Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:27-32)

Matthew 5:27–32 KJV 1900

27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: 32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

Introduction

Imagine you are walking through a hospital.

You come into a room where two men are laying in their hospital beds.

One man is visibly hurting.

He is propped up in his bed.

He is having difficulty breathing.

His face is contorted in pain.

The other man is totally different.

He is lying on his back.

He is breathing normally.

He seems to be at total peace.

If you as an untrained observer were to guess at the prospects of the two men, which would you say is in better shape?

Is it the one with a cracked rib that is experiencing acute pain?

Is it the one who has some dreadful disease that is internally, silently killing him?

We talk about this a lot, but a lack of symptoms does not always mean a lack of problems.

Last week we talked about the matter of killing.

The scribes and pharisees had treated the symptom without addressing the disease.

As long as you don’t murder someone you are good.

Unseen, below the surface they allowed hatred and bitterness to exist unchecked.

Today, we are going to look at a similar issue.

The religious leaders fought hard against the sin of adultery.

The consequence for committing adultery was death.

Both the man and the woman involved would be slain by stoning should they be discovered.

I can’t help but think of the woman who was brought to Jesus having been caught in the act of adultery.

Just as with the matter of killing, they were hardliners in rooting out those who broke the seventh commandment.

Exodus 20:14 “14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

This was simply another symptom of a deeper issue.

This is what Jesus is going to go after.

Jesus, like a surgeon, goes deeper than what was presenting on the surface and addresses the underlying cause.

The pharisees failure in this case is more severe than in the matter of killing.

That is because the heart matter is explicitly dealt with in the 10 Commandments.

All one has to do is go to the 10th commandment to find what Jesus is about to remind them of.

Exodus 20:17 “17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.”

The truth was already there, they had just become so concerned about outward conformity that they gave little thought to what was going on on the inside.

Jesus raises the bar regarding His disciples’ purity.

Abstaining from adultery is a bigger issue than simply what one does with their body.

Jesus teaches/reminds us that it is also an issue of the eyes and the heart.

Matthew 5:28 “28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”

This is a pretty straight-forward sentence, but maybe it would be helpful to break it down a bit.

Jesus isn’t saying that a man can not ever see a pretty woman.

He is saying that His disciples should not look at a woman with the intention or for the purpose of lusting after her.

Lust means to desire or long for.

There is no innocence in this look; it has a nefarious motivation.

In their day, lustful looks were fine, so long as you didn’t act upon it.

Jesus is warning them that the God, who sees everything, also sees the imagined adultery that is taking place in their hearts.

It’s not just what you do in the darkness; it’s what you imagine in your mind.

There are many who would never commit the deed, but have no qualms about fantasizing what it would be like.

You don’t have to commit murder to kill; you don’t have to commit adultery to be guilty of impurity.

Which is worse?

The outward symptom that everyone can see?

The inward disease that lingers unaddressed?

They are both serious.

One is more easily identified.

One is more easily concealed.

The two people who always know are you and God.

If you struggle in this area, Jesus wants to help us understand the seriousness of this issue.

He specifically addresses sight and touch.

The right eye and the right hand were considered to be the most valuable body parts that a man had.

These things are nothing in relation to the effects and damage of sin.

The point that Jesus is making is that there isn’t anything you have that is too valuable to let go of if it causes you to sin.

The removal of the valuable instruments of sin are meant to demonstrate for us the reality of our choice.

We talk about letting the Holy Spirit change us.

We understand the need for God to change us not just for self-reformation.

But, there are some things that threaten to impede the work that He is trying to do.

If the Holy Spirit were to tell you to let go of the most valuable thing you had, would you be willing to do it?

It could also be a valuable person or an influence that inserts false-ideas into our head.

This is healthy

This is normal

You deserve this

No one will know.

Jesus is not advocating body part removal.

He is simply helping His listeners understand how serious of a matter this is.

Nothing is too valuable to depart with if it aids in our purification from sin.

Humans think that sins of the mind are somehow less.

Jesus says that there are people who are completely consumed by sin and it’s effects though they have never outwardly acted about upon their fantasies.

Everyone can identify the adulterer and the effects of their decisions, but Jesus warns that the consequences for lustful hearts are just as real, even if no one else can see it.

This morning, the statistics say that the majority of people in this room are struggling with this issue.

It is no longer a male-only issue, if it ever really was.

It is not a young person’s issue either.

This is something that all of us must be honest with God about.

You may not be regularly consuming what most would identify as pornography.

You may be just as guilty of fantasies and imaginations that are equally sordid.

You may not have committed adultery, but you have coveted someone else.

You may have lived out an affair only in your mind as you watched it play out on a tv show.

You may have fantasized about the situation you were reading about in a book.

There are so many scenarios I’m just going to stop trying to detail them all.

If you have the Holy Spirit, you know right now if you struggle with lustful eyes or a lustful heart.

It is not a little thing.

It is a big deal.

We should be ready to take drastic action to stop the hidden disease that is threatening to consume us.

I am not advocating removing body parts.

I am an advocate for removing sinful influences.

Even if it is precious to us.

If what you are watching is causing you to sin...

If the places you are going...

If the things you are reading...

If the people you are hanging with are influencing you to think lustful thoughts...

You need to remove them from your life.

The stakes are too high.

You may not be the patient in obvious pain.

Maybe today you are the patient who looks fine on the outside, but inside you are eaten up with a lustful cancer.