01.07. The Sermon on the Mount (15)
"The Sermon on the Mount" (15) Thou shalt not commit adultery (Matthew 5:27-30)
Following upon the other references to the law, the Lord Jesus now quotes the seventh commandment: "Thou shalt not commit adultery" (Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18). Marriage is something into which two persons enter for life, and ever since creation it has enjoyed God’s special care. According to the New Testament it is a picture of the relationship between Christ and His assembly, marked by divine love and human devotion. But what has become of marriage through sin! It was not the will of God that Lamech, Abraham, Jacob, Solomon and other men of the Old Testament should have several wives at the same time, and this only brought distress into their families. How serious was the adultery David committed with Bathsheba! And how are things today with regard to matrimonial morals-not only in the world, but also among Christians? In recent decades Biblical standards in society have been systematically done away with in this area too. In God’s sight immoral behaviour is so abominable that Paul had to write to Ephesus: "But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints" (Ephesians 5:3). This means that we should not mention these things frivolously and so make little of them. The Bible speaks very clearly as to God’s judgment about these sins. Holy Scripture not only calls prostitution fornication, but all extramarital intercourse, even where there may be the intention to get married, and even if it is done only once (cf. Genesis 34:1-31; Genesis 38:1-30). In the world today the word fornication is only used in connection with the first meaning. In the New Testament, however, extramarital intercourse in general is called fornication, that of married persons is called adultery, and both are condemned as abominable sin (Matthew 15:19; 1 Corinthians 6:9; Hebrews 13:4). In the Old Testament, adultery, unfaithfulness towards the spouse for the satisfaction of lust, was to be dealt with most severely. According to the law of Sinai this sin had to be punished with death (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22-24). In the first place the law contained God’s regulations for the outward and social life of His earthly people, and for this reason only the accomplished offence was to be punished, even though the tenth commandment forbad the coveting of the neighbour’s wife (as well as all his possessions. Exodus 20:17). If a Jew kept the commandment not to commit adultery, he was acting according to God’s will and contributed towards the maintenance of the people’s community according to God’s order. Fear of the punishment threatened certainly contributed to this. However, the mere outward observance of this and all the other commandments could not justify him before God.
"But I say unto you" In His own authority the Lord Jesus contrasts the commandment, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," with His words, "But I say unto you." He does not speak against an interpretation which is more favourable to man and a weakening of the divine commandment, (unlike Romans 2:22), and certainly not against the commandment itself, for He was not come to destroy but to fulfil. For that reason the Lord now says, "But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matthew 5:28). Because of the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees, the Jews thought the mere outward observance of the law was the way to be justified before God. Here, the Lord points to the human heart and shows that adultery has its source there. This is not a "spiritualisation of the law," as is sometimes said. He reveals for the first time something which had to become clear by experience to every honest Israelite, namely, that everyone who endeavoured to keep the commandment, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," had within themselves those very lusts which led to the actions forbidden by God, and had not the strength to overcome them. The lusts were even provoked by the commandment: "... for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet" (Romans 7:7-11). The law of Sinai did contain commandments directed at the attitude and heart, for example the tenth commandment, "Thou shalt not covet they neighbour’s house," etc. (Exodus 20:17). Other passages have a similar bearing: "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart... but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself..." (Leviticus 19:17-18); "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart..." (Deuteronomy 6:5). However, most by far of the commandments regulated the outward conduct of the Israelites.
Adultery in the heart The Lord Jesus now explains that before God it is not just the accomplished act that is sin, but the looking with lust on a woman, for this is adultery in the heart. The word "adultery" shows that either the man or both are married. Nevertheless, no unmarried believer should think that these words of the Lord have nothing to say to him. The Lord is not speaking here about accidental, unintentional looks which can hardly be avoided, but about the conscious covetous looking: "Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her..." The intentional look is therefore preceded by the sinful thought in the heart. This distinction is very important. Nowadays we can hardly move in this world without, unintentionally, continually witnessing the moral depravity of our time. We are easily defiled by this. The intentional covetous and sinful look is something completely different. No Christian can avoid unclean thoughts rising up in his mind but they only become sin when instead of turning away from them he consciously gives himself to them. If covetous looks and unclean lines of thought are sin, then it is also sin if believing women and girls cause and provoke this by their dress and behaviour. The more casual and free contact between the sexes, especially with the younger generation and the negative example of most of their peers of the world, can lead to carelessness and great dangers. God-fearing Job said: "I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?" (Job 31:1). However, there are also over-sensitive and over-anxious Christians whose consciences are heavily burdened by involuntary looks and thoughts. I would like to remind such of the well-known words of Martin Luther which he wrote on this verse: "I cannot prevent a bird flying over my head, but what I can prevent is it building a nest in my hair or biting off my nose."
"And if thy right eye offend thee"
How serious the Lord judged the lustful looks and thoughts to be becomes obvious from His next words: "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" (Matthew 5:29). In the next verse He says nearly the same with regard to the right hand (cf. Matthew 18:8). The Lord is not calling for self-mutilation or asceticism in these words. The Creator will never demand that His creature mutilate the body he has received from Himself. Even if someone plucked out both his eyes, the lust would still remain in his heart. Rather, the Lord here extends the teaching to the question of self-judgment. The mention of the right hand points to this.
Self-judgment The eye, the light of the body, can rightly be called the "mirror of the soul."1 Furthermore, in the Bible the right eye is often described as something very precious (1 Samuel 11:2; Zechariah 11:17). The right hand, the "organ of action," is mentioned much more often in the Holy Scriptures.2 The right eye and the right hand are symbols of attitudes and actions, but at the same time also of the precious and important things in human life. If these offend us, i.e. are a cause of sin or stumbling, then we should not even spare the most precious and important things in our lives, but honestly and strictly judge ourselves, and if necessary separate from them. Even if they are not bad in themselves, this does not mean that they are not dangerous!
1 Cf. Matthew 6:22-23; Proverbs 21:4; Ecclesiastes 11:9; Ezekiel 6:9; Ezekiel 18:12; Ezekiel 20:8; 2 Peter 2:14.
2 For example Genesis 48:17; Exodus 29:20; Psalms 73:23; Psalms 121:5; Revelation 1:16; Revelation 10:5; Revelation 13:16. The Word of God again and again points out that there are only two pathways on earth and two termini, either following the Lord Jesus with glory as the end, or a life of sin which leads to hell. It is the same here in the "sermon on the mount." The apostle Paul was a disciple of the Lord, who recognised the consequences of completely surrendering and following the Lord and who put this into practice: "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection; lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway" (1 Corinthians 9:27). He wrote to the assembly at Corinth: "Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers... shall inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).