Matthew 5:29-30
If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Jesus doesn't literally mean to rip out your eye, but emphasizes the extreme nature of "stumbling blocks." The word "offend" here means to cause you to stumble into sin, so Jesus is saying that anything, even something as precious as your right eye, that traps you in sin must be decisively removed. It's a stark reminder that the eternal value of your soul far outweighs any earthly pleasure or possession.
Jesus is deepening his teaching on the Law, moving beyond outward actions to the desires of the heart. Having just declared that lustful looking is equivalent to adultery, he now uses hyperbole to stress the absolute necessity of conquering sinful desires. He's urging his followers to aggressively root out anything—even something as precious as an eye or a hand—that leads them into sin, emphasizing that eternal ruin is infinitely worse than any temporary loss.
Jesus' words about tearing out an eye sound intense, almost violent. What does he really mean by 'offend' and how does the eye cause us to stumble?
The word Jesus uses, often translated as 'offend,' actually means to be a 'stumbling block.' Think of it like a snare or a trap. Your eye, or hand, isn't inherently evil, but it can become a snare if it leads you into sin.
When Jesus talks about the 'right eye' causing you to stumble, he's not just talking about lustful glances (though that's certainly included, as seen in verse 28). It's anything that becomes a constant temptation or obstacle to following God. It's that specific thing – a sight, a person, a situation – that repeatedly pulls you away from righteousness.
Jesus uses hyperbole – extreme exaggeration – to make a powerful point: the danger of sin is far worse than any loss we might experience in avoiding it.
Losing a body part sounds drastic. Why would Jesus command such a severe, almost unthinkable action?
Jesus is driving home the absolute supremacy of God's kingdom and eternal life. He contrasts the temporary pain of self-denial with the eternal consequence of unrepentant sin.
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Understand the original words
skandalizō · Greek Verb
To entrap, trip up, or cause to stumble. It refers to anything that provides an occasion for falling into sin or leads someone away from the path of faith and righteousness.
geenna · Greek Noun
A term for the place of final, eternal punishment for the unrepentant. Derived from the Valley of Hinnom, it signifies a state of complete separation from God's presence and the judgment of fire.
sōma · Greek Noun
The physical human frame. While created good and destined for resurrection, it is often viewed as the instrument through which a person interacts with the world for either holy or sinful purposes.
melos · Greek Noun
A limb or part of the body. Theologically, these represent the various faculties or 'tools' of a human being used for either righteousness or sin.
This passage directly parallels Matthew 5:29, presenting the same stark imagery of self-amputation (hand or eye) as a drastic measure to avoid eternal punishment, emphasizing the severity of sin.
Romans 8:13While not using the same graphic language, this verse speaks to the same core principle: the necessity of 'putting to death' the sinful deeds of the body through the Spirit, aligning with Jesus' call for radical self-denial to escape spiritual destruction.
Colossians 3:5This verse urges believers to 'put to death' their earthly members, such as sexual immorality and greed, which are the very things that could cause one to stumble, echoing the radical and decisive action Jesus demands in Matthew 5:29.
1 Corinthians 6:13This passage addresses the body and its desires, stating that 'the body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord,' which connects to Jesus' warning that allowing desires (often sparked by the eye) to lead to sin imperils the whole person.
vincentMatthew 5:29: "And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell."
Offend (σκανδαλίξει)The word offend carries to the English reader the sense of giving offence, provoking. Hence the Rev., by restoring the picture in the word, restores its true meaning, causeth to stumble. The kindred noun is σκάνδαλον, a later form of σκανδάληθρον, the stick in a tra…
bensonMatthew 5:29: "And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell."
Matthew 5:29-30 . If thy right eye offend thee — If any person or thing, as pleasant and as dear to thee as thy right eye, should be a stumbling-block in thy way, and an occasion of thy falling, or should be a means of insnaring thee, and leading thee into sin, pluck it out — With inexora…
Jesus doesn't literally mean to rip out your eye, but emphasizes the extreme nature of "stumbling blocks." The word "offend" here means to cause you to stumble into sin, so Jesus is saying that anything, even something as precious as your right eye, that traps you in sin must be decisively removed. It's a stark reminder that the eternal value of your soul far outweighs any earthly pleasure or possession.
Jesus is deepening his teaching on the Law, moving beyond outward actions to the desires of the heart. Having just declared that lustful looking is equivalent to adultery, he now uses hyperbole to stress the absolute necessity of conquering sinful desires. He's urging his followers to aggressively root out anything—even something as precious as an eye or a hand—that leads them into sin, emphasizing that eternal ruin is infinitely worse than any temporary loss.
Jesus is deepening his teaching on the Law, moving beyond outward actions to the desires of the heart. Having just declared that lustful looking is equivalent to adultery, he now uses hyperbole to stress the absolute necessity of conquering sinful desires. He's urging his followers to aggressively root out anything—even something as precious as an eye or a hand—that leads them into sin, emphasizing that eternal ruin is infinitely worse than any temporary loss.
"If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. F…" — Jesus doesn't literally mean to rip out your eye, but emphasizes the extreme nature of "stumbling blocks." The word "offend" here means to cause you to stumble into sin, so Jesus is saying that anyth…
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