Not Swearing by Earth or Jerusalem Matthew 5:35

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 thine adversary quickly, whiles 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. 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 thee, 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. 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 continued, “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”, and in chapter five and verse thirty-four of his book Matthew shared how Jesus told His disciples to “swear not”,“by the earth … neither by Jerusalem” where we read:

Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.

The verse reads, “Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: ” Matthew began with the word, “nor” which means “not and not so” “by the earth” which means “with the arable land, territory, region and country”; “for it is” or “because the earth exists as”“his footstool” which means “God's place of putting His foot on the vanquished”. Jesus told His disciples not to “swear” by “the earth” upon which God rests His foot.

The verse goes on to say, “neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.” Matthew continued with the word, “neither” which means “no and not so” “by Jerusalem“ or “with the city whose name means set you double peace and the capital of Palestine”; “for it is” which means “because, since and on account that Jerusalem exists as” “the city” which refers to “the dwelling place, abode and place in which inhabitants live” “of the great King” or “belonging to the large, spacious and highly esteemed leader of the people, prince, commander and lord of the land”. Jesus told His disciples not to “swear” by the city of “Jerusalem” because it is God's “city”.

When we consider Matthew's words in this verse, we see how people are not to “swear” by the “earth or Jerusalem” because they both belong to God. Those who have to “swear” do so by something that is greater than themselves, however, when they would “swear” by the “earth” or “Jerusalem”, they were doing so with things that do not belong to them. Jesus desires “truth in the inward parts”, and rather than simply telling the truth, people feel the need to “fib” or “lie”. These are the people whom Jesus came to “save”, and may all who read these words know that Jesus is “the truth” and yield their lives to His “salvation” plan.

Next time Jesus said not to “swear” “by your head”, 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" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.