In this passage from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addresses a very common but very serious sin. Adultery is a sin of breaking the marriage covenant. Far too often men get away with the exploitation of women through lustful acts that are hidden. The abuse of the female body in this way is an abuse of the image of God. Likewise, the body and the spirit are not separate things at all. What damages the body also damages the soul.
The sin of perversion is the origin of adulterous behavior. Jesus clearly reminds the religious among us that it is not the literal obedience to God's law that matter. Literal interpretation of acts can also be corruptly interpreted for sinful ends. It is the Spirit of God's Law that changes the heart. Thoughts of the heart are the foundation of actions. Therefore, if adulterous acts occur, it is the adulterous heart that causes them.
