HEBREW WORD STUDY – LUST –  RAGAG  רגג 

Matthew 5:28  “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”

I remember when I was a Campus Life director working with High School age youths.  I had a teenager, a relatively new Christian who came up to me visibly shaken.  I had encouraged him to start reading his Bible and suggested he start with the New Testament. This he did and barely got through chapter 5 of Matthew before he flew into a full-blown panic.  He came to me and said: “I think I am guilty of committing adultery.  In fact, I committed adultery with that cheerleader in my Algebra class four times – during class.”  It took me a few moments to get my wits about me as I concluded he had been messing around with Matthew 5:28.

He continued: “I even committed adultery with my pastor’s wife, right there in the service.  You know she is one hot…oh no I did it again.”  This was a good kid, he was not joking, he was dead serious. You know how every adolescent male thinks they are the alpha bull.  Well, he felt he was the only one afflicted with this – I don’t know what to call it.

As I handled every pastor’s and Christian workers nightmare with the usual lecture on forgiveness, a bird flying over the head and not making a nest in your hair as well as other Christian audibles, I really had to consider what Jesus was talking about.

In the Greek, there is a word often left out of the translation in my modern versions. It is the word pros which means in order that.  In other words, it should read: “Whosoever looks upon a woman in order to lust after her.”  This would be a good case to condemn pornography.  In fact, pornography comes from the Greek word prone – prostitute and graphy to write about.  Prostitutes and lust go hand in hand.  One only looks at pornography in order to…epithymesai – lust”  It comes from the root word epithueo which means to focus on passion, desire.

In the Aramaic, this reads “who looks at a woman as desiring her immediately commits adultery in his heart.”   The word aik in Aramaic also means in order that like the Greek.  However, the word for lust or desire is ragag which is a longing or desire but a longing or desire for pleasure.  In other words, Jesus is saying that if a man looks upon a woman with a longing to receive pleasure from her he has committed adultery in his heart.  This is a selfish desire and using another human being to satisfy that selfish desire.  To look upon a woman with selfish s desires one immediately commits adultery.  That word immediate is mekhda which means instantly,

Now what man has not at least one time in his life committed this sin, what man has gone one week of his life, especially in this society, without committing this sin?  I would say that the only man who hasn’t, except for Jesus,  is a liar.  Well, maybe there are those out there who are devoid of such desires, but even an aspie who can’t stand to be touch has this offense over his head.   

I could write a book on this but I have limited space so let me get to the chase.  Jesus is constantly referring to matters of the heart.  He knows every man has committed this sin. Women in that society tended to be the one held responsible for adultery.  After all, it was men who enforced this law.  Jesus was simply saying: “He who is without sin let him cast the first stone.”  In other words: “You think you are so righteous because you do not physically commit an act, but you need just as much mercy from God if you even think of the act as one who actually commits it.”