Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
All Commentaries on Matthew 5:35 Go To Matthew 5
Cyril of Alexandria
AD 444
For this reason Jesus prohibits us from swearing by heaven or by the earth. This is in order that we should not give to creation an honor surpassing creation. Do not deify creation. Those who swear, he says, “swear by the greater,” as the apostle has said. And he also forbids swearing by Jerusalem. For the earthly Jerusalem is a type of the Jerusalem above, and God swears only by himself, that is, by his own glory. Wherefore, since the similarity transcends us, we are obliged to swear neither by ourselves nor by our own glory, for we are not free like God but are subject to God’s authority.
