science

Matthew 5:29

Matthew 5:29 is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Matthew 5:29 rather than just read about it. In short: Matthew 5:29 is the twenty-ninth verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. It is the third verse of the discussion of adultery.

Key takeaways

Matthew 5:29 belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Matthew 5:29 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Matthew 5:29 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Matthew 5:29 is the twenty-ninth verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. It is the third verse of the discussion of adultery.

Content In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:

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. The World English Bible translates the passage as:

If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna. The Novum Testamentum Graece text is:

εἰ δὲ ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου ὁ δεξιὸς σκανδαλίζει σε, ἔξελε αὐτὸν καὶ βάλε ἀπὸ σοῦ συμφέρει γάρ σοι ἵνα ἀπόληται ἓν τῶν μελῶν σου καὶ μὴ ὅλον τὸ σῶμά σου βληθῇ εἰς γέενναν.

Analysis The Greek is literally "causes you to stumble," but stumble is a common metaphor for sin and some versions translate it this way for greater clarity. This loses the wordplay. Where normally eyesight is what prevents one from stumbling, Jesus here states that eyesight should be sacrificed to prevent the greater stumbling of sin. The verse is similar to Mark 9:47, and a version much closer to that in Mark appears at Matthew 18:9. This verse, along with the next one, is the most extreme part of the Sermon on the Mount. R. T. France notes that the severity of this verse is unparalleled in the contemporary literature. It advocates an action that is extremely drastic. No major Christian denomination has ever taken this verse literally, no monk has ever plucked out his eye to prevent temptation (though it is rumored that the early church father Origen castrated himself, i.e. removed a body part that caused him to sin). Most commentators take this verse as a clear example of hyperbole, Jesus is using an extreme example to make sure his audience understands the importance of his teachings. Jones notes that the mention of only the right eye makes it clear that Jesus is not meaning for this to be taken literally, as the left eye would be just as likely to lead into sin. The obvious hyperbole of this passage have led some commentators to see other difficult parts of the Sermon as hyperbole, such as Matthew 5:39 and 40. Jesus's hyperbolic language in Matthew stands out, as the Markan tradition of the same saying appears not to be hyperbolic. De Bruin has argued that Jesus's original commands were meant to be taken literally, and that they are a method of dealing with demons that have gained a foothold in a person. Nolland notes that within the harshness of this verse, there is also a message of redemption. If the sinner acts quickly to avoid sin, Gehenna will be avoided. As with Matthew 5:22, the word translated in many versions as hell is Gehenna, and there is great debate about whether Jesus was talking about the physical valley of fire or an afterlife of damnation. Gundry feels that the reference to Gehenna is eschatological. He notes that the reference to the "whole body" implies that the wicked will also enjoy full body resurrection in the end times, prior to being thrown into Hell. This is counter to the standard understanding of only the worthy being resurrected. Gehenna appears six other times in the Gospel of Matthew: 5:22, 5:30, 10:28, 18:19, 23:15, and 23:33

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Matthew 5:29

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Matthew 5:29 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Matthew 5:29 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Matthew 5:29 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Matthew 5:29

In research: Matthew 5:29 appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Matthew 5:29 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Matthew 5:29 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Adultery and religion, Gehenna, Hell (Christianity), so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Matthew 5:29 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Matthew 5:29 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Matthew 5:29 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Matthew 5:29 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Matthew 5:29 in simple terms?

Matthew 5:29 is the twenty-ninth verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. It is the third verse of the discussion of adultery.

Why does Matthew 5:29 matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Matthew 5:29?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Matthew 5:29.