What does Matthew 5:37 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Jesus" "yes, yes," and "no, no," is not the exact terminology He wanted His disciple to use. If He meant that, He would be doing just what He was correcting the rabbis for doing. Rather it means a simple yes or no. The NIV translation gives the sense: "Simply let your "Yes" be "Yes," and your "No," "No."" The "evil" at the end of the verse may either be a reference to the devil or it may mean that to go beyond Jesus" teaching on this point involves evil. [source][source]

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Some very conscientious believers have taken Jesus" words literally and have refused to take an oath of any kind, even in court. However, Jesus" point was the importance of truthfulness. He probably would not have objected to the use of oaths as a formality in legal proceedings. [source][source]

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"They ^[1] should not be needed, but in practice they serve a remedial purpose in a world where the ethics of the kingdom of heaven are not always followed. Refusal to take a required oath can in such circumstances convey quite the wrong impression." ^[2] [source]

The Bible records that God Himself swore, not because He sometimes lies but to impress His truthfulness on people ( Genesis 9:9-11; Luke 1:73). Jesus testified under oath ( Matthew 26:63-64), as did Paul ( Romans 1:9; 2 Corinthians 1:23; 1 Thessalonians 2:5; 1 Thessalonians 2:10). [source][source]

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"It must be frankly admitted that here Jesus formally contravenes OT law: what it permits or commands ( Deuteronomy 6:13), he forbids. But if his interpretation of the direction in which the law points is authoritative, then his teaching fulfills it." ^[1] [source]

Context Summary

The legislation of the old time insisted that no member of the commonwealth should commit adultery, and enforced terrible penalties. See Deuteronomy 22:22-24. But the Divine Man, who reads the human heart with perfect accuracy, goes behind the deed to its premonitory stages, legislates about the look that may inflame passion, and condemns the soul that does not instantly turn the eye from that which allures it, to the All-Holy, asking to be cleansed not with tears only but with blood. The first act in the religious life is to detect right and wrong in the thought or intention. If the tempter is arrested there, He is powerless to hurt. Kill the snake in the egg!

The prohibition against swearing does not deal with taking an oath in the law court. During His trial by the high priest, our Lord did not resent being put on His oath. On rare and solemn occasions we may have to bare our heads before God and ask Him to corroborate our word. But how different is this from the frequent and flippant use of expletives and extravagances of speech. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 5

¹  Jesus' sermon on the mount:
³  The Beattitudes;
¹³  the salt of the earth;
¹⁴  the light of the world
¹⁷  He came to fulfill the law
²¹  What it is to kill;
²⁷  to commit adultery;
³³  to swear
³⁸  He exhorts to forgive wrong,
⁴³  to love our enemies;
⁴⁸  and to labor after perfection