Matthew 23:21

Friday, 16 October 2026

He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. Matthew 23:21

“And the ‘having sworn in the temple’, he swears in it and in the ‘dwelling, it’.” (CG)

In the previous verse, Jesus said that he who swears by the altar swears by everything on it. He next says, “And the ‘having sworn in the temple’.”

Jesus elevates the matter of sanctification from the altar to the temple. The altar is a part of the temple. The scope of the sanctification of the altar is that which touches it. The scope of the temple was a place of holiness. Different places within the temple allowed only certain people to enter.

Solomon’s temple had an inner court for the priests and an outer court for the people of Israel to gather. In Herod’s temple, there were these, but added in were the court of the Gentiles and the court of the women.

Gentiles could go so far within the complex. The people of Israel could go so far and no further. The priests, depending on their situation (being clean or unclean, etc.), could minister up to a certain area, or they may be restricted from ministering.

From there, the high priest alone could enter the Most Holy Place. But he was restricted to entering once a year on the day of atonement. And he could not enter without the blood of a sacrifice for sin. This is because it was the dwelling place of the Lord within the temple.

Because the Lord’s presence was there, Jesus says that anyone who swore in (meaning by) the temple, “he swears in it and in the ‘dwelling, it’.”

It is the Lord who sanctified the temple. His presence there meant that swearing by the temple meant that the utterance included swearing by the Lord who dwelt in the temple. As such, any such oath had to be considered binding. Jesus carefully schools the religious leaders of Israel on things they were apparently unable to think through properly.

Life application: In Matthew 5, using the same word translated as “swear” here, Jesus said –

“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”

Jesus is not telling the people in Matthew 23 to swear. He is telling them what it means when they do swear by something. His audience was the people of Israel. In Leviticus 26, the Lord said –

“I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you.
12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.” Leviticus 26:11, 12

If the Lord dwelled among the people, then logically, anything they said would need to be considered as binding. Hence, His instructions were that swearing was unnecessary. The words the people uttered were to be truthful, as if each thing they said was a sacred utterance.

Paul cites Leviticus 26 in 2 Corinthians 6:16 –

“And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
‘I will dwell in them
And walk among them.
I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.’”

As this is so, our words should be as honest as those expected of the people of Israel, as stated by Jesus in Matthew 5. When we speak, it should be with the understanding that our relationship with God is being evaluated by the truthfulness of our words.

It should be wholly unnecessary for a believer to swear as an attempt to confirm his words. What he or she says should hold up to scrutiny apart from such things. This does not mean that Christians are not to swear when asked to do so, such as confirming one’s words on a legal document or in a court of law.

Those things are externally required. The swearing Jesus and the apostles refer to is the confirmation of the truthfulness of one’s words, as if a swear should be needed to ensure what they say can be trusted. This should be unnecessary.

Lord God, help us always to be truthful in the things we say. May our promises to others be considered as binding, and may we diligently go about fulfilling what our mouths have spoken. May our actions never bring dishonor on Your glorious name. Amen.