You Shall Not Commit Adultery Matthew 5:27

Matthew shared how Jesus began to preach saying, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”, and He called Peter, Andrew, James and John to be His followers. As Jesus' fame spread throughout Galilee, many others were gathered unto Him. Matthew continued by sharing how Jesus taught concerning the “beatitudes” of the “Kingdom of Heaven”, and He said His disciples were the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world” and if their “righteousness” did not “exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees” they would, “in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus continued with the example, “You have heard that it was said by them of old time, You shall not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: ... whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, you fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has ought against you: Leave there your gift before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” Jesus told His disciples, “Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison.” Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, You shall by no means come out from there, till you have paid the uttermost farthing”, and in chapter five and verse twenty-seven of his book, Matthew shared how Jesus referred to God's law, “you shall not commit adultery” where we read:

You have heard that it was said by them of old time, You shall not commit adultery:

The verse reads, “You have heard that it was said by them of old time, ...” Matthew began with the words, “you have heard” which means “the disciples' were endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf, attended to and considered” “that it was said” which means “there was declaration, utterance and proclamation” “by them” or “through the people” “of old time” which means “that were from a good while ago, the beginning, original, primal and ancient days”. Jesus again referred to the words that were presented in the past.

The verse continues, “... You shall not commit adultery:” Matthew continued with the words, “you shall not” which means “no one or not one person is to” “commit adultery” which means “to be an adulterer or have unlawful intercourse with another person's wife or husband”. Jesus referred to the law which concerned committing “sexual sin” with a married person.

When we meditate upon Matthew's words in this verse, we see how Jesus employed another example of what it means to violate God's law inwardly and not just outwardly. God knows the “heart” of people, and in the same manner “anger” is like “murder”, Jesus will share how “adultery” is a heart matter as well. This is why Jesus was sent to the world. Jesus is willing “save” every person who repents of their sin and yields their life to Him, and may all who read these worlds not only examine their outward “adulterous” works, but also the matters of the heart.

Next time Jesus tells His disciples, “whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.