Re:Verse passage – Matthew 5:17-32 (day seven)
The Greek word hamartia, that we translate as sin, actually comes from an archery concept meaning to “miss the mark.” It referred to arrows that didn’t hit their target. Sin is when we miss the mark that was set for us by God. Much like the Pharisees whom Jesus is speaking to in this passage, we often pride ourselves in simply landing our arrow in the vicinity of the target, comparing ourselves to our neighbor who shanked his arrow into the woods. Yet, if we are true to the archery analogy, anything short of a bullseye is miss. Even if it was just a little bit offline, it still missed the mark.
Adultery and murder have a wider effect and bigger complications on the community around us than lust and anger respectively, but what Jesus is concerned about is when we get comfortable with the near misses. The heart is where the sin begins, and if our heart is not headed for the bullseye, we may easily find our own arrows headed for the woods.
