BBI-TAITE, Sydney College of Divinity
What do Herod and Peter have in common? Oath-breaking in Matthew’s Discourse and Narratives
In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5:34–37), Jesus prohibits swearing oaths, and again in Matt 23:16–22 Jesus returns to the same topic. Teaching on oaths is particularly characteristic of Matthew’s Gospel, and mostly absent from the other Gospels. However, the narrative sections of Matthew’s Gospel also contain several instances of oaths: Herod’s oath to Herodias’ daughter (Matt 14:7//Mark 6:23, 26), Peter’s oath to the bystanders at Jesus’ trial (Matt 26:72, 74//Mark 14:70), and perhaps Caiaphas’ attempt to adjure Jesus (Matt 26:63). These instances have parallel material in Mark, but not Luke or John. To the extent that scholars of Matthew have remarked on these instances of oaths, they are largely seen as illustrations or demonstrations of Jesus’ teaching in chapter 5. While this explanation might work in Matthew, it cannot make sense of these episodes in Mark, that lacks this kind of extensive teaching on oath-taking. Moreover, Matthew and Mark’s depiction of these oaths is far from neutral reporting. Rather, this paper will suggest that these narrative episodes, as they are portrayed by the Gospel of Matthew, do not just illustrate but instead extend the teaching on oath-taking and oath-breaking. The Gospel uses these instances as a way to substantiate what is quite an abstract teaching, but also to forestall potential questions about the practicalities of implementing this teaching. Finally, I will consider the question of why the Gospel seems to treat Herod and Peter quite differently, despite the similarities in their behaviour.