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Advent Productions

Benjamin Ng

Our Communication

Father in heaven, thank you Lord for the Sabbath day.

Thank you so much for keeping all of us safe.

Thank you for keeping us all in good health and strength.

And Lord I want to pray for the internet connection, that as we are connected via online right now, I pray that our time together would be profitable and that all that we can study together from your word would resonate in our hearts, that you'd speak to each and every 1 of us, that you'd guide us with your spirit, that you'd lead us into all truth, that even though we're miles apart from each other, I pray that your presence would be right there with us right now.

So guide us, be with my words, lead us, oh Lord, we pray In Jesus' name, Amen.

So as I mentioned, we will be studying Matthew chapter 5 starting in verse 33.

And the title of the Care Group Study is called our communication.

Again, you have heard that it has been said by them of old time, thou shalt forswear thyself, but shalt, thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths.

But I say unto you, Swear not at all, neither by heaven, for it is God's throne, nor by the earth, for it is his footstool, neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king.

Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make 1 hair white or black, but let your communication be yea, yea, Nay, nay, for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

So Jesus is speaking here and he's halfway through chapter 5 and we're going to connect it to the previous verses later on.

But he's saying here about our communication.

First, in verse 33, he says, Thou shalt not forswear thyself.

It means that you will not deliberately make an oath and then say that you're going to promise something but in your heart and mind you've already decided something else.

Don't forswear thyself but shall perform unto the Lord what you have promised.

Let's go to Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 12.

So let's turn the Bibles to Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 12.

I don't have it on script, I'm turning along with you here so you have time to turn with me.

The Bible says, and ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God.

For swear actually in the concordance means to commit perjury, which means to give a false testimony or a false witness.

That sounds like something that we're talking about in a court case, isn't it?

But you know, what did Moses in the Old Testament talk about when it came to swearing or taking an oath.

Let's go over to Numbers chapter 30 and verse 2.

Welcome to those that are joining in, if you did not catch it earlier, whilst you're watching, I want you to think of 1 praise that you can share and type it out, please.

Let's encourage each other during this time that even though we're far apart, we can see the blessings that come from being in this lockdown.

What did Moses actually write about when he talks about taking oaths or swearing?

"'If a man vow a vow unto the Lord or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word.

He shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.

So Numbers chapter 30, verse 2, he says, look, if you make that promise, you have to do all that you had promised.

Whatever came out, you have to make sure that you do it.

Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God and serve him and shalt swear by his name.

You know what's really interesting here in Deuteronomy compared to what we read in Matthew chapter 5, Moses is the 1 that says, What does it say here?

Serve him and you shall swear by his name.

Yes, but what is it that happened here in Matthew 5 that now Jesus says thou shalt not forswear thyself, but I say unto you, swear not at all, neither by heaven nor by God's throne.

If we're not swearing by heaven or by God's throne, definitely it would not be okay to swear by Jesus' name, right?

You see, back in the Old Testament, Moses was teaching the Israelites to tell the truth under oath.

In Matthew 5, Jesus is dealing probably with a group of people that is taking the oath, but intentionally not going through with what they promised.

This already started in the Old Testament before we got to Matthew chapter 5.

Isaiah 48 verse 1, Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth nor in righteousness." So even in Israel, already in the Old Testament, after the time of Moses, people were swearing by the name of God.

They were taking oaths, but yet not in truth nor in righteousness.

They weren't intending to go through with what they had promised.

And so Jesus was dealing with a very big problem in Matthew or in modern day Israel in the New Testament there.

People were swearing by heaven or by God's throne or by us or even by his name but yet in their hearts they weren't going through with it.

And so he's dealing with a group of people that were basically liars.

So was Jesus trying to destroy oath-taking altogether?

I mean in our court system today, at least I'm not sure in Malaysia, but I know outside we put our hands on the Bible and we say I promise to tell the truth and nothing but the truth so help me God And it seems like we're swearing by the Bible.

Is that going against the truth and is that violating our conscience if we do that?

I think some people do have problems with that.

And we quote this text in Matthew 5.33, don't forswear thyself, don't swear at all by heaven or God's throne and if we're not swear by heaven or God's throne how much even more the Bible itself which is God's Word.

At this time, Jesus is standing before Pilate.

He's in the judgment hall and they've captured him, they've put him on trial and He's asked this question, 63 of Matthew 26, but Jesus held his peace and the high priest, sorry, it wasn't Pilate, it was the high priest, and the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.

Jesus said unto him, Thou hast said, Nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." Up to this point, Jesus had been pretty silent.

He had been standing there in the judgment hall.

People had been bringing false testimonies against him.

But now the high priest, the highest officer in the religious sect of the Pharisees, is standing there and he's saying, I adjure thee by the living God.

He's saying, I am asking you to take an oath.

I adjure thee by the living God that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the son of God.

And so if Christ was condemning the judicial oath, if he was saying it's not good to swear at all, what would have happened is he would have rebuked the priest right there and then and said don't do that.

He answered the question of the high priest.

So was it okay to swear in a sense, to take an oath?

I'm not talking about cursing, but to take an oath before God?

In Matthew chapter 5, He was dealing with the problem of people making promises but not going through with it.

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