hodlbod on Nostr: I'm honestly not super sure, but I think it has to do with the third commandment, to ...

I'm honestly not super sure, but I think it has to do with the third commandment, to "not take the name of the Lord your God in vain."

Jews have a way of perversely interpreting this to mean you shouldn't swear in God's name, or even say his name. But I think Jesus teaches the opposite. Swearing by the temple or whatever are ways of avoiding the invokation of the ultimate witness: God the Judge.

Oaths are lawful in the OT, so I think swearing "with God as my witness" is really only an affirmation of what is already true when you say yes or no. It's a solemnization and reminder of the fact that every lie, especially those that hurt your neighbor, is an act of rebellion against the God of Truth.

Jesus is teaching the same sort of thing he does about lust or anger, that minor offenses (a vain word or white lie) are still to be understood in a cosmic context.