Jesus on Sexual Objectification – Matthew 5:27-30

Some of Jesus’ harshest criticism and difficult instructions center on the topic of sexual immorality. In Matthew 5:27-30, Jesus extends the divine prohibition on adultery and extends it to our hearts and imagination.

We are continuing to sit at the feet of Jesus and to reflect on his description of what life as his people and in his upside-down kingdom is like. This sermon is Jesus’ description of what it looks like when God is in charge. 

5v1-12 | Jesus redefines who the blessed are; and it is not the spiritual elite, the well-to-do, or the most gifted. Rather, God blesses those who have been crushed by the world (the poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who ache for justice) and those who advocate on behalf of the crushed (the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers). 

5v13-16 | Jesus calls his followers the salt and light of the world, meaning that we bear responsibility in revealing the goodness of God in the places we live, work, and play. We discover how this is done not as isolated individuals, but in the community of Jesus followers– called the Church. 

5v17-20 | Jesus then says that he is the fulfillment of the Law & the Prophets (what we call the Old Testament). His life and teachings are not setting aside the previous or keeping the status quo; rather he affirms and extends– working to embed the commands on the hearts of his people. 

5v21-26 | We then begin to learn what Jesus means by fulfilling the law as he affirms that we should not murder, but then extends the law to confront the contempt in our own heart. 

And now, in verse 5v27-30, he affirms that we should not commit adultery but then extends it to demand a new conversation on sex and sexual desires. 

On a culture of Sexual Objectification

There is a pervasive culture that moves us towards emotional detachment and self-gratification in our sexual desire.  

The myth, that my sexuality is my business and my mine alone, develops a transactional understanding of sex, sexuality, and desire. We get what we need from wherever we need to– and that’s the end of it. 

“Our enlightened values—less stigma regarding unwed mothers, the acceptance of homosexuality, greater economic freedom for women, the availability of contraception, and the embrace of consent culture—haven’t translated into anything like a paradise of guilt-free fun.” –Helen Lewis, The Problem with Being Cool with Sex

These practices of sexual objectification and oppression are nothing new.

“If you should take your wife in adultery, you may with impunity put her to death without a trial; but if you should commit adultery or indecency, she must not presume to lay a finger on you, nor does the law allow it.”
–Aulus Gellius, Second Century writer and a contemporary of Jesus

Jesus redefines adultery as sexual objectification

Adultery in Jesus’ day, as our own, would be defined as sexual relations with someone other than one’s spouse. 

Jesus is taking issue with a prevalent interpretation of his day, or at least a well-known take, that limited the scope of Exodus 20:14 “You shall not commit adultery” (7/10).

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 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

“Anyone who looks” or “everyone who looks…with lustful intent” describes the leering male, the uncomfortable gaze at the work, or the gym, or in the grocery store.

“I cannot keep a bird from flying over my head. But I can certainly keep it from nesting in my hair or from biting my nose off.’” – Martin Luther

“What Jesus sabotages here is not [sexual] desire but rightful desire spent wrongfully.” – Scot McKnight

It is a misconception to think Jesus is anti-sex.

The human body, marriage, sex, sexuality, and sexual desire are not shameful creations but called “very good” by God’s design.

Within the biblical narrative, the two reasons for sex are for (1) procreation and (2)to experience the goodness of God toward those ends. 

There is a whole book of scripture that celebrates two lovers and their pursuit of one another in a covenant relationship called Song of Solomon.

“for love is strong as death,  jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. Many waters cannot quench love neither can floods drown it, If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, He would be utterly despised.” –Song of Solomon 8:6-7

Notice something profound about the way sexual desire is discussed in scripture. It acknowledges the deep complexities of human sexuality. 

Our sexual desires can lead us toward God’s beauty, character, and human intimacy.But sexual desire also has an immense capacity for harm; it can scar the soul, destroy relationships, and leave trauma unlike anything else.

“Today you are young and very much in love. You think your love will sustain your marriage. Well, I give you the opposite advice: let your marriage sustain your love.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer. 

While much more than discipline one’s sexual desire goes into the life of chastity, it is no small part. A life of chastity or a season of abstinence is a practice of reverence and respect. It is wise to acknowledge that everything, including sexual desire, has a season. 

[the greatest command is]“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” – Matthew 22:37–40 (ESV)”

Jesus condemns the look of sexual objectification because it violates this command– it dehumanizes an image-bearer of God; someone meant to be cherished and respected turned into kindling for sexual fantasy. 

Jesus’ instruction is that his followers deal with sexual objectification swiftly and decisively. 

“If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right-hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.” – Matthew 5:29-30

On a cultural ‘maiming’
What is clear is that Jesus is calling for decisive action to address the root of sexual objectification. Our lustful eyes, the images we entertain, the content or art we engage with. 

“To obey this command of Jesus will involve for many of us a certain ‘maiming’. We shall have to eliminate from our lives certain things which (though some may be innocent in themselves) either are, or could easily become, sources of temptation. In his own metaphorical language we may find ourselves without eyes, hands or feet. That is, we shall deliberately decline to read certain literature, see certain films, visit certain exhibitions. If we do this, we shall be regarded by some of our contemporaries as narrow-minded, untaught Philistines... We may have had to become culturally ‘maimed’ in order to preserve our purity of mind. The only question is whether, for the sake of this gain, we are willing to bear that loss and endure that ridicule.”
– John Stott

This is to say that it is better for us to forgo certain cultural phenomenons than to be a slave to sexual objectification and sin. 

A word of encouragement
Jesus’ warning is that prolonged sexual objectification leads to a loss of faith in Christ. We are not led to believe that singular trip-ups result in our being cast from Christ’s Kingdom, but rather that our own lust-filled choices tempt us out of His Kingdom. 

The spiritual practice this week is to take stock of both (1) your gaze and (2) what influences you let into your heart.