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`Whoever will swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever will swear by the gift that is on it, he is a debtor.`
Verse Takeaways
1
The Altar is Greater Than the Gift
Commentators explain that Jesus is exposing the Pharisees' flawed logic. They taught that an oath by a gift on the altar was more binding than an oath by the altar itself. Jesus corrects this, pointing out that it is the altar—representing God's presence and holiness—that makes the gift sacred. This highlights the error of valuing our material offerings more than God Himself, whom the altar represents.
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Matthew
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7
18th Century
Presbyterian
The altar. The altar of burnt offerings, in the court of the priests. See Barnes on Matthew 21:12.
It was made of brass, about thir…
19th Century
Baptist
The form of the fourth “woe” differs from all the rest. In the other seven, our Savior said, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!”…
See comments on 5:33–37 and 15:14 for the background and thrust of these verses. While it may be true that the rabbis fought the abuses of oaths an…
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16th Century
Protestant
And whosoever shall swear by the altar. Here our Lord does what should be done in correcting errors, for He leads us to the source and sho…
17th Century
Reformed Baptist
And whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing These are again the words or sayings of the scribes and Pharis…
The scribes and Pharisees were enemies of the gospel of Christ, and therefore of the salvation of people's souls. It is bad to keep away from Chris…
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13th Century
Catholic
After He instructed the disciples and the multitudes about the caution they should have regarding the Jews' doctrine, He now directs His words to t…
