Matthew shared how Jesus told His disciples if their “righteousness” did not “exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees” they would, “in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus continued with the example, “You have heard that it was said by them of old time, You shall not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: ... whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, you fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has ought against you: Leave there your gift before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison. Verily I say unto you, You shall by no means come out from there, till you have paid the uttermost farthing.” Jesus added, “You have heard that it was said by them of old time, You shall not commit adultery. But I say unto you, That whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if your right eye offend you, pluck it out, and cast it from you: for it is profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast into hell. And if your right hand offend you, cut it off, and cast it from you: for it is profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast into hell.” Jesus continued, “It has been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causes her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced commits adultery.” Jesus went on to say, “Again, you have heard that it has been said by them of old time, You shall not forswear yourself, but shall perform unto the Lord your oaths. But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne. Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King”, and in chapter five and verse thirty-six of his book, Matthew shared how Jesus told His disciples not to “swear”,“by your head” where we read:
Neither shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.
The verse reads, “Neither shall you swear by your head, ...” Matthew began with the word, “neither” which means “no and not so” “shall you swear” which means “should you affirm, promise or threaten with an oath” “by your head” or “by referring to the disciple's head”. Jesus told His disciples not to “swear” by their own “heads”.
The verse continues, “... because you cannot make one hair white or black.” Matthew added the word, “because” which means “since, on account of and consequently” “you cannot make“ or “the disciples are not able to make, do not have the power by virtue of their own ability and resources” “one hair” which means “one single hair on the head” “white” which refers to “light and dazzling color” “or black” or “or as black hair”. Jesus told His disciples the reason they were not to “swear” by their “heads” was because they had no power to alter the color of their “hair”.
When we meditate upon Matthew's words in this verse, we note this was a time when “hair color” products were not as available as they are today. This causes us to realize Jesus did not want people to use their own “heads” as an object of “swearing”. The idea was to simply tell the truth, and because people refrain from doing so, Jesus was sent to “save” all who are prone to “lie”. May all who read these words hear Jesus and yield their lives to the only “true” One who can save.
Next time Jesus said not to “let your communication be yes, yes; no, no”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
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