“You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ ..." (Matthew 5:27-30)

"You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 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. 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." (Matthew 5:27-30)

Is Jesus really teaching us to cut off body parts?

Jesus is speaking metaphorically. He is not advising his followers to cut off any body parts.

He doesn't mean we should literally cut off our hands or gouge out our eyes.

Did any of Jesus' followers do this? Were there one-eyed or one-handed followers of Jesus? No. This tells us clearly that he wasn't speaking literally.

The metaphor that Jesus is using refers to discontinuing (cutting off) behavior that harms others. To cut off the means of self-centered harm means to disregard or dismiss those aspects of our lives that create propensities. 

For example, a person who is employed by a bar will more likely become a drinker. So leaving the employ of such an establishment would leave behind the environment that would promote the drinking habit. 

Jesus is speaking of leaving behind those parts of our lives that produce the propensities for habits that encourage self-centeredness. Doing so is a sacrifice of sorts, which could be compared to cutting off a hand or gouging out an eye.

It is a metaphorical statement urging his followers to leave behind those parts of their lives that don't promote their spiritual growth.

What does he mean by 'stumble'?

In most of the other translations of Matthew, the word translated to "stumble" is translated to "sin." Even in the prior version of NIV, the Greek was translated to "sin," but has been changed to "stumble."

There are several Greek words that have been translated to "sin" in the texts of the Bible:
- "paraptoma" to fall.
- "hamartia" to miss the mark.
- "hettema" to diminish.
- "parabasis" to cross the line.
- "amonia" to not abide.
- "parakoe" to refuse to heed.
- "agnoeema" to ignore.
- "skandalizō" to stumble.

Stumbling takes on another meaning because it assumes that someone was not stumbling prior.

This assumes purity in essence. Yes, each of us was created by the Supreme Being, so there is an origin of purity. Such purity is one of love. We are each born from the love of the Supreme Being.

But stumbling in this respect contrasts this by acting in a self-centered manner that harms others. Love contrasts this because caring for others is the consciousness of love.

As such, purity is caring and loving the Supreme Being and others. To stumble is the opposite.

What does Jesus mean by 'hell'?

Jesus' statement, "whole body to go into hell" clarifies that rejecting or ignoring our relationship with God is hell. Rather than hell simply being a place we will go to be punished, hell is the consciousness of rebellion that rejects God. 

Hell is that place where our own enjoyment comes first, and God is forgotten.

This means that hell is not a location, but a consciousness. It also means that much of human society is, unfortunately, living in the consciousness of hell.

This statement presents particularly difficult criteria for someone living in modern society. Our society tends to focus on the more materialistic, self-centered aspects of life.

Why is Jesus talking about lust and adultery?

The sexual act is by nature a self-centered activity. There might be some love involved - wanting our partner to also feel good, or having sex to have a child.

But sex is actually quite difficult if each partner isn't ultimately interested in their own satisfaction. The sexual organs are stimulated through the seeking of physical satisfaction and ultimately, the orgasm.

The problem is that we are not these physical bodies. They are simply vehicles we occupy for a few years. Therefore, the sexual satisfaction of the body does not satisfy the soul - which has a spiritual composition.

We are the spirit-person occupying this physical body. At the time of death, we leave it behind.

And we - the real person within this body seeks real love. We seek the love of others and we want to love others. But this real person is covered up. It is covered up by our self-centeredness and our false identification with this physical body.

And what we are really looking for in the sex act - within - is union. We want to exchange love with someone but we are currently pre-occupied with physical gratification. This blocks our ability to truly love.

As a result, seeking union in the sex act will translate to mutual self-centeredness. Each partner wants to "get off."

We gradually find that sex brings no real satisfaction to our spiritual self. Our body might get some nerve sensations going, but the person within - our real selves - is not satisfied.

It is like a person driving a car feeling hungry and thinking that if they fill the car with gas they won't be hungry anymore. This doesn't work because the person's body is separate from the car.

In the same way, we are not our physical body, and filling the body up with sensual pleasure does not fill up the spiritual self.

Can we be satisfied without love?

Our real self within is only satisfied by giving love. And the ultimate union of the person within is loving service to the Supreme Being and His children.

This brings real happiness because there is no self-centeredness in true love of God.

And there can be no true loving service to the Supreme Being within self-centeredness. It is only emptiness.

What this means is that those of us who are trying to feed the image in the mirror instead of the real person within are in hell. Becoming saturated with self-centeredness prevents us from entering the world Jesus is inviting his followers into.

The love that exists in the spiritual realm between the living being and the Supreme Being is pure. It is unconditional. But the perverted reflection of this love in the physical world is conditional lust.

This is illustrated by sexual attraction in the physical world. While a man might be attracted to the body of a woman, and a woman might be attracted to the body of a man, these attractions come with conditions. For example, someone might see the rear of another as attractive as they walk down the street, but that attraction would stop if they saw that same rear defecating.

A man might be attracted to the private parts of a woman but that attraction would stop if they saw those same private parts during menstruation or childbirth.

As a result, men and women must work hard to maintain the mirage of attraction. Shaving, putting on antiperspirant, make-up, special clothes, and so on, all create the mirage of attractiveness. Without these, there would be little attraction for a hairy, blemished, and malodorous female body and a fat hairy blemished male body.

Furthermore, given a few years, even the most attractive body ages. An older body is no longer physically attractive, even with make-up piled on.

Can this world be hell?

Understanding that hell is a state of consciousness, hell is where we are drawn in and trapped by lust. In the consciousness of hell, we are teased by the illusion that the attractions of the physical world will bring us happiness. But they never do. They only lead to misery, as we become bound by their conditions.

The best way out of the consciousness of hell is to gradually and realistically develop a higher taste. This higher taste is accomplished by re-developing our innate loving relationship with God. We can do this with prayer and praise - by glorifying His Holy Names and by making offerings to Him. These facilities bring us closer to Him.

As our relationship with God evolves, the attractions of the physical world lessen. In fact, we can judge how well our relationship is developing simply by observing how drawn we are to the illusory attractions (reflections) of this world.

The attractions of the material world are tests. They teach us to grow stronger by illustrating how weak we are without the Supreme Being. It is not as if the temptations of the world have come from another place other than God. 

God designed the physical world and its temptations for a particular reason. He created the physical world for those of us who rebelled against Him and wanted to be independent of Him.

While we can never actually be away from God because He has created everything and is present everywhere, He has created a place where we can pretend He is not present. Here we have temporary senses and the physical body and mind that give us the illusion He is not here. These give us the opportunity to attempt to enjoy ourselves.

At the same time, He does not completely let us go. As we travel through this physical world with these temporary physical bodies ‘of clay’ - we continually find emptiness without Him.

Can we go back?

As we reach out to God and request to return to Him, it is not an automatic process. Consider the situation if we were to want to be friends again with someone we rejected years ago. Suddenly we wanted to be their friend again.

Would such a person just forget the past and accept us back into the relationship we had with them before? Likely not. They would most likely want to go slowly and make sure we won't leave them again. They would likely test us to make sure we didn't have any ulterior motives.

The bottom line is that they would want us to be serious about having a relationship with them.

This is not dissimilar to God's process. Except that He already knows our intentions, so He does not test us in order to understand our intentions. He tests us so that we can understand our intentions.

The temptations of the world are here to help us see just how serious we really are about returning to our relationship with God.

In other words, we don't have to be afraid of going to hell - we are already here. The question is how do we get out. Jesus gave us the path out of the consciousness of hell: By learning to re-establish our lost loving relationship with the Supreme Being:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)

“Give us today our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11)

Is this really about 'bread'?

This part of Jesus' prayer is not about the bread eaten by our physical bodies.

One can find food on this planet with or without God's help. Food literally grows on trees here. Or in the case of bread, wheat grows from the ground and can be harvested and milled. From there it can be made into bread.

We don't need to ask God for food in order to get fed. Most of us simply need to work to get our food. Sometimes this requires hard work. Regardless of whether we ask God for food, we will still likely have to work to continue to have food available.

Furthermore, Jesus has already answered this question:

"Man shall not live on bread alone." (Matthew 4:4)

So if Jesus wasn't speaking literally about bread, what was he speaking of?

Jesus was speaking metaphorically, about becoming spiritually fed. How do we know this? Consider this teaching of Jesus:

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat? Or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matt. 6:28-33)

The reality is that God has designed nature to provide each species with their allotment of food, which must be worked for but also shared.

This assumes that each of us takes what we need and shares the rest, rather than hordes it - which is what is taking place in human society today. There is enough food for everyone by His design. We may not share it properly - but there is enough for everyone.

But even if someone is well-fed, this brings no spiritual satisfaction. Physical food does not provide spiritual fulfillment.

The "daily bread" Jesus is referring to metaphorically is the bread that feeds our soul. Jesus is referring to soul food. That which feeds the spirit-person within the physical body.

What food will fulfill our spirit?

As Jesus states in Matthew 6:28-33 above, having plenty of food will not fulfill our real craving. Physical food will not fill our need for spiritual fulfillment.

This is why wealth or fame does not satisfy us. Those with wealth and/or fame continue to seek more of those things and anything else. Once wealth and fame is reached, those who have achieved that do not stop. They keep on trying to get more. It is like a bottomless pit.

This tells us we do not have to pray for food or any other material thing. Indeed, Jesus’ teachings illustrate that the things of this world will not satisfy us.

This is because we are not these temporary physical bodies. Our identities are not physical. We are spirit-persons driving temporary physical bodies. Jesus emphasizes this throughout his teachings, including this statement:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-20)

Why then this seeming departure to pray to God for our “daily bread”?

The “bread” Jesus is referring to in Matt. 6:11 is our relationship with God. We need to love and serve God as our heart and soul. This is confirmed in the previous stanza of the prayer:

"Your kingdom come, Your will be done."

By serving God we become part of his intimate kingdom, and we grow in our love for Him, which feeds us spiritually. Loving God and serving God becomes our daily bread.

We need this love for God every day. We need this loving relationship with God all day long. We need this loving relationship or we become spiritually hungry. Without this loving relationship, we are seeking satisfaction from all sorts of different things, trying to fill the empty void caused by not having this intimate relationship. This is confirmed by Jesus elsewhere:

" 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matthew 22:37-38)

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life ...” (Matthew 6:25-27)

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” (Matt. 6:25-27)

Why shouldn't we worry about our life?

Jesus is clearly stating our identity with this statement. He is stating that we are not the physical body. The physical body is a temporary vehicle each of us drives for a while. We are the spirit-person within these bodies.

Therefore, Jesus is speaking of worrying about our temporary physical body - which will die at some point anyway.

In other words, we are each spiritual persons residing within a temporary physical body. Each of us is an individual spiritual being, transcendental to the physical world. The physical bodies we wear are temporary. They will each die within a few decades, and for some, more quickly. Then we will move on.

These physical bodies are designed to be clothed and fed from materials from the physical world around us. Nature has been designed to supply all the food, water, and clothing our physical body needs. (And the scarcity in this world has been the product of humanity's hoarding and greed.)

Jesus is also speaking to the many anxieties of those he was preaching to. Their anxiousness for their physical day-to-day survival is apparent from Jesus’ focus upon food and clothing.

This is certainly because many of the people he spoke to were poor and had to toil in the fields or otherwise endeavor. Though Jesus was not saying they didn’t have to work anymore, he was saying that we can have confidence that God will take care of each of us. We don’t have to worry about our physical survival. Instead, our focus should be on re-developing our relationship with Him.

Jesus did not come to teach us about taking care of the body. That was not his ultimate concern. His concern was the spiritual welfare of others. Because the physical world was designed with the veil of the physical body — making it difficult to see or communicate with the Supreme Being and designed to fool us into thinking we are these bodies — we have become in some sense separated from Supreme Being. This was our choice.

What does Jesus want from us?

Jesus' purpose is to bring us back to our original relationship with the Supreme Being — a relationship of love and loving service.

Although it is necessary to work to maintain the physical body, that should not be our focus in life. Life's focus should be upon regaining this relationship that Jesus is teaching about.

If one is focused upon the physical body’s survival, its reputation, its family or its other physical needs, the focus cannot be upon Supreme Being. It is a simple matter of focus.

Certainly, one can focus first and foremost on the Supreme Being and use this physical body to get closer to Him and serve Him. In such a consciousness, taking care of the body and family can also become part of that service. In this case, the body can become a tool in our focus on God.

There is a fine line here, however. But the issue of focus influences our consciousness.

At the end of the life of this body, our focus and consciousness direct us to our next destination. The mind is like a wind vane — it indicates our direction.

Therefore, in order to change our direction, we must change our consciousness. This means redirecting our focus from the mundane elements of the physical world to the transcendental elements of the Supreme Being.

Redirecting our focus can be done through prayer, glorifying and praising the Supreme Being and His Holy Names, making offerings to God, and learning more about Him through scripture. Gradually, these activities will change our consciousness, and with this comes a change in our future course.

“You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” (Matthew 8:26)

Then he got into a boat and his disciples accompanied him. And soon there rose a great storm on the sea, and the boat was besieged by waves. Yet Jesus was asleep. Then his disciples awoke him, saying, “Master, save us, for we will perish.” He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith.” Then he got up and admonished the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. Thus the men were amazed, saying “What kind of man is this, that even the winds and seas obey him!” (Matthew 8:23-27 Lost Gospels)

What does Jesus mean by 'little faith"?

The phrase "of little faith" here is being translated from the Greek word ὀλιγόπιστος (oligopistos), which also means, "trusting too little" according to the lexicon.

Most people who read this story focus on Jesus’ calming the winds. However, the bigger lesson was Jesus’ statement about faith.

“You of little faith,” Jesus says. Faith in what? Is he saying they lack faith in Jesus’ ability to calm the winds? Why would he chastise them for having little faith in him when he was sleeping?

Because Jesus is not referring to his disciples’ faith in Jesus’ ability to calm the waves.

Jesus is speaking of a lack of trust in the Supreme Being’s ability to protect them, even in the worst of times, and the worst of calamities. By the disciples worrying about drowning, they were testifying that they had no confidence in God’s ability to protect them.

Jesus' point is that this trust is fundamental in our relationship with God. God is our Creator and our Protector. Why would He not take care of us? God takes care of everyone. This is part of our relationship with Him. This is part of His Personality. Whether we want to admit it or not, not only did the Supreme Being create us, but the Supreme Being is our Best Friend, our Confidant, and our only real Protector. He cares for us as no one else can.

By Jesus’ sleeping through the storm, he illustrated his own trust in the Supreme Being. He did not awaken worried that the storm might drown him.

We must also trust that we are being taken care of by the Supreme Being - even in death. Death is only the discontinuation of this physical body. It is not our actual death. The spirit (each of us) leaves the temporary physical body at the time of death.

However, our destination is ultimately our choice. If we decide now to depend upon God and put our full faith in God, then we will not worry about our destination at the time of death. The Supreme Being will guide us back to Him should we completely rely upon Him.

Should we fear God?

Fear is an expression of self-centeredness. The inner self is worried about the body because the self wants to enjoy this body. The self wants to preserve the body to continue eating, sleeping, and having sex. The self wants to keep the body going to continue living in the dream of potential enjoyment.

The problem with this is that the body brings no real fulfillment. It is an illusion of enjoyment. It is like dreaming. Our dreams are transitory. We might feel that we enjoy them for a moment, but as soon as we awaken they disappear. These bodies are traveling through a temporary slipstream of matter more real than a dream, but just as transitory. Thus there is no permanence.

When we see the world as something to enjoy, this is like a mirage. It is like being in a desert and thinking we see the ocean. We reach into the sand expecting water. While thinking we will touch water, we only grab more sand.

Is the material world an illusion?

The material world is like sand in that it is devoid of happiness. It is dry. It contains no real pleasure. It only appears to contain pleasure when we look into the future with expectation. This is what is called temptation.

But we can see around us that no one- even the richest movie stars, kings, and presidents who have all the fame and money, and power we seek - is fulfilled. This is illustrated by the drug use, suicides, divorce, and other symptoms of emptiness among those with wealth, fame, and power.

We are still tempted to think that we will be happy if we get those things. This mechanism of the material world to tempt us is often referred to in the scriptures as satan or the devil. 

While the mechanism of temptation does exist, it is quite certainly under the Supreme Being’s control. It is a mechanism designed to teach us and test us - to hopefully wake us up from our self-centered illusion that we will be happy without the Supreme Being.

And as for Jesus' ability to rebuke the waves? This ability also came from the Supreme Being: All power and authority come from God because He owns and controls everything.

“Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but He who sent me is true. You do not know Him,  but I know him because I am from Him and He sent me.” (John 7:28-29)

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking ...” (Matthew 13:45-46)

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:45-46)

Jesus' continues his teachings regarding the spiritual realm and one's relationship with the Supreme Being. The word "again" - taken from the Greek πάλιν (palin) - means "again, i.e. further, moreover;" and "in turn, on the other hand" according to the lexicon. So Jesus is furthering this discussion to clarify the meaning of the "kingdom of heaven."

What does this parable mean?

"... the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant ..."

Remember that the "kingdom of heaven" is not a physical location. The word "kingdom" is translated from βασιλεία (basileia) - which refers to "royal power, kingship, dominion, rule; not to be confused with an actual kingdom but rather the right or authority to rule over a kingdom."

This means it refers to the consciousness of accepting the dominion and superior nature of the Supreme Being. It means taking the refuge or sanctuary of the Supreme Being.

What does the 'merchant' symbolize?

A merchant in Jesus' times was a trader or a shopkeeper. A person who bought and sold stuff. So when a merchant is looking for fine pearls, he is looking for something exquisite: Something extraordinary.

This represents someone who is looking for spiritual happiness. The word "fine" is being translated from the Greek word καλός (kalos), which means "beautiful, handsome, excellent, eminent, choice, surpassing, precious, useful, suitable, commendable, admirable; beautiful to look at, shapely, magnificent" according to the lexicon.

Jesus is teaching that we are all looking for happiness, but we are looking in the wrong place. We think that the temporary forms and things of the physical world will bring us happiness, but they don't. They simply bring emptiness. Why don't they?

Because we are not of this world. We are not these physical bodies. We are each spiritual beings that occupy a physical body. We are eternal spirit-persons falsely identifying with a temporary physical body.

This becomes apparent as the body ages. When we look back at the body we see that it is changing, yet we feel like the same person. And science confirms that the physical body changes. 

It is estimated that within five years every molecule of the physical body will be recycled and replaced by new molecules. It is like looking at a waterfall. We might think it is the same waterfall but the water keeps changing. There is new water flowing all the time.

What is our constant?

So who is the constant person who occupied both the younger body and the body we have on now? This is who we are: Each of us is an individual spiritual being - originally created by the Supreme Being to love and serve Him.

But He also gave us the freedom to love Him or not. This is why some of us are here in this physical world - because we decided we didn't want to love and serve the Supreme Being. We decided we wanted to love and serve ourselves. We became self-centered, in other words.

So the Supreme Being gave us these temporary physical bodies and allowed us to forget Him - so that we could escape Him. This is the ultimate in love and kindness. The Supreme Being doesn't force us - He allows those who want to be away from Him that opportunity.

But because He is always around, He had to create a virtual reality - to hide Himself from us. This is the physical world.

This only means that as soon as we truly decide we want to return to our loving relationship with Him, we can return to Him in the form of renewing our relationship with Him.

This is what Jesus is speaking about with this parable. The merchant represents each of us - as we are 'trading' the goods of the physical world - but always looking for happiness.

What does 'great value' mean?

Finding a pearl "of great value" represents rediscovering our eternal relationship with the Supreme Being. This relation is always there, but currently it is covered up because of our self-centeredness.

Imagine seeing a new car completely covered in mud. Does it look new? Hardly. But the new car is still there under the mud. Once the mud is taken off the car looks new again.

Why did the merchant 'sell everything'?

The fine pears of Jesus' parable represent one's relationship with the Supreme Being. Once a person truly rediscovers this relationship, they become willing to sacrifice everything to grow that relationship and maintain that relationship.

This is the reason we find so much sacrifice by devoted saints and apostles through the centuries. Those who rediscovered their loving relationship with the Supreme Being (the kingdom of heaven) are willing to give up everything in order to pursue that relationship.

This is also the meaning of Jesus' own sacrifices. Jesus gave up everything to teach about God. He made the ultimate sacrifice and allowed his body to be killed on behalf of his teachings.

Some see the crucifixion of Jesus as a vehicle for our salvation - a self-centered proposition. This allows us to miss the real meaning of Jesus' sacrifice.

The misrepresentation of Jesus' sacrifice is quite obvious in some cases. For example, some have given the day that Jesus was tortured and persecuted the name "Good Friday." What is so "good" about the murder of the physical body of the Supreme Being's most beloved messenger?

A true follower of Jesus would be saddened on this day.

Easter has become a secular holiday that reflects on a history of spring celebrations. The Easter "holiday" is primarily based on a springtime holiday of a Teutonic goddess of fertility known as Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur and similar names. These names were derived from the word for springtime, "Eastre." 

The celebration of Easter is thus comingled and derived from this pagan holiday. Yes, the crucifixion verses about Jesus do appear to occur during a period known as the Jewish Passover. So there is evidence that the approximate timing is there.

Interestingly, the math may be confused regarding Jesus having "risen from the dead" on the third day. If Jesus was crucified on Friday, then Sunday would be the second day, not "the third day." 

Saturday is one day away from Friday and Sunday is two days from Friday. Sure, we can assume that Friday is the first day, but that is not typically how days are counted. With such a counting system, there would be eight days in a seven-day week.

Besides the date being at large, the typical Easter celebration is offensive. Easter egg hunts, chocolate Easter bunnies, and so many other materialistic rituals create a forgetfulness regarding Jesus' sacrifice.

Surely Jesus is offended with such celebrations, including his reappearance to his disciples.

The meaning of Jesus' allowing his physical body to be tortured is being described in this parable. Such a sacrifice is part of Jesus' loving service relationship with the Supreme Being. As such, His loving messenger will sacrifice everything to please Him. Consider how Jesus wanted to please the Supreme Being:

"By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but Him who sent me." (John 5:30)

Jesus illustrates how pleasing the Supreme Being was his life and soul. This is because Jesus was in love with the Supreme Being. Isn't this what motivated Jesus to teach, and motivated him to suffer due to those teachings.

This is because a loving relationship with the Supreme Being is so satisfying, so blissful, and so fulfilling, that a person becomes willing to give everything up to maintain that relationship once it is discovered.