Matthew 5:48 ~ Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

The Sermon on the Mount (SotM) is viewed by many as the authoritative statement of the Christian belief system. Allegedly given by Jesus, it is said to be a prescription for Christian living². Consisting of 107 consecutive verses covering chapters 5, 6 and 7 of the Gospel of Matthew³, it is the longest continuous monologue of the New Testament. Only a small part of it, the Beatitudes, is recorded in Luke (6:20-38). Some other SotM verses do appear in Luke, but they are widely scattered throughout the gospel. The writers of the Gospels of Mark and John ignore the sermon altogether as do the Apostles Paul, Peter and John. So what is the source of SotM, and how did it get recorded in such detail more than fifty years after Jesus allegedly gave it in an age when stenographic techniques were, at best, very primitive?

The writers of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, although working independently, drew rather heavily from the same two sources, the Gospel of Mark and a hypothetical document called “Q”⁴ (Quella, German for source). Although Q was lost, it has been reconstructed by way of a careful literary analysis of Matthew and Luke⁵. Q, thought to date from around 50 C. E. ⁶, appears to have been an important source for SotM⁷. But Q was apparently without narrative form. In the original it appears to have been composed of a series of disconnected sayings thought to be from or about Jesus. However, most of the Q sayings are nothing more than reformulations of Old Testament passages. For example, Thou shalt love thy neighbor (5:43), a Q saying, actually comes from Leviticus 19:18. For more information about Q see my essay, "Q", on this web site.

The settings for SotM are obviously fictional. Because they were writing their gospels as narratives, the writers of Matthew and Luke were compelled to invent a setting for the delivery of the sermon that would be consistent with their story. Each did so within the purview of his own theology. In Matthew 5:1 Jesus goes up the mountain to deliver the sermon in the tradition of Moses on Mt. Sinai. The writer of Luke, on the other hand, has Jesus come down the mountain (6:17) to show him to be a true proletarian - a man of the people. Let us now take a closer look at the sermon while keeping in mind two very pertinent questions, 1) What was Jesus trying to teach his disciples, and 2) Did he always follow his own teachings?

The sermon begins with a recitation of the Beatitudes, the New Testament version of the ten commandments. In the first sentence (5:2-3) Jesus proclaims, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Although it never explains what “poor in spirit” means, it can only be assumed that it is a state of general unhappiness or depression. Also, it never explains just how the two, poorness in spirit and the kingdom of heaven, are connected. However, this verse and others like it have been effectively used to pacify and control slaves and the poor.

Speaking of the poor vs the rich, there is an interesting passage in Luke (6:24-25) which obviously belongs with SotM but, oddly enough, is not found in Matthew. It reads, “But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger". In Matthew 19:23-25 Jesus tells his disciples, "Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven for it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God". (See also Mark 10:24-25 and Luke 18:24-25). It is obvious that in the ethics of Jesus no righteous person can be rich or own property. Being well fed and comfortable are mortal sins per se. To posses plenty while others are in want is unChristian. These edicts amounts to an outright condemnation of the capitalistic system of economics upon which this country was founded and currently operates. However, this is all contradicted by Ecclesiastes 10:19 where we are told that money is the answer to all things.

Jesus declares in 5:5, “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” Now, according to the record, Jesus was anything but meek. Meek people don’t openly declare themselves to be God (John 10:30) or the son of God (John 10:36) as did Jesus. Also, meek people don’t normally go around creating public scenes as Jesus did when he cleansed the temple (Matthew 21:12-13) or saved the adulteress from stoning (John 8:1-11). Maybe the absence of meekness explains why he failed to inherit the earth.

In 5:7 Jesus says, “Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.” Jesus was certainly unmerciful to those who disagreed with him. In Matthew 10:33 he says, “But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” He showed no mercy for Judas when he said, "But woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed for it would have been better for him had he never been born" (See Matthew 26:24; Mark 14:21). He showed no mercy for the people of Capernaum, whom he sent to hell (Matthew 11:23 and Luke 10:15). In Mark 16:16 Jesus says that he who does not believe will be condemned apparently without mercy. He repeats this unmerciful sentence in John 3:18. Jesus showed no mercy for Jezebel and her children (Revelation 2:22-23). These are not the actions of a merciful person. Maybe that is why Jesus received no mercy when in Matthew 27:46 he cried out from the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

In 5:9 Jesus declares, "Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God". But in Matthew 10:34 he says, "Think not that I am come to bring peace on earth. I came not to bring peace, but a sword". To underscore this hate filled statement, in the very next verse Jesus makes a truly reprehensible declaration, "For I come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law". This passage is repeated practically verbatim in Luke 12:51-53. It should be noted that here Jesus contradicts Proverbs 6:16-19 where we are told that sowing discord within a family is an abomination in the eyes of God.

In 5:16 Jesus says, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven”. However, in 6:1, still in SotM, he says, “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them. For otherwise ye have no reward of your Father in heaven”. The Holman Bible Dictionary defines alms as charitable giving, especially to the poor. Therefore, wouldn't almsgiving also qualify as good works? Did Jesus again contradict himself here?

In 5:17-18 Jesus says, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled". As noted by Wells⁸, this unqualified endorsement of "the law" and "the prophets" validates the whole religious constitution of the Old Testament: for 'the law' was the Jewish term for the Torah, known to Christians as the Pentateuch, and 'the prophets' meant the books from Joshua to 2nd Kings and from Isaiah to Malachi. In that regard, it is ironic indeed that the Christian church has seen fit to give SotM such a prominent position in its canon while at the same time rejecting the Torah. Ironic also is the fact that by his endorsement of the law Jesus repudiates the teachings of Paul who, as we know from Galatians, did not hold to the provisions of the Torah. Paul, the founder of Christianity and a contemporary of Jesus, obviously never heard of SotM.

To further confirm his devotion to the law, in the very next verse (19) Jesus warns that, “Whosoever shall break one of the commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.” This is strange indeed when we consider that Jesus proceeded to either re-interpret, abrogate or deliberately break many of the mosaic laws. In Mark 2:27 he rejects Genesis 31:15 and Exodus 20:8-10 (commandment no. 4), when he declares that the Sabbath day was meant for man not man for the Sabbath. In Mark 7:19 he declares all food clean, thus going counter to the law of kosher in which there is a list of forbidden foods (Lev. 11 and Deut. 14).

In addition to those cited above, there are other instances worth noting in which Jesus deliberately broke the law and encouraged others to do likewise. Perhaps the most familiar is found in John 2:4. Upon being informed by his mother that there is no more wine, Jesus insults her with an insolent and disrespectful reply, "Woman, what have I to do with thee"? Here he broke commandment number five - honor thy mother and thy father. He broke it again when in Matthew 12:46-50 (see also Mark 3:31-35) he flatly rejected his mother and siblings who had come to see him. In Matthew 21:18 we read, “In the morning, when he returned to the city, he was hungry. And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon but leaves, and said unto it, ‘Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever.’ Presently the fig tree withered away.” By this unjust action (temper tantrum) Jesus broke the law forbidding the destruction of fruit-bearing trees (Deut. 20:19-20). Mark 5:12-13 tells how he irresponsibly caused the destruction of a large herd of swine in Gadara. Yet, there is no record of him ever having compensated their owner as is required by law (Lev.24:18). Also, wasn’t this an unjustified act of extreme cruelty to dumb animals? Although stealing is forbidden in Commandment number eight (Exodus 20:15), Matthew 21:2-3 tells how Jesus appropriated a donkey and a colt from their rightful owner in what amounted to nothing less than stealing. In Matthew 10:23 when giving instructions to his apostles as to just how they are to go about spreading his message Jesus says,". . . . for truly I say unto you, you shall not finish going through the cities of Israel (a small country) until the Son of Man comes". When addressing a gathering of his followers Jesus assures them in Matthew 16:28 that, "There are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the son of man coming in his kingdom". Didn’t he tell a lie here, thus breaking commandment number nine? For a listing of other gospel passages where Jesus lied, see Did Jesus Lie? on this web site. In John 8:1-11 we learn that when asked to judge a woman caught in the act of adultery he releases her without condemnation. Not only is adultery forbidden by law (Ex.  20:14), the prescribed punishment is death (Lev. 20:10)

Christian apologists often try to twist this important and revealing passage to mean that Jesus fulfilled the law and therefore it is no longer in force. But they deliberately ignore that Jesus assures us that the law will be in force "till heaven and earth pass away". I remind them that the earth has not yet passed away. 

In 5:20 Jesus says to his disciples, “For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven”. This endorsement is strange indeed considering that in Matthew 23 he delivers a hatefully scathing denunciation of the scribes and the Pharisees labeling them fools and hypocrites while referring to them as a "generation of vipers".

In 5:22 Jesus says, "But I say to you that if you are angry with your brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; . . . if you say 'you fool,' you will be liable to the hell of fire" (NSRV). Yet, he refers to the scribes and the Pharisees as fools as noted above. In 7:26, still in SotM, Jesus declares those who reject his message to be fools. He does it again in Luke 11:40. In Luke 24:25 he calls the two men whom he met on the road to Emmaus fools. In Luke 12:20 God, who according to the Trinity is also Jesus, addresses the rich farmer as “Thou fool.”

Concerning his prohibition against anger some versions such as KJV have attempted to soften it by adding, "without a cause". In that regard, simple logic tells us that all anger arises from a cause. But if we are to take this prohibition against anger seriously it must be noted that Jesus was himself guilty of it. His denunciation of the scribes and the Pharisees showed anger. He certainly showed anger when during Passover Seder (Matthew 26:24; Mark 14:21) he cursed Judas. He expressed anger and hostility toward Jezebel to the extent that he offered to kill children as noted above However, the ultimate expression of anger is to sentence someone to hell. In that regard, Jesus believed in a literal hell and in sending people there when it suited him.

Jesus' views regarding hell are indeed interesting. The most heinous act of barbarity and hatred that can possibly be perpetrated on any human being is, according to the Christian religion, to be sent to hell, that place of eternal torture of the most abhorrent and painful kind. Yet, Jesus, said to be a man of infinite love, compassion, and forgiveness not only endorsed the concept of hell, as noted above, he actually sent people there. Now, Jesus was not unaware of the horrible consequences of his act. In Mark 9:43 he describes hell as “the fire that never shall be quenched”. He warned of it on several occasions. But after all of that he banished the residents of an entire city, Capernaum, to hell simply because they remained unrepentant (Matthew 11:23 and Luke 10:15). In this banishment, he made no exception for children and/or pregnant women. So, thanks to Jesus they are all still down there burning in hell where they’ve been for the past 2000 years. That brings up a couple of legitimate questions. Did Jesus forget about his admonition to his followers to “love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44)? Most astounding of all, however, is that by these actions Jesus broke the second of what he himself identified as the two "greatest commandments" - "You shall love your neighbor as yourself". (Matthew 22:36-39, Mark 12:28-31). See also Matthew 19:19. 

In 5:29-30 Jesus recommends self mutilation, “If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out; if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” He repeats these drastic recommendation in Mark 9:43-47 but here he includes amputating a foot. Although some may say that these words carry a purely symbolic meaning, scripture clearly supports a literal interpretation. For example, Matthew 19:12 tells of men actually castrating themselves so that they would not be tempted by the flesh. In fact, even today some naive and credulous Bible believers have taken this passage literally with truly tragic consequences. 

In Luke.12:5 Jesus warns us that more than anything else we should fear the one who has the power to cast us into hell. Who has such awesome power, you ask? Why, it’s Jesus himself. In Revelation 1:18 Jesus tells us that he, and apparently he alone, holds the keys to hell. He gave the keys to heaven to Peter (Matthew 16:19). So, in view of his obvious inconsistencies and self contradictions doesn’t that mean that we should fear him most of all?

In 5:32 Jesus says, “Whosoever shall put away (divorce) his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.” Here again Jesus contradicts the law of Moses which, as noted above, he solemnly swore to uphold in every detail. According to Deut. 24:1-4 divorce is permitted, and a divorced woman is allowed to remarry. It is interesting to note that Jesus’ teachings concerning divorce are for the most part ignored by today's Christians. Also, the stated exception, fornication, makes no sense because in this case it is adultery which, according to Leviticus 20:10, is a capitol crime. Since adulterators automatically receive a death sentence, doesn't that make divorce unnecessary? For more on this subject see the section titled "Divorce" in New Testament Forgeries on this web site.

In 5:33-37 Jesus forbids the taking of oaths⁹. This is odd to say the least when one considers that Jesus swore an oath against Judas as noted above. Also, any prohibition of oaths contradicts traditional Jewish practice. Oath taking is common throughout the Old Testament, particularly the Pentateuch. In Acts 18:18 it is recorded that the Apostle Paul took an oath.

In 5:39-42 Jesus says, "Resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." He then goes on to forbid retaliation of any kind. First, it should be recognized that this is not a new precept. It was used by Lao-tse and Buddha some 500 or 600 years before Jesus^9a. But, if it is wrong to resist evil are we to allow any kind of crime to go unpunished? Should we make no resistance to wrongdoers even in cases where our family and neighbors are libel to be effected? Here again Jesus repudiates one of the laws of the Torah which says, "Thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth" (Exodus 21:23-24, repeated at Leviticus 24:20 and Deuteronomy 19:21). It's interesting to note that Matthew 4:1-10 tells how Jesus resisted Satan, the evil one. (See also Mark 1:13). Jesus retaliated. His cleansing of the temple was an obvious act of retaliation as was the condemning of Capernaum, the cursing of Judas and others noted above. Wasn't he resisting evil by casting out of devils and healing the sick and afflicted?

Human slavery, widely practiced throughout the eastern Mediterranean world of Jesus' day, is condoned in the Bible with no apologies offered. (See Slavery on this web site). So, let us consider Jesus' attitude toward this most evil of institutions? In Matthew 8:5-13 we are told how Jesus healed the Roman centurion's slave while (v10) heaping praise on the centurion for his exemplary faithfulness. Why didn't Jesus seize this opportunity to openly condemn slavery and forbid it? To the contrary, in Matthew 10:24-25 Jesus openly endorses slavery with one of the most astounding pro-slavery statements in the entire Bible - - "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor the slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he be like his teacher, and the slave like his master". If this isn't an open endorsement of evil then please tell me what is?

In 5:44 Jesus tells his listeners to love their enemies, bless them and pray for their persecutors. Yet, not only did he refused to forgive Judas, he in fact cursed him by saying that it would have been better for him had he never been born (Mk. 14:21, Mt. 26:24.) Also, according to Psalm 58"10 the righteous will rejoice when the see vengeance done. 

In 5:48 Jesus issues a directive which cannot be taken seriously. Here he says, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

In 6:7 Jesus says, "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking". This admonition is followed (6:9-13) by the famous "Lord's Prayer". Curiously enough the Lord's Prayer, viewed universally as the model prayer for Christians, is not a prayer of praise, thanksgiving, meditation, or contemplation but a prayer of petition¹⁰. It appears only in Matthew and Luke. However, those two renditions do not agree. While in Matthew the prayer appears in SotM, Luke presents a somewhat abbreviated version of it in 11:2-4 given while Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. According to Funk and Hoover¹¹ the prayer was derived from Q and Luke's version is closer to the original. The writer of Mark, an important source for both Matthew and Luke, never mentions it nor does the Apostle Paul who admits in Romans 8:28, "We do not know how to pray as we ought". The only logical conclusion is that Paul never heard of SotM.

In 6:19-21 Jesus says, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Yet he appears to contradict this in John 10:10 where he tells his followers, "I have come that ye might have life and have it more abundantly."

In 6:25-26 Jesus says, “Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap . . . yet your heavenly father feeds them”. First, this pronouncement is contradicted in 1 Timothy 5:8 where we are told, “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith and is worse than an infidel.” Second, experience has clearly shown that if upon reading this passage one expects to be provided with food, clothing and shelter without earning them, they will surely be in for a big disappointment. The fact is that this irresponsible promise has saved neither bird nor believer from starvation.

In 6:34 Jesus tells his listeners, "Take no thought of the morrow for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself." This statement shows that Jesus, or to be exact, the writer of Matthew, was convinced that the second coming was at hand. Otherwise, it is  a very irresponsible thing for a person who considers himself a leader to say.

In 7:1 Jesus says, “Judge not that ye be not judged.” Therefore, no Christian can ever sit in judgment nor serve on a jury. Concerning judging, we learn in John 5:22 that God abdicates all responsibility for judging. He turns it all over to Jesus. But Jesus emphatically says in John 8:15, “I judge no man”. Again in John 12:47 he says, “For I came not to judge the world”. Jesus also told his disciples not to judge (Luke 6:37). Who then is responsible for judging? You are, according to 7:6. Such a sweeping generality as Matthew 7:1 stands as corrupting and cowardly. Should we turn off our powers of critical thinking just because one may criticize us?  

In 7:7-8 Jesus makes another false promise when he says, presumable with a straight face, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened". This statement stands in direct contradiction to 7:14 where Jesus warns, "For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few".

In 7:12 Jesus invokes the golden rule, "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets". See also Luke 6:31. Although he may have preached it, Jesus obviously did not practice the golden rule as can be seen from the some of the examples given above. Many Christians labor under the false impression that the "Golden Rule" is a Jesus original. Five hundred years before the alleged time of Christ, Confusius taught, "What you do not like when done to yourself do not do to others". Centuries before the Christian era, Pittacus, Thales, Sextus, Isocrates and Aristotle taught the same¹² .

In 7:15 Jesus warns his listeners to, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” This is a strange admonition indeed when one considers that if there ever was a false prophet it was Jesus. A "false prophet" is defined in Deuteronomy 18:21-22 where it reads: "And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously. Thou shalt not be afraid of him". Did Jesus ever predict something which didn't happen? The answer is a resounding yes. He in fact told several bald-faced lies. For a listing of them, see, Did Jesus Lie? on this web site.

In 7:19 we read, “Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire". Here Jesus compares false prophets to trees that do not bear good fruit and condemns them to hell. Since he himself qualifies as a false prophet isn't he saying that he should go to hell?

In 7:24 Jesus concludes SotM by assuring his listeners that, "Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock". Two verses later (26) he declares that those who do not are foolish. These are baffling statements indeed considering that he himself did not always do them. In that regard, there are a number of biblical references which clearly indicate that Jesus viewed hypocrisy as a serious character flaw deserving of scorn and ridicule. In fact, he often used the term "hypocrite" to express his contempt for those persons, particularly the scribes and the Pharisees, whose behavior he often found objectionable (Matthew 6:2, 5, 16, 7:4-5; 23:13, 15, 23, 25, 29; Luke 12:1, 56; 13:15). We are also given to understand that Jesus was perfect in all that he said and did (Eph. 4:13; Heb. 5:9). It would not be unreasonable, therefore, to expect Jesus to remain completely free of any imperfections such as flaws of character and to neither demonstrate nor advocate anything which could possibly be construed as hypocrisy. Surprisingly, however, as we have seen, SotM presents several situations which clearly show that Jesus was not nearly so perfect as was claimed or did he always practice that which he preached. In fact, an objective analysis of SotM shows Jesus to be the biggest hypocrite of them all. .

In evaluating SotM, however, we must keep in mind that in the last few decades of the first century, when the gospels were written, Christianity was in its formative stages. It was an small, obscure sect within Judaism struggling to survive. The earliest Christians lived for the most part in small, isolated communes. They had intentionally cut themselves off from main stream Judaism in hopeful anticipation of the promised second coming. In those days Christians were little more than defenseless outcasts who had renounced the world and taken refuge in egalitarianism and poverty in much the same way as had their predecessors, the Essenes. Outside of these tight-knit Christian communes there lay in wait a dangerously hostile world. In such a setting the early Christians were often subjected to the most outrageous verbal and physical abuse. Had they responded in kind, there is no question but that they would have been slaughtered without mercy. Their only defense lay in an attitude of passive non-resistance. Parts of SotM seem to be an attempt to deal with that problem. Consider, for example, the following selected verses:

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you (5:11).

Resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also (5:39).

And if any man will take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also (5:40).

And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain (5:41).

Should we assume, however, that the Christians intended to continue to observe these noble principles of passivism once they attained political power, we should be in serious error. Upon becoming the dominant religion of the Roman empire, the Christian church immediately implemented a ruthless policy of retaliation and suppression against its opponents, both real and imagined. Almost overnight the persecuted became the persecutors; the vanquished became the victors. Instead of practicing that which they had always preached - forgiveness, non-violence, mercy, love, etc. - the Christian church, no doubt heady with its new found power, went on to become one of the most ruthless and aggressive persecutors of all time. In that regard, one is reminded of Lord Acton’s famous observation, “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power to corrupts absolutely.”

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1 Compiled by Louis W. Cable. Primary sources include Jesus and the Gospels by Randel Helms, The Sermon on the Mount by Shmuel Golding,         Losing Faith in Faith by Dan Barker and The story of Christian Origins by M. A. Larson.

2 Justin Martyr (100-165), Dialogue with Trypho X.

3 All biblical citations are from the King James Version (KJV) unless otherwise indicated.

4 Funk, Robert W. And Roy W. Hoover, The Five Gospels, p. 14.

5 Mack, Burton L., The Lost Gospel, The Book of Q, p. 4.

6 Ibid, Appendix A, Early Christian Literature.

7 Funk, Robert W. and Roy W. Hoover, The Five Gospels, The Jesus Seminar, 1996, pages 139-159

8 Wllla, G. A., The Jesus Legend, Open Court, 1997, pg.186.

9 The words “oath” and “vow” are used interchangeably throughout the Bible.

9a Russell, Bertrand, Why I Am Not A Christian, Touchstone Books, 1957, pg.14.

10 Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary revised, page 1051.

11 Funk, Robert W. and Roy W. Hoover, The Five Gospels ,The Jesus Seminar, Scribner, 1996, page 148.

12 Remsberg, John E., The Christ, Prometheus Books, page 312, no. 587.