In Part 3, we saw that it is difficult to keep the law, but here I want to show that the Sermon on the mount was not meant to keep but to show that we cannot keep it. Well, unless you water it down. Jesus continues His Sermon on the Mount with a second “You have heard… but I say…” statement—and this one might be even more uncomfortable for us:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’
But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
(Matthew 5:27–28, ESV)

This is once again a deepening of the Law, not a softening.

How This Is the Law, Intensified

The original command, “You shall not commit adultery,” is from the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:14). Everyone would have agreed that physically cheating on your spouse is wrong. That’s not controversial.

But Jesus takes it to a whole different level:
“If you even look with lust, you’re already guilty of adultery in your heart.”

Notice the language: “has already committed adultery”—meaning God isn’t just judging the outward act, but the inward desire. This isn’t just raising the bar—it’s showing that the bar is already impossibly high.

How Christians Often Water This Down

Here’s how people commonly dilute this:

• “It’s just a reminder to keep your thoughts pure.”
• “Jesus is promoting mental discipline and avoiding temptation.”
• “He’s just showing how important purity is.”

And again, yes—those are true, but they’re not the point.

Jesus is using shocking, radical language to wake people up.
He’s saying: If you’ve lusted, you’ve already broken the commandment. There’s no safe zone of “just looking.” Your thoughts are enough to condemn you under the Law.

Pluck it Out? Cut it Off? Jesus Meant It Literally

Then He says this:

“If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away…”
“If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off…” (Matthew 5:29–30)

People rush to say, “Well, Jesus didn’t really mean that. That’s just a metaphor.”

But think about it—if the standard is that lust equals adultery, and adultery leads to hellfire, then yes, the extreme response makes sense. Jesus is setting a standard that is impossible, only one which he can keep.

Because the problem isn’t the eye or the hand—it’s the heart.

Why It’s Impossible to Keep

Let’s be honest:
Who hasn’t looked with lust ever?
Who hasn’t had an impure thought—intentionally or even unintentionally?

Even if you pluck out your eyes, it won’t stop your mind from imagining.
Even if you cut off your hands, you’ll still wrestle with your heart.

That’s the whole point. You can’t perform your way into purity.
Trying harder doesn’t fix the problem. You need a new heart.

This is why Jeremiah 17:9 says:

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

And it’s why David cried out:

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)

The Purpose: Drive Us to the End of Ourselves

Once again, Jesus isn’t giving us a rulebook for purity.
He’s giving us a mirror to see our inner corruption—so we’ll stop trusting in our own strength and cry out for His.

When you see that even your thoughts can condemn you, you realize that no amount of “trying harder” will make you holy.

That’s when you finally say, “Lord, I can’t do this. I need you.” Thats what the tax collector did, and what the Pharisee didn’t.

And that’s where the Gospel begins.

“For what the law was powerless to do… God did by sending His own Son…”
(Romans 8:3)

Final Thought

So no—Jesus wasn’t joking or exaggerating in this passage.
He wasn’t offering a metaphor or a motivational message about “being your best self.”

He was revealing the blazing holiness of God… and the utter bankruptcy of the human heart.

So when you read this, don’t say, “I’ll try harder not to lust.”
Say, “Lord, I surrender. Make me new. Live your life in me.”

Because when the Law drives you to Jesus, that’s where freedom truly begins.