Observation: In his sermon on the mount, Jesus uses a Rabbinical teaching technique called "building a fence around the Law," or "Khumra" in Hebrew. The idea is to avoid committing small, less harmful sins in order to protect against bigger ones. Don't want to commit adultery? Don't even look lustfully at someone. Don't want to swear falsely? How about not swearing at all? You can see why Jesus says just a few verses earlier that he's not here to abolish but to fulfill the law.
Application: I don't know if you can relate to this, but I'm much less disciplined a person than I'd like to be. Sometimes reading Jesus' sermons is daunting. I don't love the idea of being cast into hell (or Gehenna, the actual word used here, but that's another story), just for a minor offense of my hand or eye. Jesus' standards are impossibly high. For him, technically fulfilling the law isn't enough. He raises the level of accountability to the nth degree, until pretty much nobody really feels "free and clear" in their day to day conduct.
I believe that's part of the point. I think Jesus intended to raise the stakes to the point where no one was comfortable or complacent anymore. If anything got under Jesus' skin it was a self-righteous attitude, so he pretty much torpedoes any chance of that from the get-go.
Jesus probably didn't intend for people to just read all this and despair. I think he really believed in the potential of humans to be better than the bare minimum. But he also knew how to hit us where it hurts, to remind us that nobody has this thing completely down. We all need God's grace.
Prayer: Jesus, build a fence around my heart. Help me be better today than yesterday, but also rely on your grace. Keep me hopeful but humble. Amen.
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