Do Not Swear (James 5:12)

Jesus delivers the Eight Beatitudes (Sermon on the Mount)
by Cosimo ROSSELLI -from Cappella Sistina, Vatican

12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.

St. James concludes his epistle with a series of exhortations that deal mainly with oaths and prayer. First, he speaks about oaths. Note how he echoes Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount almost word for word. St. James may well have been part of the crowd when Jesus gave that sermon; if not, he surely heard Jesus teach on this subject many times. After all, he grew up in the same house as the Lord!

Fr. Farley’s comments on this verse are so good that I will quote them here in full:

“Casual oaths were part of the everyday language of the Palestinian Jew, and the Pharisees had a series of gradations by which some oaths were considered as not binding (for example, swearing by the Temple), an other oaths as binding (such as swearing by the gold of the Temple; see Matt. 23:!6). The result of such legalistic casuistry was to devalue the spoken word and make rash vows very common.

“For James, as for his Lord (See Matt. 5:34-37), the Christian should not swear at all, but be so truthful that his yes means yes and his no means no, so that no other oaths are necessary. Otherwise, God will hold him accountable for oaths rashly sworn, and he will fall under judgment. The compassion and blessing promised in verse 13 can only be gained if the Christians do not invite God’s judgment with their tongues.

“In our culture, we are not given to making hasty oaths and promises to God. We are, however, given to a casual use of the divine Name, and James’ counsel here rebukes that also. The Name of God and Jesus Christ should be pronounced by Christian’s only with reverent love” (52).