Matthew 5:27–32:
Purity of Heart and Faithfulness in Marriage

Correct Interpretation of Matthew 5:27–32

After showing that the commandment “You shall not murder” also reaches anger and contempt in the heart (Matthew 5:21–26), Jesus gives a second example of the righteousness of the Kingdom. He now turns to the commandment against adultery and shows that sexual faithfulness begins in the heart. He then addresses divorce, correcting a way of treating marriage that could reduce it to a mere legal procedure.

(vv. 27–28)
«27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.»

Jesus begins with the commandment prohibiting adultery and once again shows that God’s righteousness reaches beyond the outward act.

Jesus thus addresses adultery at the level of the heart: a deliberate look intended to stir up lust is already a violation of the faithfulness God requires, even without an outward act.

The righteousness of the Kingdom therefore involves not only avoiding the physical act of adultery but also rejecting deliberate lust that treats another person as an object of sexual desire.

(vv. 29–30)
«29 So if your right eye is causing you to fall, tear it out and throw it away; because it is better for you that one of your members perish than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand is causing you to fall, cut it off and throw it away; because it is better for you that one of your members perish than that your whole body be thrown into hell.»

Jesus deliberately uses an extreme image: tearing out the right eye or cutting off the right hand.

He is not commanding physical mutilation, since the problem He has just identified lies in the heart. Rather, the image teaches that sin must be confronted with radical determination.

If something a person looks at, does, or allows becomes a persistent cause of falling, it must be dealt with seriously and removed, however costly that may be.

The repeated warning about “hell” again shows that Jesus does not treat inward sin as something trivial. It is better to give up something valuable than to allow sin to govern one’s life.

(v. 31)
«It was said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’»

Jesus alludes to Deuteronomy 24:1, where the Law regulates a situation involving divorce and requires a document formalizing the separation.

This legal provision does not present divorce as God’s intention for marriage; it regulates a practice that already existed in a world marked by sin.

The problem arises when this provision is taken to mean that giving a certificate alone removes all moral responsibility for ending a marriage.

(v. 32)
«But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except for a case of fornication, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.»

Jesus rejects the idea that divorce can be treated as a mere legal formality that automatically removes all moral responsibility.

Marriage establishes a union that must not be broken lightly. Jesus therefore warns that divorcing one’s wife without the exception He names can place her in a situation involving adultery.

Jesus mentions “a case of fornication” as an exception to the general statement, but the purpose of His teaching is not to provide an extensive list of reasons for divorce. Rather, He restricts a practice that could treat marriage lightly.

The emphasis remains on faithfulness: a legal certificate alone does not justify ending a marriage in a way that contradicts God’s purpose for it.

Jesus also assigns responsibility to the man who unjustifiably breaks the marriage, because his action places the woman in a situation in which a new union would involve adultery.

Implications

• Faithfulness begins in the heart: Jesus does not limit adultery to the outward act, but also confronts deliberately cultivated sexual desire.
• Sin must be treated seriously: the disciple must remove what persistently leads him to disobey God.
• Marriage must not be reduced to a legal procedure: a certificate of divorce does not automatically make the dissolution of a marriage righteous.
• Jesus protects marital faithfulness: He rejects the idea of dissolving marriage for just any reason.
• The righteousness of the Kingdom reaches desires, decisions, and relationships: obedience to God includes both the inward life and faithfulness toward one’s spouse.

Applications

• Guard what you nurture within: do not turn a look into an opportunity to cultivate illicit desire.
• Remove occasions for sin decisively: take concrete measures when something repeatedly leads you into disobedience.
• Treat marriage seriously: do not regard the marriage union as disposable when difficulties or personal desires arise.
• Do not use legal procedures to justify what is morally wrong: what is legally permitted does not always coincide with God’s will.
• Pursue integrity in both your thoughts and your relationships: faithfulness before God begins before outward actions take place.

Summary

In Matthew 5:27–32, Jesus shows that the prohibition against adultery also reaches the heart. Deliberately looking in order to cultivate illicit sexual desire already contradicts the faithfulness God requires, so Jesus calls for radical action against anything that leads to sin. He then addresses divorce and shows that a legal certificate does not automatically make the dissolution of a marriage righteous. Jesus recognizes an exception involving fornication, but His primary emphasis is on protecting marital faithfulness and rejecting the idea of dissolving the union for just any reason. He thus continues to show that the righteousness of the Kingdom reaches both inward desires and the decisions that affect our deepest relationships.

Prayer

Our Father, we thank You because Jesus Christ teaches us that Your righteousness also reaches our thoughts and desires.

Examine our hearts and deliver us from nurturing desires that turn us away from Your will.

Give us wisdom and firmness to remove from our lives whatever becomes an occasion for sin.

Help us also to treat marriage with the seriousness and faithfulness You desire, without using our own convenience to justify decisions contrary to Your will.

Form in us lives of integrity, both in what others can see and in what only You know.

We ask this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.