Question 1

In verses 27–28, what is the difference between the command quoted and Jesus’ “but I tell you” statement?

Accepted Answer

Jesus begins with a well-known prohibition: “You shall not commit adultery.” He then relocates the issue from only the physical act to the intention behind a certain kind of looking. The key shift is that adultery is described as happening “in the heart” when a person “gazes… to lust after her.” The wording suggests more than noticing attractiveness; it is a look that aims at cultivating desire. The passage treats inner intent as morally significant, not just outward behavior.

Question 2

What do verses 29–30 add to the teaching about lustful looking, and how does the Gehenna contrast function?

Accepted Answer

The eye and hand images intensify the urgency created in vv. 27–28. Jesus speaks as if a body part can “cause you to stumble,” then uses extreme actions (pluck out, cut off) to show decisive prevention. The logic is comparative: better to lose “one” member than for the “whole body” to be cast into Gehenna. Whatever Gehenna represents here, it functions as the ultimate negative outcome that makes the present cost seem “profitable” by comparison. The imagery underlines seriousness and stakes.

Question 3

How does verse 31 set up verse 32, and what social practice does Jesus assume?

Accepted Answer

Verse 31 cites a known saying about divorce: if a man sends away his wife, he should give her a written divorce document. That assumes divorce paperwork was a familiar, recognized practice among Jesus’ hearers. Verse 32 responds by reframing the moral impact: divorce is not merely a regulated procedure but something that “makes her an adulteress,” and remarriage to a divorced woman is called adultery. The contrast shows Jesus moving from “proper process” to “what this action produces,” morally speaking.

Question 4

In verse 32, what are the two adultery-related outcomes Jesus states, and how does the exception clause relate to them?

Accepted Answer

Jesus states two connected outcomes. First, the one who divorces his wife “makes her an adulteress” (except for the cause of sexual immorality). Second, “whoever shall marry her when she is put away commits adultery.” The exception clause is attached to the divorcing action, signaling that at least one circumstance changes how the divorce is evaluated. Readers debate how wide “sexual immorality” is and whether the exception affects only the first outcome (making her an adulteress) or also implies that remarriage is not labeled adultery in that case. The verse explicitly provides the exception but does not expand it.

Question 5

In verses 33–36, what kinds of oaths does Jesus mention, and what reason does he give for rejecting them?

Accepted Answer

Jesus mentions swearing by heaven, earth, Jerusalem, and one’s own head—examples of invoking important realities to add weight to a statement. He rejects these on the basis that these objects are not under the speaker’s control: heaven is linked to God’s throne, earth to God’s footstool, Jerusalem to “the city of the great King,” and even the head cannot change a hair’s color. The point is that oath-formulas can pretend to secure truthfulness through invoking things, but the speaker cannot actually command those realities.

Question 6

What does verse 37 require of speech, and what does it imply about “more than these”?

Accepted Answer

Verse 37 presents a simple standard: speech should be “Yes, yes” or “No, no,” meaning clear affirmation or denial without layered add-ons meant to boost credibility. It then says that anything beyond that is “of the evil one.” The verse implies that extra verbal scaffolding—swearing, elaborate promises, or intensified assurances—often arises from a problem: unreliable truthfulness, manipulation, or the temptation to create loopholes. The text’s explicit focus is not on rhetorical style in general but on integrity and trustworthiness in ordinary speech.

Matthew 5:27-37

Scripture