Broken Promises

The Greatest Sermon Ever Preached Part XIV

Reflections on the Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 5-7

(Commentary by Guy Glass and Scott Hescht)

Matthew 5:31-32 "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil."

Guy: Ending a statement with "I promise" is common among many of us, in order to assure others that we will follow through with what we say. Many in the days of Jesus did the same thing. They would go as far as swearing by something related to God - His throne or His creation or His city, in order to make sure that people took their words seriously. Some, who had too much respect for God to swear by something belonging to Him, would swear by something that was theirs, like their own head. They were attempting to swear by their own lives. Jesus pointed out the absurdity of this by commenting on their choice of expression, saying that they can't even change the color of the hair on top of their head. As was the case in those days, so it is today; the reason people resort to such oath making is because they are not people of their word. They lack integrity.

Jesus was not telling his followers to refrain from committing yourself to anything, He was telling them that their way of living, their reputation among people, should be such that people automatically know that you will follow through. He said to answer simply yes or no. I know some people, they tend to be the exception to the rule, who always do what they say their going to do. You can trust them. If they say they will be somewhere, they are there early. If you entrust them with a task, you don't have to worry whether it will get done.

More than this comes from evil because if you've failed to keep your word in the past, and have to resort to attempting to convince people that this time you will follow through, you're sinning. You're sinning because you are not living a life that represents the Lord. An accurate representation of the Lord will be one who is completely trustworthy, completely honest, completely consistent and completely sincere.

Psalm 15 teaches us that God is pleased with one who "swears to his own hurt and does not change." This means that when you say you're going to do something, but find out that if you follow through you will suffer as a result, you do so anyway and suffer loss rather than break your word. You are a person of a high level of integrity when your beliefs, your words and your actions all line up. It's similar to the submarine that is being assembled in a dry dock. If the nuts and bolts aren't lined up as the hull is put together; if the welds are inconsistent; when that vessel dives into the ocean waters and the pressures increase, the integrity of the submarine won't be able to hold up against the pressing weight of the seas and it will be crushed along with everyone on board.

Jesus knew well the importance of integrity in our lives. He lived it, taught it and expects it of you and me. Jesus set His face like flint to go to Jerusalem and be our substitute on the cross. He suffered greatly for saying to His Father, "Your will be done. I'll die for them." But, He followed through. Aren't you glad He did. Let's follow our Savior's example and be men and women of our word.