Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Jesus is teaching a large crowd on a hillside — a famous portion of his teaching known as the Sermon on the Mount. He is quoting one of the Ten Commandments given to the ancient Israelites through Moses, which forbade sexual unfaithfulness in marriage. By saying "you have heard that it was said," Jesus is honoring the existing religious law while setting up a contrast. This verse is the opening line of a longer thought — Jesus is about to take the old commandment and radically deepen it, moving it from outward behavior into the hidden life of the heart.
Lord, it is easy to check boxes and call it faithfulness. You see past what I show everyone else — into the parts I would rather keep hidden. Do not let me settle for looking good on the outside. Change me from the inside, where it actually counts. Amen.
There is something worth noticing about the way Jesus quotes the rule before he cracks it open. He does not dismiss the law — he names it, honors it, and then refuses to let it stay comfortable. The Ten Commandments had been around for over a thousand years by the time Jesus sat down on that hillside. Everyone in that crowd knew the rule. And yet Jesus is about to suggest that knowing a rule and living by what it actually points to are two completely different things. We all have rules we follow — and invisible lines we have drawn around our hearts that we have never examined. Jesus was not interested in a faith that just behaves correctly in public. He was after something more inconvenient: the interior life, the private thought, the glance you hope no one notices. Before you even get to the next verse, this one already asks a quiet, uncomfortable question: Are you following rules, or are you actually being changed?
What do you think Jesus meant by contrasting 'you have heard that it was said' with his own teaching — why does that distinction matter?
Are there areas in your life where you follow the outward rule but know your heart is not really aligned with it?
Is it possible to be morally rule-following and still miss the point of what God actually wants from you? What does that look like in practice?
How does a focus only on outward behavior shape the way you judge — or misread — the people around you?
What is one area where you sense God might be calling you to go deeper than rule-keeping this week, and what would that actually require of you?
Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
Matthew 5:33
If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.
Deuteronomy 22:22
Neither shalt thou commit adultery.
Deuteronomy 5:18
But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
Proverbs 6:32
And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
Leviticus 20:10
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Matthew 5:21
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Exodus 20:14
Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
Matthew 5:38
"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery';
AMP
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’
ESV
'You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY';
NASB
Adultery “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’
NIV
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’
NKJV
“You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’
NLT
"You know the next commandment pretty well, too: 'Don't go to bed with another's spouse.'
MSG