Vows & Oaths

One thing to notices is that, in Matthew 26:63-64, Jesus Himself answered under oath. His "You have said so" is a Semitic idiom meaning "yes" but placing the responsibility back on the other person. In other words, Jesus answered under oath. He did not, on principle refuse to do that.

Paul acted on the basis of a vow he had taken, in Acts 18:18.

These instances cause us to question whether Jesus' words were an absolute ban on taking vows, or is that a misinterpretation?

There is no significant difference between saying "yes" to the question, "Do you take this woman as your wife?" and saying, "I take this woman as my wife". It is not credible to think that Jesus was simply referring to the number of words. Christians must be able to make statements of intent or commitment.

Was Jesus meaning that Christians should not make promises? He was certainly saying that Christians should not break their promises. Our words should be trustworthy. But should we not make promises in the first place?

Again, if a Christian says, "I will pray for you", his/her word should be trustworthy. That should indicate a commitment. It is tantamount to a promise, if not an actual promise. It is hard to believe that Christians should not make clear statements of intent. Jesus Himself did many times, e.g. "I will never leave you nor forsake you". God has made multiple promises.

There is an emphasis in Matthew 5:33-36 (and in James) on swearing by heaven, or earth, or God's throne, or Jerusalem, or the person's own head. Does that help us see what Jesus meant? Swearing by something sacred is intended either to give the vow more weight, or to invite a punishment on oneself if one breaks the vow. It is an attempt to persuade the other person that you are, on this occasion, telling the truth, when they should be able to rely on you without the oath. It would seem that Jesus was saying we should not invoke God (or more indirect references to God e.g. His throne), nor calling down curses on ourselves. Our words should be straightforward and trustworthy without those embellishments. We should simply be known for telling the truth. We should not say, "Cross my heart and swear to God", just yes or no is sufficient.

If that is the case, there is no problem at all with taking vows in court, or at our weddings. Jesus is not banning vows; He is emphasising that His people are to be straightforward in what they promise and trustworthy in keeping those promises.

For all that, there are Christian denominations that believe Christians should never take a vow.

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In Matthew 23:16-22, Jesus condemns the Pharisees for making vows they never intended to keep. They thought they could invoke some technicalities. If they swore by the temple it meant nothing but if they swore by the gold of the temple the oath was binding. Jesus rejected that distinction. It was the temple that made the gold sacred. If they swore by the temple, they were swearing by God who dwelt in the temple. Any vow is binding. Clever distinctions do not free the person from the vow.