Matthew 23:16-22

Matthew 23:16-22

[16] Woe  ye blind  guides,  which  say,  Whosoever  shall swear  by  the temple,  nothing;  but  whosoever  shall swear  by  the gold  of the temple,  he is a debtor!  [17] Ye fools  and  blind:  for  whether  the gold,  or  the temple  that sanctifieth  the gold?  [18] And,  Whosoever  shall swear  by  the altar,  nothing;  but  whosoever  sweareth  by  the gift  that is upon  it,  he is guilty.  [19] blind:  for  whether  the gift,  or  the altar  that sanctifieth  the gift?  [20] Whoso therefore  shall swear  by  the altar,  sweareth  by  it,  and  by  all things  thereon.  [21] And  whoso shall swear  by  the temple,  sweareth  by  it,  and  by  him that dwelleth  therein.  [22] And  he that shall swear  by  heaven,  sweareth  by  the throne  of God,  and  by  him that sitteth  thereon. 

What does Matthew 23:16-22 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Jesus had dealt with the subject of taking oaths in the Sermon on the Mount ( Matthew 5:33-37). He had called His critics blind guides before too ( Matthew 15:14). Here is a specific example of what Jesus condemned in the second woe ( Matthew 23:15). By differentiating between what was binding in their oaths and what was not, the Pharisees and teachers of the law were encouraging evasive oaths that amounted to lying. Jesus" point was that people should tell the truth. Jesus condemned His critics for mishandling the Scriptures that they claimed to defend and expound.
Matthew 23:20-22 provide the rationale for Matthew 5:33-37. Whenever a Jew took an oath he connected it in some way with God. All their oaths were therefore binding. Jesus disallowed all evasive oaths and viewed them as untruthful speech.