Jesus on Sex
About this series
Jesus was God-in-flesh. He was (and is) the purest, most loving and truth-filled human being the world has ever known. And yet what he taught, how he lived and the kingdom he inaugurated directly confronted the human culture in which he spent his years on earth. He was truly counter-cultural. And he is no less counter-cultural in every part of the world today.
To follow Jesus is to embark on a lifelong journey of counter-cultural transformation in which we can expect that being a disciple will lead us towards challenge, temptation and costly decisions at every turn. It’s to this that he calls every single person who follows him.
It’s a lifestyle:
That requires obedience to him above all else.
That will lead us into conflict with the world, the flesh and the devil.
That witnesses to the world of his greatness.
The goal of the first series this year - Just Jesus - was to spend time specifically focussed on the person and work of Jesus. And the goal this time is again to look at Jesus - how he was (and is) counter-cultural. So we’ll be speaking about Jesus - showing how his teaching and actions were counter-cultural in his day and then applying it to our day. We’ll be asking how we submit to his wordScripture: Matthew 16:21-27; cf Matthew 8:18-22, 10:37-39, Luke 14:25-35
About this talk
Matthew 5:27-30
The Old Testament sexual ethic said that marriage (a one man, one woman covenant) is the sole God-given context for a sexual relationship. So when Jesus says here, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’” he’s referring to the creation narrative and to the seventh commandment (Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5) - and all the subsequent teaching.
There are many stories of sexual activity outside the boundaries set by God in the Old Testament - from David’s adultery with Bathsheeba to the rape of Tamar to Solomon’s 700 wives and 300 concubines. All of which shows that adhering to those boundaries has been an age-old challenge.
So why was this command given? For at least three inter-related reasons: because sexual intimacy is a serious thing in a way unlike other human contact; because it expresses a unity that only makes sense in marriage; and because it pictures the exclusive relationship between God and his people.
Sexual intimacy with someone who is not your spouse unites that person to someone other than their spouse (see 1 Corinthians 6:16) and thus breaks the marriage covenant. Far from downplaying sex, the Christian faith elevates it. In a world that sees sex as little more than the satisfying of a physical appetite, God, who designed us a sexual beings, sees it as an intimate, covenantal act.
The action he recommends in order to avoid committing adultery in the heart sounds extreme indeed! But out of love for us, he warns us to do whatever is necessary to avoid the dire consequences of adultery. Although v 28 is addressed to men, it is clear that the command applies to both men and women. Whether the entrance of sin is through the eye with which you see or the hand with which you touch, the best course of action is to ruthlessly “gouge it out” or “cut it off.”
In Jesus’ day:
The Rabbis gave a limited, narrow interpretation of the seventh commandment - as long as one avoided the physical act of adultery, one had kept that law. But as Jesus so often did, he here exposes their convenient interpretation and raises the stakes to include the attitude God wants and the intent behind the original command. “Do not commit adultery” was always meant to be a heart matter, not simply a physical matter; it is surely true that if people keep adultery from their hearts, they will certainly keep it from their conduct.
In our day:
We could sum up our day as suffering from sexual saturation and sexual confusion:
Sexual saturation. Huge businesses are ploughing vast sums of money into shaping our view of sex and sexuality. From tv to adverts to news to the easy availability of pornography, we are bombarded with the message that sexual fulfilment is one of the key points of life.
Sexual confusion. A crisis of epidemic proportions is currently being experienced by people of all ages, but especially the young. While much progress has been made in helping people to be open and authentic, the encouragement to question one’s gender and sexuality has led to immense confusion.
In that context, Jesus’ instruction that, “anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” is probably one of his most counter-cultural statements which calls us to radical purity that may seem strange to the world around us, but may increasingly be attractive too.
Audio only
