Matthew 5:28?

Question

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

does this mean the same thing if a woman is to lust after a man?

Answer 1

It would be the same, "man or woman"

Jesus is not here speaking about a passing immoral thought but about ‘keeping on looking.’ Such continued looking arouses passionate desire, which, if opportunity affords, can culminate in adultery. How can a person prevent this from happening? Jesus illustrates how extreme measures may be necessary, saying: “If, now, that right eye of yours is making you stumble, tear it out and throw it away from you. . . . Also, if your right hand is making you stumble, cut it off and throw it away from you.”

People are often willing to sacrifice a literal limb that is diseased in order to save their lives. But according to Jesus, it is even more vital to ‘throw away’ anything, even something as precious as an eye or a hand, to avoid immoral thinking and actions. Otherwise, Jesus explains, such persons will be thrown into Gehenna (a burning rubbish heap near Jerusalem), which symbolizes eternal destruction.

Jesus taught that the problem goes deeper than the immoral behavior itself. It is in what precedes it immoral desires. If a person refuses to dwell on improper longings and ‘tears them out’ of his mind, then he will overcome the potential problem of immoral behavior.

Answer 2

The bible was written for a man's point of view, but it is meant to be taken in both ways. The people that were writing the Bible were men and were writing to the other men of the time.

All of the scripture is supposed to be read and applied to everyone; not just men. So yes it does mean the same thing if a woman lusts after a man.

Answer 3

Think about example of King David when he saw Bath-she'ba from his roof top. He allowed desire for her to build to the point of committing adultery and even having her husband basically murdered by assigning him to the front of line in battle.
It wasn't just the looking it was the desiring and then acting on that desire. Since desire and lust are not something that only a man can feel you know reasonably this would apply to a woman also.
Colossians 3:5 doesn't specify a specific gender but I think the message is clear. See what you think.

Answer 4

There is a subtle point here that needs to be made. According to the gospel, Jesus said "looketh on a woman to lust after her..." That "to" in "to lust after her" is a very small word, but makes a very big difference - the point being that the behavior being described is not the act of seeing someone and being attracted, or finding them attractive. It is the act of purposely and intentionally looking at someone as a sex object - looking for opportunities to oggle someone for the purpose of inciting the passions. Basically it is an act of pursuing sin.

God gave mankind - both men and women - the command to "be fruitful and multiply". He gave mankind - both men and women - the ability to be attracted to one another, and the gift of sexuality (between a man and a woman). The problem occurs when man (or woman) misuses this ability in a way that: 1) was not intended by God; and 2) in a way that is harmful to one's own and others' spiritual health.

Objectifying other people - i.e. turning them into objects of one's desires, pleasure, etc. - is a sin because it degrades the human person created in the image of God and turns him / her into an object to be used.

When one understands it in that context, clearly it applies to a woman as well as to a man. But we should bear in mind the overall context - that it is looking on someone else with the intention to lust after them, the intention to sin, that the Savior is referring to. Not just an innocent attraction, which can be a normal human response.

Answer 5

Yes it does. Now, the Jesus isn't saying that looking is a sin, but its the lust that is the sin. I can look at women all day but if I have a lustful or inother words, a sexual thought about her, then that is adultery of the heart. God doesn't just see your actions, but he sees your thoughts. And that is what Jesus was getting at when he said that to look with lust is the same as adultery (7th commandment) and that to hate someone is the same as murder (6th commandment).

Answer 6

Everything always goes both ways....remember the woman caught in adultery ?
But...People think 'Boy ,that's impossible to live up to'. That's the point...we're all sinners,in need of a savior.That's why the Law of Moses was so tough.It was so you would see ...You can't do it...635 laws and regulations.Christ came and died to nail those regulations to the cross(Collosians chpt.2).

Answer 7

Yes it does.

I am so thankful that the veil is coming back into vogue, that is true love that the sisters are showing to us brothers trying to overcome. It is only hatred when women dress to provoke men to lust after them by showing their bodies.

Answer 8

Yeah, Matthew was around back in the times of sexual freedom and the Christians were fainting in horror. Those rules were written as a way to stop the promiscuity. Religion was still pretty young in his time, and they were still practicing sexual worship.

Answer 9

Yes, I believe it does say the same thing for a women, not just a man.

Answer 10

Of course not. It specifically states looking on a WOMAN. Remember, when this was written, woman were nothing but property.