‘Of course, plucking out a single eye does nothing. That is what He is getting at...but it is what a self-righteous man would do if he failed. Cutting off one hand does nothing...but it is what a self-righteous man would do if he failed.’
Not sure you are right here. Do you have any actual evidence that self-righteous people, if they failed, resorted to eye-plucking and hand-chopping? [I.e.: their own eye or their own hand, not to be confused with the sadism practiced by the self-righteous of Islam, never upon themselves but upon those who have no choice.]
There have always been self-righteous people in religious communities. The Jews had no lack, down through the ages. Surely in all that time a few self-righteous Jews admitted failure. Yet there is no record or indication anywhere that any of them plucked out an eye or chopped off a hand. It would appear, historically, as if the command/practice was introduced in the Sermon on the Mount, and did not exist prior to that time.
Or put another way, if no self-righteous Jew ever resorted to eye-plucking or hand-chopping, then the command once again makes no sense. You say so yourself:
“’Of course, plucking out a single eye does nothing. That is what He is getting at”
You know, after I wrote that I suspected you may take it that way. I do not mean "self-righteous" as in, the fellow is so self-righteous. I meant it as in, the Pharisees were under the impression that the Law was intended to teach a man how to be righteous by his efforts and anyone who really, really applies themselves will by the effort make themselves acceptable to God...self-made righteousness.
Jesus is removing all possibilities of this happening by filling the Law so full that Jews would say, "Wait just a damn minute here, Bud. Who do you think you are to talk to us this way?" Now we are getting somewhere. And, if one follows the story line, this is precisely why they wanted Him crucified. What sounded nice at first soon became so burdensome that the people despised Him. His "version" of the Law was impossibly harsh (cannot create self-made righteousness) and the PEOPLE (not simply the Pharisees and Saducees) hated this condemnation. Of course they would not pluck an eye out...but it was necessary if you wished to make yourself self-righteous. And, yes, it still would not fix the problem, so of course it sounded excessive.