Cut it off!

I'm still spending time reflecting on the Sermon on the Mount. Today I thought of something I've never thought of before. I'm sure someone has somewhere, but I've never heard it.

When Jesus says "If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out," or "If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off," it has always been a bit confusing to me. I've always just accepted that he is exagerating for effect ... after all it would be ludicrous to start chopping off body parts. (and painful!)

Here is my new thought: His point is more literal than that. This actually WOULD be the way to handle it if the parts of your body were causing you to sin, BUT THEY ARE NOT! He is not exaggerating. Instead he is mis-attributing the cause of your sin and taking that to it's logical conclusion so you realize how ridiculous it is! The truth is that at the end of all the chopping, you would be a bloody stump and still have a sinful heart. You've addressed the symptoms, but not the cause.

Your eye is not causing you to sin, and neither is your hand. Sin is not about the body, it is about the heart. The body is only an expression of the heart. This fits in beautifully with his next words equating adultery and lust, as well as his words equating hate and murder. He is telling us that it is not about the outside, it is about the inside. It is so clear, I am not sure why I haven't heard it or thought it before.