A CHRISTIAN LOOKS AT MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
The lust of the eyes
Reading: Matthew 5:27-30 Click to view passage
The ancient world was sexually explicit. Baal worship involved “Asherah poles,” phallic symbols that were everywhere and Greek cities often had similar images at their gates. The world hasn’t really changed, much of 21st century society aims to excite, tantalize and stimulate our sexual desires.
You can see the way Pharisees dealt with “adultery” if you look John 8 and note that although the couple were caught in fragrante delicto, only the woman was charged with any offence.
In today’s passage “adultery” seems to have a much wider application than a strict definition and appears to include any moral impurity between single or married people. Again, as with anger, sexual impurity, begins in the mind and Jesus says the seventh commandment is broken as much by a lustful look as an immoral act.
Meditation: The sheer chemistry of our bodies means that temptation happens without being sought. Yet, as Luther said, “ You can’t stop birds flying into your hair, but you can stop them nesting there.” Work out a mental escape route to use when the assaults of temptation come.
Prayer pointer: Help me to strive for purity.
The lust of the eyes
Reading: Matthew 5:27-30 Click to view passage
The ancient world was sexually explicit. Baal worship involved “Asherah poles,” phallic symbols that were everywhere and Greek cities often had similar images at their gates. The world hasn’t really changed, much of 21st century society aims to excite, tantalize and stimulate our sexual desires.
You can see the way Pharisees dealt with “adultery” if you look John 8 and note that although the couple were caught in fragrante delicto, only the woman was charged with any offence.
In today’s passage “adultery” seems to have a much wider application than a strict definition and appears to include any moral impurity between single or married people. Again, as with anger, sexual impurity, begins in the mind and Jesus says the seventh commandment is broken as much by a lustful look as an immoral act.
Meditation: The sheer chemistry of our bodies means that temptation happens without being sought. Yet, as Luther said, “ You can’t stop birds flying into your hair, but you can stop them nesting there.” Work out a mental escape route to use when the assaults of temptation come.
Prayer pointer: Help me to strive for purity.
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