How does Matthew 5:27 redefine the understanding of adultery beyond physical acts? The Mosaic Command Recalled “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ ” (Matthew 5:27). Jesus cites Exodus 20:14 verbatim from the Septuagint (οὐ μοιχεύσεις), acknowledging the divine prohibition against sexual infidelity that violates the one-flesh covenant (Genesis 2:24). Christ’S Heart-Centered Expansion “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28). Here Jesus shifts the locus of moral evaluation from the external act to the internal intent (καρδία). In first-century Jewish jurisprudence, adultery (moicheía) required physical violation; Jesus declares that the contemplative act of “looking in order to desire” suffices to incur guilt. Old Testament Precedents For Internal Morality • Job 31:1, 9–11—Job equates covetous eyes with a sin “punishable by judges.” • Proverbs 6:25—“Do not lust in your heart after her beauty.” • Exodus 20:17—The Tenth Commandment forbids coveting one’s neighbor’s wife, already pointing to inward sin. Jesus’ expansion therefore consummates, not contradicts, Torah. Continuity With The Tenth Commandment By uniting the Seventh and Tenth Commandments, Jesus shows that external adultery begins as internal coveting. The Decalogue’s unity is preserved; heart-sin and body-sin are two manifestations of the same covenant breach. Anthropology Of Sin: The Heart As Fountain Jeremiah 17:9 calls the heart “deceitful above all things.” Jesus’ teaching in Mark 7:21-23 lists “adulteries” originating “from within, out of men’s hearts.” Sin is therefore congenital, demanding regeneration (Ezekiel 36:26). Psychological And Neuroscientific Corroboration Contemporary fMRI studies (e.g., Kühn & Gallinat, 2014) show that habitual pornography consumption rewires reward circuitry, diminishing prefrontal control—empirical confirmation that repeated lustful looking entrenches behavioral bondage long before any physical liaison occurs. Behavioral data correlate with Proverbs 5:22—“the cords of his sin hold him fast.” Legal And Covenantal Implications Under Mosaic civil law, physical adultery warranted capital punishment (Leviticus 20:10). Jesus intensifies moral culpability yet withholds civil sanction, directing listeners instead to divine judgment (Matthew 5:29-30). Thus He elevates marriage to its Edenic ideal (Matthew 19:4-6) while exposing universal guilt, preparing hearts for gospel grace. Practical Application: Guarding The Eyes, Mind, And Imagination 1. Covenant with the eyes (Job 31:1). 2. Flight strategy (1 Corinthians 6:18). 3. Thought replacement (Philippians 4:8). 4. Accountability structures (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). 5. Spirit-enabled self-control (Galatians 5:16-24). Marriage Theology: Reflection Of Christ And The Church Ephesians 5:25-32 portrays marriage as a typological icon of the gospel. Heart-adultery distorts this living parable, eclipsing the covenant faithfulness Christ shows His Bride. Sanctification Dynamics The believer’s heart is renewed by the indwelling Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9-14). Progressive sanctification involves mortification of lust (Colossians 3:5) and vivification of pure affection for God (Psalm 73:25). Pastoral Counsel And Accountability Biblical counseling employs confession (1 John 1:9), corrective discipline (Matthew 18:15-17), and means of grace—Scripture intake, prayer, fellowship, and communion—to restore purity. Radical measures (“tear it out…cut it off,” Matthew 5:29-30) symbolize decisive action against triggers. Testimonies Of Miraculous Deliverance Modern documented conversions—e.g., former porn-industry figure Shelley Lubben’s public witness—demonstrate Christ’s power to break entrenched lust, echoing first-century healings (Luke 8:2). Eschatological Warning And Hope Revelation 21:8 lists “sexually immoral” among those excluded from the New Jerusalem, yet 1 Corinthians 6:11 extends hope: “That is what some of you were. But you were washed…justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” . Heart-level purity, impossible by human effort, is granted through the finished work of the resurrected Christ and actualized by His Spirit. |
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