But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one

 

 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  

"Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

"Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.'  But I say to you, do not swear at all:  neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."

 

- Matthew 5:27-37 

 

We are currently reading the Sermon on the Mount.  In yesterday's reading, Christ said, "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.'  But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.  And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council.  But whoever says, '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 something against you, leave your gift there 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 on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.  Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny."

 

  "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."  My study Bible comments that the issue here is not the God-given mutual attraction of men and women, but rather the selfish promptings of lust.  Sin does not come out of nature, but out of the distortion of nature for self-indulgence.  Thoughts that enter the mind involuntarily are not sins, but temptations.  They become sins only when they are held and entertained.  

 

"If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell."  My study Bible says that this imagery is not to be taken literally, but refers to decisive action to avoid sin and to continue in purity.  Moreover, if we examine this closely, we see that the right eye corresponds to a man looking at a woman with lust who is not his wife, and likely is married to another, thus emphasizing the selfish and covetous nature of lust as addressed to Christ's disciples in this sermon, and in the verses immediately following which discuss divorce.  A right eye may cast a covetous look, a right hand may reach out to grasp what does not belong to it.  In both cases, even a precious right eye or hand may be better to lose than one's whole body be cast into hell.  In a note on Matthew 18:8, my study Bible also adds that this imagery may be applied to severing relationships for the sake of the salvation of all parties.

"Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery."   In contrast to the easy access to divorce offered under the Mosaic Law, and also because of the misuse of divorce in that day, Jesus repeatedly condemns divorce (see also Matthew 19:8-9) and He emphasizes the eternal nature of marriage, my study Bible explains.  It notes that the possibility of divorce on the grounds of sexual immorality shows that marriage can be destroyed by sin.  (Clearly this is true of all relationships, and marriage is, importantly, no exception.)  

"Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.'  But I say to you, do not swear at all:  neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,''No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."   My study Bible comments that trust cannot be secured by swearing an oath by things that are not in man's possession anyway, but only by simple integrity.  

Jesus' last direction and command here emphasizes the importance of honesty and humility in all things.  It builds upon the command regarding anger in yesterday's reading (see above), and also the commands regarding both lust and adultery.  That's because if we follow Christ's thinking here, we will see that He is advocating a kind of honesty that is steeped in humility, in limiting ourselves to what is truly real and not getting beyond ourselves.  Jesus makes this very clear when He says, "Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black."    That is, our own heads should not swell with attributes, powers, and an inflated sense of ourselves that goes far beyond our own reality.  He says, "But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,''No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."  Perhaps the most gruesome story of corrupt excess in the New Testament is the story of the beheading of John the Baptist, found in Matthew's Gospel at Matthew 14:1-12.  The bloody beheading of the great prophet comes out of a rash oath sworn by Herod, something that makes him not only pathetically foolish but a man deluded, infantile, and we might say not much of a man at all.  The text even tells us that the king was sorry (verse 9).  Mark's Gospel adds that "Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly" (Mark 6:20).  And yet, despite this, and because of a senseless oath borne out of excess, he nonetheless consents to this awful beheading of John, which results with the saint's head served on a platter at the king's birthday party.  It's hard to imagine a more diabolical horror story, but that is the nature of what we're talking about. Jesus underscores the lesson when He says, "But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,''No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."   It might not seem that something one has sworn to out of the need to impress, or perhaps from too much to drink, or maybe from simply a swollen ego, can result in great disaster -- but we really should not take these stories lightly.  For they tell us about human nature and the result of our own misguided foolishness in not knowing ourselves better, and in not understanding how each of us has a need for an enforced, deliberate humility in order to have the discipline necessary for an honorable and honest life.  We live in an age where social media has turned virtually everyone into their own Public Relations agent, and all kinds of things are exaggerated for a photograph or to make an impression.  But this is not the way that Christ has taught us to live, and it is not the way that the Gospels teach us about life and how precious it is.  Perhaps we should say that to become humble, to bear life's circumstances with the meekness that is all about strength and courage and discipline no matter where we find ourselves, is to accept wisdom and bear it into the world.  This is how we keep our heads and wits about us, and it is the only way to cultivate true and good leadership.  For we know what happens with bad.