Without question, our Lord Jesus said some things that are very difficult to read. In fact, these demanding teachings have often been called the ‘hard sayings of Jesus.’ On everyone’s list of such sayings you’ll find the words of Matthew 5:29-30–If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell [ESV].

The context of these strange and disturbing words is discovered in verses 27-28 where Jesus sets forth His interpretation and application of the Seventh Commandment of the Decalogue–“You shall not commit adultery.” As we examine and attempt to digest what our Lord declared we immediately see how very different His attitude toward sexual sin is in stark contrast to modern opinions. What we often trivialize and even joke about Jesus lifts to a level of maximum importance and deadly seriousness. Far from viewing the Seventh Commandment as an outmoded piece of Old Testament legislation once etched in stone and applicable only to the ancient Jews, Jesus declares the abiding relevance of this Word for all people of every age and place. And then, most strikingly, He links the mental sin of “lust” with the physical act of “adultery.”

But what are we to make of His command to “tear out” the “eye” and “cut off” the “hand”? And what do these very odd orders have to do with marriage and sexual integrity? On Sunday we will look very closely at this passage from Matthew 5. And our aim will be to learn how the Seventh Commandment functions in our lives as members of the New Covenant.