In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explores how his people will reflect his kingship in their lives. God gave his law, through Moses, to govern the people of Israel. Jesus explains how this ancient law is fulfilled in practice by his own followers. We’re calling this “The Jesus Way.”
In Matthew 5, Jesus taught how to understand the law of Moses through six antitheses or opposites. Each of the six statements makes a contrast between the past approach and his own insight, expressed by the formula: “You have heard…but I say to you….” On one side was the Old Testament law (and current Jewish interpretation of it). On the other side was Jesus’ application of the true intent of the law.
The first antithesis made the connection between murder and the underlying attitude of anger. The second antithesis makes the same sort of connection between adultery and lust. Sexual sin is nothing new, but today’s hypersexual culture makes the timeless teachings of Jesus on this subject more relevant than ever. With many prominent Christian leaders falling prey to sexual misconduct in recent years, we should understand that none of us can afford to take this issue for granted.
Jesus acknowledges, as the Jewish rabbis did, God’s commandment against adultery. But he takes a radically new approach to the issue. He goes beyond adulterous behavior to shine the spotlight on desires at work below the surface – in the human heart.
Adultery is just the tip of the iceberg for lust – and it’s all rooted in seeing people as objects.
In Matthew 5:27, Jesus started by quoting from the Ten Commandments: “You must not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). He assumes the validity of this commandment. Adultery is wrong. But he then points us toward the commandment’s deeper intention: “But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). The physical act of adultery is just the visible expression of something deeper. What drives adultery is the heart attitude of lust. You could say that lust is adultery below the surface.
One problem with lustful desire is that it treats people as objects. This is hinted at in ancient Jewish sources, where the command against adultery is often treated as a form of theft. They made it as much about stealing someone’s wife – as if she were mere property – as about sexual purity. In Matthew 5:28, Jesus warns about looking at a woman with lust because visual lust has typically applied to men. Yet our sexualized culture increasingly invites women to engage in lust as well. But lust objectifies other people by seeing them, not as property, but as a means to fulfill a desire. One of the problems with pornography is that a unique, living person is reduced to a two-dimensional photograph with a single, selfish purpose.
Sexual sin follows a predictable pattern: first eyes, then thoughts, and finally actions.
Jesus talks about “anyone who even looks at a woman with lust” (Matthew 5:28) because sexual sin so often begins with what we see. A person or an image attracts our attention in a sexual manner. (The way Jesus said this suggests taking a second or repeated look.) As King Solomon was instructing his son about the moral dangers of life, he warned, “Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path” (Proverbs 4:25-27). In the Old Testament, God instructed the Jews to create visual reminders in everyday life that, when seen with the eyes, would encourage them to be obedient to him (Numbers 15:37-39).
Once the eye has lingered, the heart engages next (Matthew 5:28). The heart is the center of a person’s thoughts, emotions, and choices. Thus heart adultery occurs when we choose to entertain the image we have seen, turning the thought of it over in our minds, and cultivating ideas and feelings that intensify our desire. That’s why Solomon also told his son to be vigilant about what we allow our thoughts and feelings to dwell upon (Proverbs 4:23).
In the end, what we’ve been thinking about finds expression in how we act. James 1:5 reminds us that desires inevitably lead to actions. More seriously, he warns, “When sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.” But Jesus’ point is not just to be concerned about avoiding certain actions. He wants us to know where those actions are birthed and bred.
Jesus taught us to radically eliminate the threat.
What is the answer to the heart problem of lust? If you’re losing the battle, cut off the temptation triggers. Think about the sources of lustful stimulation in your life. It may be the websites you visit, the movies and videos you watch, or what you see on social media. To develop sexual purity, it’s important to deal decisively with the sources of temptation. Jesus went so far as to say, “If your eye…causes you to lust, gouge it out…. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off” (Matthew 5:29-30). Before you do anything rash, realize that Jesus is exaggerating to drive home the seriousness of sexual purity. In the past, some people have taken this literally and maimed themselves. But a big part of Jesus’ point in these verses is that sexual sin is not just a physical problem. That’s why a purely physical solution misses the mark. After all, a person can still commit heart adultery without a hand or an eye. Jesus uses this illustration to underscore that sexual purity is worth enormous sacrifice. It cannot be achieved with half-measures or by half-hearted attempts.
Truly eliminating the threat of sexual sin also involves retraining the heart to think new thoughts and cultivate new desires. This happens as we engage in God’s word, the Bible, allowing its truth to reshape our imagination (Colossians 3:1-2; Philippians 4:8). We rely on God’s Spirit, through prayer and worship, to receive the inward power we need to think and live a different way (Galatians 5:16). We draw on the help of God’s people, encouraging and receiving encouragement as we share each others’ spiritual burdens (Hebrews 3:13; Galatians 6:2).
Christians are followers of Jesus. He is our King, so we want to live his way. The Jesus Way is a life of sexual purity that extends beyond what actions we engage in or abstain from. It also reshapes how we think, what we desire, and how we look at others.
