about his choice of words.
The second flaw with this interpretation is that it suggests we can do stuff to save ourselves
from hell. Maybe we don’t have to self-amputate, but we can confess, abstain, renounce, run
from, and what have you. There’s nothing wrong with these things. The error is in thinking we
can save ourselves by doing them. No doubt it is better to enter eternal life handicapped than
for your whole body to go to hell. But it does not follow that there is anything you can do to
earn eternal life.
Was Jesus speaking literally?
Most people think Jesus was speaking figuratively because they do not believe for a second that
he meant what he said. But what if he did? Does it then follow that he actually wants us to chop
off our hands? Of course not. We are sanctified by the blood of the Lamb, not our severed limbs.
Self-mutilation does nothing to deal with sin for sin is conceived in the heart not the hand
(Matthew 5:28). Besides, if you chop one hand off you’re left with another. You can still sin!
So what’s going on here? Why would Jesus tell us to do something he doesn’t really want us
to do?
He’s doing it so we will realize the absurdity of trying to impress God with our acts of self-
righteousness. He’s preaching the law on steroids, not so that you will try to keep it, but so that
you will quit pretending that you are.
It is hard for some to grasp that Jesus could preach both grace and law without confusing
the two, but he did. Jesus is the perfect physician. He knows exactly what medicine you need. If
you’re broken and hurting you’ll get grace, but if you’re confident of your own self-
righteousness you’ll get law.
A self-righteous person thinks they can impress God with their religious performance. The
only language they understand is law. They say, “all these commands I have kept from my
youth, what else do I lack?” And Jesus responds, “Okay, you asked for it, receive some more
law.”
Why preach the law?
The law is not a standard to live up to, but a mirror that reveals our faults. The law was not
given to help you overcome sin, but to help sin overcome you (Romans 7:8–9).
Jesus met people who thought they would be judged righteous if they kept the law. But
instead of being silenced by their inability to do so, they lowered the standard making it easier
to keep. Jesus didn’t like this one bit. In the Sermon on the Mount he took the watered-down
42
ESCAPE TO REALITY – GREATEST HITS VOL. 4
law (“You have heard it said”) and raised it to a higher level (“but I say unto you”). In other
words, he polished the mirror.
Why did Jesus do this? Because some people will never appreciate the good news until
they’ve heard the bad news, which is this:
Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you
will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:20)
The law is holy, righteous and good, but try to live by it and it will condemn and kill you (2
Corinthians 3:6,9). The purpose of the law is to bring you to the end of yourself and reveal your
need for a Savior (Galatians 3:24). If you are self-righteous, you will never appreciate Jesus until
the law has plowed the pride out of your heart.
You may say, “I’m a decent person. I’ve never killed or committed adultery.”
“Not good enough,” says Jesus. “God knows your heart. If you’ve entertained murderous or
lustful thoughts you’ve as good as done it. This is a serious business. If you persist in this
pathetic course of self-reliance, you had better be prepared to go the whole way even if that
means sacrificing an eye and a hand.”
And to ram home the point, Jesus says this:
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)
God expects perfection and nothing less. If you’re not perfect, twenty-four hours a day, seven
days a week, you’re in serious trouble. That’s the bad
The second flaw with this interpretation is that it suggests we can do stuff to save ourselves
from hell. Maybe we don’t have to self-amputate, but we can confess, abstain, renounce, run
from, and what have you. There’s nothing wrong with these things. The error is in thinking we
can save ourselves by doing them. No doubt it is better to enter eternal life handicapped than
for your whole body to go to hell. But it does not follow that there is anything you can do to
earn eternal life.
Was Jesus speaking literally?
Most people think Jesus was speaking figuratively because they do not believe for a second that
he meant what he said. But what if he did? Does it then follow that he actually wants us to chop
off our hands? Of course not. We are sanctified by the blood of the Lamb, not our severed limbs.
Self-mutilation does nothing to deal with sin for sin is conceived in the heart not the hand
(Matthew 5:28). Besides, if you chop one hand off you’re left with another. You can still sin!
So what’s going on here? Why would Jesus tell us to do something he doesn’t really want us
to do?
He’s doing it so we will realize the absurdity of trying to impress God with our acts of self-
righteousness. He’s preaching the law on steroids, not so that you will try to keep it, but so that
you will quit pretending that you are.
It is hard for some to grasp that Jesus could preach both grace and law without confusing
the two, but he did. Jesus is the perfect physician. He knows exactly what medicine you need. If
you’re broken and hurting you’ll get grace, but if you’re confident of your own self-
righteousness you’ll get law.
A self-righteous person thinks they can impress God with their religious performance. The
only language they understand is law. They say, “all these commands I have kept from my
youth, what else do I lack?” And Jesus responds, “Okay, you asked for it, receive some more
law.”
Why preach the law?
The law is not a standard to live up to, but a mirror that reveals our faults. The law was not
given to help you overcome sin, but to help sin overcome you (Romans 7:8–9).
Jesus met people who thought they would be judged righteous if they kept the law. But
instead of being silenced by their inability to do so, they lowered the standard making it easier
to keep. Jesus didn’t like this one bit. In the Sermon on the Mount he took the watered-down
42
ESCAPE TO REALITY – GREATEST HITS VOL. 4
law (“You have heard it said”) and raised it to a higher level (“but I say unto you”). In other
words, he polished the mirror.
Why did Jesus do this? Because some people will never appreciate the good news until
they’ve heard the bad news, which is this:
Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you
will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:20)
The law is holy, righteous and good, but try to live by it and it will condemn and kill you (2
Corinthians 3:6,9). The purpose of the law is to bring you to the end of yourself and reveal your
need for a Savior (Galatians 3:24). If you are self-righteous, you will never appreciate Jesus until
the law has plowed the pride out of your heart.
You may say, “I’m a decent person. I’ve never killed or committed adultery.”
“Not good enough,” says Jesus. “God knows your heart. If you’ve entertained murderous or
lustful thoughts you’ve as good as done it. This is a serious business. If you persist in this
pathetic course of self-reliance, you had better be prepared to go the whole way even if that
means sacrificing an eye and a hand.”
And to ram home the point, Jesus says this:
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)
God expects perfection and nothing less. If you’re not perfect, twenty-four hours a day, seven
days a week, you’re in serious trouble. That’s the bad
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