What Does Matthew 5:29-30 Mean? Pluck Out Your Eye, Cut Off Your Hand, Cast into Hell

Jesus said, 

"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. 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. " (Matthew 5:29-30).

This passage is from the sermon on the mount. We must observe its context to understand it.

In Matthew 4:25 through 5:1, we see that Jesus is before multitudes, which includes believers and unbelievers. This will be clear shortly. It appears that his disciples are nearest him in 5:1. In 5:2-16, he speaks to believers. Verses 17–19 are transition verses. His message to unbelievers begins in 5:20 where he tells them that they must have an extremely high degree of righteousness to enter heaven. And verses 21–28 show that entrance by being good is impossible, with his definition of murder in 22 and adultery in 28. The verses shown above, 29 and 30, describe the spiritual violence that occurs at the entrance to the kingdom of heaven in order to enter. 

As Satan and his fallen angels cling violently to us through temptation in the spiritual realm, it is through spiritual violence, the sword of the spirit (the word of God) and the power of the Holy Spirit that anyone is born again… 

We must look a moment at Matthew 11:12:

• "From the days of John the Baptizer until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force" (Matthew 11:12)

By violence in the spiritual realm we take the kingdom by force... a spiritual force in spiritual violence. Make no mistake. In Matthew 11:12 violent unbelievers do not conquer the kingdom of heaven. As the Holy Spirit enters us upon first faith, we are crucified with Christ, buried with Christ and then raised with Christ. This crucifixion of the old man in us is a spiritual violence in the spiritual realm. Click here to read scripture about the old man. Through the power of the sword of the spirit and the Holy Spirit, by spiritual violence we enter. In figurative terms, Satan may be left holding our eye or our hand but those who enter, enter by spiritual violence. Jesus rips us from the domain of Satan and transfers us into the kingdom of the son, Colossians 1:13. A trapped animal will chew off its foot to free its-self from a trap. This violence against self is necessary to live.

Verses 28 and 29 are the figurative motivational verses: the loss of a hand or an eye is insignificant compared to what is at stake… eternal heaven or hell.

And Jesus was not exaggerating… Entrance into the kingdom is an action of the greatest spiritual violence as I described.

My conversion was that of desperation. Events of life brought me to the edge… where I could not bear the burden of life. Instead of leaving behind a physical hand or eye as I entered heaven, it was self faith that I saw being severed and crucified. And it was God who severed it. Euphoria followed. And then three days in the spirit… and the burdens of life were still there. While I could not prevail, he who lived within me did prevail. 

Even though we are not aware that our faith brings about the crucifixion of the flesh, it does. And so conversion faith can be seen as cutting off the hand or plucking out the eye that Jesus refers to in the passage.

I will compare Matthew 5:29-30 to other scriptures of spiritual violence:

• "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. 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" (Matthew 5:29-30).

•  I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). 

• "Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts" (Galatians 5:24).

• 'We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4).

It is by the spiritual violence of crucifixion in the spiritual realm that we enter life. None are born again except through spiritual violence bringing about the death of the old self.

• "our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be in bondage to sin" (Romans 6:6).

Read scripture about the old man by clicking here. So, having been crucified with Christ, I can do righteousness. Those who have not been crucified with Christ have not choice but to sin. That is all they can do. They are in bondage to it.

Here is the subject passage again:

• "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. 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" (Matthew 5:29-30).

This passage was not written to keep one who is born again from going to Hell. This passage was written to admonish those who are not born again to be born again.