When Jesus said "he who even looks at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery in his heart"

Question

Did he mean don't do it or was he exaggerating and meaning don't judge others doing it because you know it is impossible for you.

Answer 1

I think that it was both these things. He was addressing people who in many cases felt that they were very righteous and this was one sin about which it is possible to feel very smug and judgmental. However, with all of the Ten Commandments, it is merely a matter of degree. Most of us, for instance, can claim never to have killed anyone -- yet how few of us are innocent when it comes to killing a person's reputation or destroying a person's trust and confidence! And perhaps more people than would be prepared to admit it have grappled with this business of being attracted by members of the opposite sex when they are married and not free to entertain such feelings. One thing becomes apparent in Jesus's teaching -- it is impossible for an ordinary mortal to keep the law in its entirety. This being so, we are all sinners to some degree and if we have sinned in one particular, then we have broken the whole law and need the redemption offered by Jesus. A crowd of smug people who brought a woman caught in the act of adultery before Jesus were shamed into going away when He challenged them to cast the first stone at her in subjecting her to the death by stoning prescribed by the law. Not one of them, when he looked into his heart, felt qualified to do it. Jesus did not condone the woman's behaviour: He told her to go away and sin no more. But each of those men who went away abashed was, in a sense, condemning himself.

Answer 2

I thought Jesus was commenting on the law with that passage and saying that there's a whole different reason for belonging to God. In other words, if you want to play the "rules and regs" game, look at adultery, and I'll take it one step further as to what God really requires. It wouldn't be an exaggeration nor would it mean don't judge others. It means that God looks at the heart that loves the law, not the law alone as a means to salvation.

Answer 3

God is not just interested in what you do. He looks at your heart and your thoughts. God is perfection, that is why none of us can live up to being "good enough" before God. To Him if you think it, it is the same as doing it. That is the reason we have a Savior, to stand before God on our behalf and to take away the sin from our lives. You may think "well if He thinks I have already done the sin after only thinking it, then I may as well go ahead and do it". No, that is not a good idea, because with sin comes the consequences, which we do pay for in this life. And when you love Jesus and sin you don't feel very good about it, until you go to Him for forgiveness and even then some people can not let go of guilt. That is guilt they carry on their own, it is not from God. Once you truly confess, He takes your sin and removes it far away from you. We should not judge others, but speak the truth in love and humility, because anyone can sin.

Answer 4

The point isn't the lusting. The point is we can not control ourselves so we are not good enough for God. So Jesus came to be the Perfect Sacrifice for our sins so we could be saved from our sins. Even after excepting Jesus we will do sinful acts, but if we are under the Blood of Jesus we will remain saved and still have a relationship with God. We don't have sex until we are married out of respect for Jesus and doing the Right thing. Jesus said He would provide a way out, so keep you pants on or get married.

Answer 5

He was saying that if you've lusted after her in your heart, then you've already committed the sin.

But the problem is most people don't know what lust is. Lust does not mean a guy looking at a women's body and thinking how sexy it is. It means the desire to have sex with her. If you are a married man and you look at another woman and think how sexy that woman is, and it makes you want to go home and have sex with your wife, then you have not lusted after the other woman at all.

Answer 6

Jesus was supposed to be a healthy young man who, since he was healthy had to have normal testosterone levels. Therefore he had to have lusted after someone. I think the lesson here is not the lustful thoughts but rather he was trying to teach his disciples to no judge people for things that you know you do yourself. He was just waiting for one of them to hear or see but, nobody did and instead started to preach impossible things which goes against our biological makeup as being "normal." Maybe if he was around for a bit longer he could have helped them right, but we have brains so I think he assumed we would revise the teaching every now and again rather than cling to stuff thousands of years old.

Answer 7

He meant don't do it.
It is a significant moral advance to avoid sin because you believe it is wrong than if it only comes down to the chances of getting caught.
It even works for atheists as a society of people who judge themselves and control their own behaviour is more peaceful than one where they must constantly be terrorised by the threat of disciplinary action from above.
For me this is one of the key transitions in Gods management style by moving from the harsh Father with a temper to the Son with compassion.

Answer 8

I believe He meant exactly what He said. It is adultery in the heart. That is the point, most, if not all of us are guilty of this sin. The other is like it and says if you hate someone you have murdered them in your heart. Who hasn't hated at one time or another? We are all guilty of sinning. We all need to be forgiven of our sin by God. Jesus Christ is that doorway, the key, to forgiveness, which is required of all people who want to be with God in heaven. The other option is not believing and paying the fine in eternal torment away from God.

Answer 9

Would you like it if some other man stared at your wife in a very sexual way to suggest he wanted her? if you would then fine.
What he meant is what you see affects you, at the end of the day when you lust you will end up wanting and this may lead you to sin and that was what he was warning aganist.

Answer 10

He was illustrating throughout the sermon that the Law was not even the complete moral standards of God - for instance if someone WAS able to keep all the laws in the Old Testament, God sees so even the slightest impurity as sin.