MHA: Of the multitude of moral topics discussed in the Old Testament, Jesus selects six: (1) murder and anger, (2) adultery and struggle with temptation, (3) divorce, (4) swearing oaths, (5) not resisting evil, and (6) love for one’s enemies.
I think that Jesus was using the Law to expand our understanding of righteousness. In this sermon He is quoting Scripture directly. There is no interpretation involved. I agree that the Pharisees and scribes mis-interpreted the Law and they also set up new laws (traditions) which contradicted the Law. Later in the gospels Jesus rebukes them for what they have done. But I don't think that is the main purpose of Jesus in this part of Matthew.
Instead He is defining the kind of righteousness that is required for entry into the Kingdom Of God. It has to be better than the Pharisees, but that righteousness also has to address thoughts, desires, and words, not just actions. The Law then was sufficient to demonstrate the righteousness of God and accomplish His purposes for Israel but it was an incomplete. Even with that you do see in the last of the 10 commandments, "thou shalt not covet...", that matters of the heart were included. Jesus here describes how the heart can commit those other sins without action in the physical world. Another way to look at it is that the sin of coveting is fuel for all the other sins prohibited in the other 9 commandments.
I think your point about the purpose of "thou shalt not covet" is sound, and the groundwork for the heart and not just the actions.
I recall thinking about this when Dennis Prager was justifying why porn is OK - better than adultery (during the Exodus seminar series with Peterson). He said that Jewish law is concerned with actions, not the heart. I thought then - why is no one challenging him based on this commandment?
Of course, why he is OK with porn is an obvious question with an obvious answer.
I think that Jesus was using the Law to expand our understanding of righteousness. In this sermon He is quoting Scripture directly. There is no interpretation involved. I agree that the Pharisees and scribes mis-interpreted the Law and they also set up new laws (traditions) which contradicted the Law. Later in the gospels Jesus rebukes them for what they have done. But I don't think that is the main purpose of Jesus in this part of Matthew.
Instead He is defining the kind of righteousness that is required for entry into the Kingdom Of God. It has to be better than the Pharisees, but that righteousness also has to address thoughts, desires, and words, not just actions. The Law then was sufficient to demonstrate the righteousness of God and accomplish His purposes for Israel but it was an incomplete. Even with that you do see in the last of the 10 commandments, "thou shalt not covet...", that matters of the heart were included. Jesus here describes how the heart can commit those other sins without action in the physical world. Another way to look at it is that the sin of coveting is fuel for all the other sins prohibited in the other 9 commandments.
https://thecrosssectionrmb.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-ethics-of-liberty-state.html
I think your point about the purpose of "thou shalt not covet" is sound, and the groundwork for the heart and not just the actions.
I recall thinking about this when Dennis Prager was justifying why porn is OK - better than adultery (during the Exodus seminar series with Peterson). He said that Jewish law is concerned with actions, not the heart. I thought then - why is no one challenging him based on this commandment?
Of course, why he is OK with porn is an obvious question with an obvious answer.