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Gospel of Matthew - Chapter 5 - Law of Adultery

by Paul George  
3/25/2008 / Bible Studies

Matthew 5:27-30

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery;' but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna. If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna'" (WEB).
In verses 27 and 28, Jesus tells the disciples, the traditions taught them by the scribes and Pharisees say that you are not to commit adultery; however, that standard is too low. God never was solely concerned about the act, but rather primarily the attitude behind it.

In verses 21-22, Jesus dealt with the Sixth Commandment, in verses 27-28 He deals with the Seventh Commandment. Anger and sex are two very powerful elements that really reach deep down into human experience. They aptly illustrate the sinfulness of man, cutting to the very core of the issue. We have all experienced the common temptations of anger and lust, which reach deep into the basic sinfulness of man. The disciples who were sitting on the hillside in Galilee hearing the Lord Jesus Christ confront them about the anger and lust in their hearts, would have to admit by virtue of their own consciences that they were indeed sinners. The fact that they never killed anybody or committed the act of adultery did not absolve them from the sinfulness that reigned in their hearts. Jesus wants to go right to the heart of man and show them that no matter what they have or have not done; they cannot enter into His Kingdom.

The fact that Jesus says that anybody who looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart, is a tremendous statement to somebody living in our society today, when the temptations are so vast. Temptation has always been around, it did not matter whether a woman was covered from head to foot in a long robe and a veil; the temptation would still be there. There have always been those things that the devil would use to generate lust and which the flesh would pounce upon to initiate the temptation. However, in the day in which we live, the temptations are so much more rampant and so much more visible around us, because of the virtueless society that we live in.

Jesus wanted it clearly understood the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees could avoid committing adultery, but they could not do anything about their secret life. Jesus wanted understood when God had said, "You shall not commit adultery" (Exodus 20:14), He was talking about far more than the deed itself.

Verse 28 "but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart" (WEB).

Verse 28 is a powerful verse; the Pharisees were saying, "We do not commit that sin." However, Jesus drives right down into their hearts to reveal the truth. Jesus does not say that the one who lusts after a woman commits adultery at that point. Rather, He says that whoever looks on a woman to lust after her "has already" committed adultery. The sin has already happened in the heart. Jesus is saying that the heart is the problem, because when a man purposefully looks on a woman to lust after her, he gives evidence of having a vile, lusting, and adulterous attitude.

Temptation to illicit sexual desire or fantasy is not sin in itself. Satan may tempt you, but the sin only comes in relation to what you do with the temptation. If you entertain the temptation, pandering those evil thoughts, then it becomes sin.

A biblical example of temptation giving birth to sin is found in 2 Samuel 11, where David is walking on his roof. Looking over the side, he sees Bathsheba bathing, instead of turning away and going back inside; David continues to look until his adulterous heart brings forth an adulterous lust, ultimately ending in the act of adultery and the murder of her husband.

This process of a temptation becoming a sin is illustrated in the saying, "Sow a thought and reap an act, sow an act and reap a habit, sow a habit and reap a character, sow a character and reap a destiny." It all starts when you sow a thought. A person can take something beautiful and make it something ugly because his heart is defiled. We can see this in pornography that has saturated every facet of the media and communication; books, magazines, movies, music, television shows, jokes, stories, and so on. Those things become proponents of the abuse of sex, because the heart of man is so evil that it finds ways to pander its adulterous desires.

Though our Lord is talking about a man lusting after a woman in His illustration, the assumption is accurate that women also can be as guilty as men by creating the temptation in the way that they dress.

Our Lord is saying that the heart has to be dealt with, because the heart is the root of sin. However, He does not leave us in a hopeless situation; He goes a step further to answer the question, "How do you get out of this situation?"

Verses 29-30

When you first read these verses, you might ask why He says tear out your right eye and throw it away if the problem is the heart. If you plucked out your right eye and cut off your right hand, your heart would still be able to lust. Jesus is not saying there is a physical remedy for a heart problem. He is using the eye and hand as symbols, because the right eye, arm, and leg were symbols of the best facilities that a man had, Jesus is simply saying that there is nothing too precious to eliminate from your life if it is going to cause your heart to be defiled by adulterous desires. If it means getting rid of your most precious possession, then get rid of it, even if it is your right eye or your right arm.
Jesus point is anything that causes a man to remain in his sin and satisfy an adulterous and evil heart should be eliminated, even if it is something you would not dream of giving up. Our Lord is saying that nothing is precious if it affects your eternal destiny. Sin must be dealt with radically. Jesus calls for immediate action and effective action against sin. He diagnoses the problem and says, tear it out and throw it away, cut it off, eliminate it, whatever it is in your life that feeds that heart of lust, get rid of it. If you have that problem with your television, get rid of it. If you read things that incite sinful thoughts, throw them in the trash. Jesus is not really talking about the physical, He knows that cutting off your right hand or tearing out your right eye is not going to change an adulterous heart. However, what He is saying is that you should take the most precious thing you have and get rid of it if it stands in the way of purity and brings you to sin.

In the solution, Jesus gives points to the need for a permanent solution. Could these scribes and Pharisees get rid of their sinful hearts? The fact of the matter is they could not. Jesus again is giving them an impossible standard, a frustration that is going to make them say, "We tried and we couldn't. We hear you say it is better to have one eye and one arm and have life, than to go into hell. However, we do not know how to get this deliverance. We are desperate; we must have somebody show us how to obtain a new heart and a new life." The Lord forces them to see that they need a new nature.

If Jesus Christ has come into your life, you have that new nature; you have that new heart. You do not need to fall prey to the sins of lust and adultery; you can know victory over them. Like Job, you can make a covenant with your eyes, and as Colossians 3:5 says, you can kill the members of your body in this world. You can know victory over those sins that constantly victimize men and women who do not know Jesus Christ. How grateful we should be that what the Lord has given us is a resource for victory. He has given us new hearts so that we are not left defenseless in the constant battle against sin. We never need to lose if we appropriate the resources that are there.

Retired pastor,Church of the Nazarene

Author of web site Exploring God's Word

www.thewordofgodonline.net

New American Standard Bible

King James Version

The World English Bible

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