Matthew 5:28 (WEB)

Passage

but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Nearby Context

Matthew 5:26 Most certainly I tell you, you shall by no means get out of there, until you have paid the last penny.

Matthew 5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery;’Exodus 20:14

Matthew 5:28 but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Matthew 5:29 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.

Matthew 5:30 If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "tell", "everyone", "gazes", "woman", "lust", "after", "committed", and "adultery". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "tell" and "everyone", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 27's "You have heard that it was said..." into verse 29's "If your right eye causes you to...", so "tell" and "everyone" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "tell" and "everyone" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.