Swearing by the Altar and All that is on It - Matthew 23:20

Matthew the apostle wrote how Jesus said, “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! You fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever swears by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. You fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift?”, and in chapter twenty-three and verse twenty of his book, Matthew shared how Jesus said, “whoso … shall swear by the altar, swears by it, and all things” on it where we read:

Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, swears by it, and by all things thereon.

The verse reads, “Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, ...”. Matthew began with the words, “whoso therefore” which means “whatever person whether male or female then, wherefore, consequently and these things being so” “shall swear” which means “will affirm, promise and invoke with an oath” “by the altar” or “through the altar of incense which stood in the sanctuary or the Holy Place”. Matthew shared how Jesus referred to the person who “makes an oath” using “the altar” as an “item higher than they” to “swear by”.

The verse goes on to say, “... swears by it, and by all things thereon.” Matthew continued with the words, “swears by it” which means “affirms, promises and invokes with an oath by the altar”, “and by all things thereon” which means “and through each, every, the whole and everything that sits upon the altar”. Matthew shared how Jesus declared that a person who makes promise and refers to the “altar” as their point of higher value also “makes that promise” upon everything that sits upon “the altar”.

When we consider Matthew's words in this verse, we discover the “scribes and Pharisees” rule distinguishing between “the altar” and “the gift upon the altar” makes no difference when a person “swears”. The idea of employing “the altar” or “the gift” was to “swear by” something that is “higher or of more importance” that the one making the promise. For example, one might say, “I swear by my mother's grave” or “I swear by the Bible”, etc. to affirm that their “oath” is valid. God desires for people to be honest and truthful without having to reference anything else, and those who are wise shall yield their lives to His Son Jesus as “Savior and Lord” so they may align themselves under the One who is “the way, the truth and the life”. (See John 14:6)

Next time we see Matthew write how Jesus makes a statement about, “whosoever … shall swear by the temple”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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