Yes Or No

We have all committed the sin this passage addresses. You promised to do something, but you failed to do it. You promised to stop doing something, but you did it again. You have almost certainly invoked some kind of oath to excuse your broken promise or to get people to believe you. This passage is the fourth in a series of antitheses Jesus used to illustrate His theme in the Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 5:20: For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

By emphasizing outward conformity to a list of do's and don'ts, the Pharisees produced terrible results:

• They didn't get to the real issues.
• They didn't understand the extent of sin.
• The could convince themselves (and others) they were truly righteous.
• They inoculated themselves against the message of Jesus.

1. The Letter of the Law (33)
2. The Application of the Law (34-36)
3. The General Principle (37)