Beneath the Surface: Jesus Is After the Heart
The Iceberg
There is one area of interest that I come back to every few years. I’ll research, watch videos, think about it, dream about it, and when I’ve had my fill I move on… until a few years go by and it starts again.
I am fascinated by The Titanic.
Did you know that there was allegedly a fire prior to launching the Titanic in the exact place where it struck the iceberg? Meaning, the hull was compromised prior to its maiden voyage.
Did you know that, as the ship was sinking, roughly half of the eyewitnesses who survived reported that the ship went down fully intact, whereas the other half reported that it split in two prior to sinking fully?
Did you know that the chief baker instructed his staff to fill lifeboats with bread, and he survived from floating on one of 50 deck chairs he had thrown overboard?
I think what draws me to the Titanic is not just because it’s an incredible set of circumstances of “all of these things have to go wrong in order to lead to catastrophe.” I’ll never forget seeing the footage that James Cameron took of the Titanic on the ocean floor. I can’t fully describe the feeling I had but i’ll try: I was filled with dread, intrigue, a sinking feeling in my stomach knowing how many passed away, and the sense of “it didn’t have to be this way.”The Titanic sank because of what was happening below the surface, not above it. The damage that ultimately brought down the ship was hidden beneath the waterline.
The same is often true in our lives.
Most of us believe we can fix our deeper problems by modifying what we—and others—can see. We concentrate on outward behavior, but God is not interested in mere behavior. He is after the heart. What appears on the outside reflects what is happening inwardly.
The heart is the inner control center of our desires, thoughts, motives, and affections. Scripture tells us to guard it above all else because it is the wellspring of life (Proverbs 4:23). Our behaviors do not arise from nowhere; they reveal what we functionally believe.
We may believe that something is true while living as though it were not. Our formal beliefs are what we know to be true. Our functional beliefs are what we actually live out. True transformation happens when Jesus addresses not only our behavior but also the beliefs and desires beneath it.
In Matthew 5:21–32, Jesus exposes three heart issues beneath three destructive behaviors: anger, lust, and sinful divorce.
Sinful anger reveals a heart that destroys
“The heart is the inner control center of our desires, thoughts, motives, and affections. ”
Not all anger is sinful. Jesus expressed righteous anger when He confronted injustice in the temple, and Paul wrote, “Be angry and do not sin” (Ephesians 4:26). There is an anger that longs for justice and confronts evil.
But Jesus warns us about anger rooted in contempt, resentment, and unforgiveness. We may excuse it by saying, “They are only private thoughts,” or, “It’s not as though I killed anyone.” Yet Jesus insists that the heart matters.
When we destroy another person’s reputation with our words, hurl insults at someone made in God’s image, or allow resentment to harden within us, our anger has become destructive. Unchecked anger is like a snowball rolling down a mountain: once it gains momentum, the problem grows larger and more dangerous.
Sinful anger reveals a heart that destroys. It is best to address it while it is still a small snowball, not after it has become a boulder moving at full speed.
Lust reveals a heart that consumes
Jesus teaches that anyone who looks at another person with lustful intent has already committed adultery in the heart (Matthew 5:27–28). Lust treats image-bearers as objects to consume rather than lives to honor.
Jesus is not describing temptation, which happens to us. He is confronting the choice to dwell on, fantasize about, and mentally consume another person. Martin Luther illustrated the distinction well: “you cannot stop a bird from flying over your head, but you can stop it from nesting in your hair.” What we do with temptation matters.
Jesus’ instruction to tear out an eye or cut off a hand emphasizes the seriousness of the struggle. His point is not self-mutilation but decisive action. We must be willing to surrender whatever repeatedly leads us toward sin. Scripture tells us to stand firm against many temptations, but when it comes to sexual immorality, it tells us to flee (1 Corinthians 6:18).
Do what it takes to get away from it. Repent. Turn. Come into the light. Temporary gratification is not worth walking the road toward destruction.
Sinful divorce reveals a heart that discards
In Jesus’ day, divorce was often permitted for almost any reason. Jesus confronted this casual attitude because marriage is a covenant—a lifelong commitment made before God and others.
Not every divorce is sinful. Jesus permits divorce on the grounds of sexual immorality, and Paul addresses abandonment by an unbelieving spouse (Matthew 5:32; 1 Corinthians 7:10–16). Separation may also be necessary to protect a spouse or children from abuse.
Jesus is confronting the heart that is always looking for a way out. The unfaithful heart looks for loopholes. It may slowly withdraw from a spouse and then blame the spouse for the distance. It may complain to family and friends to build support for leaving. It may become convinced that happiness is possible only outside the marriage.
The discarding heart treats covenant and people as disposable. Jesus calls His followers to something different: faithfulness that reflects the steadfast love of God.
We need heart surgery
Anger, lust, and faithlessness can appear manageable. We imagine we can keep them under control. But sin is not a fire safely contained within a fireplace. It is a wildfire that spreads faster than we can manage.
The answer is not merely to try harder to be less angry, less lustful, or more committed. You cannot be your own heart-surgeon. We must bring our hearts before the King.
“Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!”
—Psalm 139:23–24
Stop managing symptoms; let the Spirit heal your heart.
The Sermon on the Mount does not leave us saying, “I am better than I thought.” It leaves us saying, “I need more grace than I realized.” That is precisely why Jesus came. He came not only to forgive sinful actions but also to redeem sinful hearts.
We excuse, minimize, justify, and hide what lies beneath the surface. Jesus exposes it not to crush us, but to heal us. The same Lord who reveals our sin provides grace, forgiveness, and transformation.
What might Jesus be revealing beneath the surface of your life? Bring it honestly into His light. He already knows. He already sees. And, through the cross, He has shown that He loves.
Jesus is not interested in mere outward behavior—He is after the heart. Discover what anger, lust, and faithlessness reveal beneath the surface, and how Christ’s grace brings forgiveness, healing, and genuine transformation.