16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’ 17 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold [treasury of the temple] or the temple that sanctifies the gold? 18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’ 19 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20 Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. 21 He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. 22 And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.
23:16
“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’
The fourth “woe” castigates the religious leaders as deceitful. They were the blind leading the bind by their insistence on an oath to follow God. Jesus called them “blind guides.” Twice in this section He called them “fools and blind.” They were ignorant of the Messiah and His kingdom as presented in the Old Testament.
Religious leaders developed a double standard for worship at the altar by making a fine line of distinction. If they swore by the temple, they could lie with impunity. If they swore by the gold of the temple, they had to fulfill the obligation.
23:17
Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?
These leaders were deliberately dishonest in their approach. They set up a false system to evade payment of vows. That is, they deemed that, if they swore by the temple, they were not obligated to pay their vows. However, if they swore by the gold of the temple, then they had to pay the vow.
23:18
And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’
These people thought that swearing by the gift on the altar was binding, but that swearing by an empty altar was not. This was an attempt at evasion of an oath.
23:19
Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?
They valued the gift on the altar more than the altar itself. They placed the material over the spiritual.
23:20
Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it.
When someone swears by the altar, they swear by all that is associated with the temple. The pseudo-subtle distinctions the religious leaders made did not hold. This is an argument from the lesser to the greater.
23:21
He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it.
If someone accepts a small oath, they commit to all oaths under God Himself.
23:22
And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.
This is an argument from the greater to the lesser. If we swear by a greater oath, that will commit us to all smaller oaths. Implied distinctions between oaths are not justified. To do otherwise is sophistry. Oath-taking always implies that we take it in God’s presence.
PRINCIPLE:
Every oath draws God into the equation.
APPLICATION:
Often people who think that they know truth are nothing but deluded. When we try to evade commitment to God by deceit, we dishonor God Himself. They were in the dark about Bible knowledge, yet they attempted to lead people spiritually.
