Matthew 5:27 records a teaching of Jesus about the commandment against adultery. Jesus first quotes the law as it was commonly known, then points out that God’s concern reaches past outward actions into the desires of the heart. Jesus speaks this sermon to his disciples and the crowds gathered on a hillside in Galilee, as part of what is now called the Sermon on the Mount.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery;’
Matthew 5:27 (WEB)
What Matthew 5:27 Means
The verse begins with “You have heard that it was said,” which tells you Jesus is referring to something his listeners already knew. The commandment “You shall not commit adultery” comes from the Ten Commandments, the law God gave Israel through Moses. Jesus is not dismissing that command. He is quoting it as the starting point for what he is about to teach.
The verse is a setup. It names the old standard so Jesus can show that it reaches deeper than many people had assumed. It does not, by itself, describe what lust is or what a person should do about temptation. Those points come in the next verse. Read alone, Matthew 5:27 simply confirms that the law against adultery is real and binding.
The Context of Matthew 5:27
Matthew, a former tax collector and one of Jesus’ twelve apostles, wrote this Gospel mainly for a Jewish audience who knew the Hebrew Scriptures well. Matthew often shows how Jesus fulfills what was spoken through the prophets and the law. That background explains why Jesus would frame his teaching by first citing a commandment his hearers already revered.
The verses just before this one, Matthew 5:24 to 5:26, deal with reconciliation: making peace with a brother before bringing an offering to God. The verses after it, Matthew 5:28 to 5:30, press the same theme of inner honesty, saying that a person who looks with lustful intent has already sinned in the heart, and urging drastic steps to avoid sin. Seen this way, Matthew 5:27 is part of a larger pattern in which Jesus calls his followers to a righteousness that goes beyond outward compliance.
Key Phrases in Matthew 5:27
Psalm 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me.
(WEB)
David asks God to create a clean heart within him. This prayer shows the same concern Jesus raises in Matthew 5:27: that God’s work begins in the inner life and not only in outward behavior, and that real change depends on God’s renewing grace.
James 1:14-15
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin; and the sin, when it is full grown, produces death.
(WEB)
James describes how desire can draw a person away and then give birth to sin. This passage helps explain the process Jesus points to, showing that the inner pull toward wrongdoing matters because it can lead to outward action.
A Short Prayer From Matthew 5:27
Lord, you see what I hide from others and even from myself. Search my heart and show me where my desires have wandered from the faithfulness you ask of me. Give me the courage to turn away from what harms me and those I love, and strengthen me to guard my thoughts as well as my actions. Create in me a clean heart, and keep my eyes fixed on you. Amen.
