesus realizing that the hour has struck, that the call to action has come, and that Jesus must go forth on his crusade. In his story of the Temptations he shows us Jesus deliberately choosing the method he will use to carry out his task, and deliberately rejecting methods which he knew to be against the will of God. If a man sets his hand to a great task, he needs his helpers, his assistants, his staff. So Matthew goes on to show us Jesus selecting the men who will be his fellow-workers. But if helpers and assistants are to do their work intelligently and effectively, they must first have instruction. And now, in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew shows us Jesus instructing his disciples in the message which was