“Woe
to you, you blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.’ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold? ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obligated?’ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift? He therefore who swears by the altar, swears by it, and by everything on it. He who swears by the temple, swears by it, and by him who was living in it. He who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by him who sits on it.
Matthew 23:16-22
Matthew 23 [14.] “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men; for you don’t enter in yourselves, neither do you allow those who are entering in to enter. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel around by sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much of a son of Gehenna as yourselves.
Matthew 23 [16.] “Woe to you, you blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.’ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold? ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obligated?’ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift? He therefore who swears by the altar, swears by it, and by everything on it. He who swears by the temple, swears by it, and by him who was living in it. He who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by him who sits on it.
Matthew 23 [23.] “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone. You blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel!
Meaning:
This is the fourth of the woes Jesus spoke against the scribes and Pharisees in the temple. The earlier woes condemned how they treated widows, those seeking the Kingdom, and their converts (Matthew 23:13-15). This one exposes the clever rules they had made about oaths, rules that allowed people to make promises and then escape them.
- “Woe to you, you blind guides”
The scribes and Pharisees claimed to lead others in the ways of God, yet they could not see the truth themselves. Jesus had said of them earlier, “They are blind guides of the blind. If the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit” (Matthew 15:14).
- “Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated”
People often strengthened a promise by swearing an oath. The law required that oaths be kept: “When a man vows a vow to Yahweh, or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word” (Numbers 30:2). But the teachers had developed a system of distinctions. An oath “by the temple” or “by the altar” was said not to be binding, while an oath “by the gold of the temple” or “by the gift” on the altar was binding. This let a person sound serious while keeping a way out. It also revealed misplaced values, treating the gold and the offerings as more important than God’s house.
- “For which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold?”
Jesus shows how foolish the rules were. The gold and the gift were holy only because of their connection with the temple and the altar. God had said of the altar, “the altar shall be most holy; whatever touches the altar shall be holy” (Exodus 29:37). The greater thing makes the lesser holy, not the other way round.
- “He who swears by the temple, swears by it, and by him who was living in it”
Every oath, whatever words it uses, is ultimately made before God. The temple was holy because God had chosen to dwell there. When Solomon dedicated it, he said, “I have surely built you a house of habitation, a place for you to dwell in forever” (1 Kings 8:13). Heaven itself is “the throne of God”. Yahweh says, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool” (Isaiah 66:1). No one can swear by anything that does not belong to God.
The Significance of Matthew 23:16-22
- Truthful speech
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught, “don’t swear at all” and “let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No’” (Matthew 5:34; Matthew 5:37). Believers should be so honest that their simple word is enough. James repeats this teaching (James 5:12).
- No loopholes before God
Clever arguments that excuse broken promises do not deceive God. “It is better that you should not vow, than that you should vow and not pay” (Ecclesiastes 5:5). All of life is lived in God’s presence.
Cross-References:
Numbers 30:2: “he shall not break his word.” The law on keeping oaths.
Isaiah 66:1: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.” Everything belongs to God.
James 5:12: “let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’, and your ‘no’, ‘no’.” Simple honesty.
Conclusion: Jesus called the scribes and Pharisees blind guides because they invented distinctions between binding and non-binding oaths, and valued gold and gifts above the temple and altar that made them holy. Every oath is made before God, who lives in his house and sits on his throne in heaven. Christ’s followers are called to plain, truthful speech that needs no oaths at all.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible