The Cost of Discipleship – Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chapter 10 Woman

Matthew 5:27-32 (NIV)

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

³¹ “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³² But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

In Matthew 5 Jesus is speaking to Jews concerning their laws and traditions in relationship with God’s law. The primary issue in these verses addresses the relationship and commitment of men to women. Keep in mind that in the first century men had dictatorial rights over women and it is in this context he addresses those in front of him.

If you make his statements about men and women, marriage and divorce, fidelity vs. adultery and stop then the full meaning of his words are lost. While speaking about those issues, desire and momentary pleasures, long-term and spur-of-the-moment urges, the truth is they are barriers to following Jesus. Remember Esau and Jacob (Genesis 25:29-34). For temporary satisfaction we are selling our heavenly birthright for a bowl of stew (momentary pleasure).

Bonhoeffer states, “Instead of trusting to the unseen, we prefer the tangible fruits of desire, and so we fall from the path of discipleship and lose touch with Jesus.” We can see and touch, and what we find ourselves looking at and reaching for are the devices of impurity, temporary pleasure. The result, we no longer see Jesus. This is not a don’t but a do, do focus exclusively on Jesus and you won’t need to worry about the don’ts.

We are live in a culture that encourages any form of sexual activity to be defined as normal, from simple promiscuity to denying God’s design of the human body. Adults engage with children, people indulge in all types of homosexual behaviors, any imagined perversion and even the belief that God’s created image (Gen. 1:26-27) is faulty and can be changed are ways our vision is by blocked and diverted away from Jesus . As always, it is the struggle of choosing what we can do rather than what we should do. We must keep our focus on Jesus if we profess to be his disciple. Looking elsewhere becomes a barrier to that relationship.

The desire to entertain and engage in inappropriate behaviors, even cast aside a marriage is a sign of our willingness to put Christ anywhere but first in our life. The disciple of Christ must always put him and him alone first.