Jesus commanded that his commands be taught throughout the world to disciples in all nations. But when it comes to the following I fall far short and fail to practice what I preach. Yet here it is, what Jesus commands us, when we belong to him by becoming his disciples.
Jesus' teaching that even a lustful look is adultery in the heart wasn't just a repetition of the Torah (the Law of Moses in the Old Testament)—it was a radical deepening of it. While the Torah commands us not to commit adultery or covet, Jesus took it further by showing that sin begins in the heart, not just in our actions. He wasn't discarding the Law, but revealing its true intent: a call to inner holiness, not just outward obedience. In doing so, Jesus reminds us that God sees not only what we do, but who we are on the inside—and calls us to purity in thought as well as deed.
Paul, like Jesus, deepened the moral vision of the Torah by showing that sin isn't just about breaking rules—it's about violating sacred union. In 1 Corinthians, he warns that joining one’s body to a prostitute isn’t just personal sin; it’s a sin against one’s own body, the temple of the Holy Spirit, and against Christ Himself. When we are joined to Christ, our bodies belong to Him, and to misuse them is to drag His own personal holiness into impurity. Paul’s teaching speaks powerfully today, warning us also against pornography and other distortions of intimacy—reminding us that what we do with our bodies matters deeply to Jesus, because our bodies are not just ours, but His.
