We’ve been running a series on The Bible Project’s Tim Mackie for the last few days where we’ve covered his subversive Bible-twisting agenda and false teachings. In Part I, we covered Mackie’s twisting of the Scripture to suggest that Jesus practiced Eastern Mysticism because Christianity began in the “East.” In Part II, we covered Mackie’s capitulation to homosexuality where he twisted several Bible passages, including Galatians 3, to advance the Revoice theology that being a homosexual is okay so long as you don’t “act out” on it. In that, he suggests that Jesus acknowledged that some people might be born homosexuals.

Now, in the third part of this series, we’re looking at his social justice tendencies as he turns Jesus into a flaming Marxist who came to earth to shatter oppressor / oppressed categories between men and women—and, get this, this is exactly why Jesus only addressed men in Matthew 5:28 where Jesus addresses the issue of lust in the heart.

“But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” —Matthew 5:28

According to Mackie, the reason Jesus used the phrase “looks at a woman” rather than simply “a person” is because historically, men have “turned sexual desire into a tool of violence, subjugation and oppression of the other gender” That’s what Mackie says, and apparently, Mackie has never heard the biblical stories of Rahab, Tamar, Potiphar’s wife, the woman caught in adultery, all of the temple prostitutes, Jezebel, etc.

The context of this passage is that Jesus is teaching about the nature of the law and how it applies to the heart and not just to outward actions. He is challenging his audience to a higher standard of righteousness than what was commonly accepted in their culture and this passage specifically addresses the issue of sexual sin and the importance of guarding one’s thoughts and desires.

In this historic and linguistic context, the language used in this verse is inclusive of both men and women. While the verse uses the masculine pronoun “his,” it is understood to refer to both genders. The use of gendered language in Matthew 5:28 is not meant to exclude women from the teaching, but rather to address the issue in a way that was relevant and understandable to the audience of the time. The focus of the verse is on the issue of sexual morality and the need to avoid lustful thoughts and actions.

Jesus’ teachings on sexual morality were directed towards both men and women, as evidenced by his interactions with women throughout the Gospels. Tim Mackie’s approach is overly narrow and reductionist and he is simply buying into the cultural Marxism and liberation theology of the day and trying to pass it off to you.