Matthew 5:27

Monday, 2 December 2024

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ Matthew 5:27

“You heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Not you shall commit adultery’” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus spoke to the disciples about not getting out of prison until the last penny had been paid. This is the idea behind the law. When there is law, there is a possible violation of the law. In violating the law, one can then be sentenced and punished according to the standard of the law.

But Jesus has been teaching that the standard of the Law of Moses is actually more stringent than simple external observance. He will begin to highlight that thought again by saying, “You heard that it was said to the ancients.”

As in verse 21, He addresses a teaching that has already been set forth long ago to the people. A teaching was spoken to them and they were to abide by it. It should be noted that some manuscripts do not include the words “to the ancients.”

If it was inserted into the text, it was probably for the sake of conforming to the previous instance in verse 21. If it was dropped out of the text, it was probably because this is a command directly quoted by the Lord to the people. As such, someone may have decided that the words shouldn’t be there because no additional commentary is attached to what is said, as was the case in verse 21. Either way, what was said was, “Not you shall commit adultery.”

This is the seventh commandment as recorded in Exodus 20:14. Despite it being one of the Ten Commandments, it was also a teaching that was passed down by the spiritual leaders of Israel. In fact, it may be that the people didn’t even realize it was a precept of Moses. Rather, it was something taught as binding upon the people as it is in many cultures.

Jesus will provide insight into this teaching that will go far beyond what was either taught or considered.

Life application: In 1631, Robert Barker and Martin Lucas, the royal printers in London, published a reprint of the King James Bible. A copy of that reprint is now worth between $55,000 to $85,000. This is because it has become known as the Wicked Bible. Other names for it are the Adulterous Bible or the Sinners’ Bible.

The reason for the names is that it is based upon a mistake made by the compositors. In the Ten Commandments of Exodus 20:14, it says in the KJV, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” However, whether truly a mistake or an intentional change, the word “not” was left out, “Thou shalt commit adultery.”

Along with that, Wikipedia describes a second error that was found in the print –

“The 1886 Reports of Cases in the Courts of Star Chamber and High Commission (which gives the Bodleian Library manuscript Rawlinson A 128 as its source) lists this as one of the ‘two grossest errors’, among ‘divers other faults’. The other is a misprint appearing in Deuteronomy 5: the word ‘greatness’ appearing as ‘great-asse’ [meaning a donkey], leading to a sentence reading: ‘Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his great-asse’. Gordon Campbell reports that there are no surviving copies of the book that contain the second error (‘great-asse’), but that in three of the surviving copies there is an inkblot where the missing ‘n’ would be, suggesting such a mistake may have been covered up in these copies. He also notes that, at the time of the Wicked Bible's publication, the word ‘asse’ only had the sense of ‘donkey’.”

Because of the lack of current evidence, some have suggested that the second error was sabotage by other printers on the surviving copies. However, when the court was held, neither of the publishers suggested the possibility of sabotage. Either way, because of the nature of the error, the king had their printing license revoked, and they were fined 300 pounds, an enormous sum at the time, equaling $72,863.42 today.

Considering the penalty for making an error in a printed copy of the Bible levied upon these two, what do you suppose God will do when you purposefully or negligently trifle with His word? Be sure to treat the Bible with the utmost respect it deserves.

Glorious God, Your word is precious and holy. May we never trifle with its sacred contents. Amen.