Swearing Bible oaths
Jesus is considered by scholars such as Weber to be an example of a charismatic religious leader. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 23:16–22 “Whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it” (vv. 21–22). Jesus declares seven woes upon the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23:13 –36, which is a significant number. Scripture often uses the number seven to denote completeness. For example, God rested on the seventh day when He had finished creating the heavens and the earth (Gen. 2:1–3). Considering the association of wholeness with the number seven, Christ ’s use of seven woes to denounce scribal and Pharisaic transgressions likely indicates the thoroughgoing wickedness of many people in these groups. This is the third woe Jesus uttered against the scribes and Pharisees (Matt. 23:16–22), the content of which He previously delivered in the Sermon on the Mount (5:33–37),