Blind Guides Swearing by the Temple - Matthew 23:16

Matthew the apostle wrote how Jesus said, “woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for you neither go in yourselves, neither suffer you them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore you shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, you make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves”, and in chapter twenty-three and verse sixteen of his book, Matthew shared how Jesus called the scribes and Pharisees, “blind guides” who “swear by the temple” where we read:

Woe unto you, you blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!

The verse reads, “Woe unto you, you blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing;”. Matthew began with the words, “woe unto you” which is “an expression of grief or denunciation to those religious leaders”, “you blind guides” or “mentally and opaquely seeing leaders of ignorance and inexperience”, “which say” or “who utter, declare and proclaim”, “whosoever” which refers to “whatever person whether male or female” “shall swear” or “will affirm, promise and invoke with an oath” “by the temple” which means “through means of the temple at Jerusalem, but only of the sacred edifice (or sanctuary) itself, consisting of the Holy place and the Holy of Holies”, “it is nothing” or “it is of no worth or value”. Matthew shared how the “scribes and Pharisees” were as “blind instructors” because they made “oaths” using the “temple in Jerusalem” as their basis of truth, and yet, their vows did not have any worth.

The verse goes on to say, “but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!” Matthew continued with the word, “but” which means “nevertheless, moreover and” “whosoever” which means “whatever person whether male or female who” “shall swear” or “will affirm, promise and invoke with an oath” “by the gold” which means “by means of the precious gold” “of the temple” or “belonging to the temple at Jerusalem”, “he is a debtor” which refers to “that person is bound, under obligation and indebted” to do as they have vowed. Matthew shared how Jesus said the “scribes and Pharisees” made a distinction between “swearing” by the “temple in Jerusalem” itself, and the “gold” that was within it.

When we think through Matthew's words in this verse, we discover the splitting of hairs for these “scribes and Pharisees” concerning “swearing”. If a person made an oath or promise and “swore” by “the temple”, they were not obligated to keep their word. However, if they “swore” by the “gold” of the temple, they were obligated to keep every promise they made. Jesus will address the foolishness of these rules, but suffice it for now to understand these “religious leaders” wanted “loopholes” for doing or not doing as they said. God desires “truth in the inward parts”, and any attempt to subvert the truth, even by means of subtlety, should never be a part of the Christian's life. By submitting oneself to Jesus as “Savior and Lord”, all promises may be fulfilled by trusting in and relying upon God's Spirit not only to aid in the keeping of oaths, but also to prevent a person from making foolish ones.

Next time we see Matthew write how Jesus asks the scribes and Pharisees, “which is greater, the gold, or the temple”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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