And he that shall swear by heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by him who sits thereon.
All Commentaries on Matthew 23:22 Go To Matthew 23
John Chrysostom
AD 407
The temple pertains to God’s glory, and to man’s spiritual salvation, but the gold of the temple though it pertains to the glory of God, yet does it more soto the delight of man, and the profit of the Priests. The Jews then pronounced the gold which delighted them, and the gifts which fed them, to be more holy than the temple, that they might make men more disposed to offer gifts, than top our out prayers in the temple. Whence the Lord suitably reproves them in thesewords.Yet have some Christians at present anequally foolish notion. See, they say, in any suit if one swear by God, it seems nought; but if one swear by the Gospel, he seems to have done some great thing. To whom we shall say in like manner, “Ye fools and blind!” the Scriptures were written because of God, God is not because of the Scriptures. Greater therefore is God, than what is hallowed by Him.
