Episode 25: I mean it, I swear!
Have you ever heard someone swear “on a stack of Bibles” that what they were saying was true? Or have you heard someone say, “I swear to God”? Verbal formulas like these are meant to convey that the person’s word can be trusted. People in Jesus’ day used similar formulas when they made oaths or vows. Unfortunately, it was possible to get lost in the technical details of what was and wasn’t a binding oath—and Jesus wanted something different from his hearers.
